Noah nodded, in full agreement with her about the spinelessness of any man who’d hit a woman. “Thea went in quietly with a security guy and collected clothing and other personal stuff for Sarah, and she’s arranging for the locks to be changed. It has to be done under the radar, so it’ll take a few days.”
In the meantime, Sarah would stay out of public view and Abe would stay with friends who understood his triggers and how to defuse them. “One piece of bad news—Thea had a couple of calls from reporters who heard Abe and Sarah and Vance came face-to-face at the festival. They’re sniffing around for a story.”
“Damn, that’s the last thing either Sarah or Abe need.” Kit shot him a determined look. “Let’s distract the paparazzi with the promise of a money shot, have them too busy salivating over us to worry about an ex-couple.”
Chapter 29
Noah had no argument with Kit’s suggestion. If this was what he could do to help his friend, then it was what he’d do. “PDA?” he suggested, figuring he could pull something like he had at the concert, closeness that wouldn’t make either one of them uncomfortable.
Kit twisted her lips. “No, let’s go be cute together.”
“I don’t do cute.” He shuddered. “Don’t start expecting me to buy you soft toys or other sweet shit.” But since she really wanted a teddy bear, he’d get it for her. It’d be kind of adorable to see Kit go all soft and happy over a cuddly toy.
“So romantic.” The words were dry enough to parch the desert. “That’s why it’s going to be catnip to the paparazzi. ‘Noah St. John Tamed’—I can just see the headlines.”
He pretended to gag. “I never knew I was signing on for fiendish and painful torture.”
Laughter from the passenger seat. “You come up with an idea then. I’ve never consciously played the media this hard before.”
“We get caught making out in a car.”
“In broad daylight? I don’t think anyone will buy that from me.” A pause, her next words soft and nearly soundless. “And if we’re going to have a first kiss, I want it to be private.”
Noah stopped breathing for a second. He didn’t know how to kiss. Having anyone’s face close to his, it was too personal, too much an invasion. When he fucked women, he took them over. A kiss though, it would bring them into him too, leave a mark. He preferred distance. Maybe that was fucked-up, but in the grand scheme of things, it was a minor detail.
“Your turn,” he said, his gut all tense. “No PDA, no cute, no making out.”
“I could get caught standing with my hand over my belly,” Kit said with a gleeful laugh. “That would be so much fun, except people might take me seriously and there goes Redemption.”
Noah didn’t laugh. “You want kids?”
“Yes.” A pause. “I know you don’t, but I really do.”
“Before, what I said, I was just thinking of some poor kid stuck with me for a dad.” He’d have screwed that up royally. “With you, it’d be different.” He already knew Kit would rock the motherhood thing, and when he was with her, he was a better man. If they ever got to the point where they could do the kid thing, she’d teach him how to be a good father, and he’d listen—he never wanted his kid to hate him like he hated Robert St. John.
“Yes, well, we can talk about all that later.” Kit’s voice was odd, but then she snapped her fingers. “I have it. Let’s go to Disneyland. You don’t have to be cute—the location is cute all by itself.”
“Rock stars don’t do Disneyland—gotta think of the brand, Katie.” He took her light punch on the arm with a grin. “We go to Six Flags and ride the fucking roller coasters.”
“Only lunatics ride things that make them scream in terror.”
He got her on a roller coaster. She screamed like a banshee and threatened to murder him when he laughed. Wrapping an arm around her shoulders once they got off, he pressed a kiss to her temple and bought her cotton candy. “That should sweeten you up.”
“My hair must be a mess.”
It looked like she’d just tumbled out of bed. Not liking the idea of anyone else thinking that, he took off his cap and snugged it on her head before stealing some of the sticky sweet stuff she was picking off in little tufts.
“This is evil,” she said, eating another tuft. “Macho Steve will kill me tomorrow.”
“We could just go for an extra run,” he said at the name of her personal trainer. “Or another roller coaster ride.”