Defending My Mobster (BWWM Romance) (21 page)

“Good, because I want you back here. There’s too much to do for you to be lounging around in Texas all week.”

I didn’t argue. Larry sent me here, and Larry would demand me back. As an employer he was grouchy and demanding at best. As a person he was even worse.

“I’ll keep you posted,” I said. “But if I can help it we won’t be here a minute longer than is absolutely necessary.”

Larry hung up without saying goodbye. I didn’t bother speaking into the dead phone. I walked back to the table.

And saw Noah, sitting opposite Aaron, to the right of my seat. Great. My body filled with dread and I felt like my legs were suddenly made of lead. My night was going to be everything but quiet. I wondered if I would be able to get away. Maybe I could slip away before they saw me. But then Aaron noticed me and waved me over like we were a jolly party and I was missing out on the fun. I steeled myself and joined them. I gave Aaron back his phone.

“I didn’t expect you here,” Noah said when I sat down.

“Likewise,” I answered. My words were clipped. I was careful to keep the emotion out of my voice. I wanted to scream and shout at him. I wanted to fall into his arms and cry. I wanted to slap him. And the rollercoaster of emotions I was working through annoyed me.

“So, is everyone staying for dinner, now?” I asked sarcastically.

“Oh, that would be great,” Noah said. I glared at him. He was toying with me, and his smirk proved it. There’s a downside to knowing people so well, and in all these years apart, a lot about Noah was still exactly the same. Vanessa took his hand on the table. The same had that had been on every inch of my body. I stared at their fingers interlinking for a second.

“Well, I just might as well then,” Aaron said. When I looked at him, he was looking at Noah, eyes dark and churning.

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to,” I said. He leaned closer to me and lowered his voice so I would be the only one to hear it.

“If he’s staying, I’d rather too. You guys didn’t look too friendly when I came in this afternoon.” If only he knew. “Rather two on two than you having to fend for yourself.”

I nodded and let out a shaky breath. This wasn’t what I had planned for my night at all.

“So, Miss Bloom—“ Aaron started.

“Vanessa, tonight. Please.”

“Right. What do you do?”

Vanessa smiled at Aaron. I didn’t miss the little squeeze on Noah’s hand. “I’m a children’s psychologist. I work with troubled teenagers, and I opened a school for Special Needs children,” she said.

“Wow,” Aaron said. “That seems like quite a job.”

“Oh it is. It’s not easy. But someone has to do it.” I fought the urge to roll my eyes at her air of superiority. “Besides, the results make it all worth it. Most of these kids just want to know someone cares.”

“Do you care?” I asked. It sounded a lot more hostile than I meant it.

“Of course I do,” she said. “I feel like every one of those kids are my own.”

“Until you have your own, of course. Then it’ll be different, I’m sure?”

She turned her eyes to the table, fiddling with a napkin. “Oh, I don’t want children of my own,” she said. I blinked at her.

“That doesn’t make sense, does it?” I asked.

“I don’t know. I think parenting is for a very particular kind of person. I’m not really cut from the same cloth, you know. I can deal with these kids in a professional capacity, and one or two hours a week is one thing. But what do I do when the baby is crying? Or if my child doesn’t have a psychological issue?”

I wanted to say something, but Vanessa carried on. “I’m not really that kind of person. Noah here is much better with the kids than I am.”

Her words whipped around me, and a shrill ringing started between my ears, bouncing around my skull.

“Noah?” I asked.

“Oh yes. Sometimes when he comes to Kerrville we spend time with the kids. He’s amazing with them, so patient and kind. And he’s always telling them some story with a moral to it. I can’t put moral values into stories like Noah can. Compared to him I just sound like I’m preaching.”

I stared at Noah, who refused to make eye contact. He slowly pulled his hand from underneath Vanessa’s. She didn’t seem to mind. My blood boiled under my skin, because he was two-faced. Because I cared at all. I took a deep breath and crossed my one leg over the other.

“That’s interesting for a man who doesn’t have any moral values of his own,” I said. The words were out before I could stop them, and they hung in the air between us. I felt betrayed. He couldn’t be a father to his own unborn child, but he could help some egotistical bitch take care of children that didn’t even belong to him?

Everyone looked at me. Aaron was amused. Vanessa appalled. And when I looked at Noah, he didn’t look outraged as I’d expected. He looked hurt.

“Tamika…” Aaron said softly. Not a reprimand, a suggestion. I was being mean. I looked down at the table. The waitress appeared, and we ordered food. I picked the first thing my eyes landed on in the menu. Vanessa ordered a meal that she changed almost everything of, with the waitress scribbling furiously. Aaron ordered a steak. When Noah said he’d have the same, Aaron cleared his throat.

“Actually, I’ll have the baked chicken,” he said. There was no verbal reaction, but the atmosphere wobbled.

Noah put both hands on the table and interlinked his own fingers, leaning on his elbows. I was aware of how close he was, and I could smell his scent from here. I wondered if Vanessa would have been able to tell we’d had sex. He was still wearing the same clothes, even though he was dustier now. I realized that I didn’t even know what Noah did.

“What do you do?” I asked. Noah looked at me like he was surprised I asked, but then he answered.

“I run a ranch down on River Valley road,” he said.

“Oh, that sounds nice,” I answered. I was happy that he’d found a job at least. “Does your father live there with you?”

Noah’s face closed. I knew I shouldn’t have brought his father up, but I couldn’t help myself. I was angry and anything I could find to needle him now just slipped out.

“My father passed away,” he said softly. I could see the conflict of emotions on his face. I could just imagine that he was relieved to be free of him, but there had been a lot wrong with their relationship before I’d left. I wondered if he’d had a chance to fix it. I wasn’t going to ask.

“I’m sorry,” I said, and I really meant it. I’d put my foot in my mouth because of my temper, and now I regretted it. “Are the owners nice to work with?” I asked.

Noah looked up at me confused for a moment. Then his expression changed, emotions flickering across his face too fast for me to read.

“Actually Noah...“ Vanessa said but Noah grabbed her hand to shut her up.

“They’re okay,” he said. Vanessa frowned at him, but he kept going. “A little moody at times, sometimes they don’t follow through and I think they could have a bit more spine, but it’s not a bad job.”

“Well, that’s nice,” I said. An awkward silence filled the spaces between us. I swirled the last sip of wine around in my glass so I had something to do. Aaron checked his phone. The only person that didn’t look like she felt out of place was Vanessa.

“Noah, did you find all your answers this afternoon?” Aaron asked. Noah and I both snapped our heads up and looked at him. “With Tamika,” Aaron said to clarify, like both of us didn’t know what he was talking about.

“I uh… yeah. I think so,” Noah said, glancing at me.

“When did you see Tamika?” Vanessa asked. Her voice was accusing.

Noah’s face turned a slow shade of red. I hadn’t seen him stuck like this in years. If it hadn’t been such an uncomfortable situation I would have thought it  was funny.

“Noah came round the hotel this afternoon to talk to Tamika. About the assets. Apparently you were upset,” Aaron said.

“You told her that?” Vanessa asked Noah. Her voice was high-pitched, her face pinched into a scowl.

“No, I didn’t.” Then he corrected himself. “I mean, yes, I did. I just wanted to know when you were going to get your share.”

“I’m getting a share?” Vanessa asked, her eyes lighting up.

“No,” I quickly interrupted. “What Noah means to say is that he came to ask why you couldn’t get your share.”

Aaron pulled up his eyebrows at Noah, who shrugged and looked at me.

“It wasn’t really a long discussion. He was worried about you.”

“Yeah, quick in, quick out,” Noah said. I blushed crimson. I was glad no one could see it on my dark skin. Noah realized what his words sounded like, and his face went bright red, too.

“What is he talking about?” Vanessa asked me, eventually pulling her eyes away from Noah and his blush.

“He just came to understand how it works. It was nothing.”

“Didn’t look like nothing to me,” Aaron said. “You two were going at it good when I came in.”

Again the sexual reference had me scrambling desperately for words. Noah rubbed his forehead with his thumb and forefinger, splitting his hand wide across his face, hiding his eyes.

“You were what?” Vanessa asked, her voice shrill. She looked at me, mouth hanging open.

“We just had a small argument, that’s what Aaron means,” I said.

Vanessa looked like she was going to have a nervous breakdown. Noah was leaning forward on his elbows, still hiding his face. He looked like a guilty teenager. Aaron leaned back, hands hooked into his pants pockets, and then the waitress arrived with two plates of food. She put them down in front of Noah and Vanessa. Another young waitress brought the other two plates.

“All of this sounds a lot like sexual innuendo,” Vanessa said with a grin. She thought she was making a joke.

“No!” Noah and I both cried out at the same time. Vanessa narrowed her eyes. Our reaction to the joke was too serious.

“I mean, nothing happened.” I took a deep breath and tried to get myself back under control.“It was a professional meeting.” I thought of his tongue around my nipple.

“I wouldn’t touch her with a stick,” Noah said and picked up a fork, poking his steak.

“Excuse me?” I said, glaring at Noah. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Yeah, that sounded a lot like an insult,” Aaron said. Why was he stirring? He leaned forward over the table, the steam of his food in his face. His hands were still in his pockets, but his attitude was hostile now. He’d gone from passive to active.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize your girlfriend was so sensitive. She was fine throwing insults my way a moment ago.” Noah’s green eyes blazed emerald.

“Noah, don’t,” I said. I reached my hand out and put it on his arm. “He’s not my..."

“Keep running your mouth. Keep going at Tamika like she’s the enemy and you’re going to get it,” Aaron interrupted me. His hands were on the table now.

“Aaron, calm down,” I said. “Vanessa?” I looked at her, hoping she could diffuse the situation a little. It would have been great if I didn’t have to try keep both men on their leashes. But Vanessa stared at everything with wide eyes, despondent and uninvolved.

“For a psychologist you’re not very good at dealing with messy situations,” I blurted out.

“Don’t you talk to her that way,” Noah said to me, jabbing a finger in my direction. It felt like a physical offense even though he wasn’t touching me. He was sticking up for her.

“That’s it,” Aaron said, pushing his chair out. The next moment he launched at Noah half over me and half over the table. Knives and forks clattered to the floor and Noah’s chair splintered underneath him with the impact.

Vanessa screamed. The two men rolled on the floor, tumbling over each other. Aaron threw a fist and connected with Noah’s jaw. Noah cursed a string of colorful words, and swung for Aaron, who managed to duck out of the way. The movement threw him off balance, and Noah kneed him in the ribs. Aaron groaned and went down. Noah climbed on top of Aaron, pinning him down, and slugged him in the face. Noah’s face was red, with a white line around his mouth, and his pupils were pinpricks of black in a sea of light green that radiated anger.

Vanessa jumped up, finally spurred into action, and tried to pull Noah off Aaron, but he wouldn’t budge. He kept punching, arms pounding like jackhammers, pumping one after the other. The sickening crunch of bones sounded through the restaurant, and I knew that everyone was looking at us now.