“Honestly, I knew the minute I got out of the terminal and saw you that we belonged together. That it was you. It’s always been you.”
Noel snorted softly at his speech, her lips pressed together like she was about to explode with laughter.
“Isn’t that sweet?” Jillian pulled on Trip’s arm. “Don’t you think so? And you were all worried to tell her about us.” Jillian addressed Noel as she continued, “Trip told me about your arrangement.” Jillian winked at Nick. “Guess you just needed the right man to come along and swoop you into a real relationship.”
Nick asked because he knew Noel needed to know. “And how long have you been seeing each other?”
“Three weeks or so. We wanted to be sure before he told you. Hope there are no hard feelings.”
“Of course not.” Noel’s sweet tone covered the trace of anger only Nick noticed. “Congrats. I wish you both all the happiness in the world.”
Nick grabbed the back of her chair and slid it over next to him. He nuzzled her neck before leaving a kiss on her cheek. “Isn’t she the best? Beauty. Brains. Drive. Damn, I sure am lucky.”
“Come on, Jill. I need a beer,” Trip muttered, pulling Jillian towards the bar.
“Have a good night,” Noel called after them, barely containing a giggle.
Anthony shook his head. “Is that what all this is about?” He waved his hand between them for emphasis.
Nick kept his arm on the back of Noel’s chair as he lowered his voice. “Noel was trying to help me out after Amber walked in with her Thor Wannabe and we figured putting on a show would stick it to all of them.”
“Good idea, except one thing…”
“What’s that?” Nick asked.
“Amber looks like she’s about ready to break her six-inch heel in someone’s ass.”
Noel and Nick turned around and caught the venomous expression on his ex’s face. Her new man tried to kiss her and she pushed him away with a glare, before her focus returned to them.
“Damn, she looks pissed,” Noel laughed. “Good thing plastic blonds don’t scare me.”
Pike returned and set three beers and a creamy shot down. “Beers for the gentlemen and fuzzy balls for the lady.”
Noel glared at Pike. “Really? Thought we all needed to slow down?”
“This one is straight revenge. Hopefully you enjoy it.”
Noel tipped back the shot and smirked. “Delicious.”
A loud cow bell rang from the bar and Ricki shouted, “How did the hairy balls taste, Noel?”
The room quieted and Nick was ready to hold Noel back if she decided to choke Pike.
To everyone’s amusement, Noel yelled back, “Sweet and salty, just the way I like ’em.”
The whole bar burst out laughing, including Pike. After a minute or so, Noel whispered to Nick, “You can let me go now. They all left.”
Nick completely forgot that they were only acting and reluctantly removed his arm. Holding Noel had felt good. Right.
Maybe they shouldn’t pretend to be together for anyone’s sake. For something that was supposed to be fake, it had felt too real.
Chapter 6
NOEL
Noel walked into Paulette’s Café just before noon on Sunday, not at all surprised that she was the first to arrive. Gabs was always running fifteen minutes behind. Noel had no idea who else was in the bridal party but had a sneaky suspicion one of the coveted spots would be taken by Amber.
Noel had never seen the appeal, but Gabby and Amber clicked in high school. While Noel had been the steadfast, low-key friend, Amber was the fun one. She liked to party and shop for hours. Talk girly things like hair, makeup, and boys. Even though they didn’t hang like they used to, Gabby still considered Amber a close friend.
Which meant for the next month, Noel would be spending a lot of time with the narcissistic witch who’d hurt Nick. Noel didn’t understand what she’d done to deserve that karma, but nothing she could recall warranted being stuck planning Gabby’s wedding with the she-devil. The girl tortured Noel in high school and moved in on Nick at a bonfire when Noel walked off to grab beers.
She still thought about that night, although looking back, it was for the best. Since the minute they’d picked him up from basic in his parents’ car, Noel sensed something different between them. More touching. Laughing. Watching the way the fire danced across his face. For a moment, she thought he might kiss her. She’d panicked and run off to get them another couple of beers and when she’d come back, Amber sat next to him, running her hand over the newly developed muscles of his arm.