LOGINI told Alan I needed his help with the recliner and walked out of his room before I did anything stupid.I got under the covers and tried very hard to forget what I'd just witnessed in his bathroom.A few minutes later, he came in, ready for bed, and got to work on the recliner. I pulled the covers around me and watched him work.That was a mistake because all I could think about was where those hands had been earlier.I dragged the covers higher and looked away.A few minutes later, the recliner clicked into place. He tested it before getting to his feet.“Done.”“Thank you.”He nodded and left without another word.The second the door closed, I got up and locked it. I wasn't risking him walking back in while I took care of the problem he'd created.Once I'd finally given my body the release it wanted, I relaxed beneath the covers and drifted off to sleep.When I woke the next morning, there was a text from Alan waiting for me.He had a meeting he couldn't miss, but he'd come and get
I spent most of the day with Noah and Lory, catching up and laughing together. At one point, Lory made a grab for my phone, hunting for Charlotte's number. I had no idea what she planned to do with it, and I didn't intend to find out either. I made sure she didn't get anywhere near my phone.Noah cooked. Lory “helped,” which mostly meant getting in his way and frustrating him in the kitchen. The funny part was watching Noah because I could tell he wanted her out of his space and still wanted her around at the same time.Things between those two had clearly progressed while I was away.When Lory excused herself to shower in Noah's room after we ate, I finally asked him.“What's going on with you two?”“Nothing.”“Noah.”He gave me a look. “The only good thing about you disappearing was that Lory took pity on me and started visiting more often.”“That's not an answer.”“It's also none of your business.” He smiled. “You would've known if you hadn't disappeared.”And that was as far as I
I kept knocking, but Noah ignored me. There was no way he had gone back to sleep. Once Noah was awake, he found it hard to fall asleep again. I knew he could hear me. He just wasn't opening the door.Every now and again, I stopped, hoping he would change his mind and open the door. When he didn't, I started knocking again just to remind him I was still out there.I tried calling and messaging him too, but he'd blocked me.Leaving wasn't an option either. I wouldn't be able to rest knowing Noah was this angry with me. I deserved his anger, but I needed him to at least talk to me.After standing there for what felt like forever, my legs started aching, so I gave up and sat on the floor beside the front door.My phone rang, and I pulled it out to see Lory calling.“Where are you?” she asked before I could get a word out. “I'm at the house looking for you, and Alan won't say a single word to me.”I told her where I was and asked her to come help me.“I'm coming.”After the call ended, I c
“Okay.” I put my fork down. “Go ahead. I'm listening.”Alan drew in a deep breath. “I've been thinking all night, and I get it. As much as it hurts that you don't believe me, I tried putting myself in your shoes. I'm not sure I would believe me either if I were you.”“I understand your doubts, Nora.” He dragged a hand down his face. “I wish I could go back. If I had the chance, I would've done everything differently. I should've told you the moment I saw you in London, before Lory ran her mouth and made the decision for me. But you would've still found out, and we'd probably still be sitting here having this conversation.”He rubbed his palms together, a rare nervousness slipping through. “I can tell you I love you a hundred times, Nora. We can have this conversation every day for the next month, and I don't think any of it will make you believe me. But none of that changes how we got here. This is on me. I messed us up. I brought us here, and I'm going to fix it.”His voice softened.
NORAI had never imagined there would be a time when Alan would tell me he loved me and I wouldn't be excited.God knew how desperately I'd wanted this. There was a time when I thought hearing those words from him would be one of the happiest moments of my life. I had imagined what I would say, how I would react, whether I would cry or throw myself at him.But sitting there with Alan telling me he loved me, I felt everything but happy.And I hated it. God, I hated it so much.Because even if I accepted his love now, how was I supposed to stop myself from questioning where it came from?I was done with the conversation for tonight. My head was full, my body was tired, and dragging it out wouldn't suddenly give me the answers I wanted.“I need to sleep. For myself and the baby.”Alan nodded, though the hurt hadn't left his face. He got up and led me upstairs.Instead of taking me to the room Lory had shown me earlier, he stopped in front of another door.I glanced at him. “Is this my ro
ALANI wanted to tell Nora about Amy's diary myself, obviously. Just not literally minutes after she got back.Damn Lory and her diarrhea mouth.I should never have let her stay when Mom said she wanted to wait for Nora. As I dragged her toward the door, she kept running her mouth the whole way, insisting she was not the actual problem here, that if I had manned up sooner, none of this would even be an issue, said or unsaid.I shut the door in her face. Nora opened it right back up for her.She gave me the middle finger and disappeared upstairs with Nora. Knowing Lory's mouth, I had very little hope that conversation would end well for me.I went to the kitchen and vented straight at my mother, asking why Lory had to go and ruin this for me, threatening to ban her from ever setting foot in my house again.Mom just smiled. “Nora was always going to find out about that diary eventually, Alan. Today, tomorrow, next week. Unless your plan was to lie to her about why you suddenly bought a







