Page 26 of A Montana Childhood Promise (Sagebrush Ranch Sweethearts #3)

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Noah yanked his bowtie free from his neck with a growl. Jane had managed to avoid him nearly the whole night. The few times he’d managed to get close to her, she wasn’t alone. He’d had to bat away the press, the locals, and even a few of his own family members.

To be fair, he’d been keeping the biggest secret that Rocky Ridge had ever had.

And his family was now requesting an explanation.

He didn’t get the sense that they were angry with him.

If anything, they were curious, and they wanted the story.

Mack had seemed the most upset, though, and Noah got the distinct impression that it had more to do with Jane than anything else.

Mack was right to be upset.

Clearly, Jane was furious. She’d completely shut him out.

The second she’d disappeared, he knew that this was going to be much worse than he could have anticipated.

Noah had wanted nothing more than to fire the board member who had let the news slip about who he was before he could do some damage control, but that wasn’t fair to him. People made mistakes.

Noah charged toward his truck as he shoved his tie into his pocket.

He had been offered a limo, and he’d refused for good reason.

He’d been right to do so, especially considering that he didn’t exactly want to pull up in front of Jane’s place in one.

That would only add insult to injury, as far as he was concerned.

He’d barely made it to the vehicle when his brother’s voice stopped him cold.

“You gonna go see Jane?” There was disdain in Mack’s voice, and Noah knew without turning around that his brother was preparing for a fight.

Noah kept his back to his brother. “It’s none of your business what I plan on doing.”

Mack scoffed. “I think it is considering what I told you at my wedding.”

Noah whirled on him. “This has nothing to do with you or the friendship you used to have with her. This is between me and Jane.”

“You’re right, it is,” Mack snapped, eyes flashing. “And you’re going to make it right.”

“I don’t need you telling me what to do,” Noah snarled back.

Mack folded his arms. “Anyone with eyes could see how much she was hurting tonight.”

“Don’t you think I know that? You don’t have to rub it in my face.”

His brother shook his head. “I can’t believe you kept this from her. From us .”

Noah threw his hands into the air. “I’m not having this conversation right now.

” He yanked the truck door open then climbed inside, ignoring the sharp words his brother was throwing at him.

He’d deal with his family after he worked things through with Jane.

She was his priority. She deserved answers.

The drive to her apartment was a lot shorter than he’d anticipated.

The whole way there, his head swirled with what he might say, and how she might react to him.

It wasn’t going to be easy, and he was already preparing himself for a confrontation that would cause pain on both sides.

But he wasn’t going to let her go. He couldn’t.

The arguments she might have for him would never be enough to keep him away from her.

Noah made it to her door and pounded on it like it wasn’t nearly midnight. The whole apartment building was quiet, and he flinched as he realized that he probably shouldn’t be storming over here prepared to make a scene. He needed her to be open-minded.

When she didn’t answer, he knocked again. Through the slats of the blinds hanging in the window, he could see a soft glow of light. She wouldn’t have fallen asleep this quickly, even if she had come home and gone straight to bed. He knew that much.

“Come on, Jane. We need to talk,” he called through the door.

“I know you’re here, and I know you’re awake.

” When he didn’t hear anything from behind the door, he knocked again.

“I’m not leaving until you hear me out.” He glanced down at the doorknob, then reached for it, not really surprised to find it locked.

Jane was shutting him out. He’d attempted to send her a couple text messages while they were at the event, but they weren’t even showing as being read. How was he supposed to tell her that he was sorry if she wasn’t willing to hear him out?

Turning, he slid his body against the door, putting his weight against it as his thoughts ran away from him. He couldn’t just let her go to bed upset. They needed to discuss what this would mean moving forward. She had to see that, right?

“Jane,” he groaned, loud enough he was sure she’d be able to hear him through the door—at least if she was on the other side. “Let me explain. You owe me that much.”

The door jerked open so quickly that he stumbled backward into her apartment and landed hard on his behind.

His head lifted, and his eyes locked with the most beautiful dark eyes.

They sparked with fury, and he couldn’t say that didn’t do something as his heart ticked up a few beats.

It wasn’t the anger that made his heart pound, it was the passion that Jane could show with one look.

She folded her arms, her cheeks flushed a deep pink color.

“ Owe you ?” she scoffed. “You think that I owe you?” She threw her head back with a strangled sound that was like a groan and a sob, but when she met his gaze again, there were no tears.

Her eyes shone with emotion despite her attempt to keep it bottled down.

“I don’t owe you anything, Noah. You’re the one who owes me an explanation. ”

“That’s why I’m—” He moved to stand, but her words cut him off, and he froze.

“If you’re so insistent at wanting to have this conversation right here, right now, in the middle of the night, then I’m going to warn you that I’ll have to go with my gut and break things off.”

Break things off? She couldn’t mean that. What he’d kept from her wasn’t a big deal. He was allowed to keep his life private until he saw fit to share with her.

Just looking into her seething stare, he knew that thought wasn’t quite right. Jane was hurting. This was more than just keeping a secret. He’d broken her somehow. Slowly, he climbed to his feet, but when he moved to get closer to her, she held up a hand.

“Don’t,” she hissed.

His hands dropped to his sides listlessly. All he wanted to do was pull her into his arms and assure her that this changed nothing. He was still the same man she knew him to be. But she wouldn’t even allow that.

Jane shook her head and blinked, causing a solitary tear to slide down her cheek. With a quick, rough brush of her hand, she wiped it away. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done?” She whispered, her tone both menacing and broken.

“I didn’t?—”

“Don’t you dare say you didn’t know what you were doing.

You knew exactly what you were doing when you chose to keep that secret.

I can’t believe you didn’t trust me with that information.

What did you think would happen? That I’d try to steal it?

You know my views on money. You know that I don’t find value in that sort of thing like other people do. ”

“That’s why?—”

She cut him off again, her words spilling like a dam had been broken open at his arrival. “I work hard to be recognized for everything I’ve accomplished in my life. I’m not the prettiest. I’m not the smartest. But I work my butt off. My reputation in this field is everything I have, Noah.”

“And you’ve done a good job at it.”

She snorted. “Have I? Tell me, then, Noah. How does it look when a subordinate in a company starts dating someone in charge, and suddenly, they get a raise and a promotion?”

A cold, hard rock formed in the pit of his stomach, and he muttered a curse. She was right. To anyone paying attention, it would look like he played favorites. “That’s not how it is, Jane,” he attempted.

“It doesn’t matter what it’s like , Noah, and you know that better than anyone.

What matters is how it looks —what can be proven and measured.

And the fact of the matter is that the second you entered my life, I started moving up in your company.

” Another tear spilled down her cheek. “It only takes one moment to tear down all the hard work I’ve done to make a name for myself in this world. ”

“Couples work together all the time,” he tried again. “And we don’t even work together. You report to someone else entirely.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Did you or did you not recommend me for my position?”

He snapped his mouth shut. He had told more than one person how impressed he’d been with her work on the first gala she was involved with.

He’d even suggested that she was overqualified for the work she was currently doing.

But he hadn’t forced anyone’s hand. No one would be able to prove that he was the one who’d given her a boost.

More tears fell, and she stifled a sob. “You did, didn’t you?” Her voice was just above a whisper. “You got me that promotion.”

“Jane…”

She shook her head and turned her back on him. “Tell me one thing, Noah. Was this all just a big joke to you? Like that marriage pact and?—”

He rushed at her, grasping her shoulders in his hands as he turned her to face him.

“Nothing about our relationship is a joke,” he growled.

“I recommended you for that position because you were good at your job, nothing more. I recommended a salary increase because that job was demanding and deserved a higher wage. Nothing I did was out of pity or because I wanted to toy with you.”

Jane’s features didn’t shift throughout his tirade. He couldn’t tell if he was getting through to her, or if she had already checked out and wasn’t willing to listen to his side of things.

“There’s nothing anyone can do. Your job isn’t in jeopardy. You won’t get fired or called in to HR. Up until tonight, no one besides my board knew my identity.”

“And because you were so insistent at hiding it, now it’s all everyone is talking about. They want to know your whole life’s story, Noah. Have you considered that? They’re going to figure out who your family is, what they do for a living, if you’re dating anyone?—”

His grip tightened on her upper arms. “ If ? If I’m dating someone? I’m dating you , Jane.”

She lowered her gaze to the floor, and he dropped his hands to his sides. It was clear she understood the way her previous words contrasted with her thoughts right now.

“Please look at me,” he whispered.

She took a long moment and finally looked him in the eyes. She was more than upset, but she was bold enough to not look away when he asked her not to.

“We’re still dating.” He said it to convince himself more than anything else. He reached up and brushed a tear from her cheek with his thumb. “Nothing has changed. I’m still the same person.”

Her eyes focused on him, and they turned hard before she pulled away from him. “I don’t know you, Noah. Not really.”

“What?”

“You kept so much from me that I have a hard time trying to figure out what parts of you are real.”

“You can’t be serious. I didn’t lie to you.”

“You kept things from me—important things. You interfered with my job and pretended that you didn’t know anything about it. What kind of sick person does something like that?”

His head reared back as if she’d slapped him with every ounce of strength she’d possessed. “Jane?—”

“No. I’m done talking. You’ve said your piece.

You might have been genuinely impressed by my job with the first gala, and I can accept that you wanted to give me a better opportunity, but keeping that from me—keeping the fact that you were basically my boss—that isn’t something that sits well with me.

I can’t really blame you for keeping your wealth from me because that’s private and should only be shared on your terms. But since you knew how I felt about that sort of thing, I’m hurt that you chose to hide it for so long. ”

He watched her strong exterior crumble as the facade wore away and revealed the pain in her eyes and the way she viewed herself. Her shoulders sagged, and as she took in a shuddering breath, he knew that everything was about to change forever.

Before he could let her break things off with him, he took one step toward her and snatched her hands in his. “Whatever you’re going to say next…” Noah searched her eyes desperately. “Please consider everything I’ve said—everything you mean to me. Try to see things from my side?—”

“Noah,” she said, her voice breaking. “I think you should go.”

Go? He couldn’t do that. Not when everything he ever cared about hung in the balance. He’d give away his charity—pour every penny of his wealth into it—and shove it into the hands of someone else if it meant he could have Jane’s heart again. “I can’t?—”

“You have to. I…” Her brows pulled together tight, a deep crease forming between them. “I have a lot I need to think about. I need time.” With that, she pulled her hands free of his grasp. “You need to give me time, Noah.”

He couldn’t decide if he was more broken or more relieved over her words. On the one hand, she hadn’t officially broken things off with him. But on the other, she was pushing him away and asking him to do something that he wasn’t sure he’d ever be capable of doing.

Could he walk away from her tonight, knowing there was a chance this would be the last time he could touch her?

Noah didn’t know if he had the strength.

Jane stepped backward and reached for the door handle before pulling it open. “Noah… please,” she whispered.

He hesitated, his feet feeling like they weighed a ton each. Then with a heavy breath, he nodded. Stopping in the doorway, he tossed her one final glance. “I love you, Jane.” With that, he slipped out of her apartment, hearing the door click behind him.