Treat You Better (The Family Stone Book 3)

by Brooke St. James

  "Because… if you kiss me like that, I can't promise that I'll be able to keep from telling everybody to back off... you know, telling them not to look at you or even think about… " He trailed off, shaking his head at himself. "I don't know what I'm saying. It's just… you're somehow getting yourself in trouble by kissing me like that. That's all I know."

  I sighed. "You're right. We better take it easy."

  He tilted his head a little. "Not too easy," he said.

  I smiled and kissed him again. It was on his mouth, but it was chaste. "I should let you go," I said.

  "Yep. But it's me who should let you go since I'm staying and you're leaving. I'll do that. Here I go."

  He kissed me one more time. He tried to make it quick, but he wound up leaving his mouth on mine for several seconds—he was reluctant to break contact, and I loved it. I was reluctant, too.

  "Okay," he said. "Seriously this time. Bye, Indie."

  "Bye," I returned. "Thanks for coming tonight."

  "Oh, my gosh, thank you. Thanks for everything, Indie. It's been a while since I had such a fun night."

  Part of me luxuriated in his statement, while part of me wondered why it wasn't his best night ever.

  "I had fun, too," I said, reaching for the door handle to let myself out.

  "Hang on, I'll come around," he said. In one motion, he swiveled in his seat, opened the door and got out of the car. I watched as he closed the door and jogged around the front of the car, literally looking like the coolest guy ever. He was a California kid if I had ever seen one. I was utterly enamored. He opened my door and reached in, helping me to my feet.

  "Thank you," I said, looking down and dusting off my pants even though there was nothing on them. "I really am glad you were there tonight. Both places—the show and dinner."

  Noah smiled at me, a sweet, irresistible smile that said he was amused in some way. "I'm so happy I was at both of those places, too, Indie."

  I glanced behind him at a couple who was walking down the street together. "I guess I'll see you Monday," I said.

  I was going to leave it at that, but Noah took my phone and entered his number 'just in case I needed to reach him before then'.

  Chapter 12

  I didn't plan on calling Noah that weekend.

  Our accidental date on Friday night was just too perfect, and rather than mess it up by calling him without a legitimate excuse, I figured I'd just wait and see him Monday at school. I wanted to talk to him, but I wished he would be the one to call me. This wasn't going to happen because I had his phone number and not the other way around.

  I would just have to wait until Monday.

  But that would be easier said than done.

  Leo was already sleeping when I got to my parents' house that night after I dropped Noah off, so I slept there as well. I was amped. I replayed scenes from the evening. I tried to remember the set I did as Fiona, and I hoped I had been good enough to impress Noah. I so desperately wanted to impress him. I thought of things we said at dinner, and then I replayed those moments in my car about fifty times. I thought of how he drew me to the center of the car—the way we whispered to each other and then kissed so gently. At one point, I grabbed a pillow, put it over my face and squealed into it.

  Even if nothing came of the relationship with Noah and me, I had moments of such pure hope and pleasure during our encounter that it called for a happy squeal.

  I stayed awake until 2am, just thinking. At one point, I even wrote down a few thoughts that would make for a good start of an original song.

  I woke up the following morning to my dad playing with Leo in the living room and my mother smiling and asking me how it had gone the night before.

  She said she had already spoken to Violet on the phone earlier and so she knew all about the guy who had met me at the gig and then come with us to dinner. I could tell she knew more than that. I could tell she was hiding something. I knew she had been the one to invite Noah, but she thought I had no idea, so I didn't mention it. As far as she knew, Noah hadn't even told me about the email. I kept it that way. I knew it was Mom who sent it, and deep down, I was thankful to her for doing it. I didn’t want to talk about it with her, though.

  The weekend passed quickly. I had a rehearsal with Collin Saturday afternoon, and I didn't ask anyone to watch Leo for me, so it took a little longer than planned. Collin didn't mind, and I liked having Leo there while we played. I wanted to expose him to all of my endeavors.

  Later that weekend, Leo and I spent some time in the spare bedroom that would eventually become my jewelry studio. (Assuming I decided to begin making jewelry.) I had a lot of space since Mom moved out, so I had already set up a small, simplified version of a studio in the bedroom where she had been staying.

  At this point, on account of how much time I spent at school, I wasn't using it. But I knew there might come a day when I wouldn't have access to all of their resources and I'd want some space to work. I would need to get a lot of other tools and machines if I ever decided to really get into it, but my little makeshift studio area was a start.

  I had plenty of space to grow into the room. It was a guest suite, actually—it was rather large with a wall of windows on the backside, letting in a lot of natural light. The view was as nice or nicer than the one from my own bedroom. It had beautiful wood floors and a nice set of speakers, making it perfect for a studio. The guest bedroom was perfect for a creative space, and I hoped that just being in there would inspire me.

  The echo was just right for me listening to music and singing along, so I did that as I walked around, straightening things up. Not that the room was full of stuff, because it wasn't. So far, I had a couple of bookcases stocked with paper, fabrics, paints, markers, and other random crafty-type items.

  Leo was playing contentedly in the small sitting area I set up in the corner near the window. I had been sitting over there with him for the last hour, reading him stories. It was late Sunday afternoon, and he played and sang by himself while I moved things around on my bookshelves.

  As of now, all it was doing was inspiring me to think about Noah. I caught myself daydreaming about Noah being the one who was in there making jewelry instead of me. I had another, smaller office space where I could store all of my other art supplies so that I could give Noah this room for a studio. At this point, I would much rather do that than to use it myself, but I had to remind myself to simmer down.

  I had crazy-vivid daydreams of myself doing domestic things like bringing him coffee and peering over his shoulder to see what kind of progress he was making on a piece. I felt a yearning sensation, like I wanted to experience his presence in my house—in this room. I wanted him here with us. I had to laugh at myself for thinking such thoughts.

  We had gotten to know each other quite a bit at school, but they were conversations that could be overheard by my classmates. Of course, we had shared one night—one kiss. Already, I had it bad for him.

  I wished it were as easy as him fitting into my life like a missing puzzle piece. But the fact of the matter was that after what I had been through, I wasn't prone to trust in happily-ever-afters.

  It was fun thinking about him, though.

  My thoughts had drifted toward him for the last two weeks, but especially this weekend. Our encounter on Friday night had caused me to think about him way too much on Saturday and Sunday.

  I was trying to get my mind on other things when Blue called me. And, who do you think she mentioned, right off the bat?

  Noah.

  "What are you doing?" she asked.

  "I just finished reading to Leo," I said. "Charlotte's Web. We're just hanging out now. What's up?"

  "Noah," she said. "The guy from dinner the other night."

  My heart began racing as soon as she said his name. "What about him?" I listened closely for her answer.

  "Are you on Instagram? Did you see it?"

  "See what?"

  "The necklace. Oh my gosh, you haven't seen it?" />
  "Blue, what are you talking about?" I asked. I instantly put my phone on speaker so that I could open the Instagram app.

  "I don't know when he posted it. I guess it was earlier today because there was a bunch of comments and likes and everything when I saw it a minute ago."

  "Blue, slow down. Back up. I missed something. What are you talking about?"

  "Noah. That guy who came to your show Friday."

  "I got that much."

  "He gave us his Instagram handle, remember? I followed him. I don't know when he posted it, like I said, but I got on there just now and there was a picture of your dress as a necklace. It's gorgeous. I could tell what it was right away. Taylor agrees with me. The post doesn't mention it being a dress, but to me, it's obvious. I think if anyone would have seen you in that dress the other night, they would know it."

  I had been scrolling the whole time she spoke. I was trying to pay attention to what she was saying, but it was impossible for me to fully understand. She was saying something about Noah and my dress and a necklace. I assumed she was talking about the dress I had on Friday night since I didn't wear dresses under other circumstances.

  "I'm trying to find it," I said, still scrolling.

  I finally got smart and searched Noah's name.

  Blue just stayed silently on the phone while I pushed the buttons to take me to his feed. His most recent post was a video, and I clicked on it. It was a high-speed video of Noah making a pendant using a wax cast. The final result flashed at the beginning of the video, and I gasped at the sight of it. It wasn't blatantly my dress, but at the same time, it was. I stared at it, blinking. It was beautiful.

  "Did you see it?" Blue asked.

  "Y-yeah," I said, dazedly.

  "I was gonna buy it for you, but it's already sold."

  The video had been playing from the beginning, the camera showing a steady close-up of Noah's hands as he worked in hyper-speed. It was mesmerizing. Noah had a camera set up in his studio to do these videos—I had seen several of the other ones, but it was a trip watching him make something that looked so very much like my dress.

  He started with a basic piece of wax, and he carved and shaped it into a flowing cylindrical shape with a v-shaped opening in the front. I watched as it morphed into the silhouette of a dress. The whole piece functioned as a pass-through for a chain, working in much the same way as a bolo tie, but much more delicate. The ruffled v-shaped edges that went down the front of it was what gave it away. It was the exact neckline of the dress I had worn.

  "Are you watching that video?" she asked. "Can you believe it already sold? Why can't he make like ten of them? Why does there only have to be one? I would have bought it for you in a heartbeat if I would have been fast enough."

  The video was only a minute-long, and I was thankful to get another flash of the finished product at the end. A screen popped up with a link to the full video on YouTube. I knew from watching his other stuff that the extended version would probably be a ten or twelve minute video, and I didn't want to get into watching it while I was on the phone with Blue. I scrolled down to read the post.

  "Did you watch it?" she asked, since I had been too stunned to say anything.

  "Yes. I did."

  "Don't you think that looks like your dress?"

  "Yes. It really does. Hey, I'm gonna text you back after I read this and see what's up," I said, feeling discombobulated.

  "Don't worry about it," Blue said. "Unless you just want to. I just wanted to make sure you saw that."

  "Okay, thank you, sister. That's crazy. I'm really glad you told me about it."

  "Love you," she said.

  "Love you too."

  I heard the sound of our call disconnecting, but I was fully focused on reading the caption.

  ***SOLD*** Thanks for the response on this necklace, but it has been sold.

  (This part was an added note at the top of the caption, and as I scrolled down past a gap, I saw where the original caption began.)

  This piece was truly a pleasure to design and construct. The chain is 30 inches, but the adjustable pendant can be slid upward to tighten it. Both the chain and the pendant are 14k gold. Visit my website for more information. The link is in my bio. Thanks for watching!

  I read his post a second time before scrolling down to the comment section. Noah had posted the video hours earlier, so there were already nearly a hundred comments. I read the ones that were at the top.

  "Nooooo! Sold?!? I'm laaaate again!!! Uhhhh!"

  "Gorgeous!"

  "This is my favorite piece you've made in a long time. Absolutely stunning. How do you make it stay up? Is there a mechanism inside the slide? Also, what wax do you use? Mine doesn't seem to hold up this well during carving. I guess I should watch the full video. Nice work!"

  "Beautiful! This reminds me of a calla lily."

  "I waaaant!"

  "So beautiful, great job!"

  "Exquisite craftsmanship as always. Design is on point!"

  "Wow! You're definitely my favorite artist. Just stunning. I want to tour your studio."

  "Gorg. Reminds me of a woman's dress."

  I stopped reading once I got to the comment that said it looked like a dress. There were so many comments, that I just had to pick a time to stop.

  The pendant was beautiful, technical, and polished. His work was always so polished, but this one was a little different artistically. It was a real work of art.

  I wanted to call Noah, but I wasn't sure what I would say. If the necklace hadn't been sold, I would've asked him to hold it for me.

  To heck with it. I was going to call him either way. I couldn't stand it—not when the piece had so blatantly been inspired by my dress.

  I decided to watch the full video first. I went over to the corner and sat by Leo, who was still playing. He came to stand next to me, and he watched parts of the video, but he would grow bored and go back to playing before coming to tune-in again. I explained some things about what we were watching, and it was precious watching him nod and try to seem interested.

  Noah didn't talk during the video. Every once in a while, he would make words flash across the screen, letting us know how long something took or what brand of product he used, but otherwise, there was just music in the background and no talking at all.

  Leo was looking over my shoulder when the video ended. There was a picture of the necklace on a background of black velvet, and I stared at it, knowing in my heart that it was an artistic interpretation of the dress I had on the other night.

  "Do you like it?" I asked, looking at Leo.

  "Yeah!" he said excitedly. "What is it?"

  "It's a necklace."

  "Is it yours?"

  "I wish."

  "You should buy it."

  "I would," I said. "But I think somebody else already did."

  "Who did?"

  "I don’t know. Probably some lady."

  "Just buy it from her then."

  I smiled at him. "You're right. I should."

  Chapter 13

  I would see Noah in the morning at school, so I probably shouldn't have been in such a hurry to call him… but I couldn't help myself.

  If I would have thought it out better, I might have sent a text. I must not have been thinking straight, though, because before I could think better of it, I pressed the buttons to call him.

  I walked across the room and was now standing next to the bookshelf near a small desk. I had walked over there quickly as I dialed, and now I was shaking and felt out-of-breath as I waited for him to pick up his phone.

  I heard one, two, three rings, and the whole time, I was on the very verge of hanging up.

  "Hello?"

  "Noah? Hello?"

  "This is Noah," he said.

  His voice was as wonderful over the phone as it was in person—maybe more wonderful. I scrunched my face and put my fist in front of it as I continued to hold the phone to my ear.

  "Hello?" he said.

&
nbsp; "It's me. It's Indie. Indie Stone. The girl from your class."

  I heard the smile in his voice when he spoke again. "The girl from my class? What about the singer, or the woman I went to dinner with? Are you that same girl, too?"

  I grinned and bit my lip, felling happy that he couldn’t see how giddy I was. "I guess I'm that girl, too," I said, trying to sound way calmer than I was.

  "It's about time," he said. "I was wondering if you'd ever call."

  "What do you mean? I didn't know I was… I thought we were supposed to see each other on Monday. You know, at school."

  "I guess we will be doing that," he agreed. "Do you regret calling now? You wanna just hang up and say what you have to say tomorrow?"

  "No," I said.

  "Good," he said, still smiling. "What are you doing?"

  "Nothing. I'm just here, at home with Leo. We had church this morning and then we went to Mom's for lunch. Now we're just here, hanging out in that art room I was telling you about. Leo's over there lining up his trucks. We read Charlotte's Web earlier."

  "It's been a long time since I read that book," he said.

  I let out a little laugh. "Not me. I could probably recite parts of it from memory. It's about the fifth time I've read it to Leo. Not in a row, but it's one he goes back to all the time. He loves it. He likes all the animals." I hoped my voice didn't betray just how nervous I was. I felt like it sounded shaky. "I saw that necklace you made," I added, even though it had nothing to do with reading Charlotte's Web.

  "You saw that?" he asked. "Did you like it?"

  "Yes. I loved it. It's so beautiful. I have no idea how you had time to do that in two days."

  "What? That? Oh, no. That thing took me a week. I made it a long time ago, I'm just getting around to posting it."

  It took a few seconds for me to register what he was saying. If he made that necklace a long time ago, it obviously wasn't meant to look like my dress. What a crazy coincidence. I felt a wave of disappointment. I had myself all worked up, assuming he had been working on it all weekend and thinking of me.