Page 28 of Just My Type (The Boston Hearts #3)

CHAPTER TWENTY

NOAH

B alancing two mason jars full of coffee and a bag of muffins in one hand, I knock on Hannah’s door.

“Hannah, you up?” I call through the door, but I’m met with silence.

I consider just walking in, but I’m not sure we’re there yet.

We may literally be married, but we actually exist in the no man’s land between friends who kiss a lot, and I want to stay married to you and be with you forever .

It’s a confusing place to live. “Wake up, Gorgeous! We’ve got places to be. ”

“You being stood up or something?” Cooper calls from the landing below, his heavy footsteps getting closer as he climbs the stairs.

“Fuck off, I’m not being stood up.” At least, I’m pretty sure I’m not. That tiny kernel of uncertainty has me knocking on her door again and just barely resisting the urge to turn the handle. I can be cool. Maybe.

“Sure doesn’t look that way.” Cooper appears next to me, clad in gym shorts and a tattered T-shirt that looks like it’s from high school. “Fuck yes, coffee!” He grabs one of the mason jars from my hand and takes a long sip from the straw. “Shit, that’s good. ”

“I know. I made it myself. You’re lucky that one’s mine, asshole.”

Cooper just smiles at me. “I wouldn’t take Hannah’s coffee. I know better than to separate one of these women from their caffeine. I knew it was yours; I know how you take your coffee.”

I should have figured. Cooper notices damn near everything.

I study him as he drinks my coffee, his red-rimmed eyes and the dark circles beneath them clear in the bright morning light.

He looks so rough I don’t even feel like ribbing him anymore for stealing my coffee. It’s my third cup anyway. “Late night?”

He takes another sip and blows out a breath, slumping against the wall beside Hannah’s door.

“They’re all late nights. I swear to fuck, the other sixth year associate in my group is going to drive me to commit murder and I won’t even be sorry for it.

At least I can get a good night’s sleep in jail. ”

“Evangeline, right?”

“Evan. She likes to be called Evan, and she’s a masochistic workaholic who somehow doesn’t need to sleep like us mere mortals, which means I don’t get sleep. Competing with her might actually kill me before I have a chance to kill her and that just pisses me off.”

I knock on Hannah’s door again and finally hear the muffled noises that tell me she’s just rolling out of bed.

I smile, knowing I’m about to get a dose of grumpy, just woken up Hannah.

I think that’s my favorite Hannah. Just kidding.

Every Hannah is my favorite Hannah. “How about just don’t compete with her?

You’re an amazing lawyer, Coop. You don’t need to compete with another associate to prove how good you are. ”

Cooper gives me a tired smile. “Thanks for the vote of confidence, but there’s only space in the group for one IP litigation associate to make partner next year, which means I do have to compete with her if I want it.”

“Do you?” I ask. “Want it, I mean.”

“Not today,” he mutters, closing his eyes and sucking more coffee through the straw as if his life depends on it .

Before I can answer, the door flies open and my heart literally leaps at the sight of Hannah, all sleepy eyes and messy hair, wearing an oversized University of Pittsburgh T-shirt and the tiniest shorts I’ve ever seen, showcasing miles of toned, perfect leg.

I have the sudden urge to drop to my knees right here and run my tongue up her thigh and also to cuddle her into my chest and hold her for hours.

“Oh, good, there’s two of you.” Hannah rolls her eyes, but I can tell it’s just for form because a smile plays across her lips.

“Morning, Gorgeous,” I say, leaning in to kiss her.

It’s a little test of sorts. We’ve kissed a lot.

Like, a lot a lot, but never in front of my family, and I’m curious how she’ll respond.

I’m delighted when she wraps her arms around my waist and leans into me, prolonging the kiss.

Her tongue plays along my bottom lip, and I open for her, letting her inside.

She tastes like toothpaste and happiness, and I love this morning so damn much.

“Don’t you think it’s a little early for this?” She asks when we break apart, gaze bouncing between Cooper and me.

“Nu-uh, Han. I have plans for you today.”

“Okay but can you maybe schedule our plans for later in the day next time? I was up late last night.” Her grumpy expression breaks, a grin spreading over her face. “I wrote two chapters after we came down from the roof.”

“Hot damn!” I say, leaning down to take her mouth again. “We love to see it.”

“Okay, Jesus, you like each other, I get it. Why does everyone have to kiss all over this house all the time?” Cooper mutters, his tone aggrieved.

I chuckle, breaking the kiss and handing Hannah her coffee and the bag of chocolate chip muffins, wrapping an arm around her waist to tug her against my side. “I think what you need is a girl of your own. When was the last time you did some kissing around here?”

Cooper sighs, leaning back against the wall again. “In the dim, dark past, before an automaton disguised as a lawyer took over my life and robbed me of anything resembling leisure time.”

“Your coworker still emailing you at four in the morning?” Hannah asks, shifting her attention to Cooper.

“Like clockwork. What do you guys have going on today?”

“I think that question is for you,” Hannah says, smiling up at me. “Noah has a weird thing about everything we do being a surprise.”

I grin, dropping a kiss on top of her head. “We’re driving to Nantasket Beach. Want to come, Coop?”

Hannah’s eyes light up. “I love the beach. Blow off the day and come with us Cooper. Sounds like no one needs a break more than you do.”

Cooper groans. “I fucking wish. Not all of us can take the summer off. I have to go transform myself into a lawyer and get to work. I should be there already.”

“It’s not even eight in the morning.” Hannah takes a sip of her latte and makes that happy hum I love so much.

“Evan gets in at six.”

Hannah grimaces. “Yikes. BigLaw is not for the weak.”

Cooper shakes his head, pushing off the wall. “No, it fucking isn’t. Have fun, you guys. I’ll see you later.”

“Can you come to disaster movie night tomorrow night?” Hannah asks. “Jo wants to go old school with Deep Impact .”

Jo and Jordan have a weird obsession with disaster movies, so a couple times a month we all pile into their apartment and watch one with an array of takeout options and popcorn mixed with candy.

It’s a tradition they started in New York when they first got together last summer, and they brought it here with them when they moved.

It’s fun, and I especially love the way Hannah is talking about it.

Like she’s a part of our traditions too. Like she’s going to stay.

I really want her to stay.

“I’ll try,” Cooper says, looking pained, like going to work is the very last thing he wants to do right now and for the first time, I’m concerned.

“Try hard, okay?” I ask, laying a hand on his shoulder.

He looks at me and nods. “I will. Have a good day. Later, Hans.” Cooper leans in and kisses Hannah’s cheek and then trots down the stairs.

“Do you think he’s okay?” Hannah asks quietly, her eyes glued to his retreating back.

“I really don’t know,” I admit, following her gaze. “I’m going to keep an eye on him.”

“It’s nice,” Hannah says, turning to face me and laying her free hand on my chest. “How the four of you are together. How close you are. I like being here to see it.”

“I like that you’re here to see it. To be a part of it. I just like you, period.” I lean in to kiss her.

“You’re one of the good ones, Noah Wyles,” Hannah says, the look on her face quietly intense when she locks her gaze with mine. There’s something in her eyes that has me pausing, looking for an extra second before kissing her again.

“You’re the best one, Gorgeous,” I murmur against her lips. “Want to have a beach day with me?”

Hannah grins, kissing my cheek. “Nothing else I’d rather do.”

“Fuckity fuck,” I mutter, biting my fist, my eyes locked on Hannah as she slips off her black, gauzy coverup, revealing a tiny red bikini.

The whole thing is just a few scraps of material held together by four flimsy ties that I want to undo with my teeth.

My cock jumps in my board shorts, and I have to reach down and do some discrete adjusting so I don’t get arrested for popping a boner on a beach filled with children.

“You like?” Hannah asks, doing a sassy little spin in the sand and planting her hand on her hip .

“Like?” I manage, my voice cracking like a fucking teenager.

I clear my throat, my eyes raking up and down her body at all the smooth skin lit by the late morning sun.

I want to lick every inch of it. “I’m pretty sure I almost just gave that nice family over there an eyeful of my dick. Fuck, Hannah.”

“Same goes, my guy.” Hannah plops a Pittsburgh Renegades hat onto her head, pulling her ponytail out the back and ratcheting up her hotness factor tenfold when it was already off the charts.

She slides her gaze over my bare torso, and I swear I can feel her eyes tracing every muscle of my abs on the way down like she’s actually touching them.

Then her eyes meet mine and she pops a hip, giving me a sly grin. “My husband is so fucking hot.”

“Oh, my god,” I mutter, my internal temperature instantly rising, like, four hundred degrees.

If I don’t cool down, I’ll probably die.

Or come in my pants right here on this beach.

Decision made, I charge forward, plucking Hannah’s hat off her head and throwing it onto one of the chairs I set up.

Then I grab her around the waist, tossing her over my shoulder and taking off for the ocean.