“Nice dress.”

I look up to see Noah leaning against his truck.

“Are you stalking me now?”

“Not hardly, Cupcake. I was standing here waiting.”

“Waiting for what?”

“You to come outside.”

“So, you are stalking me?”

“Nope. I just knew you’d be outside soon,” he says and he’s got a sneaky grin on him that I’ve not seen before. I frown, wondering what’s going on. This man is beyond confusing.

“How did you know that?” I ask him, my eyes narrowing.

“I don’t think that’s a question you want to know the answer to right now, Rory.”

“It’s not?”

I really wish he’d not use my name. I like the way he says it way too much and that’s bad. It’s bad because, despite him being an asshole I’m still having dreams about him. It sucks because I’ve wore my vibrator out trying to get rid of any excess energy I have before I fall asleep—trying to not dream about him. And finally, it sucks because I do all of that and still dream about him.

I’ve actually been thinking of looking into therapy, because there has to be something wrong with me.

“Not right now. That question is for later. Right now, you have only one question.”

“What would that question be?” I ask him, my arms folded at my chest, trying my best not to get whiplash by this man’s change of attitude towards me.

“Where are you going?”

“I already know where I’m going,” I answer, shaking my head. “I don’t need to ask myself that question.”

“How about asking how you’re going to get there?”

“Have you been out in the sun too long? You’re making zero sense here, F.A.”

“I told you my name was Noah,” he says frowning.

“F.A. suits you better. Why don’t you go inside and get out of the sun? I think it’s doing weird things to you.”

“I’d rather you called me Noah,” he grumbles and for some reason I want to giggle. I swallow down that urge, however.

“Tough luck, F.A. We all have things we want that we don’t get. Now if you’ll excuse me…”

“You haven’t said how you plan on getting to your appointment,” he responds.

I frown.

“If I tell you, will you leave me alone?”

“If that’s what you really want,” he shrugs.

“I’m going to drive. There. Now you can—”

“Not that car you’re not,” he says. He does that chin thing, where you nod but it’s with your chin. I can’t look towards what he’s motioning at; my gaze is glued to the angle of his jaw and his chin. No man should be this beautiful.

“Of course, I am. Seriously, I think you might need medical help…” I trail off, stopping my tirade because that’s when I finally notice that my pretty little, sky blue, Toyota Corolla is sitting lopsided. I walk around, practically pushing Noah out of my way and see the front tire on the driver’s side is completely flat. “Fuck,” I grumble under my breath. I know my tires are getting worn. There’s not much left over after paying the bills, but I thought I had a few more months out of them before I had to worry about it.

“I’ve noticed that you swear like a trucker, Rory.”

I roll my eyes.

“And you don’t?”

“That’s different,” he says, leaning down on the hood of my car and turning his body to look at me.

“If you say it’s different because I’m a woman, I will not be responsible for my actions,” I warn him.

I watch as his lips spread into a smile. It’s a smile that looks way too good on him and one that causes a tiny quake to rock through my system. I wish to God I knew why I react to this man so strongly. If I knew I’d do whatever I could to stop it.

Immediately.

“You need a ride, Cupcake?”

“You don’t even know where I’m going,” I grumble.

“I’m still offering.”

“No. I can ask…”

“Sheila? I got the feeling you aren’t her biggest fan. Do you really want to ride in a confined space with her?” he asks… the bastard.

“Fine. But, if I take this ride, let’s make a deal not to speak to one another,” I agree, more than a little desperate.

“Whatever you say,” he says with a shrug.

I’m dying to tell him no and find another way, but I can’t. I have a meeting in less than an hour, with the Whitefish schoolboard. I’m hoping to get my foot in the door by taking a job as a teacher’s aide at the elementary school. It’s a longshot, because I don’t specifically want to pull my credentials from my last known employment. Doing that will tell my brother where I am. Doing that will tell Tony where I am too… and that’s something I do not want.

It’s been years. You think that would be a long enough time that it wouldn’t matter. Maybe it has for my brother, I don’t know. But, there’s a part of me that knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that Tony will never give up completely.

“Hey, you okay?” Noah asks and I frown looking up at him.

“Just old ghosts,” I tell him, which is completely truthful.

“Maybe you’ll tell me about them sometime,” he says, as we walk over to his truck.

“That would be hard to do, since we’re not talking to each other, remember?” I remind him, getting in the truck when he opens the door. He shuts it, muffling his laughter. I for one, am glad. I like his laugh and I don’t want to like anything about him.