Chapter 34

CHAPTER 34

NOAH

T ouching down in Austin with Brandon by my side, I slid my sunglasses onto my face and hoped like hell that Texas would be good to me again. About ten minutes after he’d left my suite the other day, I’d decided that I wouldn’t let Gemma go without even trying to fight for her.

It just wasn’t who I was. Ultimately, the decision of whether I was worthy was hers to make. Not mine and sure as shit not my parents’.

I was terrified she was going to shoot me down. Refuse to even talk to me, perhaps.

But I had never let terror hold me back before. I wouldn’t start now.

Life had kicked me in the balls enough to know how to get back up again after it happened, and while this blow might take me longer to recover from, I needed to know that I’d tried. I had to be able to tell myself that I’d fought and that I’d gone all the rounds without tapping out when things had gotten hard or I would never let my guard down again.

Brandon glanced at me as we climbed into his truck. He kept it in a long-term lot near the airport, and it was delivered clean and gassed up whenever he told them he’d be coming to town.

“Are you ready to get down on your hands and knees and beg?”

I shrugged. “I’d get on national television and beg at this point if I have to. Getting on my knees is nothing in comparison. Whatever I have to do to get her to give me my shot, I’ll do it.”

“Good, because I have a plan.” He pushed his sunglasses down to the bridge of his nose, turning to smirk at me. He pushed the truck into gear.

I frowned. “ You have a plan?”

“I do.”

“How?” I buckled up as he navigated out of the parking spot they always left his car in. “How can you possibly have a plan?”

After winking at me, he pushed his sunglasses back over his eyes and focused on the road. “Do you remember when I told you about that girl I dated who was obsessed with Deb Guntry’s books?”

“Yeah?”

“Well, while we were together, I followed Deb on Instagram. I kind of like the graphics she posts sometimes, so I never unfollowed her.”

“Okay.” I frowned. “What does this have to do with me and Gemma?”

“I know where your girl is going to be tonight.” He grinned triumphantly. “Last night, Deb posted about this big Christmas party we have in town every year, and she said she hoped she’d see all of her followers who were in and around Austin there.”

“That’s nice, but how do we know Gemma’s going to be there too?”

He groaned. “Dude, you’re lucky the plan is in my hands. Obviously , she’s going to be there. She and Deb’s daughter are tight, aren’t they?”

“They’ve been best friends since elementary school, but that doesn’t mean they’re going to the same Christmas party as Laurel’s mom. I’m just going to go to her place and?—”

“Nooo,” he moaned. “It’s better this way. The party is awesome, and it’s Christmassy, and there’s no way anyone can stay mad when they’re there. It’s too sweet and festive. It’ll be your big moment.”

“My what now?”

He sighed. “Imagine this. You show up unexpectedly at her hometown’s annual Christmas party, pour your heart out, apologize profusely, and then sweep her off her feet. God, just talking about this is giving me a toothache. It’s that sweet, man.”

I laughed dryly. “Are you thinking about becoming a matchmaker or something?”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake. She commented on Deb’s post, okay? That’s how I know she’s definitely going to be there. I saw her say so in black and white while we were on the plane.”

My heart stammered. “When exactly is this party?”

He glanced at his watch. “It starts in a couple hours. Just enough time to for us to stop to buy you a suit, get to my place, shower, and go to the community clubhouse where they’re having it this year.”

“We’re stopping to buy me a suit?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

Reaching for his sunglasses again, he pulled them off and gave his eyes an exaggerated roll. “Because obviously, you need to be in a suit. Did you not hear the part about this being your big moment? You can’t be wearing jeans for that. It’s not authentic enough.”

“This is Texas. Jeans are like the uniform of your people.”

“Yeah, but you’re not one of those people,” he joked. “Come on, bro. You need a suit and you know it. Also, I’ve already called my tailor. He knows we’re on our way, and in case you haven’t noticed, my house is in the opposite direction of where we’re going right now.”

Drawing in a deep breath, I finally decided that I’d roll with this. “A suit will work just fine.”

“Excellent.” He flashed me a wide grin, and he was still wearing it when we eventually walked into the annual Christmas party later on.

I honestly didn’t know what I’d been expecting coming here, but it sure as hell hadn’t been this. If I had ever been to a community party for any of the holidays, I might have known what it would be like. This was a complete first for me though, and yet, it was exactly what it had to be—a good old-fashioned get-together in a place where everyone seemed to know each other.

There were loads of people everywhere and they were all laughing and talking. Kids ran around, shrieking with joy over the colorful Christmas lights and posing for pictures with the lit-up reindeer, Santas, and sleighs along the sides of the clubhouse. Carols played in the background. A giant tree in the corner had mountains of gifts underneath it and a bunch of kids were trying to grab some while their parents were desperately trying to hold them back.

It really was a warm scene, and to my surprise, I really fucking loved it. It had all the Christmas vibes ever wrapped up into one party and it was everything I never knew I wanted to attend over the holidays.

As we walked in, people recognized Brandon, but most of them didn’t seem to know him from City Lights. These were people he’d grown up with, gone to school with, and had played with as a kid. He greeted everyone happily and warmly, shaking hands and introducing me as his friend and bandmate, but no one seemed to care about the fame.

They were friendly and polite to me, but none asked for a selfie or an autograph. They spoke to me like a person and welcomed me as warmly as if I were family.

Brandon laughed when one guy in particular ran up to him, embracing the dude like a long-lost brother and grinning like a loon when he let the guy let go. “Jack! It’s great to see you, man. How are you?”

When he said the guy’s name, I realized that I knew him too. Jack had been at Deb’s house at Thanksgiving. He was Leif’s brother—and if Leif was here, Laurel was here, and if Laurel was here, then Gemma definitely was too.

“I’m so good,” he said, laughing as he looked Brandon up and down. “Wow. You know, I wasn’t sure if the Brandon Hill people kept talking about as a popstar was you. I guess I just couldn’t quite believe it. How are you doing, kiddo?”

“Not a kiddo anymore,” Brandon snapped laughingly. “It worked when you were helping Coach back in high school, but now?”

Jack shrugged. “It’ll always work.”

Brandon rolled his eyes before turning to me. “This is?—”

“Noah,” Brandon finished for him, turning to arch an eyebrow at me. “Man, you are in a world of trouble. The girls are pissed , and for once, no one is at all angry with me.”

Brandon glanced between us with a confused furrow on his brow. “You two know each other?”

“Yeah, we met at Thanksgiving. His brother is dating Deb’s daughter,” I said. “How do you two know each other?”

“Jack spent a couple years back in the day helping out with the high school football team when I was playing. This guy has never met a sport he doesn’t love so much that he volunteered all his free time to supposedly teaching the younger generation.”

“Supposedly?” Jack laughed. “You’re an asshole. I was a great coach.”

As he turned back to me, he reached out to clasp my shoulder. “I’m assuming you’re here for Gemma. Word to the wise, as someone who’s spent the last few days trying to convince her to hear him out, beg and be honest. They can smell lies, man.”

“I’m getting the feeling that I missed something,” I said.

Jack nodded enthusiastically. “You missed a lot, but it’s all good now. Leif and Laurel are together again, and all’s well that ends well. Do you guys want to get a drink?”

I’d been trying to play it cool until now, but he was right. I’d come here for Gemma. Although I’d spent the entire time discreetly scanning the crowd for her, I hadn’t seen her just yet and I really needed to go have that talk with her.

“Maybe later,” I said. “Do you know where she is?”

Jack pointed at an exterior door on the other side of the hall. “Last time I saw her, she said she was going out there for a breath of fresh air. May the force be with you.”

“Thanks. I’m going to need it.”

“You really are,” he assured me, which didn’t inspire confidence, but I squared my shoulders and crossed the hall, finally finding her standing at the railing surrounding a little patio outside.

She had her back to me, but it was definitely her. I felt her presence in my entire body, like my nerve endings were pulling me toward her.

Her blonde hair shone with the silvery light of the moon and her narrow shoulders had a bright red coat hanging over them. My heart started thudding in my ears, my whole being suddenly on edge.

Everything was riding on how the next few minutes went. Judging by the way I felt just looking at her back, I really needed them to go well.

“Gemma?” I made my way over to her across the covered patio, gently tapping her shoulder. “Gem, can I talk to you for a minute?”

She stiffened when she heard my voice, completely freezing before she turned slowly to face me, her beautiful features going slack with shock. “Noah?”

“I honestly can’t tell if you’re happy or furious to see me,” I said quietly, feeling the softest smile on my lips as I looked into those gorgeous green eyes I’d missed so damn much. “So, what’s it going to be? Can we talk?”

Her wide eyes were glued to mine as she nodded, clearly still too surprised by my appearance to talk. She didn’t say anything at first, but finally waved at a table in the corner. “It’ll be quieter there.”

It was pretty quiet out here anyway, with only a few other people on the wide patio with us, but I motioned for her to lead the way. I’d been serious when I told Brandon I was willing to go on national television to apologize to her.

Saving face really wasn’t important to me but I would appreciate some privacy while I laid myself bare before her. If I couldn’t have it, fine, but my whole life was so public these days that I never took a private moment for granted.

As we sat down, she blinked hard, evidently still trying to convince herself I was real. “Noah? What are you doing here? How did you find me here ?”

“Brandon follows Deb on Insta,” I said vaguely. Sighing, I folded my arms on the table between us and stared at her beautiful face. “I’m here because these last few days have been awful. I’ve been trying to piece together what happened, but the only thing I’ve been able to come up with is Tom’s introduction, and for the record, I had nothing to do with that.”

Her eyebrows snapped together. “You didn’t?”

“No,” I said emphatically. “I had no idea he was going to introduce you that way until he did it. Alana, our manager, asked me to apologize to you on her behalf. She told them to introduce you that way because she thought it would be good for your business. They also didn’t want to out us as a couple before they’d talked to us about it. Here. I can show you the messages. Hell, you can call Alana.”

Gemma seemed stunned, but her chin bopped in the slightest nod. I stood up immediately, sliding my phone out of my pocket to show her the text thread I had going with Alana. It started the night of the party.

Alana: Did you talk to her? Is she still upset? God, Noah. I’m so sorry. Please tell her that.

Me: Can’t. She’s gone.

Alana: What can I do?

Me: Nothing. Unless you’ve got a time machine so you can go back and tell them she was my fucking GF. She was my GIRLFRIEND, Alana. WAS. She’s not anymore.

Alana: I can call Tom and ask him to set the record straight.

Me: Too late.

Alana: It might help?

Me: She’s gone. It’s too late. Switching phone off. Next time, I want approval. Remember that. GIRLFRIEND is not EVENTS PLANNER.

Gemma stopped scrolling when she reached that message, handing the phone back over to me with tears glistening in her eyes. “You really didn’t ask them to introduce me that way?”

“No, and I nearly convinced the guys to fire our management company that night because of it. Lewis managed to calm me down, but I came real close. Shit, Gem. I was as confused about it as you were. I wanted the world to know you were my girlfriend. Why would I tell them to introduce you as my events planner?”

“Shame, maybe. Embarrassment. Sending a message that you didn’t care about me as more than that?”

“No, no, and no. None of that is true, baby. You have to believe me. You just saw the proof, and if you want any more, Jack has a really long video of me drunkenly ranting about it later that night.”

“What about the super model kissing you at the festival?” she whispered a brief pause later. “The introduction might’ve been a misunderstanding between you and your team, but I saw the picture, Noah. I also saw all the comments about it.”

I winced. “That’s on me. I should’ve told you about it myself when it happened, but honestly, I didn’t want to tell you over the phone, and when you got back, I was so excited to see you that I forgot about it until a reporter brought it up in our pre-interviews the day of the red-carpet event.”

“Who was she?”

“Your guess is as good as mine,” I said honestly. “Her name was Hillary, but that’s all I know.”

“All you know?” She frowned, her chin lowered. “That can’t be it.”

“There was a contest at the festival. The person who donated the most money to the Wishing Tree Foundation could choose any of the performers that day to get a picture in the paper with. That girl won and she chose me.”

“Then why did she kiss you?”

I shook my head. “It came as a complete shock to me when she did it, but it was too late. The picture was taken and I guess I was just kind of hoping that it would disappear into the void that is the internet. And it was just on my cheek. I wasn’t going to make a big ruckus about it.”

“So you didn’t do anything with her?”

“Absolutely nothing,” I promised, looking her right in the eyes. “I know what it looks like in that picture, but it wasn’t that, and the guys can vouch for me. I was with them for most of the afternoon. Then we met back up before the announcement. We all thought it was going to be Brandon, but it was me. After, I went to our trailer with them and they even gave me shit about hoping you didn’t find out. We spent the night stuffing our faces with Chinese food and playing games in Brandon’s room.”

She inhaled deeply through her nostrils. “You were with them most of the afternoon, but not all of it?”

“We got separated as people recognized us, but I didn’t touch her, baby. I never even saw her before they announced her as the concert winner. We were together while they took the picture and that was it.”

Gemma held my gaze. “Outside of that, is there anything else I need to know? Has anything happened with another girl since?—”

“No.” I reached for her hands and nearly wept when she let me take them. “I love you, Gemma. I love you with all of me and I would never put you in a position to look like a fool. I realize that I was wrong for not telling you about that cheek kiss earlier, but none of what they’re reporting about it is true. I love you and only you. Please, please tell me that you believe me.”

I tightened my grip on her fingers, wondering if I should let her know that I was willing and prepared to go live on social media and tell the world how I felt about her, but something about the look in her eyes stopped me.

Gemma had never needed it to be about publicity, fame, or the world, and I wouldn’t push her into a corner by offering to make it about any of that either. Here and now, there was only me and her.

I just really, really had to hope and pray that it would stay that way.