Silence stretched through the cab, tension so thick you could take an ice cream scoop to it.
“Why?” Anthony asked.
“Because he went out to change Amber’s tire.” Why did it sound so lame out loud?
Pike spluttered. “So?”
“And she tried to kiss him.”
“So?” They repeated in unison.
“He knows Amber and I have a complicated relationship. She’s been dogging Nick since she saw us at Brews and Chews. I warned him she wasn’t over him and he still asked if he could go outside to change her tire.”
“You told him not to change her tire and he did it anyway?” Anthony asked.
“No, I told him he could, but you don’t get it. He shouldn’t have asked in the first place.”
“Hello, we are talking about Nick.” Pike leaned over the seat, ticking items off his fingers. “He’s a boy scout. He walks grandmas across the road and shit. He went out to change a tire ’cause that is who he is. If it had been me, then yeah, maybe I thought I’d get a little smooch for helping out, but Nick is a great guy. He does shit because he thinks it’s the right thing to do.”
“That doesn’t make it okay. He knows how I feel about Amber and he didn’t care.”
Anthony held a hand up. “Uh-uh.”
“Uh-uh?” she repeated.
“That’s right. UH. UH.” Anthony pulled the truck to the side of the road and turned in the seat to face her. He flipped on the dome light and she got a really good look at his hard expression. “Girl, you need a reality check. First off, you don’t own Nick. He can change a thousand tires for Amber and nothing you do or say controls that. Nor should you want to. Relationships are about trust.”
“I trust him, but not her. He set himself up to be alone with her and she threw herself at him.”
“Nick is the victim and you’re blaming him. If Gabby went out to help some guy change a tire and he’d kissed her, even though she didn’t want it, is it her fault?”
Noel’s stomach sank. “No, of course not.”
“Did he kiss her back?”
“No, he pushed her away.”
Pike leaned on the back of the seat, staring at her. “I take it back. We are dropping you off and grabbing Nick. He is clearly the wronged party.”
Noel whirled around. “Seriously? You don’t understand at all where I’m coming from?”
Anthony shook her shoulder gently. “The place you’re coming from is illogical. The man would give his underwear away if he thought someone needed them. The only reason you’re freaking out is because you hate Amber. Should Nick have asked you in the first place? No, he should have told her to take a flying leap. But he’s not that guy and if he was, you wouldn’t care so damn much.”
Noel opened and closed her mouth, fighting to form a sound argument, but Pike spoke up before she’d collected herself.
“Plus, I think you might be a wittle skeered,” Pike said in a baby voice.
“Scared of what?” she spluttered.
Pike cupped his hands over his heart. “Of opening yourself to love.”
Now her stomach churned with guilt, frustration, and irritation. If she didn’t get the heck out of this car, she might puke. “Yeah, you know what? Take me home before I gag.”
“I’m not wrong. You kept Nick at arm’s length and once you let him in, you couldn’t deny your chemistry. You invented this conflict and now, boom! You can pretend that you tried, but you’re lying to yourself.”
Noel resisted the urge to pop Pike in his smug, self-satisfied face.
“No response because I’m right,” Pike sang.
Noel grit her teeth and didn’t speak to either of them the rest of the drive. She hadn’t overreacted. Being in a relationship meant putting yourself in the other person’s shoes. She wouldn’t take off with Trip for any reason.
But Nick would. Even if it was someone he didn’t like, he’d still help.
Noel’s heart sank, deflating her self-righteous anger along with it. Pike and Anthony were right. She’d fucked up because she’d been looking for a reason to run. Instead of putting the blame where it belonged, with Amber, she’d taken all of her bottled up emotions out on Nick.
How did she explain that to Nick, her person? The man she…
Loved.
Fuck, what did I do?
Chapter 27
NICK
Stretched out along his couch, Nick still couldn’t sleep and it was past two in the morning. Pike and Anthony called him back after dropping Noel off, offering to take him out and give him their two cents, but he wasn’t feeling it. The last thing he wanted to do was talk about Noel. It’s not like he could fully shake her from his mind, living two doors down from her. The fruity scent of her was all over his bed. His house. Everything reminded him of her.