Noel watched Nick come up alongside Amber, taking the present she offered him. When the two of them disappeared around the corner, Noel wiped her mouth delicately. They continued eating quietly and Noel noticed Merry hadn’t sat back down. Instead she hovered just inside the dining room, her head turned intently.
“Stop spying on your brother,” Victoria hissed.
“I’m not spying. I am protecting him in case Amber tries to suck his soul from his body.”
Anthony and Pike smothered their laughter with a cough, but Noel couldn’t find the humor in the situation. Amber shows up and Nick follows her around like a faithful dog, after the way she’d dropped him.
Why were men so stupid sometimes?
No one else said a word as Noel climbed her feet.
“Is anyone else finished? I’m full.”
Victoria’s expression warmed with motherly concern. “Are you sure, honey?”
“Yeah, I’m good. Don’t worry about me.”
Noel headed for the kitchen, refusing to look towards the entryway. She dumped her paper plate with half-eaten food into the trash.
After the way Amber broke up with Nick, why was he still nice to her? Nick was a good guy, but Amber didn’t deserve his consideration or kindness.
Noel continued to silently berate her best friend inside her head until something struck her.
She was jealous. Green-eyed monster, wanting to punch Amber in the nose, jealous.
See, this is what happens when you kiss your best friends. Chaos. Mayhem. Anarchy.
Noel finished washing her hands and was still drying them when her phone vibrated in her back pocket. She pulled it out to find a text from Trip.
Please talk to me, Noel. We had fun together.
Meet me tomorrow at Los Lobos, 7 pm.
I’ll buy.
Noel’s first instinct was to leave him on read. She’d said everything she needed to say to him the other night and he couldn’t take the hint.
The she glanced out the kitchen window to find Amber and Nick standing by Amber’s car. They seemed to be deep in conversation and something Amber said made Nick laugh. Noel twisted the dish towel in her hand as she watched like it was a train wreck. She couldn’t stop.
Suddenly, Amber wrapped Nick up in a tight hug and although he didn’t return it, merely gave Amber a half-hearted pat on her back, he didn’t try to pull away and it bugged Noel.
Bad.
Her jaw clenched and before she could consider the implications, she messaged Trip back.
Fine. 7.
Noel wasn’t leading Trip on. She agreed to the meeting for curiosity’s sake. If hearing Trip out meant he’d finally leave her alone, she was all for it.
Plus, he was buying. Free food was hard to pass up.
Chapter 18
NICK
Nick stepped inside Kiss My Donut, and the noise level in the bustling café made his head pound with the aftereffects of too many shots with his little sisters last night. He had no idea when Merry and Holly developed the skill to drink him under the table, but even after a shower and what seemed like a gallon of water, his pores still oozed Crown.
He shouldn’t have drunk so much, but as far as birthdays went, last night took a turn he hadn’t been prepared for. Nick, floating on air, ready to tell Noel he wanted to dive into something real with her, had the wind knocked out of him when Amber walked in. His whole family staring at him, waiting to see what he’d do. He wasn’t going to humiliate her in front of a room full of people, so he’d casually followed outside, feeling the eyes of everyone he loved on his back.
When they reached her car, Amber spun around, staring at him earnestly.
“I wanted to come by tonight and apologize. Everything you said to me the other day was true. When we got together, we were both kids and we didn’t have time to really get to know each other before you left. I should have been a better girlfriend, a better person, and I’m sorry I couldn’t be that for you. I hope you can forgive me.”
He’d been so thrown by her sincerity, he’d simply nodded.
“I didn’t mean to cause a scene. I actually hoped you’d be the one to answer the door and we could avoid anyone else knowing I’d come by.”
He’d laughed. “Yeah, no chance of that. They’re going to have questions.”
“I just hated us leaving things on such a sour note. You’re the kind of guy a woman needs to be ready for, and I just wasn’t.”
“I get it, Amber. No hard feelings. We’re both happy with how things worked out.”
“Yeah. Happy. On that note, I suppose I’ll go.” Before he could react, she hugged him hard. “Have a great birthday.”