Page 49

Sevi, in his puppy Halloween costume, spots Noah in the distance with his head under a car and takes off running toward him. He trips over his tail, twice, and then lands face first on the shop floor and starts crying. It’s not Noah who picks him up off the floor though. It’s a tall blonde I’ve never seen before and she’s touching my kid. Immediately, I want to run over there and rip him from her hands.
Pulling on my hair, Fin stays securely on my hip, refusing to look at anyone and using me as a shield for any attention coming her way. She’s shy. Or mean. We haven’t quite figured that one out yet.
Nick reaches forward and attempts to tickle Fin’s sides. She squirms and glares at him, pushing his hands away from her. “Noah never liked me growing up either,” Nick teases. He notices the coffee. “Did you bring me one?”
I hand him his. “Yep. Thought I’d treat you guys today.”
“That’s nice of you.” He takes a sip of it and then notices Fin’s bird costume and touches her webbed feet she refuses to walk around in. “Isn’t she adorable.”
“She is.” I shift Fin from one hip to the other, afraid she’s going to spit on him. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time. “When are you guys going to pump out some kids?” I tease.
Nick’s never wanted kids, probably because Noah was an asshole little brother, but I know his wife Xianna does. “Oh, uh, well, we’re trying IUI. Xia really wants a baby, but it just hasn’t happened yet.”
“I’m sure with time it will.” I smile, rocking Fin back and forth when she starts to fuss that people are walking by and touching her costume. “What happened to your eye?”
“Tried to break up a fight.” He gives a hard laugh, running his hand over his jaw. “Apparently they weren’t done.”
“I see.” Looking around, I look for Noah but don’t see him now, and that woman is still holding my fucking kid like she’s going to run away with him. He’s staring at her boobs, yet to make eye contact with her. “With who?”
“Who what?” Nick asks, his attention on the blonde too, but he glances up briefly while leaning against the side of the building.
“Who was fighting?”
“Oh, uh, your boy and one of the techs, Ryker.” Ryker is another tech in the shop who is constantly battling Noah and his authority over the other techs for some reason. I don’t know too much about him and have only met him once. With the way Noah talks about him, I’m sure he wouldn’t mind doing more than punching him. Truth is, Noah was brought in because the shop was a mess and they needed him to try to rein it in and make it profitable again. Nick’s always been a businessman but running a dealership and running the mechanical end of things is completely different. That being said, Noah’s presence among the guys isn’t exactly amicable.
“Why?”
“Some shit. I don’t know.” Nick stands straighter, his forearm wiping across his forehead. “Ask him.”
“Kel?”
Turning around, I see Noah coming up the side of the truck, Sevi in his arms upside down and his tail in this mouth, giggling. He prefers to be carried upside down. And act like a dog. “What are you doing here?” He stops at the side of the truck and then sets Sevi on his feet.
I can’t help but notice a woman behind him following closely.
Without looking at her, Noah gives me a smile, taking the coffee from my right hand. “This for me, honey?”
My smile ignites at his term of endearment for me. At least he’s happy to see me. Don’t get too excited. This is how Noah deals with shit. Avoid. Avoid. And yet again, avoid.
“Yeah.” His hand in a splint drapes over my shoulder, tucking me into his side. “Thought you’d appreciate it.”
“I do.” Turning his head, he whispers low in my ear, “There’s a truck over there like the one I had in college. Wanna try out the bed?”
He’s joking, but it’s nice he’s teasing. After our distance and the fight, this is a good thing, right? I’m not sure it is because this is what Noah does. He will literally do anything aside from talk about our problems. I used to think he did this because he didn’t care enough to acknowledge them. Now I’ve come to realize he does this because it’s his personality. I smile at him. “It’s been years since we did that.”
“In that case, let me show you my dip stick and I’ll check your oil.” He half laughs, walking me back out of the way of the other row of cars in the shop and the woman, she’s now talking to Nick and looking awfully flirty.
Noah chuckles when Fin pushes him away from me. He gets right in her face and asks, “Why do you hate me so much?”
She frowns at him, smacking his cheek with her tiny hand but doesn’t say anything.
“Noah,” the woman who’d been holding Sevi has him again, snuggling him, says, “can I please keep this little guy?”
Turning to face her, Noah smiles. “Nah, we kinda like him.” He drops his arm from around me.
“Who is she?” I whisper, my breath catching, and I hate that I react to the fact that he dropped his arm from around my shoulder. I shouldn’t, but I do.
“This is Ava,” he tells me, giving a nod to her. She smiles. Mine’s tight and forced, my eyes moving from hers to my son. Noah takes Sevi from her when he notices I’m not comfortable with her mauling our son. “Nick hired her to head up sales.”