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I give him directions to a pharmacy I spot across the street. “I’m going in to grab a few toiletries. I sort of ran out with nothing but the clothes on my back. Thank God I wasn’t wearing pajamas.”
“I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
* * *
Two hours later, I’m sitting comfortably in Noah’s living room, staring at the flames dancing in the modern fireplace.
“Here.” He offers me a cup of chamomile tea. “Sylvia says it calms her nerves.”
I take it and sip the delicious brew. “Thank you. Being with you calms me too.”
He sits beside me, crossing his legs in that casual manner men do, with his ankle over his knee. “I’m sorry that I’ve caused a rift between you two.”
“It’s not your fault.” I smile but don’t feel it. “We just need a few days apart to cool down. Then I’ll go back and talk to him.”
He frowns. “I know he doesn’t like me, but what spurred this fight?”
I peer into my cup, drawing little circles over the rim. “He did a background check on you.”
“Ah,” he says, as if that clarifies it all.
“He said you purposefully avoided the cameras when you came into the gallery.”
“Hmm. It would be very difficult to avoid the amount of cameras you have.”
Angling my body toward him, I say, “I looked you up too, Noah. That first night you came to my window, I was searching your name. There was nothing.”
“Not everyone has a profile on Google.” He lifts his hand and traces my cheek with his fingertips. “Some people show up as little girls, when in fact, they’re grown women.”
I pull back. “You checked on me?”
He studies me, his eyes trailing over my features. “You’re not surprised to hear that your information has been tampered with.”
I swallow hard. No. I’m not surprised. It’s a measure of protection Dad took after we left New York.
Blowing out a breath, I set my cup on the coffee table and lean back. “Dad got involved with people he shouldn’t have. Went to jail for something so stupid. I ended up in foster care for a year. After that, he was afraid of losing me again. To the state. To someone who wanted to hurt him by using me. So he pays someone to alter the information that can be found on me.”
His gaze widens slightly, as if he’s realizing something. “He’s protective.”
“He is.”
“What kind of people did he get involved with?”
I shrug. “The kind who wouldn’t hesitate to kill me.”
“Has anyone ever tried to hurt you because of him?”
“No.” I sigh, suddenly exhausted. “My dad is a good man, Noah. But even good people can do—”
“Bad things,” he finishes for me. “Do you do bad things, Emily?”
I blink, his question throwing me off. Even more so, the strange look that comes over him as he waits for my response.
“Are you talking about sex?”
“No.” He smirks and drops his hand to my thigh. “Your father is involved in black market auctions, isn’t he?”
It doesn’t surprise me that he figured that out. “Yes.”
