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“In a minute.” She holds up her finger.
He blows out an annoyed breath. I glance at him but only see the back of his head.
“You know they’re doing this because they think it will seal the deal,” Chevelle says.
My forehead wrinkles. “Seal the deal?”
“I know, right? If only they were in the room next door to you guys every night, they’d know how real this is.”
I drop my bag. “You mean they don’t think Noah and I are really together?” Panic has my heart fluttering.
She shrugs. “Just Dori and Ethel. They kept grilling me at dinner the other night, but I didn’t think you’d want me telling Grandma that your screaming could wake a family of hibernating bears.”
My cheeks grow hot. “Thank you for that.”
The door opens and Noah spots the back of Derek’s head where he sits on the couch. “Who are you?”
Hearing the deep voice, Derek shifts on the couch to look behind him. “Who are you?”
Noah stares at Derek as if he’s sizing him up.
“That’s Derek.” I motion between him and Chevelle, and Noah nods at him.
“So, let me see this gift certificate,” Noah says. I pull it from my bag and he inspects it. “You can thank whoever this is for your good night’s sleep tonight.” He winks at Chevelle.
The three of us laugh.
“Chevelle—movie?” Derek says in a stern voice.
Noah looks at me. I try not to make a big deal of the fact that Chevelle’s new boyfriend seems like kind of a douche. That’s a conversation between stepsisters for another time.
“I said a minute,” she says.
Noah leaves my side and sits on the chair adjacent to the couch. “So, you’re seeing Chevelle, huh?”
Derek barely glances in his direction. “Yeah.”
“Are you from Sunrise Bay?”
“No, I’m just passing through.”
Noah’s eyes narrow. “I’m sorry?”
“I’m working on one of the fishing boats.”
Noah nods. Chevelle is smiling from ear to ear. I have no idea what she sees in this guy.
“Cool. Well, I guess I’ll see you at the wedding.” Noah gets up off the chair.
“Oh, you’re the poor son of a bitch getting hitched, huh?” Derek laughs.
Okay, now I really want to pull Chevelle into the other room and ask her why on earth she’s with this guy.
Derek laughs some more. “Totally joking. Congrats, man, that’s awesome.” His personality flips, and I have no idea if it’s because Noah is now towering over him or what, but Noah looks at me.
“Let’s go, Mandi.”
We go upstairs and pack our bags, leaving Chevelle to entertain Derek The Douche.
