God.
I wanted to kiss her right then.
It felt like my eyes couldn’t drink enough of her in. From the top of her head, down to her feet, I took in Noelle. My little sister’s best friend. She’d always been the girl next door. The nice innocent one. She probably was the best one out of all of us. She didn’t do the bullshit tit-for-tat like the Kings did. Somehow in this crazy world of Lush, she kept her soul.
“What kind of chaos are my sisters getting into?” I asked.
She stepped closer, and I could smell the citrusy scent of orange and champagne clinging to her skin. I could see the slight flush on her chest, the way her throat moved when she swallowed.
“You have a new niece,” she told me.
I furrowed my brows. “Don’t tell me Laurene’s pregnant again already? Shit, Ashbourne won’t give her a break? I need to speak with him.”
Noelle laughed, light and airy, like champagne bubbles bursting against my ribs.
“No, fool! Serena and Miles got a new cat.”
I sighed, and shook my head.
Her gaze dropped to my shirt—still half-unbuttoned—and she raised a brow.
“Are you hiding?”
“I wasn’t hiding.”
“You sure?”
Another step brought her closer. I could feel the warmth of her skin now. See the shimmer on her collarbone. Her fingers brushed the edge of the table like she wanted something to hold, to stop herself from reaching for me.
My phone buzzed on the desk behind me. I ignored it.
“This doesn’t change anything,” She pushed the food to me. “Make sure you eat this time. Don’t let it sit there for hours and then throw it away. You can’t just have tea for dinner. It’s not healthy, and you’ll get a headache.”
“Don’t worry about me. I told you that before.”
“I don’t need your permission to care.”
That hit somewhere I didn’t expect.
“I just want everyone to be okay,” she said, hands folding in front of her. “You too. Who takes care of you, Erik?”
My phone buzzed again, insistent. But I didn’t move.
She stepped closer, hands brushing against the edge of my desk, looking behind me, voice barely above a whisper. “Answer it. Your mother’s going to start sending people.”
“I don’t want to talk to her right now.”
“Is it about the board meeting?”
I said nothing.
Noelle sighed, then reached up without thinking and gently smoothed her fingers over the crease between my brows. “You’re always frowning. You need to smile more.”
“You shouldn’t do that,” I said hoarsely.
She blinked. “Do what?”
“Touch me like that.”
