Page 75 of You Fall First

Chapter Nineteen

Jo

Noah greets me the next morning in the doorway with his brows arched.

“The jig is up, Jo.”

He’s got his arms folded across his chest, biceps massive below the sleeves of his work scrubs. As per usual, I’m wearing Dutton on one leg, dragging him along with me.

This time, though, I’ve got a full duffel bag with several changes of clothes, multiple pairs of pajamas, a toothbrush, and a bathrobe for maximum coverage.

“Excuse me?” I smirk. “Does anyone under a hundred say the jig is up?”

“You know what you did.”

“What did I do?” I play innocent.

“You know.”

Yes.

I do.

But let the record show my sister wanted to invite Noah and Dutton to her wedding festivities. So did Brock. In fact, they loved the idea.

Once I called to suggest it.

Noah takes my bag, hefts it on his shoulder, and I follow him inside.

“I swear they want you to come,” I blurt, wrinkling my nose. “Landry said she was probably going to invite you all on her own.”

“When was she going to do this?”

“Today …”

He shoots me a look. “Well, we’ll never know now, will we?”

“Life’s full of mysteries.” I shrug, aiming for apologetic. Meanwhile, Dutton skips alongside us, trying to grab the strap of my duffel bag.

“You wanna carry it, buddy?” Noah asks.

By way of answer, Dutton hops around him, nodding.

Noah glances at me. “Anything fragile in there?”

“You mean, besides the priceless Faberge egg?”

His eyes wrinkle at the corners, and my stomach flutters. The man can’t be too mad at me if he’s fighting a smile. Also, those wrinkles make him even more attractive.

So not fair.

Noah sets the bag down. “Go ahead and take Miss Jo’s bag to the … extra bedroom. The one next to yours.”

Noah doesn’t say “your mother’s room,” although that’s clearly where I’ll be staying. Paige is still a daily presence in Dutton’s life, thanks to the phone, but a constant reminder of her absence won’t help anyone right now.

Least of all Dutton.

“YES!” He attempts to heave the strap onto his shoulder, too, but the weight’s too heavy to manage, so he resorts to dragging the bag across the room and down the hall. I wait until I’m pretty sure he’s out of earshot, then I lower my voice to a hush anyway.