Noah frowned. “What else is there to say? That was Julian. You met him.”
I pinched my lips and tried to keep this tactful. “Was Isupposedto meet him?”
Noah stared for a long moment before leaning against the wall next to my door. He rubbed a hand over his jaw and eyed me closely. “It’s been a long day, and I’m not following what you’re getting at. Spell it out for me?”
Swallowing, I fiddled with my key before putting it in my pocket. “I just got the feeling tonight that you didn’t want me to meet him. He didn’t even know I existed.”
Noah’s lips thinned, and he broke our gaze. It felt like a punch to the gut. “I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?” I echoed dryly. I was hoping this talk would calm my suspicions, not light a fire under them. “Noah, what exactly are we doing here? I mean, you’re my boyfriend. You’ve met Teresa, and she’s the closest thing I have to family here, but you balk at introducing me to someone you call a brother? Were you nervous he wouldn’t approve? I don’t want to toot my own horn or anything, but he didn’t seem absolutely repulsed by me or anything.”
Noah forced out a quiet laugh and shook his head. “No. No, he definitely wasn’t repulsed.”
“Then… what? Am I reading too much into things? Maybe I’m crazy, but I got the feeling earlier that Julian wasn’t supposed to meet me—not just tonight, butever.”
Noah still wouldn’t meet my gaze, and I wasn’t too embarrassed to admit my eyes watered again as the seconds passed and he didn’t respond.
He cleared his throat, but his gaze remained steadfastly on the floor. “You’re not crazy.”
I swallowed again at the softness of his tone, waiting for the other shoe to drop. “So, what does that mean?”
Hazel eyes met mine, and the warmth in them surprised me. “It’s not an issue of approval, because you’d pass with flying colors. And even if you didn’t meet anyone’s approval, it wouldn’t change a damn thing about how I feel for you.”
My lips parted, but he didn’t have to say it like the answer was so obvious. “Well, that could’ve been something you mentioned earlier. Instead, it felt like you were trying to keep me a secret, like a mistress or something.”
“Amistress?”
“I mean, you said you didn’t have a wife, but Julian obviously hadn’t heard of me.”
He let out a laugh of disbelief.
“I’m learning very quickly not to keep things from you,” Noah muttered. “Because you get these crazy ideas in your head. Amistress, Emma?”
“What was I supposed to think?” Insecurity tore away any rational thoughts.
Noah watched me for a beat before he let out a quiet, self-deprecating laugh. “I’m sorry. You’re right, I should’ve explained.”
He stepped closer and slid his warm hand into my restless one until he was holding on tightly. The butterflies yelled at me to move because they were confused, but it was impossible to look away from his eyes once they snared mine.
“I told you before that I don’t do anything lightly,” Noah whispered as his thumb traced my skin. “I never have. If I do something, I give it everything I have. Piano. School. Work. And nowyou.”
I swallowed in reflex at the weight he put behind those words.
“I didn’t want to risk this by introducing you to Julian,” Noah said. “He’s the smartest guy I know, but he’s notorious for saying stupid things. Hell, he was already teasing about you being too young for me. And he warms up to people a lot quicker than I do. Youjustmet, and he was already asking you to dinner.”
“To dinnerwith you, and he only invited me because I’m dating you. He was trying to be inclusive, which is more than I can say for how you’ve been.”
Noah’s eyes narrowed. “He wasn’t being kind. He was trying to get more information from you. Julian makes it his mission to involve himself in everything, but I don’t want him to be involved in this.”
“So I couldn’t even meet him?”
Noah let out a slow breath and rubbed his temple with his free hand. “I’ve spent the last eight years coming in second place to Julian in most areas of my life, but I couldn’t let that happen with you.”
For such a smart guy, Noah was an idiot.
I wanted to smack him for being so dumb, but I settled for squinting up at him. “Are you serious? Did you think I would leave you for your friend or something? That’s crazy. And you’re the last person I would’ve expected to be insecure. Noah, you’re perfect.”
He scoffed. “I’m far from perfect.”
