Chapter 13

Bridgett

Mom

Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God….

I shakily go to the sink and turn the tap on cold so I can let the water run over my wrist to help cool me down. I can’t believe I kissed Noah, or that he kissed me back. Not just that, I can’t believe how flipping hot it was. I had no idea a person could be kissed like that. That you could practically orgasm from having a man’s mouth on you and just his hand on your breast. I close my eyes and try to pull myself together, at least on the outside. Because Lord knows I’m a mess right now on the inside.

When I hear a woman’s voice, my spine stiffens, then I hear Noah say, “Mom,” and my stomach bottoms out. I glance around the kitchen frantically for somewhere to hide as footsteps get closer, but just as I start to step toward the pantry, Noah comes around the corner, his mother a few steps behind him.

“Babe.” His gaze locks with mine, and I swear I see an apology in his eyes. “This is my mom, Rebecca. Mom, this is Bridgett.”

“Nice to finally meet you.” She steps toward me and startles me with a warm embrace.

“You too.” I hug her back awkwardly. I don’t know her, but I know of her. When Aiden was younger, he spent almost all his time at her house. I used to get so jealous of my brother because of his relationship with Noah and his family. They were always traveling for soccer—since he and Noah were on a team together—or going on trips to the lake or for weekends out of town. I wanted that. Wanted people who wanted me around. Because my mother made it very clear that I was an inconvenience, and my dad was always working. I was alone a lot, and that sucked. Okay, I wasn’t alone all the time. I did have the people my parents paid to hang out with me, but that’s not the same.

“I didn’t mean to interrupt anything,” she says, and I come out of my thoughts, finding her looking between Noah and me. “I was just in the area and thought I would stop by and see if you guys were home.”

“You’re not interrupting,” I assure her quickly, feeling my face get hot. “Noah and I were just moving a couch upstairs.”

His mom looks at him.

“I brought my bed over from the trailer and set it up for Bridgett in the spare room.”

“Good.” She gives him a nod of approval while my stomach flops all over the place. His gaze meets mine. I know he mentioned that he didn’t want me sleeping on the couch, but I had no idea he was giving me an actual bed to sleep in.

“I also cleaned out the desk in there so you can use it, and I pulled a ton of hangers from my closet so you can hang up your shit.”

“Thank you.” I clear my throat because I do not want to start crying. Not in front of his mom.

Sheesh, how the heck am I supposed to convince myself not to fall for this guy when he’s so sweet all the time?

I’m so screwed.

“Do you wanna hang out and stay for dinner? Bridgett’s making lasagna.” He picks up Lola when she walks out of the laundry room with her whining puppies trailing behind her.

“I don’t want to intrude.” She bends to pick up Coco.

“Mom.” He shakes his head while I gather up Louie and Chanel, who swarm around my feet. And, no, I have not shared their names with Noah since I’m sure he would not approve or would make fun of me, especially when he calls Coco "Rocky,” Louie “Ralph,” and Chanel “Butch.”

When silence descends over the room, I look up from kissing Louie and find Rebecca’s eyes on me like she’s waiting for me to tell her it’s okay if she stays.

“I’m also making scones,” I tell her stupidly. “But we’re not eating those with the meal. I just found a recipe I want to try. With dinner, we’re having asparagus and Italian bread.” She smiles while Noah groans.

“Asparagus?”

“Asparagus is delicious, and it’s good for you.” I glare at him.

“It’s gross.”

“You’ve never had mine.”

“True.” He gives me a look that feels a little inappropriate with his mother standing just feet away.

“I’ll stay,” Rebecca says, and when I take my eyes off her son, I swear I catch her trying not to laugh. “I’ve never made scones before. Do you mind if I help?”

“I would love that.” I set both puppies down and wash my hands. “I’ve only made scones once before, and they didn’t turn out that great. But the new recipe I found seems easy enough for me not to mess up.”

“Don’t let her fool you, Mom. She’s an awesome cook.”

“I figured that much when you stopped coming by for leftovers.”

I look at Noah as he shrugs, and my heart does a little double-beat. I knew that whenever I left food in the fridge for him, it ended up gone, but I didn’t know how much he enjoyed it until right now.

“Do you girls want me to open a bottle of wine?” he asks, and I look at his mom, who shrugs as her eyes meet mine.

“Sure,” I tell him. He goes to the pantry, coming out a minute later with a bottle of one of my favorite reds.

“I’ll be right back,” Rebecca says before heading toward the bathroom. I use that moment to grab my phone and pull up the recipe I found online.

As warmth hits my back, my hips sink into the counter in front of me, and I turn my head to the side to meet Noah’s gaze.

“Are you okay?” he asks while grasping the curve of my waist in his large hand. My breath catches, and a tingle slides down my spine from the very intimate position.

Conner was not a big guy by any stretch. He always used swimming as a way to stay in shape, which kept him fit but thin. And at just a couple of inches taller than me, I never felt physically small in his presence. With Noah, it’s the complete opposite. I feel tiny when I’m around him, even in my heels, and there is something almost euphoric about that.

“I’m good,” I whisper, glancing toward the bathroom. Honestly, I’m shockingly relaxed, considering what happened earlier—even with his mom here .

“Okay.” He gives my waist a squeeze and steps back, making me instantly miss his warmth.

“All right, I’m ready. Tell me what you want me to do.” Rebecca comes around the corner, rolling up the sleeves of her sweater. I smile at her, then pass her my cell so she can look over the recipe.

“I’ve already frozen the butter,” I tell her, going to the freezer to get it out.

“Oh, my,” she whispers, and I look at her over my shoulder, finding her staring at my cell with a horrified look on her face.

“What?” I ask, walking toward her. Before I even make it across the kitchen, Noah is there, taking my phone from her grasp.

“I didn’t mean to tap it,” Rebecca says quietly as she looks at me, then up at him.

“What is it?” I try to see what he’s looking at, but he hits the button on the side, turning the screen black.

“You don’t need to see that shit.” Noah grabs his keys before tossing my cell onto the counter.

“Honey.” His mom reaches for him as I scramble to get my phone.

“Keep her here,” he orders as I turn on my cell and try to find what they saw. Rebecca follows after him.

It only takes a second to locate the last message I got and see that it was from Conner. When I tap on it, I can only stare in disbelief at the text and image he sent me. In the middle of what used to be Conner’s and my backyard is a pile of name-brand bags, shoeboxes, clothes, and even my jewelry box, with a red can of gasoline front and center. The message under it just reads: I bet you talk to me now.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I mutter under my breath, then come out of my daze when I hear the back door slam shut. “Oh, no.” With my heart pounding, I run down the hall and swing open the door, then stumble down the stairs as Noah backs his truck out of the garage.

His mom looks at me, wringing her hands, looking at a loss for what to do. “I couldn’t stop him.”

“Noah!” I scream while running to the front of his truck, slapping my hands on the hood.

“Bridgett.” His mom rushes to me, grabbing my arm. “Let’s go inside.”

“I’m not letting him leave,” I tell her, feeling panicked because I don’t know what Conner might do if Noah shows up at the house. He’s obviously lost it if he’s going as far as burning my stuff to get my attention.

“Move, baby,” Noah yells out the window, and I shake my head and circle around to the driver’s side, where the glass is now rolled down.

“I don’t care about any of that stuff.”

“It’s still your stuff.”

“Yeah, but it’s just stuff.” I pull on the door handle to open it, but it’s locked.

“Move out of the way, babe.”

“Don’t you understand that this is what he wants? He wants to get a rise out of me. He wants to upset me.” I pull on the door handle again with no luck. “He doesn’t get anything else from me. He doesn’t get anything from you.”

“Move,” he instructs, and my eyes fly up to his.

“Please, don’t do this,” I beg, hating Conner more than I ever have, and that’s saying something since I already despised him.

“Step back, baby,” Noah orders quietly, and I do, even though I feel completely defeated. Dropping my gaze to the ground, I feel his mom’s arms wrap around me. A second later, she lets me go, and before I have a chance to question why, Noah’s huge body is wrapped around mine, and he’s embracing me.

“Thank you.” I sag against him, overwhelmed that he listened.

“I still want to kick his ass.”

“He’s not worth it.” I tip my head back when his fingers go under my chin, putting pressure there.

“He’s not worth it, but you are. You get that, right?” he asks, and tears fill my eyes. “Don’t cry.”

“I won’t.” I press my face into his chest so I can suck in a deep breath. The truth is that his words hit a part of me I didn’t even know was vulnerable. For so long, I’ve felt like I’m not worth much of anything. That I’m a burden my family has just dealt with because that’s what they’re supposed to do. It’s horrible to feel like nothing more than an obligation to people.

“Go inside with Mom,” Noah says after a long minute, and every muscle in my body gets tight. “I’m not going after him.” His lips rest against the crown of my head. “I’m just going to pull my truck back into the garage.”

“Come on.” Rebecca slides her arm through mine. I let Noah go with a nod and head into the house with her but stop right at the back door. “He’d never lie to you.”

“I—”

Her quiet laughter cuts me off, and she takes my hand, dragging me down the hall. “He’s always been brutally honest. I’m sure you’ll find that out eventually because him being truthful doesn’t always feel great.” She grins. “That said, if he says he’ll do something, he’ll do it, and vice-versa.” Her expression turns serious as she studies me. “Are you okay?”

“My ex is a jerk.” I take a seat at the counter and watch her pour two cups of the wine Noah opened.

“I’ve been there, done that, sweet girl. And you’re one hundred percent right about feeding into him. Guys like him get high off making other people miserable.” She passes me one of the cups. “Noah’s daddy was just like that, a liar and a master manipulator. That’s why my boy is truthful to a fault and overprotective of the people he cares about.” Her gaze on me goes soft, and my pulse quickens.

I lift my cup to my mouth, taking a sip of my drink as an excuse to get out from under that look. The red I always keep stocked isn’t as good as the champagne I had last night, but that’s probably a good thing since champagne tends to go to my head.

When I hear the back door open, my muscles instantly relax. Noah is back inside. As soon as he reaches the end of the hall at the entrance to the kitchen, his eyes meet mine before they scan my face.

“I’m gonna head up and finish with the couch. Are you two good?” He glances from me to his mom.

“We’re good.” She smiles, and with a jerk of his chin, he heads through the kitchen. A second later, I hear his boots hit the stairs. “Are you still up for making your scones?” Rebecca asks me.

“Yes.” I get off my stool and wash my hands again, then Rebecca and I make blueberry-lemon scones that rival anything I’ve ever purchased from any bakery I’ve been to. Later that night, long after Rebecca has left and I’m in my new bed alone, I lie in the dark, not thinking about my ex. Instead, I think about the kiss Noah and I shared and how much I enjoyed every single second I’ve spent with him.

Which means I fall asleep happy and content, which is something new for me.