Irish nodded, wondering why he’d asked her that.
Rubbing his hand over his mouth, Noble asked, “What kind of dessert you want?
“I’ll take some caramel cake.”
Noble got up and ordered their desserts. Like a creep, Irish studied him the entire time, noting every detail about him. He used his phone with his left hand and always looked peoplein the eye when he spoke. Even the girl behind the counter seemed to be smitten by his authoritative presence.
Noble brought the two dishes back to the table and reclaimed his seat. Irish quickly took a bite of the cake, savoring how moist it was.
“What you do today?”
“Shipped orders and talked to my designer about a new collection. What did you do today?”
“My aunt had a barbecue at the park. I stopped by there and spent some time with my son.”
She blushed. “Noble the dad. What kind of father are you?”
He reclined in his seat, chewing on his cheesecake. “I’m a cool one. I don't do too much.”
“You seem like the type to do the most,” she teased.
“No, I’ll leave that to you.”
She feigned a gasp. “I don't do too much.”
“Shit,” he drawled. “You did way too much the other night. Fucking me like that then leaving right away. I didn’t appreciate that shit, Pumpkin.”
She snickered. “I’m sorry for leaving. My sister always have great timing if you catch my sarcasm.”
“Yeah, she cock blocked the shit outta me.”
Irish loved this. Having quality time with a man that held her full interest. She prayed the feeling would never end.
“You know, I’ve been thinking about this thing between us.”
Without warning, it sounded like the record to a perfect song had been scratched. Irish sat frozen, taking note of his lowtone. Was this the end? Had her happiness been short-lived and now she’d have to go back to the lonely place in her mind?
Gently, Irish pushed her plate away, suddenly losing her appetite. That made Noble’s eyebrows furrow.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” She avoided his eye contact.
“Aye, look at me when I’m talking to you.”
Her gaze met his while she swallowed back the nausea coating her tongue.
“What’s up? Why you got a long face?”
“Because you're about to say that we should end things, right?”
Wearing pinched brows, Noble responded, “Why you think that?”
“The way you started your statement alarmed me. Your tone wasn’t soft like it had been since I got here. There was gloom in your words, and I figured you would say that we should end whatever this is that we started.”
The rational side of Irish would’ve understood Noble if he put a pin in their balloon. They were wading in waters that could produce strong tides. It could blow up in their face, and both of their positions would be compromised. Noble as the general of TLM and Irish as Jovanis’s wife and best friend. Even though those circumstances loomed over them, Irish was way past the guilty feeling she once possessed. Noble’s talk about prioritizing herself had put a battery in her back. Her desire to explore what she and Noble were cooking was a tad more powerful than her loyalty to Jovanis.
“Actually, you wrong.” He intertwined his fingers with hers. “I was going to say this is taking off faster than I thought.It ain't surface level for me, and I was wondering how you felt about it.”
