Which was stupid, because she’d already decided to back away and keep her heart protected.
He was acting so distant all through the meeting, though, which made her start questioning everything. He’d always been distant at work, so that part wasn’t entirely unusual. He just hadn’t been quite so distant since she started seeing him outside of work to help with Aiden.
And then, completely unbidden, their kiss popped into her mind. He had definitely been on the same page as her during that kiss. They had definitely connected on a new level Friday and Saturday. Seeing him acting like nothing had happened—even if that was the way he should be acting while at work—made her realize just how much she’d fallen for him.
She was the last one to gather her things at the end of the meeting, and as she passed by Jack at the door, she said, “Are we still on for the pet parade tonight?” After seeing how he’d been in the meeting, she’d started to wonder if they were.
“Aiden is really looking forward to it.”
She nodded, wondering exactly what that meant. She had gotten about three steps down the hall when he said, “Noelle, can you meet with me in my office at four?”
She turned and said, “Sure,” then headed back to her desk.
There was still a lot she needed to get done by the end of the day. But at least half of her brain was constantly wondering why he wanted to see her in his office. Should she be excited because he was going to sneak a kiss when no one in the office was looking? Or should she be worried that his acting distant was a foreshadowing of what was to come?
At four o'clock on the dot, she knocked on his office door, and he immediately opened it, then closed it behind her. He motioned to the couch that sat against one wall—the one she’d never seen him use. So she sat down and studied his face. There was no “I’m about to kiss you like we kissed Saturday night andmake your entire week” look on his face. All that was there was a seriousness. A sense of determination.
“I have...worries. About”—he glanced at the door—“Saturday night. Worries about myself, I guess. I don’t think it’s a good idea for me to be around you outside of work.”
Just the thought of not seeing him outside of work made her feel like she was going to crumble. She could talk big with Hope, and she could even talk big to herself and mostly convince herself that it was for the best. But the fact remained that she had completely fallen for him. Enough that it sounded miserable to not have him in her life outside of being her boss.
Okay, Noelle. Think about this logically. He said he was worried about Saturday, so the kissing her part. He hadn’t mentioned all the other days. “Let’s just assume that Saturday happened because Aiden wasn’t there. He’ll be there tonight, so it’ll be just fine.”
“I don’t think it’ll be fine. Aiden’s presence hasn’t stopped me from wanting to be around you yet.”
So he was interested in her. Somehow, though, the knowledge of that made this all even more heartbreaking. Could he not get over the fact that he was her boss? She swallowed hard and tried to be strong. “I can take Aiden to the pet costume parade tonight without you.” That was what their original pact had been, anyway.
He shook his head. “I don’t think that’s going to work, either. I’m sorry. I know tonight is important to him, so I’ll help him make the costume for Bailey and take them to the costume parade. But I think we should mark our agreement as fulfilled. I will still pay you the amount we agreed upon, of course, but your help is no longer needed.”
fourteen
JACK
A massive weightseemed to be dragging Jack down as he drove from Golden to his sister’s house in Mountain Springs. All he wanted to do was bury himself in work, sleep, run a few miles, or do anything else that would keep him from having all of his thoughts directed at Noelle and how he’d ended things. And to keep his mind off how his heart was aching at the thought of things going back to the way they’d been before he’d asked for her help.
If they could even go back to that.
But he knew how much tonight meant to Aiden, and he wasn’t about to go back on his word to him. When he walked into Rachel’s house, Aiden did his customary run down the hallway and leaped onto him, giving him a starfish hug. He hugged Aiden back, then set him back on the floor. “Where’s your mom?”
“In here,” Rachel said, her voice sounding weak.
He walked into the kitchen to see her carrying a bowl to the sink, looking like she didn’t have the energy to even stay standing long enough to get to a chair. He rushed to her side. “Are you okay? What do you need? Do you need me to take you to the hospital?”
She shook her head. “I’m just so tired today. That’s all.”
“Then you should sleep. Do you need anything before going to bed?”
“No. But I was going to...”
He put an arm around her back to support her. “I know. But do you think you have the energy for that?”
She sighed, seeming resigned. So he scooped her into his arms and carried her into her bedroom, and placed her gently on her bed. “Where’s your phone?”
“On the table, I think.”
Aiden had followed them into the bedroom, so he asked him to run out and get his mom’s phone. When he got back, he laid it on the nightstand beside her. “Just sleep. Don’t worry about anything. Aiden and I are going to have a great time tonight. I’ll wake you up when I bring him back home and get him to bed.”
“Are you sure you don’t need anything right now?”
