I was impressed by the weight he had on his back. It made what I did look like child’s play.
I downed some water and paced around the gym, allowing my heart rate to return to a normal pace. My skin was cooling and my breathing had slowed so I returned the cap to the water bottle and moved to the weights. Noah and I worked out side by side but didn’t acknowledge each other.
His jaw was set and his gaze focused as he moved from squats to deadlifts before he finished with power cleans. I was doing a set of triceps dips when he returned the weights to the weight rack and headed over to the treadmill.
The sound of the belt increasing in speed had me looking in his direction. His entire body was taut, his muscles rippling as his feet hit the belt over and over again.
When I realized I was staring, I dropped my gaze and turned to face the other wall, removing the temptation to look at him again entirely.
I finished my workout with a bit of light yoga. I was in the middle of downward dog when the treadmill suddenly stopped. I glanced up to see Noah’s lips were pulled tight as he climbed off the treadmill and walked hastily over to the door. He didn’t say goodbye. He just yanked the door open and disappeared into the hallway; the sound of the door closing behind him echoed in the room.
I blinked as I stared at the place he’d just occupied a second ago. That was…strange. I glanced around the room, wondering what I had missed.
I came up empty as I brought my attention back to my yoga mat.
The only explanation I could come up with for why he ran out of the room like a bat out of hell was me. But I hadn’t done anything. We’d only said one word of greeting and then proceeded to ignore each other. Had I offended him?
I tried to relax and finish my routine, but I was already tense and no amount of breathing and stretching was going to fix that. I stepped off my yoga mat, rolled it up, and placed it in its cubby. I discarded my towel into the small linen basket near the door before I flipped off the lights and headed out of the room.
Noah was nowhere to be found as I made my way down the hall. I paused by Timothy’s door, noting the lack of noise on the other side, and then hurried to my room to shower and dress.
I stood in front of my mirror as I buttoned my red satin shirt, my damp hair hanging clumped around my face. Once the last button was fastened, I shifted my pencil skirt as I tucked the tails of the shirt in before pulling up the side zipper. I blow-dried my hair and set it with rollers before I moved on to my makeup.
Timothy was up by the time I was shaking my curls loose and getting out my hair spray to give them a quick once-over. His eyes were groggy as he came shuffling into my room. His blonde curls were a mess—sticking straight up in some sections.
“Hey, lovey,” I said to him as I set down the hairspray and turned to give him my full attention. I squatted down in front of him and wrapped my arm around his waist, pulling him into a hug.
He didn’t protest as usual. Instead, he flung his arms over my shoulders and dropped his full weight onto me. My body shifted from the sudden impact, but I remained upright. “I’m guessing you slept good?” I asked as I pulled back so I could meet his gaze.
He nodded.
“Good.” I wrapped my hands around his chest and pushed him off me before I moved to stand. “Let’s get you some breakfast. That will help wake you up.”
Timothy walked like a zombie out into the hallway. I grabbed my black stilettos and handbag as I followed after him, shutting the lights off as I went. Once in the hall, we walked together into the kitchen.
Noah was resting his elbows on the counter that held the coffee machine when we walked in. His glanced over to us and straightened. His gaze lingered with mine for a moment before he dropped it down to the floor.
“Morning,” he said, like we hadn’t had this exact interaction already today. He didn’t give me a chance to respond. Instead, he turned his attention to Timothy. “Morning,” he repeated.
“Morning,” Timothy said as he padded past Noah to pull open the fridge.
I decided to forget Noah’s confusing retreat from the gym and focus on getting Timothy ready for school. I squared my shoulders and moved to open the cereal cupboard. I gave Timothy two cereal options, and he picked the Fruit Loops—just like his dad. Once a bowl had been retrieved from the cupboard and filled to the brim with cereal and milk, I followed behind Timothy, who was holding a spoon up as he led the way to the table.
With him now settled, I turned back to the kitchen. Noah was still camped out in front of the coffee machine, which had hummed to life. The sound of liquid falling into the glass pot filled the silent air.
I walked toward him with a battle warring inside of me. Part of me wanted to stay on the outskirts of the room until he was finished and left. The other part of me—and the part that was currently winning out—needed caffeine, stat.
I forced a smile as I approached him. “Can I get a cup?” I asked, nodding toward the warm amber liquid.
Noah glanced over at me and then dropped his gaze. “Sure.”
In that moment I cursed Jane. She’d reorganized my entire kitchen and put the coffee mugs in the cupboard above the coffee machine. At the time, her suggestion had seemed like a good idea. Store things where they’re used. But in this moment, it meant I was going to need to stand dangerously close to Noah to get a mug.
And then I felt stupid. Why was I overthinking this? This was Noah. Carson’s childhood best friend and my forced-upon-me bodyguard. There was no reason for me to be analyzing things this deeply. All I was doing was retrieving a coffee mug. That was it.
Maybe it was because it had only been me and Timothy for so long. To suddenly have someone—a man—interrupt the status quo had me out of whack. Before Noah, my gym, my kitchen, and my house were…mine. Now I was sharing it, and I was struggling to adjust.
I steeled my nerves and moved to reach past Noah so I could open the cupboard. Noah froze. I could feel his gaze on me as I reached in and pulled out the mug that said World’s Best Hug Dispenser. My body flushed as I took a few steps back. Distance seemed the best course of action right now. The last thing I needed was for Noah to notice my red cheeks and draw incorrect conclusions.
