No turning back now.
∞∞∞
Noah wondered, briefly, if he should be concerned by how natural it felt to hold Callie, but his wondering was interrupted when Mrs. Cole’s admonishments continued.
“Darling, you really should have told me,” Mrs. Cole scolded. “You know how much I hate surprises.”
“Sorry, Mom.”
“I thought you’d outgrown this silly crush. She’s always pined away for you, Noah. But with your…indifference…towards relationships, I never suspected anything would come of it.”
Noah’s mind was a mess of static. He’d known Callie had a crush on him as a kid, and there’d been that close call six years ago, but was she still—how did Mrs. Cole phrase it?—pining away? He glanced down at Callie, her face scrunched in a cross between embarrassment and pain.
“Mom, please,” Callie said, her voice barely more than an exhausted sigh.
“It’s alright.” Noah pressed a kiss to the crown of Callie’s head. She relaxed against his side. “In for a penny…” he murmured so only she could hear.
“How long did you think you could keep this news a secret? Really, Calandria,” Mrs. Cole tutted. “I should have known, what with the way you’re always going on and on about Noah.”
“Here are your keys, sir,” the desk agent said as he handed Noah a small envelope.
Noah accepted it, forcing himself to keep his movements calm, controlled, even though he felt like he was about to burst.She talks about me with her mother?Why? What does that mean?
“What’s going on?” Noah’s mother appeared in the doorway to the lobby, her eyebrow raised as she scanned the tableau before her.
“Well, at least I’m not the only one who’s out of the loop. The kids are, apparently, together,” Mrs. Cole said, beckoning his mother closer.
“Noah?” his mother asked, a sheen of disbelief coloring the barely restrained hope in her voice, like it was all too good to be true.
That’s because it’s not true.
Noah swallowed hard. He didn’t make a habit of lying to his mother. Sure, there was plenty he didn’t tell her, but this was different.
Callie’s hand bunched in the fabric at his waist, almost like she knew he needed her to take the lead with his mother. “Surprise,” she said.
“Thisisa surprise. A wonderful surprise!” his mother exclaimed, clapping her hands together over her heart.
“Shira, I was just saying—”
“I’m sure we have a lot to catch up on, Mrs. Cole,” Noah interjected, “but it’s been a long day and I’d like to get Callie up to her room so she can rest a bit before dinner.”
“Herroom,” his mother said with a sly smile. “No need to be coy. Sue and I are not so old and out of touch that we expect you two aren’t sharing a room.” His mother either chose to ignore, or didn’t see, the shocked expression on Mrs. Cole’s face.
Mrs. Cole looked as though she’d bitten into a lemon. “Shira, if the kids don’t want to—”
Noah shook his head. “I’m staying at the Holiday Inn. I’m only here to get Callie situated.”
“What nonsense!” his mother said. “Of course, you’re staying here.”
“There aren’t enough rooms, Mom. Something about the plumbing.”
“Now you two can just drop this charade right now,” his mother said. “Oh! Does your sister know?”
“Does his sister know what?” Liv asked, returning to the lobby, her fiancé in tow.
“Apparently your brother and Callie are an item,” Mrs. Cole said slowly, her appraising eye still making sweeps over them, lingering for a moment on his hand at Callie’s waist, the place where Callie’s head rested against his chest. He pressed her closer.
Liv blinked, shook her head like she was clearing away an impossible thought, and blinked again. Her eyes darted between Noah and Callie, then to Mrs. Cole who had spoken the words his sister was struggling to believe.
