8
Noah stepped into the lobby of the resort and was immediately met with his gawking family members standing behind the check-in counter. His mom looked like she had stars in her eyes, while his dad looked amused. Jackson leaned against the wall with his arms crossed in a leisurely way and a smile on his face. His brother Ethan was always happy and had his signature smile plastered across his face. His youngest brother, Miles, looked serious as always, with his daughter, Emma, swinging his hand back and forth with a bright smile on her face. Noah frowned.
“Noah! Why didn’t you tell us you had a date?” Karen asked.
Noah looked around at his siblings with accusing eyes, wondering who ratted him out. He hadn’t told any of them for this reason alone. He didn’t need his family all up in his business. It would get back to them fast enough, just from word-of-mouth from the locals.
The guilty, yet satisfied, look on Jackson’s face had Noah narrowing his eyes at him. Jackson shrugged.
“Megan told me,” he said.
“When did you see Megan?” Noah asked.
“I ran into her in the lobby.”
It was a pathetic attempt, but Noah needed to take the attention off him. This wasn’t a big deal. It was only a date. “Oh yeah? Well, are you still hanging out with Mia nonstop? I saw you earlier.”
Jackson rolled his eyes. “Everyone knows I hang out with Mia. Stop changing the subject.”
Damn it. It didn’t work, and he didn’t have enough time to come up with something else distracting.
“So you’re dating a guest?” Karen asked.
Noah sighed and glanced toward the elevators. Jessa would come down at any moment, and the last thing he wanted was for them to have an audience.
“Now is not the time for this. I don’t need you all freaking her out.”
“Why would you think we’d do that?”
Guests passing by gave them curious looks, so Noah took a few steps closer and lowered his voice.
“Mom, I love you, but you all are standing here gaping like I’m a thirteen-year-old about to go on a date for the first time. It’s a little embarrassing that you’re re-enacting all that when I’m thirty-two years old,” Noah hissed.
“But we’re so happy for you,” Ethan said, the amusement on his face getting brighter with each passing second.
Miles snorted beside him and looked over at the elevator when it dinged with its arrival.
“Uncle Noah, is that her?” Emma asked.
Noah prayed she hadn’t come down yet, when her voice interrupted his thoughts.
“Uh… hey, Noah.”
Noah shot his family a meaningful threat before plastering a smile to his lips and turning around to face Jessa.
“Hey, you ready to go?”
Her eyes nervously glanced past him toward his family, and he inwardly cringed. He could imagine his mom staring at her with hearts in her eyes, begging them to get married and have children.
Good Lord. She better not be.
Let’s go. Let’s go. Let’s go, he chanted in his head.
“Yeah, I’m ready.”
As if they were damn zoo animals, his family’s eyes followed them to the resort doors. Noah glanced back and glared, but his brothers only waved obnoxiously. Despite his attempt at steering Jessa away, she glanced back as well, and the lines between her eyebrows merged at the waves from his siblings.
“You look really pretty!” Emma shouted.
