Chapter Seven
“Are you freaking kidding me?” Noelle glared at the flat tire on her way-too-new-for-this car. “This is the last thing I need.”
She looked at her watch. Only thirty minutes till she was supposed to be at the bridal show. Probably enough time to change the tire and still make it on time. If she knew how to change a flat. Which she didn’t. And she didn’t have time to learn, even with the trusty internet on her side, or to call her roadside assistance service.
She dug her phone out of her purse. What were her options? Call Caitlin? A cab? Yeah, a cab would work. She didn’t want to bother Caitlin.
She heaved a sigh. But first she needed to call Tate.
She scrolled through her contacts until she reached his name. Her thumb hovered over the call icon. “Get a grip.” Calling him was not the end of the world. She pressed her thumb down on the screen.
“Hello,” he answered after two rings.
“Hi, it’s me. Noelle,” she added because why would she expect him to know who “me” was?
“I know. What’s up? Were you getting lonely not hearing my voice?”
She rolled her eyes. “You wish.”
He laughed softly. “What’s up?”
Just say it. She gripped the phone tighter. “I’m-I’m going to be late.”
“Late? You’re never late.” He sounded thoroughly confused.
“I know,” she muttered.
“You sound weird. What’s wrong?”
Say it. “I have a flat tire.”
He hooted. “Are you telling me the always prepared Dr. Noelle doesn’t know how to change a tire?”
This was why she hadn’t wanted to call him.
“You are correct,” she said stiffly.
“Sooo…because you don’t know how to change a flat tire, you’re going to be late. Hey, didn’t you get on me about being late not too long ago?”
No, this was why she hadn’t wanted to call him.
“Dr. Noelle, I don’t hear anything,” he said in a singsong tone of voice.
She laughed at his teasing. Something she did a lot around him. “Okay. You’re right. I deserved that. I’m going to call a cab. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“Where do you live?”
She blinked. “What?”
“Where do you live? It might be faster if I swing by and pick you up. I’m about fifteen minutes away from the show.”
“Oh. I live in Uptown off Central Expressway.”
“I’m driving south on Central as we speak. Text me your address. I’ll put it in my GPS.”
Did she have a better option? No, she didn’t. “Okay. Thanks. Bye.” Noelle ended the call, sent the text, and went back inside her house to wait. A few minutes later, when she heard a car pulling into her driveway, she jumped off her couch and hurried outside. “Hey,” she said, walking toward Tate, who was stepping out of his SUV. “Thanks again for picking me up.”
He continued around the car to the passenger side. “No problem. You’re in my debt now.”
“Yeah, right. In your dreams.”
“How did you guess?” He grinned and opened the door. She climbed inside, stopping midway to stare at the light blue piece of cardstock in the seat. Looked like a wedding invitation.
Tate reached around her and picked it up. “Sorry about that.”
“Don’t worry about it.” She settled against the plush leather seat and watched Tate walk around the car. He hopped inside, scowled at the invitation, and tossed it in the cup holder in between seats.
She stared at the seemingly inoffensive piece of paper. Should she ask him about it? No, it wasn’t any of her business. She turned to look out the passenger-side window as Tate backed the car out of the driveway and headed toward the freeway.
“How many of these bridal shows have you been to?” he asked, breaking the silence a few minutes later.
She shifted toward him. “A couple. How about you?”
He made a disbelieving noise. “You’re kidding, right? None.”
“Poor Tate. You’ll be okay.” She patted him on the thigh. A mistake. The hard muscle flexed under her palm as he accelerated the car. The contact sent a bolt of electricity through her palm. Casually, she hoped anyway, she returned her hand to her lap.
“You going to protect me, Doc?”
“You don’t need my protection.” But she wasn’t sure she didn’t need protection from her wayward desires.
“You sure about that? I have these visions of crazy brides running all over the place, screaming because the wedding dress they want isn’t available or something.”
“You’ve been watching too much reality TV.”
“I will have you know I only watch the highest caliber of reality TV.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, like what?”
“Sports.” The “duh” was implicit.
“Eh.” She knew the shrug in her voice would get to him.
The glance he sent her way was full of astonishment. She bit her lip to stop a laugh from escaping.
“You don’t think a World Series game seven, winner takes all, is exciting?” He sounded disgusted.
Noelle shrugged.
“Or a last-second pass to win a Super Bowl?”
This was too much fun. “I suppose it is.”
She listened, amused, as he launched into a detailed overview of the Cowboys’ last championship and their futile, but entertaining, attempts to win another one.
“So yeah, sports are way better than those wedding reality shows,” he finished up.
At the word “wedding,” her eyes slid to the invitation again. Should she ask him about it?
Tate made a turn into the market hall parking lot. “Well, we’re here. Let’s do this.”
Too late now.
…
“Hi, what’s your name?” Noelle asked, holding her pen poised above the publicity headshot.
“Dawn,” the woman standing in front of the table answered.
While Noelle signed the photo, Tate took a look around. He was really here. At the Tenth Annual North Texas Bridal Show. And what a show it was. Lace, silk, flowers, and some material called tulle covered every available surface. He only knew the word “tulle” because a handful of it had hit him square in the face on the way to their table. The perpetrator, a vendor in a hurry, had issued a hasty apology and continued on his way. It had been left to Noelle to charitably inform him of what had happened.
Thousands of women packed the hall, scouring booths for the perfect gown, invitations, limo, garter belt, flowers, and anything else remotely related to weddings.
A blonde, who looked to be in her forties, stepped up to their table. “Hi, I’m Rae. I’m so happy you’re here, Noelle,” she said. “I’ve wanted to tell you forever that you saved my relationship.”
“That’s so nice of you,” Noelle said with a wide smile. “Thank you. I’m glad I could help, but I’m curious about what I said.”
“At the time, my boyfriend and I had been together for three years, but things had gotten stale,” Rae said. “We’d fallen into a rut of the same old, same old. One day you suggested having sex every day for thirty straight days.”
Tate’s chair scraped across the concrete floor as he scooted forward.
Noelle turned toward him, frowning.
“What? There’s no way I’m missing this,” he said. She whipped around to face Rae again, but not before he noticed the red coloring her cheeks.
“Tell me more,” he said, grinning, to Rae.
“A few months ago, a woman called in, saying she was on the verge of asking for a divorce. They’d tried counseling, but things hadn’t improved. Noelle said in order to restore intimacy outside the bedroom that maybe they should try to restore the intimacy inside the bedroom first.”
Tate’s eyebrows soared. “For thirty straight days with no time-outs?”
“Yep,” Rae supplied, nodding vigorously. “So I decided to try it, too. It worked like a charm. We’re getting married.”
“Doc, I didn’t know you had it in you,” he murmured. But he’d started to wonder. Last night at the club, he couldn’t keep his eyes off her.
“I’m sure you didn’t,” she said, keeping her gaze trained on Rae. She held the photo up. “Here you go. I’m glad I could help. Thanks for stopping by.”
Damn, she had that instant-dismissal thing down cold. It only intrigued him more, especially now that he knew there was a ton of warmth underneath the chill. What would it take to melt the ice?
“Hi, can I have your autograph?” A young woman stepped in front of him, stopping him from wandering down the perilous path to nowhere.
Forty-five minutes later, he and Noelle had signed a slew of autographs and taken a ton of photos. It never would have occurred to him to attend a bridal show, but he had to admit it wasn’t a bad way to connect with listeners. He knew he had plenty of female listeners, but he hadn’t known that many of them were getting married. Or that they would drag along their husbands-to-be, who all expressed joy and relief at finding another male in the vicinity.
He flexed his cramped hand and offered a smile to the woman approaching the table, but she marched right past him like she didn’t see him.
“Hi, Noelle. I love you. You’re a saint, but seriously, how do you put up with him?” she said, pointing her thumb at him. “He’s such an asshole.”
An asshole who happened to be sitting right there. Stunned, he stared at the rude woman. Not everyone liked his strong opinions. He had the emails and Twitter messages to prove it, but to insult him to his face was an unfamiliar situation. And he couldn’t even call the woman out on her behavior. She was a listener, and he was representing the station, which meant no public arguments.
She didn’t look happy in general. Deep frown lines bracketed both sides of her mouth. Her arms were crossed, giving off a negative, stay-away vibe. Wasn’t she supposed to be happy? She was at a bridal show, which presumably meant she was about to get married, a dream come true for too many women.
He tried his most charming smile. “Come on, now. I can’t be that bad.”
“He’s so negative,” the woman continued like he hadn’t spoken.
Tate frowned. He wasn’t negative. He loved life, but he was realistic about a certain part of it. His parents had turned marriage into a sport. He’d never been in love. Not really. He’d tried to play the game once, but she’d dumped him for a pro athlete when he made it clear he had no intention of living off his trust fund or joining the family business. After that experience and few others that hadn’t ended well, he’d learned his lesson.
“Ma’am, I don’t agree with everything Tate says, but I assure you he’s not an asshole,” Noelle said. Polite, but firm. “We’re a team. I don’t appreciate your language or your tone. I certainly don’t appreciate you insulting him.”
Wait? Was Noelle defending him? Her no-nonsense expression said yes. He raised his eyes to the ceiling. No, no pigs.
The woman’s frown deepened. “Well, maybe you aren’t the person I thought you were if you’re standing up for him.” She stomped off.
Noelle turned to him, an affronted look on her face. “Can you believe her?”
Warmth spread in the area close to his heart. Despite their differences, they’d started to build a bond. His relationships were usually so temporary he’d forgotten what that was like. If he’d ever known.
He liked it. He liked her.
…
Noelle hoisted herself into Tate’s SUV. He shut the door behind her, and she settled in the seat. The wedding invitation again caught her eye. The font was too small to see the names of the couple. She recalled the annoyed look on his face when he’d picked up the invitation earlier. He’d made it clear he didn’t believe in love, but he didn’t strike her as the type to begrudge other people, especially those he was close to, their choices.
She couldn’t help herself any longer. She picked it up when he got in. “What’s this? Going to a wedding?”
“Apparently.” He didn’t sound happy about it.
“Want to talk about it?”
“I’m not one of your patients,” he bit out.
Noelle flinched. “I’m sorry. I was only trying to help.”
Tate rubbed a hand across his face. “No, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t take my frustration out on you.”
“Apology accepted.” She touched his arm. He glanced her way. She offered up a smile. “I’m asking strictly as a friend, not as a therapist. Do you want to talk about it?”
He stared out the windshield and gripped the steering wheel so hard his knuckles strained against his skin. “My parents are getting married.”
“They’re renewing their vows?”
“No. They’re divorced.”
“You’re not happy about them remarrying.”
“Got it in one.” He looked her way, shaking his head. “They’ve each been married three times. Lucky me, I got to be a front-row witness to their drama.”
Ohhh. Now she got it. Why he was so adamant monogamous love didn’t exist. “So you don’t think it’s going to last this time?”
“Let’s just say I have my doubts.”
“I can see why you would, but maybe they’ve grown up and are finally ready to put their family back together.”
“That’s what they say.” He shrugged. “But I’ve heard it all before. Why should I support the farce?”
“Because they’re your parents?” Noelle wanted to say more, but didn’t. She didn’t trust herself to speak without her voice trembling. Didn’t he understand how lucky he was to still have his parents, parents comfortable with showing and expressing their love? What she wouldn’t give to say the same about her own. She stared out the passenger-side window, wrestling her shaky emotions under control. This was about Tate, not her.
Silence filled the air for a few seconds, while Tate started the car and exited the parking lot. He glanced at her. “Thanks for defending me earlier.”
Happy to move on from the turmoil swirling inside her, Noelle said, “She was out of line.”
“Still you didn’t have to do it.”
Her lips tugged upward. “If anyone is going to insult you, it’s going to be me.”
“Thanks,” he said dryly.
“Seriously though, you’re not an asshole. A little misguided, a lot spoiled, but not an asshole.”
“Thanks, Doc. Keep the compliments coming. I feel my head shriveling in size as we speak.”
“I call ’em like I see ’em.”
“Don’t I know it?”
She glanced his way. “On a serious note, I owe you an apology for last night.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t hear you.” He leaned closer to her, cupping his ear. “Could you repeat that?”
Noelle’s eyes narrowed. He’d heard her just fine. “I jumped to conclusions last night before I heard the whole story from Shannon.”
“Aww, yes. I remember now.”
Noelle shook her head. “Anyway, like I was saying, I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions. I didn’t realize Shannon was going to have a meltdown when Mike confronted her about talking to another guy.”
“What did she expect to happen?” he asked, sounding utterly confused. “His girlfriend was about to get a number from another man.”
“I have no idea.” She perked up. “In any case, they put it behind them and left together, which means I won the night even though they were on one of your outings.”
Tate shot her a look. “They live together. It made sense.”
“But they couldn’t keep their hands off each other.”
“Rampaging hormones. You do know what those feel like, right?”
Air became a precious commodity in the small confines of the car. How did he manage to add that note of sexiness to his voice? And why did it work so well on her? “Of course. Did you expect me not to know?”
“Not at all,” he drawled.
Having no clue how to respond, Noelle stared out the window as Tate navigated the Mercedes through the city.
A few minutes later, he pulled into the city park’s parking lot, the tires crunching on the loose gravel. “Ready for some baseball?”
Umm… “I hope so.”
“I survived a bridal show. You can spend a couple of hours at a baseball game.”
She raised her chin. “Never said I couldn’t. Let’s go.”