AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Several snide remarks are stewing on the tip of my tongue when he turns back. They die of shame when they see the emotion in his eyes. I may have managed not to lash out, but I’ve hurt him with my silence.
Idiot.
“Grace,” he says, holding tighter to my hand. “I screwed up.”
I take a deep breath and look at things from his side. He made a big effort to be here with me tonight, and I’m sure it didn’t feel great that I wasn’t thrilled with his surprise. “It’s okay.” I mean it this time, but he shakes his head.
“I know I have a lot to work on.” He blinks a few times, clears his throat. “I don’t want to mess this up. You’re... different from other girls I’ve dated. This will sound cocky—I don’t mean it that way—but I never really had toworkfor a girlfriend. The thing is, it was always so shallow. I feel likethis”—he lifts our entwined hands—“we—could be different.”
Different?Is he saying what I think he is?
“Look, this trip Chris is planning—I want to come with you. I’ll get Monday off, and we can have two whole days together. What do you think?”
I’m processing, debating, when he lets go of my hand, cupping my chin gently to turn my face to his.
“Please, Grace. Give me another chance?”
Noah hugging Jamie replays in my head, and I realize that—whatever Ivy’s questions made me think—I need to give Alec another shot. I’ve been holding back, daydreaming about something that is never going to happen with Noah. All we’re ever going to be is friends.
I want more than that.
And so does Alec.
Chapter 56
Hunted
“Were you able to finishup the Allred account?” Noah’s boss leaned against the cubicle doorway.
Noah nodded, buying time as he swallowed a bite of sweet-potato fries before answering. “Printing now. I’ll have it ready for signatures before I leave today.”
“Nice work. Still planning on the biking trip?”
“Yep. We’re leaving Sunday, and I’ll be back to work Tuesday.”
“I hope you can still walk when you get back.” His boss chuckled. “I got talked into biking Moab once. Never again. Although, I’ve heard those e-bikes are fun.” He slapped his hand on top of the cubicle wall in farewell. “See you Tuesday.”
Noah looked at the tray of fries—only a couple of wilty ones remained. When he’d joked with Matt about not eating much because of the long hours he was working, his brother had arranged for a delivery service to bring him dinner. Noah dunked the last two fries into the sauce, wiped his hands with a paper napkin, and tossed his trash into the can at the side of his desk before getting back to work.
It was nice of Matt to send him dinner. Even nicer of him to insist that Noah take his Volkswagen Tiguan and bike rack along with the bike, claiming he was living vicariously through Noah. Matt was nearly strong enough to mountain bike again, but he couldn’t afford to take any time off work after losing so much of the summer months to his injury.
Besides, Moab probably wasn’t the best place for a rebound ride.
When Noah had approached his boss about taking a day off, he’d been pleasantly surprised. Expecting a definite no since he had yet to accrue any vacation time, his boss’s offer to let him work a couple of extra hours each day before the trip had seemed like a no-brainer. But those extra hours had come at the expense of his morning run.
He hadn’t seen Grace in the few days since the activity. That was probably a good thing.
He also hadn’t seen Jamie.
Definitely a good thing.
That hug in the parking lot had undeniably had more-than-friendly undertones. Overt-tones, more like. If it weren’t for Noah’s having just signed a year-long contract, he’d be tempted to move again. If worse came to worst, he would sell his contract.
It would be best to avoid both women for a time.
* * *
In addition to loaning his bike, car, rack, and other gear, Matt had offered to meet Noah in the middle to exchange vehicles. He stood leaning against his car at the gas station in the little town of Gypsum when Noah pulled in.
