They said good-bye, and Noah closed the laptop with a sigh. He rested his elbows on the closed computer, turned to face Julia, and propped his chin on his clasped hands. “That is who I Skype with into the night.”
Julia let her eyes fall closed, his intense gaze unbearable in her shame. “I’m sorry. I just assumed—”
“What anyone would assume. I’ve lived a free and open lifestyle up until the accident. If you have preconceived ideas, it’s my fault, not yours.”
She let out a long breath and rubbed at the burn in her cheeks. “Why do you call her
bug?”
“Love bug,” he said, his grin growing, gaze softening. “She’s been as sweet as candy from the day she was born.”
Oh Jesus. Julia didn’t need anything more to like about this man.
“She’s bright but struggles in school,” he said. “I think she has a subtle learning disability we haven’t been able to pin down. My oldest sister, who’s two years younger than me, and I have dyslexia. Maisy probably has it too, but it’s mild, so it hasn’t shown up in her tests, which sucks because it keeps us from being able to get her help.”
That explained his charity.
Julia worked the years backward. Two years younger than Noah would make his sister twenty-eight. If she had a daughter in high school, that meant… “Wow, your sister started young.”
“Way too young. We all had a rough start. Becky’s dyslexia combined with no dad around, my mother’s neglect, Becky’s spotty school attendance, and her lousy attitude made identifying and dealing with it, well, impossible. She’s in adult classes now but still doesn’t read beyond a first-grade level. So when Maisy needs help with her homework…” He shrugged. “My dyslexia isn’t as bad as Becky’s, and I had a whole different type of education, so I can help her.”
Julia knew all about the private one-on-one schooling the most promising athletes got. She’d graduated high school early and blew through her first two years of college by the time she turned eighteen.
“Do they live in Spokane?” she asked.
“No. Colorado Springs. She moved to follow the deadbeat dad of adorable daughter number two, Stephie, and got stuck there because baby-daddy of future-heart-crusher number three, Tabitha, has partial custody and a court order that won’t allow Becky to move his daughter out of state.”
He didn’t sound happy about that at all.
“Wow,” Julia said. “Complicated. You sound close to your family.”
“Only my nieces.” His expression hardened a little more. “My sisters keep in touch because I’m more their bank than their brother. All our fathers are out of the picture, and my mom…” He shook his head. “I only get a call from her when she needs a transfer of funds.” He blew out a breath and forced a smile. “But back to us.” He reached out and took her hand. “You don’t have to come with me as my date, but I’d really like you to come. Call it friendship, call it watching over me so I don’t screw up, I don’t care. But come.”
Part of her wanted to go, wanted to see Noah in his element. Another part toyed with the idea of exposing her skeletons—it would be the easiest and fastest way to quell his attraction. An attraction she shared and one that was wearing her down. But she didn’t relish the thought of losing the respect they’d built. Damaging their existing relationship could hinder Noah’s recovery, and above all, that had to be her top priority.
“I can see the tennis match going on in your head,” he said, pulling her from the endless list of pros and cons. “It’s just a stupid, frilly dinner where everyone drinks too much, talks too much, and regrets it all the next morning. Don’t make more of it than it is.”
She knew different. “Thank you, Noah, but these fancy things aren’t me. I don’t even have anything to wear, and leaving tomorrow doesn’t give me any time to find something. Look, just go and have fun. We’ll pick up where we left off when you get back Sunday morning.”
He looked oddly pleased with her response. “I knew you’d say that.”
Pushing his chair back, Noah stood, turned to the pantry, and disappeared inside.
“Noah… What…?”
He reappeared in seconds, holding a very large silver box topped with a big red bow. He used the gift to move aside a few dishes on the table and set it down, then slid his hands into the front pockets of his jeans and shifted from foot to foot. His obvious unease only added to the quiver in Julia’s belly.
“Open it,” he prodded when she just stared at the box.
It had been years, years, since anyone had given her a gift, including her own parents. “I—”
“Just open it.”
She pried her gaze from the box, her throat thick, her heart beating hard. She started to decline, but Noah spoke first.“Come on. It won’t bite. I promise.”
This was so incredibly awkward. She turned her gaze back on the box with all her barriers shattered. Her fingers felt numb sliding the ribbon away. Her mind darted everywhere as she lifted the top. Pink tissue paper had been secured by the sticker of an exclusive boutique in downtown South Lake Tahoe.
“Noah, you really shouldn’t have—”