“Yeah, sure.” Carter nods and gives my fingers another squeeze before releasing them. “Where do you want to go?”
“Not you,” Noah snaps and stabs a finger in my direction. “I want to talk to her.”
“What?” Carter’s brows jerk together as he glances at me in surprise.
I’m just as thrown by the request. “Me?” I place a hand on my chest to clarify. “You want to talk with me?”
Noah’s scowl intensifies. I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen him this angry. He looks ready to bust a nut.
“Yeah, you.” He jerks his head toward my room. “Let’s go.”
I catch Carter’s gaze and shake my head in confusion. “Um, okay.”
This isn’t the way I saw the conversation unfolding. Noah stalks to my bedroom and I trail after him before closing the door. I knew he would be mad. My cousin has always gotten bent out of shape when his friends or teammates looked sideways at me. So, this reaction was to be expected. Although I’d assumed he would want to have it out with Carter, not me.
But maybe this is for the best. Maybe I can diffuse the situation so that it doesn’t continue to spiral out of control. The last thing I want is for Carter and Noah to be at odds with one another.
“I’m sorry about keeping this from you,” I say. “We never—”
“You and Carter aren’t happening and that’s all there is to it.” He folds his arms across his chest and glares.
Me being with any of Noah’s friends would go over like a lead balloon, but the fact that it’s his best friend makes it even worse.
I moisten my lips and try again. “Noah, let me explain—”
Refusing to listen, he shakes his head. “There’s nothing to explain, because you’re going to end things with him now before it goes any further.”
Surprised, I blink at the fierceness of his tone. “Look, you have every right to be upset.”
“You’re damn right, I do,” he bites out.
My fingers twist together in front of me. “But I don’t want you to be pissed at Carter. He didn’t do anything wrong. This was all me,” I admit.
Noah frowns and his fists clench at his sides. “I never thought otherwise, Daisy.”
My brows draw together. “Wait…What?”
“Carter would never go after you.”
There’s no denying that Noah is angry that Carter and I are together, but his ire doesn’t seem to be directed at his friend. It’s directed at—
“Wait a minute.” I draw up to my full height and press a hand against my chest for a second time. “You’re angry with me?”
Noah rolls his eyes. “Yeah, Daisy, I am.” He jerks his hand toward the door. “What the hell are you doing?”
Have I entered The Twilight Zone? Because nothing he’s saying makes sense.
I shake my head to clear it before muttering, “I don’t understand…”
Noah growls, “Carter isn’t like the other guys you mess around with.”
I huff out a frustrated breath. “That’s not what’s going on here.”
What Carter and I have is so much more than that. This relationship might be new, but already I can tell that my feelings for him run deep. Maybe they always have, and I was just too stubborn to see it.
He presses his lips into a tight line. “All you’re gonna do is screw him up, Daisy.”
My mouth tumbles open at the accusation and I whisper, “How can you say that?”
He jerks his shoulders into a shrug. “Let’s be honest, you have a shit track record when it comes to guys. You go through them like most people go through underwear. Carter doesn’t need that. Especially now.”
His words suck the air from my lungs making it impossible to breathe. “Noah…”
How did our conversation get so far off track?
A fierce protectiveness ignites in his eyes. I’ve seen that look a hundred times before, but it’s always been on my behalf and never directed at me.
“I don’t want you fucking with his head,” he mutters.
His words slice through me like a razorblade. What makes it worse is that this is coming from my cousin. The one person I can always count on to have my back. “Do you really think I would do that?”
He ignores the question, instead saying, “If you care about Carter at all, you’ll end things now before it goes any further.”
“Where is this coming from?” My voice trails off as I realize that this isn’t about Noah trying to protect me from his friend.
This is about Noah trying to protect Carter from me.
As soon as that thought takes root, the reason for it hits me like a ton of bricks.
He knows.
Noah has known this entire time, and never said a word. I think back to the strange look that passed between them when Carter took off in the middle of the football game. For the umpteenth time today, I feel like a jackass for not realizing something that should have made sense a long time ago. All the puzzle pieces were sitting in front of me and I didn’t care enough to put them together.
“You know about his family, don’t you?” I murmur.
“Of course, I do.” There’s a curl to his lip. “We’ve been friends for years.” He blinks as his expression morphs into one of disbelief. “Wait a minute—he told you about it?”
This has been a day for revelations. The heaviness of them weighs me down making it impossible to continue standing upright. I walk to the edge of the bed and wilt on it, staring at my clasped hands. “He took me to a park for a picnic this afternoon.”
Noah rears back in surprise. “I’m sorry…he did what?”
I glance up and meet his wide eyes. A small smile curves my lips. “Carter packed a lunch and took me to a park.”
Any other time, I would revel in knocking my cousin off balance. Noah drops down next to me and the mattress shifts under his bulk. I peek at him as he mouths one word.
Wow.
A chuckle escapes before fading from my lips. Instead of making eye contact, we stare straight ahead as I fill him in on what happened this afternoon with Carter’s parents.
“You need to be sure, Daisy.” He drags a hand through his hair. “Sure that you want this.” His blue gaze locks on mine. “What Carter feels for you isn’t casual.”
Pleasure blooms in my chest. “How do you know?”
“I just do,” he mutters. “Carter doesn’t allow many people into his life. Whatever you do, don’t jerk him around.”
“Noah…” I’m not sure how to respond to that.
“I’m serious,” he snaps. “Carter has got enough shit to deal with. He doesn’t need to open himself up only to have you cut and run a few weeks later.”
“I’m not going to do that,” I say softly.
“I really hope not.” A smile ghosts over his lips but there’s not a drop of humor in it. “I’d hate to kick your ass. And you better believe I’ll do it.” He raises one brow. “Cousin, or no cousin.”
“Yeah, I’d like to see you try,” I snort.
Noah throws an arm around my shoulders and tugs me close. The way our easy comradery seeps back into our exchange is a relief.
“The last time you tried something,” I taunt. “I was the one who came out victorious.”
Noah rolls his eyes and grouses, “Yeah, well that’s because you fight dirty, like a girl.”
“Please…”
He’s right. I’ve been known to fight dirty if that’s what it takes to win. And against a guy who outweighs me by almost a hundred pounds, you better believe I’m going to use every advantage available.
I’m not an idiot.
“You grabbed my nuts and squeezed,” he grumbles.
I blink innocently. “Oh? Is that what I was holding onto? They were so small, I wasn’t sure.”
He shakes his head. “I sure hope Carter knows what he’s getting involved in.”
A smile spreads across my face. “After the brownie fiasco, I’m going to hazard a guess and say that he does.”
“You’re a fucking menace, Daisy Thompson.”
With lightning quick movements, he grabs my head and sinks his knuckles into my hair before scrubbing them back and forth.
Arrrggghhh.
I hate nuggies! Noah hasn’t done this to me in years. Not since the last time I grabbed his nuts.
“I couldn’t be prouder,” he laughs.
