Page 109 of I Never Stopped Loving You

“I don’t want to leave him. Just in case anything happens or he needs someone.”

Jeremy’s knowing smirk has me blushing. Did Jenna tell him what I said about my feelings for Noah, or has he just figured it out?

“You know, he isn’t like this with most women…honestly, I’ve never seen him like this with any woman.”

“What do you mean?” I ask, confused that he said it out of nowhere.

“Noah is more like a brother to me than a cousin.”

“I know, he told me.”

“Then you should know that we tell each other everything. He’s never looked at another woman the way he looks at you. He’s never talked about someone the way he does about you. I know it may seem fast, but I’ve never known the man to be impulsive. He’s always methodical and calculated. I’m the impulsive one.”

He stops and shakes his head while laughing for a moment before looking at me and getting very serious.

“All I’m asking is please don’t break his heart.”

“Jeremy, it’s been three days since he met me. There’s no way someone could…”

He tilts his head at me knowingly with a smirk, completely silencing any protests I had.

“I believe three days is enough to know when it’s real,” he says softly.

“Oh, God. Don’t let Jenna hear you say that.”

“What? Why?” he asks, stunned.

“She’s the romantic. She thinks Noah could be my soulmate,” I laugh, but he doesn’t even crack a smile. No, this man is completely serious.

“She could be right, Willow. All I’m asking is that you don’t overthink every little thing. Just live in the moment.”

Why do I feel like he and Jenna are trying to tag-team and make sure that we end up together? Because right now, this man sounds like Jenna, and I don’t like it. I already have one hopeless romantic in my life, I don’t need two.

“Listen, Jeremy. I like Noah, I won’t lie. But again, it’s only been three days. This time next week he could get bored with me. Veronica said he seems to date a lot of women who look like me, so maybe he just has a type.”

When I mention what Veronica said, Jeremy’s eyes narrow, and a look of irritation instantly morphs his expression.

“Don’t listen to Veronica. She’s just mad that she’s never been with Noah. Their dads tried to set them up years ago and he shot down the idea real fast. So like I said, she’s just jealous.”

“Fine, okay. If I promise not to overthink things, will you bring me back whatever food I want?”

“Whatever you want, sweetheart.” His serious tone is back to the fun one I remember from the bar.

“Fine. Now, can I please go talk to my best friend?”

“Sure. I gotta go talk to Noah anyway,” he says as I turn to walk toward the waiting room, but then he stops me again. “Thanks, Willow.”

“For what?”

“I’ve never seen my cousin so happy. He hasn’t had the best life, between his mom dying and some other things.” He looks at me with a curious look, and it makes my stomach uneasy. “Thank you for bringing the light back into his life.”

I don’t say a word. I only give him a small smile and a nod before continuing toward the waiting room. Jenna is sitting in a chair fixing her eyeliner using her phone's front-facing camera.

“Got a hot date?” I tease.

“Jeremy asked if I wanted to grab a bite to eat since we might be here a while. How’s Noah?”

“He’s okay. They’re keeping him overnight. Noah is having them move him to a private room so I can stay with him.”