Chapter 12

" D o you think Noah will like it?" I admired the new television mounted to the wall.

Joy sauntered to the couch, which we'd moved to face the TV. "Honey, what man wouldn't? Of course he'll love everything. Except maybe the bathroom décor. Men never care about those things."

After our shopping excursion that morning, I scheduled a same-day delivery and TV installation for around five o'clock. Joy and I spent the rest of the day at the bookstore, which got busy shortly after we opened.

Eager to surprise Noah, I put the new comforter on the bed while Joy decorated the bathroom with all the new accessories. The television was the biggest expense. Everything else came to a few hundred dollars, which wasn't a lot compared to how much money the store had made.

While the brownies were in the oven, I mopped the floor with lemon-scented cleaner and then draped the new kitchen towels over the stove handle. Sugar and flour went into bumblebee canisters. It was starting to feel like a real home. After scrubbing the potatoes, I prepped everything else for Noah's favorite meal: sirloin steak, garlic potatoes, and asparagus.

I turned away from the enormous TV and assessed the living room. We'd moved Noah's chair by the couch, and since my bookshelf was close to the spare bedroom, I moved it to a different wall. The aroma of brownies and lemons filled the air. Even the bedroom carried the scent of clean linen.

"You haven't stopped smiling all day," Joy said. "You deserve happiness." She patted the sofa beside her, and we watched a channel that showed high-quality images of tropical fish. "Would you like me to come help you in the store tomorrow?"

"No," I said, wanting to say yes . "You need to get back to your mate and pack duties. Thanks for staying with me. I hope it wasn't a bother."

Joy patted my hand. "You're the sweetest. I still might stop by the bookstore. It was fun talking to customers. They're not the same crowd that comes into the bars. Some of the ladies were delightful."

I hadn't made small talk with the customers. Being the gregarious one, Joy assumed the role of making customers feel welcome, while I collected money and sacked books.

Joy sat to attention. "Someone's here."

It was either Noah or one of Joy's packmates. Hope and a few others had gone to the Rabbit Lounge for a late lunch, and around the time we closed the shop, she walked over and said she needed the car for a business run but would drop me off. When we got back to my house, Joy decided to stay and help me decorate and clean. Someone was supposed to pick her up at any moment.

I peered outside. "It's Archer." Watching him grab something off the passenger seat, I asked, "Is it hard for him to drive with one arm?"

"I suppose there are a great many things that are difficult for him to do, but you'd hardly know it. He's very adamant about his independence, and that's an admirable quality." She moved her purse by her bag. "Unless of course he needs help and refuses to take it. Once on laundry day, his shirts were in the wash, so he borrowed one of Lucian's clean ones hanging up. The buttonholes were especially tight and he couldn't get them fastened, so he walked around all day with his shirt wide open. He refused to let us button them for him."

When I opened the door, my face lit up. "Come see!"

He peered in apprehensively before spotting the TV. "Holy hell. Did you win the lottery?"

"Jackpot!" Joy said in jest. "I talked Cecilia into splurging to celebrate her successful opening."

Archer stared at the TV while scratching his cheek.

Joy walked in front of him like a model in a game show. "Isn't this delightful? She absolutely refused to buy new furniture, but you should see the new bedding."

I reached out and tugged his hand. Leading him into the kitchen, I opened the fridge door and freezer. "Voilà!"

Archer tipped his head to the side and stared at a freezer filled with frozen meat and vegetables. The fridge still had the leftover sandwiches and fruit, but it was now stocked with milk, eggs, juice, cheese, vegetables, and a case of beer. Then I showed him the food cabinets.

"Do you think he'll like it?" I asked apprehensively. "Would you?"

Archer laughed. "You're asking me if I'd be happy if a woman bought me a new TV and food with her money? Girl… that's every man's catnip."

"I need to clear my things out of the bathroom," Joy said. "I'll be ready in a minute."

"We're having steak tonight," I said proudly. "From the money I earned. I'm making his favorite dinner. "

Archer stoically looked at the canned food, boxed meals, pasta, breads, and cereal. "That was real thoughtful of you."

"No junk food. It was hard to resist, but I didn't want to spoil the evening."

He frowned. "How the hell would snacks spoil anything?"

I shrugged.

With a single step forward, he was a breath away. "Cici," he said, putting his hand on my shoulder.

I turned my head and looked at it. "You can't touch me like that," I whispered.

"Like a friend?"

My heart was torn, and I hated myself for feeling more than attraction for Archer. He regretted that night, and I had to convince my foolish heart that I couldn't be in love with two men, especially one I barely knew.

Headlights shone through the living room windows.

"He's here!" A ripple of excitement ran through me.

This would make Noah proud and turn everything around. He wouldn't have the burden of debt and finances, and perhaps he could quit his job and find something better while we lived off the bookstore money. A job that wouldn't require us moving back to Austin. He couldn't say no once he realized how much money I'd made on the second day.

I rushed out the front door to meet him in the yard. When he got out of his car, I tackled him.

"I missed you too, baby." He pulled back and studied my face in the dimming light. "What has you all riled up? Is someone else here?"

"Come see. I have a surprise for you." I tugged him by the hand up the steps and into the house, turning around to catch his expression.

The first thing Noah noticed was Archer standing at the edge of the kitchen. The two regarded each other a moment before he looked at the living room and realized what was different.

Noah blinked at the realistic fish swimming on the screen. "What the hell is that?"

"Our new TV. We earned so much yesterday and today that I wanted to spoil you with gifts. Come look in here."

When I tugged his hand, he staggered past Archer into the kitchen and watched me open the fridge and freezer doors.

"It's all healthy food," I boasted. "All the things you like—including sausages for breakfast and those hash browns you were raving about. I'm making steak and potatoes tonight, and I've got homemade brownies for dessert. Do you like pecans? I hope so because I crushed some up and put them in the batter."

Noah canted his head and touched the sugar canister. Then he noticed the towels and accent rug. "Your friends need to leave. Say goodbye."

My excitement evaporated at his curt tone. "What do you think?"

"What do I think?" he seethed. "I think you blew a lot of fucking money."

Joy hustled across the living room with her bag and went out the front door, but Archer planted roots in the kitchen.

Noah strode into the living room and gave an incredulous laugh. He picked up an automotive magazine I'd placed on the table by his chair and flung it across the room.

Archer inched closer to me, and his body went rigid.

I touched his arm. "You need to go."

Noah swaggered into the kitchen, shouldered past me, and yanked open the fridge. "Yeah, wolf. You need to go." He popped the lid off a beer and guzzled the whole thing down.

Whenever Noah's voice got quieter, it was the calm before the storm .

Noah stared daggers at him, the fridge door between them. "Are you the one that pissed on the side of my house?"

My blood ran cold when I saw this was about to escalate. Archer was no match for a tiger, and if Joy came in and got hurt, I would never forgive myself.

I rushed to the front door and held it open. "This is between us. Tell Joy thank you for everything. Please go, Archer."

Still leaning on the fridge door, Noah parroted, "Please go, Archer," and cupped his fingers in a childlike wave. "Know your place, wolf." He stepped aside and slammed the fridge door so hard that the contents knocked around inside.

I rushed up to him, hands on his chest. "Noah, they were just leaving. We can talk about this when they leave. Please don't start anything. I'm going to make you a nice dinner tonight."

He raked his teeth across his bottom lip. "You're the one who started something. You seem to think we have disposable income."

Archer's hand touched my back. "Cici, do you need help?"

Noah gave me a sinister grin. "Do you… Cici ?"

I knew the moment he heard another man call me by a nickname, his tiger was ready to pounce and rip him apart. Terrified this night would end in bloodshed, I replied, "I'm fine. We're fine. Go home, Archer. This isn't your business."

There was a tense standoff.

Finally, Archer said, "If you need anything, call. I mean it." Then his tone went lethal. "And if you put one fucking hand on her…"

Noah pushed forward, and I used my body as a shield.

"Please just go ," I said, Noah's skin vibrating against my fingers.

A moment later, the door closed.

I stepped against the counter and hugged my middle, unable to meet his gaze, terrified of his wrath.

He jerked open the fridge and pulled out the remaining beer. "You know what, Cecilia? I had too good a time last night to talk about this right now. After you take all this shit back tomorrow?—"

"I bought it for you, Noah. And I have to work."

"After you take back all this shit tomorrow ," he ground out, "you'll give me every last dime you made at the store." Noah slammed the fridge door. "Don't do that. I don't want to see one fucking tear. I busted my ass for the past two days and come home to find that you went on a shopping spree and blew a fortune on bullshit! I'm too fucking pissed to deal with your shit right now. Cook my dinner, and I'm gonna sit on the front porch, drink my beer, and cool down."

I glanced out the window and realized Archer and Joy were still sitting in the truck.

Noah shut the front door with a dramatic slam and shouted a few profanities at them.

Ashamed of his behavior, I gave a disheartened wave through the window before opening the fridge, straightening the contents, and preparing a feast.