Lane nodded. "Yes, I remember your reaction very well. Noel was more on the periphery although he was there when Archer saved me from Kerby."
I winced knowing her kidnapping was partly my fault.
“He might have his fingers in some new mission, but with a baby and absent from the office, I don’t think you have to worry about him watching you. Archer hasn’t said anything about Bran hiring anyone to keep an eye on you.”
"Well, maybe I should've had lunch with you sooner because until this morning, I was thinking just that. It turns out that I bought the house from Bran. I didn't know about it at the time because he owned it under a holding company. The fact that he kept his ownership of the home a secret was suspicious. And then discovering Noel was my neighbor…"
"That does seem suspicious. But I can't imagine you haven't confronted Bran about that."
"I finally did this morning, but over the last few weeks I operated under the idea that Noel was working for Bran and I treated him as such."
“I see. And that’s a problem?”
I shifted in my seat trying to decide how much I wanted to disclose about Noel and me. Since I was here seeking advice, I figured she needed to know it all. "The thing is, while Noel and I don't get along very well, we are attracted to each other."
"Oh?"
“Like really attracted. Fireworks and explosions attracted.”
“And have you two acted on this?"
I nodded again.
“And that’s a problem?”
"Nobody knows and I'd like to keep it that way. I'd rather it not get back to Noel that I've told you, and I certainly am not ready for Bran to know."
"I won't say anything. But if you don't like each other, and if you think he is spying on you, why are you sleeping together?"
"We just can't help ourselves. I guess with you and Archer it’s different because you're in love, but —"
Lane laughed. "Before we admitted how he felt with each other, we frequently ended up naked even though we weren't sure it was a good idea. So, I get it."
"The thing is that I finally did confront Bran this morning and he did have some sort of scheme going but it wasn't about hiring Noel to watch out for me. Actually, it's a really cockamamie scheme. He wants to hire Noel to model a men's line of watches for Anne's business."
Lane's brow furrowed. "If that’s the case, how did you come to the idea that he’d hired Noel to watch you?"
"He bought the house next to him knowing that I would love it and hoping that by befriending Noel, Noel would then be more open to Bran’s proposition to model watches."
Her expression was still confused, and I didn't blame her.
"I know it's ridiculous. The point is that Noel isn't working for Bran and so the reason that I was resistant to him is gone."
"Oh." She perked up and smiled. "So now that attraction can be something more."
I shrugged. "Maybe. I don't know. Before I thought he was lying to me and therefore I couldn’t trust him, but I still don’t know him very well. I can see he's a good father—"
Lane sighed blissfully. "There's nothing as sexy as a man who dotes on his child."
She wasn’t wrong about that. "The thing is, whenever we've had sex, it’s usually because we've been fighting. Like all the tension builds up, releases, and we have sex. And while I have a better sense of what's going on now, I’ve come to believe that Noel thinks I'm up to something too. Like he doesn't trust me either."
“So, are you saying that what you’re feeling is more than just lust? That you like him?”
“I know it sounds crazy since I just told you we don’t get along but…I don’t know…there’s just something about him.”
“Sometimes love doesn’t make sense. Our heart can know things long before our brains do.”
“I don’t know about love.”