Chapter 29

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Noah

I sat across from Ella in a booth at the pizza place, but I wasn't hungry. I was too busy fuming over the way Clint had treated Ella.

She finished her first slice of pizza and raised her eyebrows at me. "What's wrong? We're back at our favorite pizza place and eating our favorite pizza. It seems like everything's good."

I tried to shake it off. "Nothing."

She took my hand. "I already told you, guys like Clint don't bug me."

"I know. I'm trying to not let them bug me."

She stared into my eyes and then dabbed at the corners of her mouth with a napkin. "You haven't asked much about my marriage. What do you want to know about it?"

The part of my gut that had been twisted up inside realized she was right. I hadn't wanted to push her about her marriage. Of course, I'd heard things, and then today when Clint brought everything up, it had bothered me. "Did he abuse you?"

Her eyes briefly squeezed shut.

"Look, we don't have to talk about it."

"We do." She breathed in deeply, clearly steeling herself. "Let's get back to the house first."

We gathered up the rest of the pizza and threw away our trash. Then I walked her to the hospital, where we hopped into our cars and drove separately to her place.

So many thoughts rushed through my mind. Why was I reacting so poorly? Everything had gone perfectly with Clint. I hadn't done anything rash. Sure, he'd been a jerk, but she had dealt with it like a champ. Why was I still so stirred up?

About halfway to her house, I took a chance and called Damon.

He answered on the second ring. "If her place was broken into again, we probably need to get the state involved."

"It's not about that."

"Oh."

I pushed ahead. "We had a run-in with Clint today." I explained what had happened. "I don't know why, but all of this is really bugging me. This morning, I thought I wanted to build a life with her, and I do. I don't know why my mind keeps going back to Clint."

"I know why."

"Enlighten me." I was vulnerable, and though I didn't like that feeling, I wanted to let my family in. I wanted to have relationships with them, and I trusted Damon.

"You want to protect Ella," Damon said. "That's normal. I think there's a deeper issue. You really don't know her or what happened to her in the past eight years. That's just going to take time, bro. You'll have to be patient if she's not ready to talk about everything."

It was good advice. "You're right."

"I know."

I laughed. "When did you get so smart, little bro?"

Damon laughed, and for the first time in a long time, I realized how nice it was to be able to trust my brothers. "Always been smarter than you."

I laughed. "Probably true. Thank you. Talk to you later."

"Later, bro."

When I pulled up to Ella's house, I tried to rush over to her car and open her door for her, but she was already stepping out. She opened her arms, and I found myself being pulled into a kiss.

I grinned down at her. "What's that for?"

She pressed her lips together for a second and then cocked her head. "This all feels right in so many ways. I'm grateful that you want to talk about everything. It's hard for me, but before we can really move forward, I feel like both of us have to know more about each other's pasts."

"I'm glad we're taking the time to talk, too."