“Of course,” Alexis said, her hand once again gripping his.
“Great,” Elliott breathed, relief lifting both his voice and his smile. “That’s great. There’s a restaurant off I-565 called Bilbo’s. It’s an Italian place. Want to meet us there? Cayden and his wife are going to join us too.”
Noah felt the subtle squeeze of Alexis’s fingers around his. It managed to feel both reassuring and scolding. “That sounds nice,” she said. “We’ll meet you there.”
They followed the Vanderpools out to the parking lot and parted ways to their separate cars. Noah opened Alexis’s door for her and then went around to the driver’s side. When he got in, she was on her phone looking up directions to the restaurant.
“It’s about a fifteen-minute drive,” she said, plugging her phone into the car’s radio. The friendly GPS lady told him to head east out of the parking lot.
“You sure about this?” he asked casually, backing out of the parking spot.
“It’s just lunch.”
“With Elliott and his wife. That’s not just lunch.”
“The surgery is in two weeks. We need to get used to spending time with them. I’d rather get this awkward stuff out of the way now, wouldn’t you?”
Which seemed as good a segue as he was going to get to tell her about last night. He pulled onto the ramp for the freeway and tried to keep his voice casual. “Elliott came to see me at the hotel last night.”
Alexis whipped her gaze to his. “Why?”
“He said he looked into my father’s death.”
Alexis twisted in her seat. “Why would he do that? His company wasn’t involved, was it?”
“No. I think he . . . I think he’s trying to make amends, just in case.”
“In case of what?” She swallowed. “In case the surgery doesn’t work?”
“I don’t know.” Noah reached over to grip her hand. Then he brought her fingertips to his lips. “I think maybe he just wants to get my approval or something.”
“What did you say to him?”
What do you want? A gold star? “I told him all I care about is that you’re okay.”
* * *
* * *
The restaurant Elliott had suggested was a chain Italian place, the kind that served everything family-style. Noah saw no small amount of irony in that but kept it to himself. Judging by the parking lot, it was popular. Noah found a parking spot in the back between a Subaru and a rusty pickup truck with a bumper sticker informing other drivers that his other car was just as much of a piece of shit.
A hostess greeted them when they walked in. Alexis gave them her name, and after a quick check of her schedule, the hostess smiled and said their party was waiting for them. Noah caught sight of the family—Jesus, all seven of them—as the hostess led them to a room in the back. Candi spotted them first and immediately stood with an eager wave.
Heads turned, and soon everyone else stood too. Alexis paused inside the room, hands twisted at her stomach. “Hi,” she breathed.
“So glad you could make it,” Candi said, moving in for another easy embrace.
Candi pulled back with a deliberate expression. “You remember Cayden, right?”
The room quieted as Cayden stepped forward. His face was as tight as Lauren’s. He was obviously being forced into this little display of family togetherness.
He extended a hand to Noah. “Cayden Vanderpool.”
Noah squeezed tighter than was necessary. “Nice to meet you.”
Elliott introduced Cayden’s wife, Jenny, and their two children. Then the room held its breath as Cayden finally turned his attention to Alexis. “How did the tests go?”
Alexis blinked. “Good. Fine.”
Cayden’s wife whispered something in the toddler’s ear, and the little girl crawled off her lap. “She made something for you,” Jenny said.
The child walked around the table and handed Alexis a crumpled piece of paper.
Alexis smiled. “What’s this?”
“She made you a picture,” Jenny said. Cayden, meanwhile, looked like he was trying to crack open walnuts with his teeth.
Alexis crouched low so she was eye level with the child. “This is beautiful. Thank you.”
Noah looked over her shoulder at the scribbles of blue and white.
“She told me it was a snowman,” Jenny explained.
Alexis laughed. “I can definitely see that.”
The tension deflated as if someone had stuck a pin in it. Shoulders relaxed and smiles loosened. Alexis stood again, and Noah led her to a pair of open chairs at the table.
“So,” Candi said, sitting down. “You should all be warned that I’m starving, so I plan to eat off everyone’s plates.”
A collective of groans went up as everyone returned to their seats. “She’s horrible about stealing food,” Elliott said. “Protect yourself accordingly.”
“Have you ever eaten here before?” Candi asked, opening the menu.
“No,” Alexis said. “I rarely have time to eat out anymore.”
Elliott beamed. “You have your own restaurant to worry about, right?”
“Right.”
“She prefers restaurants that locally source their products,” Noah said. Alexis shot him a look that he couldn’t decipher.
“We’ve celebrated so many special family milestones here,” Elliott said. “Candi’s high school graduation, Cayden’s rehearsal dinner. It’s our special place.”
Tense silence reigned again as everyone buried their faces in their menus. Candi alone seemed oblivious, because her next question made everyone squirm. “Did you and your mom have a favorite restaurant where you celebrated things?”
Across from him, Lauren stiffened. Once again, Noah couldn’t blame her.
“We had quite a few favorite places that we liked,” Alexis said, which was a total lie. She and her mom had rarely eaten out. They were too poor. She had every right to tell Elliott that, but she seemed intent on protecting everyone’s feelings but her own.
“You guys have to try Alexis’s food,” Candi boasted. “She makes the most amazing scones.” Candi suddenly sat up straight, as if the solution to world poverty had just come to her. “You should totally make them Christmas morning! We always do a big breakfast Christmas morning. Wouldn’t that be fun? You guys could spend the night and. . .”
Candi’s voice trailed off as the reality of what she was suggesting fell across the table. All eyes swept to Lauren, who was literally trembling. “That . . . would be . . . lovely,” Lauren said. “We can certainly discuss it.”
“I mean, if you don’t have plans already,” Candi said in a more hushed tone.
Once again, Alexis sacrificed herself to save everyone else from discomfort. “I can barely plan a week from now.”
“Right?” Candi said on a relieved breath. “Life gets so busy.”
Then the waitress saved everyone when she showed up to take drink orders.
“Well, I know I’m starving,” Elliott said. “And the food here is amazing. The lasagna is my favorite, if you want to try that.”
“Lexa’s a vegetarian,” Noah said.
“I’ll probably have the eggplant Parmesan,” Alexis said smoothly. “That’s usually my favorite.”
“That’s really good too,” Candi said. “I’ve had that before.”
Things went like that for a while as they waited for their drinks. Stilted conversation pockmarked by nervous laughter and occasional oohs and aahs at how cute the kids were.
Then Cayden leaned forward. “So, Noah. What do you do for a living?”
* * *
* * *
Alexis tensed as soon as Cayden turned his attention to Noah. She knew evil intent when she saw it, and Cayden’s question was far too casual. “He owns a computer security business,” she a
nswered quickly.
Noah’s gaze fell to hers with a quizzical tug of his eyebrows. “I work with businesses and individuals to secure their systems,” he said to Cayden.
“You own the company?”
Alexis bristled at Cayden’s tone. She knew that Noah didn’t give off the traditional businessman vibes with his long hair and casual clothes, but Cayden’s comment was heavy with arrogance. “He’s extremely successful,” Alexis said. “A lot of his clients are celebrities.”
“Really?” Elliott said. “Anyone we would know?”
Noah took his time answering again. “Colton Wheeler?”
Candi made a no way noise. “Holy crap, are you serious?”
“He’s also a good friend of ours,” Alexis said. “We’re all in a wedding together next month.”
“Next month?” Elliott said. “That’s cutting it kind of close with the surgery. Will you be okay by then?”
“I talked to Jasmine about it, and she said I should be fine. I still won’t be able to do any heavy lifting, and I probably won’t have as much energy as I might normally have, but nothing that will keep me from being a bridesmaid.”
Alexis hoped the shift into wedding talk would redirect Cayden, but no such luck. He was on a mission.
“How did you get into that line of work?” he asked Noah.
Alexis held her breath as she looked up at Noah. Some people were fascinated to find out what Noah had done in his rebellious teenage years. Others, not so much. Noah liked to shock people with it sometimes, so her mouth fell open in astonishment when he finally answered Cayden.
“I studied cybersecurity in college,” he said simply.
Cayden sipped his water. “How’d you become interested in that?”
Alexis rested her hand on Noah’s knee.
“I used to be a hacker as a teenager,” Noah said calmly.
“A hacker,” Cayden repeated, as if he hadn’t already known the answer.
Alexis groaned inwardly at the victorious gleam in Cayden’s eyes. She glanced up at Noah and expected to find a bring it on challenge in his eyes, but again, he surprised her. “We preferred the term hacktivists. But turns out I wasn’t very good at it. I got caught, learned my lesson, and have been on the straight and narrow ever since.”
The straight and narrow? Alexis gaped at him. He looked down at her with a half smile and winked. And that’s when she knew. He’d done it for her. He’d passed up a chance to fight the good fight just to keep the peace. For her.
The waitress appeared with a tray of drinks. As she passed them around, Alexis tugged Noah close and whispered in his ear. “You are so getting lucky later.”
He smothered a laugh behind his water.
* * *
* * *
After lunch, they had a weak argument over who would pay the bill. Elliott won, and then the entire group walked out together. This was the awkward part. The goodbye.
They paused on the sidewalk in front of the restaurant. Alexis hugged Candi again and offered a polite nod to Lauren, who practically deflated in relief that she wasn’t going to have to fake an embrace. Noah did the handshake thing with Elliott first and then Cayden, who then quickly ushered his wife and children to their car.
Alexis stopped in front of Elliott. “So.”
“You’ll call me if you need anything, right?” he asked.
It was such a dad thing to say that Alexis almost laughed. She shoved her hands inside her coat pockets. “I guess I’ll see you in two weeks?”
He quirked a smile. “I don’t know if we’re at the hugging stage yet, but I’m willing if you are.”
Alexis laughed for real this time and stepped forward. His arms came around her for a brief squeeze. When he released her, she backed up and felt Noah’s hand on her back.
“Drive safe,” Elliott said.
“You too,” Noah responded.
They watched silently as Lauren, Elliott, and Candi walked to their car.
“Ready?” Noah asked.
Alexis turned and hauled his mouth down to hers for a hard, fast kiss. “You’re a good man, Noah Logan.”
“Don’t tell anyone. It’ll ruin my reputation.”
She kissed him again, lingering this time with meaning. “Drive fast.”
“You in a hurry for something?”
“Yeah,” she said. “We have two weeks until this surgery. Let’s not waste a minute of it.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Alexis had been right. Getting ready for as many as two weeks away from the café was a full-time job all its own. Now, with just two days until the surgery, Alexis held another meeting with Jessica to go over the schedule, what to do in case of emergencies, and—because she absolutely needed another complication—how to handle the upcoming zoning board meeting tomorrow evening.
Alexis wouldn’t be there, obviously, so she’d pulled together all the documentation the board would need to make a decision. Jessica had agreed to sit through the meeting just in case. But for now, Jessica was more concerned with Alexis’s pre-op binder. “Wow, you can’t lift anything heavier than a gallon of milk for six weeks?”
“Can we focus on the zoning board meeting for a second?”
Jessica closed the binder and folded her hands primly on the table. “Sorry. Of course.”
“Karen will probably lie,” Alexis said. “And she’ll definitely say things that make you mad. But you have to just bite your tongue and ignore it, okay?”
Jessica pursed her lips. “Easier said than done. I hate that woman.”
“She knows it, too, and the best gift we could give her would be to throw some kind of fit at the meeting. Just let her present her case and direct the zoning board to all our documentation if they have any questions.” Alexis took Jessica’s hand. “Remember, we’ve done nothing wrong.”
“Exactly. Which is why I wish we could fight fire with fire. The Karens of the world—”
“Are not worth our time or energy,” Alexis finished for her.
Jessica didn’t look convinced, but nor did she argue the point. Maybe, like Noah, she’d given up on trying to convince her to Hulk out on people.
Alexis went through the rest of her agenda items, thanked Jessica profusely for agreeing to stay with Beefcake again while Alexis was gone, and then gathered up her stuff.
“I’ll be in my office,” she said over her shoulder as she walked through the kitchen door. She sank into her chair, propped her feet on the desk, and dropped her head against the back of the chair. Almost done. Just a few more things on her to-do list, and she would actually be ready to go.
“Hey, wait!”
Jessica’s voice brought Alexis’s head up, just in time to hear the kitchen door swing open with a violent crash.
Alexis jumped up, walked out of her office, and nearly collided with a seething, furious Cayden.
“I knew it,” he spat.
“Cayden, what the hell? What are you doing here?”
Cayden shoved his phone at her. Confused, she took it from his hands and tried to skim what was on the screen.
Leaked documents from embattled defense contractor, BosTech, reveal that company executives lied to congressional investigators two years ago during a probe into the reliability of the guidance system on the Night Hawk, a long-range missile drone used by the U.S. military since 2014. Nearly three hundred civilian deaths have been attributed to faulty radar systems. The leaked documents reveal that executives overruled concerns by engineers . . .
She looked up, confused. “I don’t understand. What is this?”
“Mr. Straight and Narrow? I knew it was bullshit.”
His tone of voice and the rage in his eyes sent a surge of adrenaline through her that made her back up on instinct.
“How do you think the media got these documents?” Cayden barked
.
She shook her head to chase away the nagging whisper in the back of her mind. “Noah had nothing to do with this.”
Cayden snorted. “Right.”
“He wouldn’t do that.” Bile rose in her throat.
“So I’m supposed to believe it’s just a coincidence?”
“Yes! He wouldn’t do it. He wouldn’t. He knows . . .”
“Knows what?”
That I care about you all. She didn’t say it, because she could tell he didn’t want to hear it and wouldn’t believe it anyway. She didn’t say it, because the truth of it took her by as much surprise as it would Cayden. And what a fool she was, because Cayden was staring at her like something he’d stepped in on the lawn.
“Noah didn’t do this. I know he didn’t.”
Cayden pointed his finger. “You are the worst fucking thing that ever happened to this family. Stay away from us. We’ll find him another fucking kidney.”
His words reverberated off the stainless-steel appliances in the kitchen, and their echo followed him as he stormed back through the swinging door. As soon as he left, Alexis deflated against the counter. This wasn’t true. It . . . wasn’t true. Was it?
Jessica ran in. “What the hell was that?”
Alexis looked at her but barely saw her. “I need to go.”
“Are you okay?”
No. No, she wasn’t. Alexis grabbed her purse from the hook on the back of her office door and removed her apron. Her hands trembled when she unlocked her car and when she fumbled with the radio to find a twenty-four-hour news station on her satellite radio. The first one she tried was talking about the upcoming election, so she tried another one.
Just in time to hear a commentator say, “This leak has all the markings of a Hatchet operation.”
A sour taste filled her mouth.
She pulled into Noah’s driveway and turned off the car. Wooden legs carried her to his front door. She knocked and realized belatedly how ridiculous that was. She normally would just walk in, but nothing made sense. A moment passed before the door opened. He grinned. “Why are you knocking?”
Crazy Stupid Bromance Page 23