Page 9 of Prove Me Wrong (The Sunburnt Hearts #5)

Chapter Six

MIA

H is husky tone brushes over me once again, and I bite down on my bottom lip to keep from jolting at the silkiness of Noah’s honeyed voice.

My heart hammers in my neck as I open the door wider.

Jade stares at me with round eyes, a faint smile colouring her face as she sits quietly on his hip.

I’m glad she’s feeling better than this morning.

Her cries and screams made my chest ache.

She was in so much pain and I couldn’t do anything to help her.

Noah stands in a dark grey tee that’s smeared in grease and sweat, matching dark pants and what appear to be streaks of oil on the side of his neck.

Beads of sweat glisten on his sun-kissed forehead as the lowering sun shines down on the quiet street.

There’s a slight breeze, and I catch his earthly, masculine scent, mixing with the damp leaves and grass in the evening autumn air.

I bunch up the ends of my jumper in my hands, fisting them at my sides. “Hi, Noah,” I rasp out, unsure of why he’s here.

He clears his throat, a small crease forming between his light brows, and I can tell something is bothering him. Fingers playing with Jade’s shoes, I watch as he meddles with something in his mind .

“I'm sorry for bothering you, but I really need to ask if you were serious this morning.”

My eyes search his bright green ones. "Oh, um.” Words escape my mind, confused about what he’s referring to.

“I’m talking about you looking after Jade,” Noah adds, noticing my confusion. “If you meant that you could?”

My head rears back a little, and I blink up at his pleading face.

“Oh, r-right,” I stutter, lost for words.

I had meant it . I wouldn’t have minded looking after Jade for the day since I have nothing here keeping me busy, besides practicing the piano and applying for more design jobs, but I wasn’t expecting Noah to take me up on the offer.

“Is she still unwell?” My voice shakes slightly as I question him.

“I can watch her if you have a date or something,” I rush out, my cheeks blooming with warmth.

Noah sniffs a laugh, fluffing his golden hair with his spare hand. My eyes linger on his bulging arm muscles. Swallowing, it moves beneath his sun-kissed flesh, flexing and expanding, and I am utterly captivated. Black ink shows when his short sleeve lifts, and I see a date written across his skin.

Tearing my gaze away, I meet his questioning eyes before looking down at the timber porch. He definitely just caught me ogling his arm.

“What makes you think I have a date tonight, Grey?” A smirk pulls up his mouth, showing off his dimples.

My lips part, but Jade cuts me off with incoherent blabber. I smile up at her once more, saving me from saying something embarrassing.

“It’s nothing like that. The daycare told me today that they’re moving from five days down to three, so I will need someone to watch Jade twice a week,” he explains.

My teeth sink into my bottom lip, listening.

“It’ll be Tuesday and Thursday, and I will pay you for your time, that is if you don’t have any work right now.

I probably should have asked you that first. I don’t know why I didn’t lead with that… ” he trails off.

Noah blinks. Silence settles over us. It's as if he’s realised he was blabbering on as much as his daughter is.

Stifling a smile, my hands cross over my stomach as I consider his offer carefully.

Becoming a babysitter was never on my mind when I moved here.

I have a degree in graphic design, but obviously, in this small town, there are no design companies and working online is so competitive that it’ll take me months just to build up an adequate portfolio.

Mum insisted I follow in her footsteps and become a lawyer to take over her firm when she retires, which at this point will be when she’s seventy. She loves her work, and her drive is through the roof, but I never wanted to go down that career path.

I tried it for a semester before pulling out and moving into something I was actually interested in, which was graphic design. Changing my degree is how I met those friends. Well, I thought they were my friends. And then Ryan came into my life...

Shutting my eyes for a second, I steel myself before I fall back down into the rabbit hole of my swallowing memories.

I open my eyes, Noah patiently waiting, and suck in a breath.

“I left my job before moving here.” His mouth tightens, and my body stiffens.

“Would I come to your place to watch her?”

Noah dips his chin once. “I have everything you’ll need there, and I wouldn’t want to bother your Gran, or get your own place messy.”

Sliding my hands up my arms, I rub mindlessly at my elbows, feeling the inflamed skin that’s red and dry. “And what would I do exactly?”

Noah’s gaze tracks my nervous habit, and I can't tell if his expression is sympathy or perplexity. He shrugs nonchalantly. “Normal toddler stuff. Feed her. Change her. Play with her. Make sure she doesn’t die...” His mouth curls into a smirk at the last one.

He must notice my eyes flaring with shock because he huffs out a laugh.

“I'm joking. I know you won’t actually kill her,” he says through a chuckle.

My shoulders loosen. “It won’t be hard. Jade’s easy to look after, and she’ll love it more than the daycare. "

My eyes settle on his glistening ones before I shake my head. “I-I don’t know if I can, Noah.”

Heat shoots through me violently at the guilt that settles there.

Noah's head falls forward. He breathes out steadily and nods. “No, it’s fine. I know it’s a lot to ask. I’m sure I can find someone else.”

My hands tingle at having to turn him down.

This man, who looks overwhelmed, needs my help, but my anxiety is holding me back.

I hate how much of a hold it has over me, and as much as I wish to break free from its chain tightening around my insides, I can’t go through what I’ve already been through again.

I don’t think I’d survive if another man hurt me.

Noah turns with Jade to walk back over to their house.

I realise then how sore my elbows are becoming, cracking and textured from constant friction.

I remember the look in Ryan’s desperate eyes when he was pinning me down and forcing himself onto me.

His dark eyes were wild and greedy, filled with a rage and lust I never understood.

I feared seeing it every time he violated me.

But Noah isn’t Ryan.

Noah also looks desperate, but it’s a different kind, like a pleading, selfless desperation of someone seeking help.

It hurts me to see Noah looking so defeated.

The tiredness framing his duller eyes. A twinge of colour beneath shows how much exhaustion he’s wearing today.

It all adds to the stinging in my chest, the penitence flooding my veins like toxic oil .

I won’t lie and say that Noah doesn’t make me nervous, because he definitely does, just like Ryan did when I first met him.

But I don’t think it’s because I fear Noah.

I think it’s because I’m intrigued in who he is, wanting to know more about this man, despite my anxiety trying to change my thoughts, shouting for me to run.

A part of me knows deep down that Noah is a good man.

I should be able to trust him, to feel comfortable in his presence, but the constant reminder of how Ryan abused my trust keeps me from giving this man more.

I want to trust him, and that’s what’s terrifying me right now.

Trust is such a fine line, and it can be destroyed in a matter of seconds.

My hands drop from my raw elbows as I dash down the stairs. “ Wait .”

Noah spins on his heel, green eyes colliding with mine, golden hair fluffing in the breeze.

My hands tingle at our proximity and the intensity of his masculine features.

The sharpness in his jaw, the sweep on his cheekbones and tiny white scars decorating his skin.

“I-I don’t really have much experience when it comes to toddlers. I don’t know?—”

“I’m sure you will be great, Grey. I’ve seen how you are with Jade. You’re a natural,” Noah says. His words of praise make my extremities fizzle like soda water.

My throat works, and Noah steps closer again, closing the gap between us. Huffing out a hollow laugh, his gaze flickers away as a smile toys with his lips. “Look, I know the travel might be a lot, but this would really help me out. And Jade.” He lightens the air between us with another joke.

I can’t stop the soft snort that escapes my nose, and Noah’s smile consumes more of his gorgeous face, revealing his dimples that I’m growing to crave the sight of. “Yeah, those twelve metres might actually kill me,” I quip back.

I realise that for the first time in a long time, I casually joked with a man, and it felt…good.

Better than good.

Noah’s grin widens, and I swallow nervously. I haven’t been this spontaneous in years, but maybe this is what I need? And I will have Gran next door in case something happens, or if Noah…

My chin dips as I tuck loose strands of dark hair behind my ear. “Okay.” The word comes out as a whisper. The relief on Noah’s face is evident.

“Okay?” he repeats with raised eyebrows that almost reach his hairline.

I nod again and peer up into his deepening irises, coated in a layer of hope and gratitude. “I’ll do it. If it’ll help you and Jade, then I'll do it.”

Noah’s dimples reappear, and I immediately feel better about my decision, no matter how nervous I am about taking care of his daughter. “Thank you, Grey. I appreciate this so much, you have no idea.”

Smiling softly, I fight the urge to rub my arms and let out a quiet, “You’re welcome.”

Noah’s light features loosen before he says, “It’ll start from next Tuesday if that works with you?”

“All right.” I dip my chin in agreement and ignore the trickle of anxiety racing down my back like a rogue bead of sweat. I can't back out of this. He needs the help, and I need the money. It’ll only be temporary until he finds someone better, or when I find a proper job.

His hand reaches out, grazing mine. I almost gasp when Noah’s skin touches me. His arm on mine this morning shocked me with how intense his touch was, and waves of warmth flooded my body. Just the brush of his flesh is enough to shoot sparks through my blood and flush my cheeks.

Noah’s smile loosens, and I fear that he might have felt that connection too, but he doesn’t mention it. I look at him through dark lashes, absorbing his kinder features that settle the anxious monster living in me, its voice reminding me I can’t trust anyone.

“Thank you, Grey. You have no idea how much I appreciate this.” His tone drops impossibly low.

Eyes dipping to my mouth and back up to my flared gaze, Noah grins and turns to leave.

My body tingles all over like I've been hit with lightning.

Jade watches me with wide emerald eyes, hand in her mouth again, as Noah takes her inside.

Biting down on my lip, I race back into the safety of Gran’s house and slam the door behind me.

Pressing my back against the cold timber, I let my head fall forward, feeling my thumping heartbeat rattle my bones.

My throat burns as I try to force down saliva.

Lips parting, I sharply inhale air, keeping my spine from trembling as my hand covers my mouth.

How can someone make me feel this way when I have been so careful to protect myself? How can one man make the walls I have carefully built around my heart threaten to crumble?