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“Sorry,” he says with a cocky grin that suggests he’s not sorry at all. “It’s been too long.”
“It’s been a couple of hours,” I laugh.
“I rest my case.”
He lets me go, but I don’t step away from him.
“She’s staying at your aunt’s?” Noah asks.
“Yeah, I’ll pick her up tomorrow afternoon. We have a bit of time together to talk and figure things out.”
“I want to meet her,” Noah says.
I nod. “I know.”
I check the chicken again and pull it from the oven.
“Let me carve it for you,” Noah says, and I hand him the knife.
While he carves, I dish vegetables for us, and Noah adds chicken to the plates as he carves pieces for us.
When we sit down, he smiles. “This is nice.”
I put a tablecloth on the kitchen table and a small vase with flowers.
“We don’t have a dining room table. It’s safer to eat here with a child.”
“It’s great,” he says, and he tastes the chicken. “And oh, my God, you can cook.”
I giggle and blush. I ached for him while he was gone, but now that he’s here, I realize exactly how much I’ve missed him. I feel like I should pinch myself to know this is real because it’s so good to see him, I’m scared it’s a just a dream.
When he glances up at me staring at him, his eyes dance with laughter.
“What?”
“Nothing,” I say with a laugh, feeling silly. “I was just…looking at you.”
His smile softens. “I’m glad I’m here.”
“So am I.”
His smile is replaced by a frown. “You didn’t have trouble with that jackass again, did you?”
I shake my head. Thinking about Jean-Pierre puts a damper on my mood.
“He won’t for a couple of days, but I worry it’s not the end of it.”
“Does he do enough to warrant a restraining order?”
“No, he’s careful. He knows what he’s doing. I’m starting to think I need to move to get rid of him. But he knows where my offices are, and where Maria lives, and where Ava goes to school…” I shudder.
“Don’t you worry about him. If he ever bothers you again, he’s going to regret it.”
Noah is protective immediately, and it gives me shivers to see him like this. He’s angry with Jean-Pierre, and he wants to look after us. It’s incredibly attractive. And so flattering that he cares so much about me. About us.
I tell him about Jean-Pierre’s visit to Ava and how he wants to be a part of her life. I explain to him how things ended between us and why.
“If he goes near her, it’s a different story,” Noah says. “It’s actionable, I’m sure.”
