“I’m so happy for you, too. You’ve thought about this carefully—and you’ve listened to your heart as well as your head.” Anna nodded her approval.
“I know work is going to be one of my biggest challenges. But I was thinking . . . I have this amazing nurse practitioner student working in my office right now. I was already leaning toward hiring her, and if I go ahead and do that—yeah, it’s going to stretch my office budget for a while, but if I increase our hours on Wednesdays to a full day, and then maybe add half a day Saturday or evening hours one night a week, we’d bring in enough extra revenue to cover a new hire.” A smile began to creep over my face. “Doug Johanson helped me out when I flew to California, and I bet he’d be willing to cover for me when I’m out having the baby—and to be my back-up if I needed. So—yes. I’m doing it.”
“Alison.” Emma reached for my hand. “Now you definitely have to tell Noah. Not that you haven’t tried, but it’s time to stop being polite and civilized and go for broke.”
I knew she was right. Noah had not reached out to me after I’d appeared at his house and left the message with Juliet. I was fairly certain she hadn’t delivered my request. A couple of days ago, I’d had a call from his number. There had been a voicemail, but it had contained only a stilted greeting and then silence. And when I’d tried to call back, he hadn’t answered.
But now, the gloves needed to come off.
“I’m aware of that. I’m going to try knocking on his door again and hope that he answers this time.”
“Do you want me to go with you?” Emma asked. “Just to make sure you get to see him? I’m not afraid of Juliet.” She huffed out a breath. “If she’s even still there.”
I shifted in my chair, curling one leg up under me. “I’m not afraid of her, either, but short of body checking her to get through the door—which I could have done, because she’s, like, pocket-sized—there wasn’t much I could do. Noah wasn’t at home when I was at his house.” I cocked my head. “And what do you mean, if she’s even still there?”
Emma popped a whole strawberry into her mouth, chewing. After she swallowed, she licked the sticky juice from one finger before she answered me. Her expression was guarded
“Last week, I got an evite to a party at Noah’s house. It was supposed to be to thank everyone who supported Noah when he was hurt, in the hospital . . . but I knew damn well it wasn’t his idea. After what you’d told me about seeing Juliet at his house, I figured this was her doing. I didn’t mention it to you because . . . well, I wasn’t sure we were going to go. I was mad at Noah, not only for ignoring me but even more so for not answering you. And I didn’t know if I could be there, see Noah and keep my mouth shut about you being pregnant.”
I raised my eyebrows and sent her a long, meaningful stare. “But you did. Right? Keep your mouth shut, I mean.”
“Yeah, in the end, I managed to do it. Deacon and I got there, and Noah . . . he was clearly drunk. Like, wasted off his ass drunk. But it was even clearer that he’s miserable. He’s bitter, he’s angry . . . he’s managed to piss off most of his friends on the team, and his coach told me flat out that Noah’s alienating everyone who’s tried to help him.” She wrinkled her nose. “Everyone but Juliet, apparently, who either has a thicker skin or is just okay with using sex to keep him under control.” Emma bit her lip. “Sorry, Alison.”
I sighed. “No, it’s all right. Juliet didn’t leave much to the imagination when she answered the door. I didn’t think the two of them were just sitting around playing pinochle.”
“Strip pinochle, maybe,” Anna muttered.
I chose to ignore her. “Did Noah say anything about getting my message?”
Emma shook her head. “No. I didn’t come out and ask him if Juliet had told him you’d stopped by, but I did ask why he was ignoring your calls. He said . . .” She inhaled deeply and let out a long sigh. “God, this is such a man thing to say. Noah told me that he’s not the man he was when you two—when he—well, before. He said that he’s doing you a favor by letting you off the hook because he’s not good enough for you. And I think he actually believes it.”
“Great.” I rolled my eyes. “I’ve got to figure out how to talk to him, though. I’ve tried to make it clear in my messages that I’m not chasing him—I just need to talk.” I drummed my fingers on the table. “And I even texted him the day after I stopped by to make sure Juliet had told him.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if he never saw that. Zeke tells me that he gets the feeling Juliet is the gatekeeper of all things concerning Noah now. She makes his medical appointments, runs interference with the team for him . . . she might have deleted that message before he got a chance to read it.”
“Jesus. She’s a real piece of work, isn’t she?” I blew out a breath. “So how do I get past her?”
Emma lifted one shoulder. “You might not have to worry about that now. She overheard Noah saying some not very complimentary things about their relationship at the party, and she took off like a bat out of hell. I asked Noah if he wanted me to chase her down, but he said no. I got the sense that he was hoping she’d stay gone.”
“If he doesn’t want her there, why doesn’t he just kick her out? It’s his house. He’s done a great job of keeping everyone else away.”
“I don’t really get it, but maybe . . . Juliet might not have given him a choice. She seems like the type who just doesn’t take no for an answer—Noah mentioned to me long before this that Juliet was sort of a spoiled brat. But what he said about her must have been a kick in the teeth. I can’t imagine her staying with him after hearing that.”
“Huh.” I didn’t believe Juliet would actually stay away from Noah. She wasn’t going to let him go without a fight. “What did he say, if you don’t mind me asking?”
Emma looked pained. “It was kind of brutal. I asked him if Juliet was really who he wanted in his life, and he gave me an unequivocal no. He said she was temporary and convenient—and also safe because he knows he could never love her.” Emma hesitated. “I got the feeling that you, on the other hand, are decidedlynothis safe bet. Which is likely why he’s avoiding you.”
“That’s wonderful to hear in theory, but it doesn’t help me much when I’m just trying to let him know he’s got a kid on the way. I’ve spent so much time torturing myself, trying to imagine how he’s going to react when I tell him. At this point, if I can’t get him alone to talk, he’ll find out when I send the birth announcement.”
Emma reached over to squeeze my hand. “I’m sorry you’re going through this. My offer to go with you still stands.”
I returned her smile. “Thank you, Em, but no. I’ll handle it by myself. I don’t want Noah to feel like we’re ganging up on him.”
“I think Alison’s right,” Anna agreed. “This is a very personal conversation between the two of them, and having an audience won’t help.”
“Okay.” Emma nodded and then her face took on a half-smiling sly expression. “Well, then let me do you one favor.” She reached around the kitchen chair to dig in her bag and took out her cell, pressing a button. A few minutes later, she began to speak.
“Noah? Hey! It’s me. Listen, are you busy? Oh, yeah. I get it. Okay, well, here’s the thing—if I were going to be in your neck of the woods later this afternoon, do you have a little time for a visit? If I wanted to stop by, will you be at home? I don’t know, say, like four or four-thirty? Oh, awesome. Perfect. See you when I see you.”
