Relentless (Colorado Crimes Book 5)

Chapter 5

Natalie breathed in a sigh of relief when they exited the Broadmoor Resort. Noah gave her a sidelong glance, "Everything alright?"

Natalie nodded, "Yep just breathing in the cool night air."

Noah crossed his arms. "Why wouldn't you let me pay?"

Natalie bit the inside of her lip. She figured that he would bring it up again. But as always, she had a plan. "I like to go against society. Why do men always have to pay? And besides, there's no need to go all gentlemanly on me."

Please Lord, let him buy into it, she prayed.

"Fine. But next time, I'll pay."

She quirked a grin while her gut clenched. "Next time?"

Noah grinned back, "Yep. You know Raelyn and I know Damon. We'll go to their welcome home party together. It's in three days. I'd love it if you would join me."

"Sure, I'd enjoy that."

What had she just done?

~~~~~

Natalie finished unpacking her suitcase in the dresser of Grandma Jo's guest bedroom. Grandma Jo was more than happy to host Natalie while she was in town.

The short, African-American woman popped her head into Natalie's room. "All settled?"

Natalie brushed her red hair behind her ear, "Yes, thank you so much Grandma Jo."

"Of course."

When Grandma Jo had left, Natalie sat down on her bed with a sigh. One spontaneous date with Noah sounded like a good idea at first. It would be easy to turn him down because he had only just met her at a grocery store so if things didn't work out, she wouldn't care. But Natalie found herself having a good time and her mouth said yes to accompanying him to Raelyn and Damon's welcome home party before her brain worked.

"That was stupid of you. Way to think before you speak, Nat." She reprimanded herself.

Natalie knew Raelyn was going to be very angry when she saw how Natalie was lying to Noah. And if Damon knew, he was going to tell Noah for sure.

Natalie kept telling herself that it was for the greater good.

Like she believed it.

~~~~~

Noah laid in his bed that night thinking. Natalie was a unique woman. What woman offered to pay for the very expensive meal on a first date? It caught him off guard and he didn't like it.

She also gave off the vibe that she was hiding something. Maybe that was just her personality. Nevertheless, Damon was going to get a kick out of seeing Noah with Natalie at their welcome home party. He had been wanting Noah to start dating for ages now.

Well, he had picked an interesting woman, to say the least.

Noah drifted off to sleep wondering if there was another reason why Natalie had insisted so harshly to pay for their meal.

~~~~~

Natalie smoothed down her frayed jean shorts with a sweaty hand. She wasn't nervous to be seen with Noah, because she honestly did not care about a "date", but she was nervous to see what Raelyn would say and how mad Raelyn would be. She was going to ruin Raelyn's welcome home party and already felt guilty about it. 

Her baby blue t-shirt was tucked slightly in the front of her jean shorts and her hair was pulled back into a messy bun with loose tendrils framing her face. There was no way she was getting any fancier. And by the looks of it, everyone else had dressed the same.

Reed and Kinsley Fellers had arrived home the day before from their honeymoon, specifically asking for no welcome home party. So now, all the attention was on the newlyweds. Matt and Jenna Proger were talking with Reed and Kinsley, Jenna, whom was sporting a growing baby bump. Asher Willis and his fiancé Summer Parks were also talking with the newlyweds. Hunter and Grace Grant, along with their two children, Aeden and Faith, were amidst the group as well. Noah was picking up Damon and Raelyn from the airport, leaving Natalie as an outsider. So, Natalie hovered near the snack table and spooned an occasional chip into some salsa, observing.

"You looked bored." Summer's seven year old daughter Adira said as took a chip from the bowl and joined Natalie in dipping it in salsa. "Why aren't you talking with the other grown-ups?"

Natalie shrugged, "I don't really know. I don't know them all that well."

"You're new, like my Mommy." Adi chewed on her chip.

"New?"

"You are new to the friend group. But I like you so they'll like you too." Adi ate another chip.

Natalie smiled at the child's innocence. "I'm glad you like me because I like you too."

Adi smiled.

"Adi!" Asher came into the garage where the food setup was. "Where are you-oh hi Natalie, nice to see you here."

"You too."

Asher turned to Adi. "They're just about here, do you want to stand on the corner of the street and wait for them?"

"Yes, yes!" Adi clapped her hands. She slipped a tiny hand into Asher's big one and skipped alongside him. Natalie saw Summer watching the interaction with a loving smile.

Three minutes after Asher had disappeared with Adi, Natalie saw Noah's car pull up. She swallowed the lump forming in her throat and tried not to think about her pounding heart. 

Everyone cheered when the newlyweds exited the car and Natalie joined in clapping too. Noah brought their bags into the garage while the newlyweds were swarmed with people. He stood next to Natalie in the back. "Waiting until the chaos dies down?"

"Yeah, I'm not really a people person."

"Ah."

Natalie met his eyes and half-smiled. She wanted him to go somewhere else for the time being so she could welcome the newlyweds in private. But he looked like he wasn't going anywhere. "How was the car ride from the airport?"

Noah playfully rolled his eyes. "They both sat in the back, so I was alone in the front. Awkward."

Natalie choked on a laugh. "Yikes."

Raelyn weaved through the group of people, "Nat!"

"Rae!" Natalie hugged her friend. "How are you?"

"Tan." Raelyn laughed, "And happy." Raelyn gave Natalie a final squeeze then pulled away and looked at Noah. "I didn't know you and Natalie knew each other."

Noah shrugged and looked at Natalie. "Funny story actually."

Raelyn brightened. "I love stories."

Natalie grimaced. Guilt was building up inside her and she didn't want her best friend to see the lie she was living.

"I ran into Natalie at a grocery store and remembered her from the wedding. In the surprise greeting, I asked her to dinner and she said yes, then after the dinner I asked her to accompany me here to the party."

Raelyn laughed all too fakely, but Noah didn't notice. "That's such a coincidence. How funny!"

"Hey Noah!" Damon waved Noah over. Noah touched Natalie's arm lightly and disappeared.

Natalie met Raelyn's eyes and felt that she deserved the look of disgust Raelyn was giving to her. "Rae, I can explain-"