She had a point. Noah could just see them stirring up shit and acting like they were doing Nikki a favor. But the idea of her making the twelve-hour journey solo twanged at his insides. He changed tack. “Have you ever driven a van?”
“No, but how hard could it be? It’s just a big car.”
“No, it isn’t. Look, you shouldn’t go on your own.”
She looked up at him. “What are you saying?”
Whatwashe saying? There was an obvious answer, but that was out of left field. For one thing, he’d need to cancel his Saturday clients, lie to Sam, leave his house alone while Paula was still in possession of keys—
“I’ll take you,” he said. “To Adelaide. I’ll drive.”
Nicole blinked. “You don’t have to do that.”
“I know, but I will.”
She looked apprehensive.
“I won’t confront your ex. I won’t get out of the van if you don’t want me to.”
“Really?”
“Course.” He knew a lot of ways to intimidate idiots that didn’t involve leaving a van. “When do you want to leave tomorrow?”
Nicole chewed her lower lip. “Early? I want this to be done.”
“Okay, I’ll have to tell Sam I won’t be in.”
“Don’t do that, she can’t know we’re going away together!”
The panic in Nicole’s voice was unflattering as hell, but it made sense. “She doesn’t have to know. I’ve only got two clients. I’ll tell her they both pulled out. Rare, but it happens. And even if we’re both missing, she won’t think we’re together, will she?”
Part of him hoped she’d say yes—that she’d told her sister what they’d done, asked her opinion on what to do next, but Nicole shook her head. “No, she won’t think we’re together.”
Another pang of unfounded irritation. He shoved it aside. “So then we’ll head out without a problem. What are you gonna tell Sam and Tabby?”
Nicole’s shoulders crept up to her ears. “I don’t know. That I need some space, I guess. I was thinking of staying the night at a hotel tomorrow. Break up the drive a bit.”
The air between them changed. Noah found it harder to keep looking her in the eyes. What came next? Did he say he’d pay for the rooms? Bring the condoms? All he could think about were scratchy sheets and Nicole’s silky skin, hours and hours to see what their bodies could do.
“We don’t have to…together. We can get separate beds?”
“Right. That what you want?”
Nicole looked up at the ceiling, her fingers drumming against her glass. “I don’t know. It’s hard to know what I want right now.”
They’d circled back to the point she’d arrived with—the attraction they couldn’t get away from. He closed his eyes, wanting to say it—I want you—and knowing he didn’t have the capacity. He moved closer, feeling that crackle that came whenever they stepped into each other’s orbits, hoping she could feel, too.
“Noah, you can ignore this if you want to, but do you…like me?”
There was something in her voice now, a breathiness that made him want to take bites out of her skin.Isn’t it obvious?he wanted to say, but that wasn’t right. He nodded.
“Really?” Delight overtook her features, making her so pretty, it hurt. The sensation unstuck something inside him.
“Liked you the moment I saw you.”
“That day in the studio? But I was such a bitch!”
He shrugged. “You didn’t like the look of me, but you were honest about it. Your instincts were right, anyway. I’m scum.”