13
Dogs Are Less Complicated Than People
Emma had kissed Noah! Again! And she’d liked it!
After the kiss, they’d been swept along with the zombie horde to the end of the 5K run. Chief stayed right with Noah, and she was impressed with how well behaved he was.
There was a stack of wood already prepared for the bonfire at the finish line, but it was just being lit. Ashley waited there for them, having been driven up from the starting line, and Emma joined her. “Where’s Xena?”
“Gary took her back to the house to stay with the ever-reclusive pilot. She was getting a little too excited with all these people.”
“I’m just glad she didn’t get loose with all these people.”
Ashley grinned at her. “I heard a rumor from some of the humans.”
“What?”
“They said that Noah dodged several people to let you catch him.” She sounded incredibly pleased with herself. “And that you got a kiss, too.”
Emma’s face flushed. “He’s very competitive.”
“Yeah, that’s what it was about.”
“When we know it was really about your five dollars.”
“Thanks for the five bucks.” Ashley laughed. “Here he comes again. Feeling competitive again, I guess.”
Emma looked behind her. Sure enough, the big guy was striding their way. He had streaks of zombie makeup from their kiss, and she chuckled again.
Ashley tipped her head. “Why, Noah, you look like maybe a zombie caught you and infected you.”
He nodded. “A vicious slow-moving beast.”
“Vicious, huh?” Emma said, crossing her arms.
“Extremely.” Noah smirked. “I bet a video of the mauling will show up on the internet before midnight.”
“What do you suppose the caption for that will be?” Ashley said it seriously, as if she weren’t teasing. “Movie star zombie?”
“Nah,” he said. “It will be something totally scandalous sounding. Like … What Noah Sullivan discovered on a run changed his life forever.”
Emma couldn’t help smiling. “I’d check out that clickbait.”
Sitting around the bonfire in a beach chair, Emma sighed deeply. Xena sat in her lap, pushing against her hand every time she stopped petting. Noah had driven back to the house and she’d asked him to bring her little dog if she’d keep track of Chief for him. He’d been glad to, and then he found a seat near hers. Preston and Min had disappeared early on and she was sure they were back at the house in what they were all calling the honeymoon suite.
Next to her, Ashley shifted again, obviously uncomfortable. She reached out a hand to her husband. “Help me up, babe.”
Zombie Gary jumped up and pulled her to her feet. She wobbled for a moment and then straightened.
Ashley touched Emma’s shoulder. “I’m going back to the house. Do you want me to take Xena with me?”
Emma looked down at her dog.
When Ashley reached out her hands and said, “Xena, wanna go with me?” the traitorous little dog jumped off in her direction, tail wagging.
Emma shrugged and handed her leash to Gary.
Gary just laughed. “My wife has that effect on all animals. All children, too. It’s like her superpower.”
A wet nose nudged her hand, and she jumped, then found Chief there, replacing Xena, wanting to be petted. She spoke baby talk to him. “You big bad dog, do you want some loving, too?”
He closed his eyes and leaned against her hand.
Next to her, Noah laughed. “Oh, you’re a big bad dog, all right, Chief.” His voice was affectionately teasing.
“Kind of like you,” Emma told the big guy, studying him as she petted his dog.
“I am big.” He shrugged. “And I’m bad.”
“Whatever. You’re a marshmallow wrapped up in a big bad wrapper.”
The catered food had been delicious, and the staff was cleaning up the tables and putting stuff away. The crowd had thinned out to about half.
It was late — ten-thirty or so — but the setting was so beautiful under the moon and stars that she didn’t want to leave, even when light clouds flitted overhead. Plus she was sitting next to Noah, and he’d been flirting with her all evening. Who’d want to leave that?
Rain began to drizzle and people began to laugh and gather up their things.
She was surprised to find that the light rain was warm, not cool.
She didn’t want to move. The sound of the raindrops hitting the bonfire and turning to steam was unique.
Noah leaned toward her. “Want to head back to the house?”
“Actually, I don’t.”
“Okay by me. We’re in our swimsuits. I guess if we get too cold, we can go back and jump in the hot tub.”
People continued to walk past them, back to their hotel rooms or rentals.
Soon there were only a few people left, all in tiny groups spaced away from each other.
She was alone again with Noah Sullivan, and her pulse rate sped up. She had to admit to herself that the man twitterpated her. Her childhood crush had come back with such full force that she’d begun to hope for something from him. A relationship, even. She found herself yearning for that.
Trying to regain her equilibrium, she drew in a deep breath. “I can actually breathe again. I don’t know how you do it with all these people around all the time.”
“I don’t have this many people around usually.”
“But you have film crews around, and they can be large.”
“True enough.” He reached out and patted Chief’s chest while Emma rubbed the dog’s neck.
She was falling in love with Noah Sullivan — and the last person she’d want to fall in love with was a guy who had thirty million women chasing him. The man she’d married couldn’t even resist one other woman chasing him, and he’d pretty much ruined her trust in mankind.
Noah was glad most of the others had left — and that Emma had chosen to stay with him. He felt a peace around her that he hadn’t found in a long time, and he wanted to stay there with her and bask in the feeling.
The rain continued to drizzle, and the sight and sound of raindrops hitting the ocean and the sand and the fire had his nerve endings tingling. Or was it the beautiful woman beside him?
“Your dog is a sweetie,” she said.
“He’s a good dog,” Noah agreed, enjoying the sight of Emma loving on his dog. Surely he could let himself fall into this magical moment on the beach.
She sighed. “Dogs are our babies until we can have families, I guess.”
The wistfulness in her voice burrowed into his heart, and he admitted to her what he hadn’t to anyone else except Preston. “My marriage blew apart because I wanted a family.”
She looked up at him, pain in her eyes. “Mine, too. Well, and because my husband wanted to play the field with other women. That didn’t help, either. So Deena didn’t want a family?”
He shook his head, surprising himself as he unburdened his hurt. “She said she did when we were dating. She claimed to want kids.”
When he paused, she said, softly, “But …?”
“But it took me two years to realize Deena lied a lot, and that’s one of the things she’d lied about. She’s a party girl. She barely settled down into a marriage, and she didn’t want to be burdened with what she called parasites.”
“Parasites?” Emma looked shocked.
“Yeah. She didn’t want stretch marks or anything marring her from her beauty.”
Emma looked ahead. “I’m sorry. I hope you can find someone you can have a family with.”
“And I hope you find someone you can have a family with.”
She smiled sadly. “I wish. More than anything, I wanted kids. Lots of kids. At least three.” She stopped.
After Deena’s lies, he hadn’t trusted women telling him they wanted kids. But he trusted Emma. She might have put fire ants in his bed, but she’d never, ever lied to him. “I guess I
value honesty more than anything.”
She reached out and pulled Chief to her and kissed his head. “Dogs are less complicated than people.”
Certainly less complicated than his feelings for Emma.
14
She’s Pretty Persuasive
Emma released Chief and sat back in her beach chair. Even if she wanted more than anything to be with Noah, she knew she couldn’t now. He wanted children, a family — and so did she. But she couldn’t give him any. She couldn’t even share her shame over that, over what Trevor had thrown in her face. The reason he’d left her for another woman.
They’d gone in for tests and Trevor had passed along the test results to her.
She was infertile. And she’d lost her husband over it. He’d gone looking for someone who could give him children. He’d gone about it wrong, but he’d left because she was damaged goods.
That hurt was hard to get past.
She couldn’t stand to see Noah look at her the way Trevor had when he’d learned she was infertile. It was best to not get involved with him, no matter how much she wanted to.
When she stood, he followed her lead.
Taking her hand, he said her name in a voice that no one had ever used, a beautiful warm husky voice that caressed the two syllables. “Emma…”
He leaned down to kiss her.
She’d never wanted anything so much in her life, but she gently placed her finger on his lips. She couldn’t let this go any farther. He’d already said he valued honesty more than anything — except for having a family. “Noah, the reason Trevor and I couldn’t have children wasn’t him. It was me. I can’t have children.”
He looked surprised.
“You said you value honesty.”
“I do,” he said, not commenting on the unable-to-have-children comment.
She wouldn’t say anything else, either.
Her heart breaking, she pulled her hand from his and said, “I’m ready to go back now.”
To his credit, he said, “Sure.” And he kept up the conversation as they drove back to the house, where she would close the door on Noah and any possibility of a future with him. But it was at least good to know they could still be friends.
Oh, who was she kidding? She didn’t want to be his friend. She wanted so much more. But now she knew not having a family was a deal-breaker for him.
Weary to her bones, Emma entered the house.
Turning to him and forcing a smile, she said, “Good night, Noah.” She patted Chief’s head. “Night, buddy.”
“Listen, Emma, I need to tell you something.”
She turned to him, hoping he might say he didn’t want a family, after all, but she knew that wasn’t it.
“Hey, dude, get in here!” The camera guy, Wayne, called out. “Your ex is on television and she’s pregnant. You’re gonna have a baby, dude!”
Emma saw the shock slam into Noah.
He said, “What?” and stumbled toward the game room.
Wayne pointed to the television. On the screen was Noah’s ex-wife, Deena, the woman who’d said she didn’t want a family.
The reporter asked her, “Whose baby is it?”
Deena laid her hand on her totally flat stomach, and purred, “Why, Noah’s, of course.”
“What?!?” Noah yelled.
Emma slipped away, stumbling to find her room. Inside, Xena waited on the bed.
Scalding tears burned their way down her cheeks and she sobbed.
Apparently he appreciated honesty in other people, but didn’t have to give it, himself.
And why was she so upset? Before this week, she’d put Noah in a cubbyhole in her heart. Now she knew he might be having a child with another woman, it ripped her heart.
Now that she wanted him front and center, now that she’d realized she loved him, she couldn’t have him.
This hurt so much more than anything that had ever happened to her before.
Noah stared at the screen. “It’s not mine. I haven’t been with her for two years. Not since the divorce.”
He hadn’t been with anyone for two years. He hadn’t trusted anyone enough. Until Emma.
He turned to see her reaction, but she wasn’t there.
Wayne said, “She’s pretty persuasive, dude.”
“She’s an accomplished liar.” Fury rose in him as he pulled out his phone, calling the liar’s number.
She answered on the second ring, as if she’d been expecting his call.
“What in the hell are you doing?”
“I have what you want. We can have a family now.”
“Except it would be somebody else’s baby.” His voice was cold even as the fury in his chest exploded. “I expect you to tell the truth.”
“That is the truth,” she said sweetly.
“My attorney will call your attorney tomorrow,” he said, and hung up.
He signed into Twitter and typed a tweet: Not my baby. Just another of Deena’s many lies.
Then he deleted it. He would handle it through his attorney. This had to fall under slander or defamation or something, though since he was a public figure, he didn’t know if he had the same protections as normal people.
He didn’t want Emma to think he’d gotten Deena pregnant, especially when he’d seen the pain in her eyes when she’d admitted she couldn’t have children. He needed to tell her.
He knocked on her bedroom door softly, but there was no answer. A little louder. “It’s me. Noah.”
Through the door, she said, “I can’t talk to you right now.”
He stood, staring at the door, feeling helpless in the wake of Deena’s lies and his feelings for Emma.
He stepped away and went out to the pool.
Maybe a thousand or so laps would help.
15
Be Sure to Text Me Some Pictures
Conference Day 5
Beach Time, Auditions, and Movie
Emma had spent extra time on her makeup the next morning, trying to erase the red around her eyes. She didn’t want anyone — especially not Noah — to think she’d been crying all night and had only slept fitfully for a couple of hours.
Determined to show him that he hadn’t hurt her, she’d avoided him all morning. She’d begged off with Preston from the audition portion of the day, and begged on with Ashley and Gary to join them snorkeling in the bay.
The sun reflected off the blue of the water. The white sand of the beach was one of the prettiest she’d ever seen. And Emma’s heart felt numb.
Ashley adjusted her maternity swimsuit and complained, “I look like a whale.”
“Just keep moving,” Emma tried to tease, “so you don’t look like a beached whale. That could be bad.”
“Shut up, non-pregnant person, before I hurt you.”
“You couldn’t hurt me like Noah did.”
Ashley took her hand and turned to Gary. “We’ll be snorkeling on our own for a few minutes. Will you keep watch for sharks or something?”
“There are no sharks in this bay,” Gary said.
“Watch for starfish, then.”
He snorted, but hung back.
Ashley strode into the waves, lapping at the shore, tugging her in. They walked clumsily in their flippers.
When the gentle waves came up to their waists and they were comfortably bobbing, Ashley said, “Tell me what happened.”
Emma said, “I can’t. Not without crying.”
“You mean like I cried when I thought Gary was leaving me the first year we were married because he got mad and took off for a few hours? And you sat there with me through it all?”
Emma snorted. “Yeah. Like that. Only he came back.”
“What’s going on with Noah?” she asked quietly.
Emma put her face in the water and looked down at the brightly colored fish. When Ashley tugged on her hair, she stood back up.
“Tell me.”
“Noah’s ex-wife is pregnant and claims she and Noah are getting back together.”
<
br /> “And did you ask him about it? Preston said something about that this morning and ranted about what a lying witch Noah’s ex is.”
“It’s worse than that. He told me last night that the reason his marriage didn’t work is because she lied and said she wanted a family but she didn’t. He wants kids.”
Ashley’s face fell. “You didn’t tell him, did you?”
“I had to,” Emma said. “He said he values honesty above everything. And he doesn’t want anything to do with me.”
“Oh, honey, he’s not thinking that.”
“You didn’t see his face when he talked about his ex-wife not wanting a family. And then when I told him I couldn’t have kids. I guess I was letting him know there was no future for us.”
“And what did he say?”
“It was the elephant in the living room. We didn’t mention it again. And then we walked into the house and Wayne was watching the interview with Deena.”
“Oh, honey, I am so sorry.” Ashley took her hand again and squeezed it.
“It’s a deal breaker for him and I understand that, but I didn’t think it would hurt so much. I mean, it’s only been a few days, and he’s just the guy next door I had a crush on growing up.”
“You’ve always been in love with Noah. Why wouldn’t it blossom here? He obviously sees how amazing you are, and you’re remembering why you had a crush on him.”
“But it can’t lead anywhere.”
“Talk to him,” Ashley said. “There are lots of ways to add babies to families. He’s a billionaire. He can afford any of them, maybe even fertility doctors who could help you conceive.”
“I love you, Ashley. Thank you.” She hugged her friend fiercely. When she let go, she laughed. “You really are huge.”
Gary splashed out to them. “I won’t listen, but I can’t watch my pregnant wife out here and not be with her.”
When he saw Emma’s tears, he hugged her, too. “It’ll be okay. Noah likes you.”
NOAH: A Childhood Nemesis Sweet Romantic Comedy (Waco Wranglers Reid Brothers Book 2) Page 9