Come Back to Me

Chapter 24: Present Day

"You have single-handedly turned our office into a circus."

"I don't think it was that bad."

Joshua held open the front door for me, frowning. It was a good show, but I knew he wasn't actually that mad at me. I had caught a slight smile on his face a few times during the drive back to the house. We hadn't spoken a word, which was fine, and when he hadn't been shifting gears, his hand rested on my thigh. Every time I caught him fighting a grin, he'd squeeze my leg.

"It's an HR nightmare."

Okay, yes, I could see that. Nothing I did there today was appropriate. There was no way that kind of behavior would have been tolerated at my old job. Granted, it was a school and there's no way something like today would have happened. Nevertheless, they would have fired me immediately. And I knew better than to act this way.

"Joshua, I'm sorry."

He ran both hands through his long blond hair. "You don't have to apologize."

"Yes, I do. I was completely unhinged."

He laughed. Finally. His blue eyes crinkled in the corners, and I laughed with him. "I wouldn't go that far. Both Mal and Melody have a way of pissing people off."

I wasn't going to argue that point. "Then why are you mad?"

"Not mad," he said and motioned for me to go into the study. "Just preparing myself for any fallout."

I chose a large, comfy-looking leather chair near one of the bookcases and facing the enormous wooden desk. The desk that was locked. Something was inside it that Noah - it was his desk, I just knew it - didn't want someone to see. Or was it just me he was hiding something from? Maybe Joshua would know.

Now was not the time to ask him. He sat in the matching chair next to me, sighing as he slouched into it. We were waiting for Noah and Mal to get here. Joshua had messaged Noah when we left, giving him the condensed version of events, and told him to meet us here as soon as his meeting concluded. Mal was already on his way home when Joshua had called him.

After kicking off my heels, I tucked my legs under me. "Why would you have to deal with the fallout? What do you do there?"

He closed his eyes like whatever he was about to say would be difficult. "I'm the legal counsel for the company."

That was the last thing I had expected. "You're a lawyer?"

Ah, there it is. His smile came back again. "Why do you sound so surprised?"

"You never mentioned anything about being interested in law school when we were younger."

"A lot changed after we lost touch."

"Except we didn't 'lose touch', did we?" I used air quotes to emphasize my irritation. "You lied to my brother to save your own asses, Noah disappeared, and then I barely saw you for ten years."

"Noah told us to keep our mouths shut. It was bad enough for Riley to lose Noah as a friend. He didn't want him to lose us, too."

I remained silent. Noah would do something like, there was no doubt. Always trying to protect people. My anger dissipated, and I reached a hand across the space to Joshua. He grasped it tightly and finally opened his eyes to look at me. We smiled at the same time.

Someone was stomping down the hall towards us. We both knew it was Mal, and we said nothing as he strode into the room. He gave our joined hands a glance and then came over to stand in front of my chair. Without a word, he scooped me up, sat down, and settled me into his lap. He made a point of not disrupting Joshua's hold on me.