Total pages in book: 124
Estimated words: 116232 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 581(@200wpm)___ 465(@250wpm)___ 387(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 116232 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 581(@200wpm)___ 465(@250wpm)___ 387(@300wpm)
I was so excited about it, I didn’t give a shit about the movie and let him pick which one. He was buying the tickets, anyway. The movie was loud and violent, with beautiful people and minimal plot, so it didn’t require a lot of attention.
Which was good.
It meant I could spend most of the movie being close to him and wondering if he was my boyfriend. If that was true, I knew what my friends would say. Too soon. Just a rebound. Or worst of all, can’t you date someone our age?
It was exactly what my parents would say . . . if they survived the aneurism it would give them.
We were less than an hour into the movie when Noah pulled his phone out of his pocket and discreetly checked the screen. Someone had sent him a text message, and whatever it said, he wasn’t happy about it. He sent back a short response and leaned over to whisper in my ear.
“I’m sorry, but I have to go. My dad fell, and my mom needs my help.”
I turned to look at him with a face full of concern. “Is he okay?”
“I’m not sure. All she says is she not able to help him get back up.” He glanced at the gun battle raging on the screen, and then back to me. “You can stay and Uber home if you want to finish—”
I shook my head and grabbed my purse off the empty seat beside me. “Let’s go.”
He hesitated for a moment but must have realized we didn’t have time to waste, rose from his seat into a crouch, and hurried down the aisle toward the exit.
Noah was tense on the drive over to his parents’ house, but I couldn’t tell if it was caused by the emergency . . . or the way I had invited myself along. We didn’t talk, and the longer the silence stretched between us, the worse I felt. I was going to meet his parents, and during a crisis, when I wasn’t likely to leave a good impression. God, I shouldn’t have forced this on him—or his family.
But when I opened my mouth to tell him I was second-guessing my decision and he should drop me off somewhere, he turned into a subdivision. The houses here weren’t as large or sprawling as the ones in his neighborhood, but they were nice and had cute landscaping.
My anxiety spiked when he pulled into one of the driveways, put his car in park, and shut off the engine.
“Do you want me to stay here?” I blurted.
He tilted his head in confusion. “What?”
“I didn’t ask you if it was okay for me to tag along. I can wait here for you.”
He stared at the steering wheel in front of him, and it looked like he was struggling to process. But he shook his head, pushed open his door, and began to get out. “It’s fine. C’mon.”
His tone was distracted, like he’d settled for the path of least resistance, and that made me feel even worse, but I’d done this to myself. I got out of his car and followed him up the path.
Noah’s mother must have been watching for him, because she opened the front door before we’d reached the porch steps. She looked immensely relieved at his arrival, but as her gaze shifted to me at his side, her expression changed to one of confusion.
Or maybe distrust.
He’d told me his parents were in their early seventies, but his mom didn’t look it. She had short, dark hair, great skin, and sharp eyes. I immediately got the sense those eyes didn’t miss much.
“This is Charlotte,” he said. “We were out when you called.” His mother backed out of the way as we came in. “Charlotte, this is my mom, Theresa.”
“Hi,” I said automatically, “it’s nice to—”
“Hello.” Her focus turned back to Noah, and it was as if I ceased to exist. “He fell in the shower.”
“The shower?” Noah’s concern was thick. “Is he okay?”
“He thinks so, but we can’t really tell until we get him up. I tried, but with my bad shoulder . . .”
He nodded and began to move down the hallway, with his mother following quickly. “Why was he in the shower at eight-thirty?”
“He wanted to take one after he finished mowing the yard.”
Noah pulled to a stop and turned to show her his frown. “Why the hell is he still mowing the yard? You need to pay someone to do that for you.”
She put a hand on her hip and looked annoyed. “I agree, but you know how your father is.”
I’d remained in the entryway, and he glanced back over his shoulder at me, delivering a quick look. Stay, it said. I’ll be back in a bit.
Which, of course I’d stay. I wasn’t about to be introduced to his dad while he was incapacitated and naked.