The Best is Yet to Come

Forty One: Emma

Noah threw open the iron doors that led into the large living area. None of the men and women inside pass us a glance, too engrossed in their own conversations to notice. Leading me inside, Noah weaved us through the crowd, his warm hand gripped firmly in mine. Clearly Noah was trying to create as much distance between us and the woman from the garden as was physically possible. Navigating around a cream chaise, he turned to the left, pulling us into a quiet hallway off the living area.

"Are we going to talk about what just happened?" I ask once we were sheltered from the buzz of the chatting guests. Noah's face is wild, the most unrestrained I think I'd ever seen him. His face is flushed, his eyes darting around the hallway like he expected the blonde woman to suddenly pop out of thin air behind him.

Taking slow calculated breaths, my body tries to recover from the sudden case of whiplash. One moment I was telling Noah I'd be his girlfriend, the two of us practically groping each other in his mother's backyard, and the next his strong arms are pushing me away, an unwanted intruder forcing Noah to release me.

With the vision of the impossibly gorgeous girl in the black dress in my mind, my stomach twists into nauseating knots. I knew immediately she must be an ex-girlfriend. I wasn't so socially damaged not to recognize that. What concerned me, though, was Noah's reaction.

I understand why Noah wouldn't have wanted to formally introduce us. There was no universe where that wouldn't have been painfully awkward. But being pulled away from the sneering woman in obvious haste was far more embarrassing in my book. I think I might die from embarrassment if I ever cross paths with her again. Which, I realized with a twist of my gut, was extremely possible since we were both attending the same charity dinner. No way she was here just for a tour of the gardens.

Once we were far away enough from the crowd not to be overheard, Noah stops, leaning himself against the wall.

"No need to talk about it. It was nothing." Noah gives a little wave of his hand but I don't believe him. His voice lacks a convincing tone and I knew him well enough to tell he was holding something back.

If it's nothing then why did you bolt away from the woman like you were avoiding the plague and why are we hiding in a hallway?

"It doesn't seem like nothing." I respond carefully, trying to hold Noah's gaze. His eyes dart away from mine, carefully scanning the hallway again. He leans forward to peer further down the hall and into the living room. He was avoiding having to look at my face.

"Don't worry about it." Noah says, this time focusing on me. "Honestly. Alice is a woman from my past who means nothing to me now. It's safe to say things didn't end well and I wasn't expecting to see her tonight, that's all." Noah assures me. He's almost too blasé as he gives his speech but I don't want to argue. Not tonight.

Too many good things were happening to me today and even the incident in the garden couldn't put out the flames burning steadily in my chest. Noah wanted us to be exclusive which meant a lot coming from him. I never pressed him about his past relationships but with the well known gossip surrounding Noah, I knew this was a big deal for us, for him. I wasn't about to let one of Noah's ex-girlfriends ruin our moment.

My lips still tingled from the incident they had in the garden. I'm almost concerned that my body overreacts to Noah. Even his most subtle touches turn my legs into noodles. I'm constantly hyper aware of his presence; my body unconsciously reacting to his every breath.

Even now, as he stood across the hall from me with nothing short of panic in his eyes, he took my breath away. His hair was mussed now, leaving tendrils to lay across his forehead, and I bite my lip in embarrassment as I realize it was messy because of me. Remembering how Noah pressed us up against the hedge, the last thing on my mind was the state of his hair and I couldn't stop myself from running my fingers through it, pulling at the strands in satisfaction.

His suit lapels were ruffled where I had tugged at them but even so, just the sight of him made my heart want to burst. I wanted to tell him how I really felt, about my revelation earlier today. I wanted to tell him there was no need to worry, that an ex-girlfriend wasn't going to be enough to scare me away.

Wanting to be closer to him, I approach Noah with as much caution as one would with a wounded animal. His body is tense and alert, eyes peeled for any sign of the black-haired woman. I feel a flash of pity and concern strike my heart. I can't remember the last time I was given the opportunity to care about another person.

"Noah," I test, and I reach to place my hand on his arm, "Shouldn't we find our seats for dinner?"

He must have forgotten that I was still here because he jumps at my touch. At my prompt, I see a flash of something cross his eyes and then he straightens himself, offering me his elbow to loop my arm through. Looking down at me with a crooked smile that doesn't quite meet his eyes, Noah apologizes, "I'm sorry, you're right."

We walk together down the hall and into the grand living space. Not five steps into the room, I feel Noah stiffen beside me, his forearm tightening under my grip. Great, now what?

I look around the room for the source of his discomfort and sure enough, Alice is standing next to the iron doors that led to the gardens, head-to-head to a tall dark haired man in a black suit. I jerk back in surprise when her eyes flick to mine, like she could sense that I was looking at her.

Okay... that was creepy.

Without even knowing the story, I understand why Noah is so unnerved by this woman. She gave off a negative energy, of a person who was no stranger to lies and manipulation. I tighten my grip around Noah's forearm almost protectively and walk anxiously to the dining room.