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As she placed all the packages into a huge blue gift bag that would make them easier to carry, her phone buzzed.
Just finished lunch with Dad and Josh. What time should I come over?
Noah.
Ha. Look at that. Perfect timing. I’m ready for you to come now, Kristina replied. She popped a chip into her mouth—and choked on a laugh when what she’d written sank in. Oh, she was ready for him to come all right. As long as she came, too.
God, she was hopeless. She dropped her head into her hand and chuckled.
“Well, let’s see what you make of that, Cortez,” she muttered. And then she couldn’t stop staring at her phone and wondering if he’d take the bait.
Chapter Seven
I’m ready for you to come now.
Clearly, Noah was a goddamn pervert, because his dick had an interpretation of that text message he was a hundred percent sure Kristina didn’t mean.
Trying something new doesn’t mean you have to give up your old favorite, does it? It would just give you something new to have in addition…
Kristina’s voice answering a question he never should’ve asked had been haunting him for the past two days. Given her inviting response, maybe he should reduce his certainty on the meaning of that text to ninety-nine percent. Because he really didn’t need to be thinking that she was flirting with him, teasing him, egging him on like a bullfighter with a red fucking flag.
After his father and Josh left his new apartment, Noah had half a mind to break in his shower before he went to see Kristina to ensure his tongue didn’t end up down her throat again. Be there in about 30, Noah finally replied.
“This is gonna be a nice place,” his dad said, pulling Noah from his thoughts. His father tore down a box and threw it on a pile by the door for recycling. Furniture aside, Noah didn’t have that much stuff, so getting him in and settled hadn’t taken very long.
Noah looked around the open-concept living/dining/kitchen area of the small apartment. Miles of white walls and bare hardwood floors gave it no personality whatsoever, but despite the fact that he was twenty-seven years old, it was the first place he could truly call his own. So Noah didn’t mind all that blank slate too much.
Blank slate.
Without the Marines shaping his life and giving it purpose, that pretty much described how he felt about himself, too. What was he going to be now that the Corps was in his rear-view mirror?
“Yeah,” Noah said, dragging a hand through his hair and doing his best to push the deep thoughts away. “And, uh, just think how much longer your food will last without me or Josh in the house.” He tossed the dirty paper plates and napkins inside the pizza box and set it with the other empty boxes.
“Speak for yourself, little brother,” Josh said, patting his stomach. “Today’s carb-overload aside,
I’ve been busting my butt to make sure I look all svelte for my tux.”
“Dude, tell me you’re not dieting,” Noah said, arching a brow. Truth be told, his brother had put on some weight over the past year or two, but he looked so damn happy all the time that Noah hadn’t really given it much thought.
Josh laughed. “Well, I might’ve gotten the looks, but you got the metabolism genes. And I have a job that plants my ass in a chair for twelve hours a day.”
Noah smirked. “Hate to tell you, but I got the looks genes, too.”
Josh flipped him the finger as their dad said, “Well, neither of you got a single iota of common sense, so…” They laughed and the teasing started all over again.
His dad joked with them, but the humor didn’t quite reach the man’s eyes. Not when they both knew that Noah’s appetite hadn’t been what it used to be. Not since he got discharged. Not since his equilibrium problems, which the docs said might never go away, often had his stomach toying with the idea of tossing his cookies. Not since losing so much of who he was and what he thought he’d be left him with a hollowness inside that no amount of food would ever be able to fill.
Hell, he’d probably eaten more Thursday night with Kristina than in the whole past week combined...
And wasn’t that realization a kick in the ass he didn’t want to examine too closely.
“If you don’t need anything else, I should fly,” Josh said. “Wedding is three months from today and Maria has a to-do list a mile long.”
“No, I’m good,” Noah said. “I appreciate the help when you’re so busy.”
“Wouldn’t have it any other way,” Josh said, clasping Noah’s hand and pulling him in for a quick hug.
Noah knew that was true. Josh had always been there for him, which meant—Noah’s bullshit aside—he needed to man up and do the same. “Let me know how I can help with the wedding stuff,” Noah said. “You know I’m free right now. Put me to work if you need me.”
