VeronicaSeeing Noah blindsided and knocked unconscious was probably one of the most horrific images Veronica had ever witnessed. Everything that followed was a blur. All she could think of, even as Abel beat the guy who did it to a pulp and the rest of the guys brawled it out with his friends, was getting Noah in the house and out of harm's way.She knew enough from taking first aid and CPR classes at the college to turn him on his side so that he wouldn't choke on his own tongue. He'd come to fairly quickly, but he was totally out of it. She managed to get some of the guys that were there with the sound crew to help her lift him and walk him to his bed.Veronica didn't even realize how unnerved she was, until she tried running her fingers through his hair and her hand shook uncontrollably. The minutes that passed as Noah slipped in and out of consciousness were the worst. She kept wondering if she should call 911. But each time she was about to, he'd come to.The guys came in aft

NoahBecause it was New Year's Day, one of the few holidays Jack ever closed down the gym, Noah hadn't made any plans to leave the house today—that was until Gio called to ask how he was feeling and mentioned he was going over to his uncle's house to help him pile up more sandbags. He said his uncle's yard always flooded and was already a mess from the recent storms.Since Gio was always ready to jump when it came to helping Noah with anything, Noah volunteered immediately to help. At first, Gio balked at the idea, saying Noah should stay home and rest since he was injured, but Noah reminded him he was a boxer and knew how to take a punch. The guy hadn't even hit him that hard; he just hit the perfect spot. The fucking pussy obviously knew how to land a sucker punch.Noah ran into Roni in the hallway as she made her way back to her room from the bathroom in her robe. He knew he'd promised to control himself, but Roni had to know that was going to be damn near impossible now.Preten

Veronica shook her head quickly. "No, I had my chance. The morning we went out for waffles I meant to tell you. I found out about it the night before, but I decided not to because I felt stupid. He was just my roommate and—""You spent a wonderful holiday with him, just the two of you. You said you had moments. It obviously meant a lot to you, and I can totally understand why that would be heartbreaking. If I were you, I would've been hurt too. You weren't being stupid; you were being human." She squeezed her hand. "Look, the one thing Rick and I have been hearing about for weeks in all these retreats and counseling sessions is that trust is the absolute foundation of a relationship. Without it, you have nothing. What did Noah have to say about sleeping with the girl?"Veronica shook her head. "I never asked him about it, and, of course, he never offered an explanation. But the girl came back for Christmas, and from what his friend said, she's basically his go-to whore during the hol

A week after their Rita conversation, Veronica was feeling as indecisive as ever about moving things forward with Noah. His admission about how and why things had happened the day after Thanksgiving and the fact that he gave her the go-ahead to question him—that she was entitled to explanations about his personal life—should've have been a deciding factor. But ironically, something else about that conversation had made her more aware of how frightening it was to put herself out there like that.The only times in her life that she could remember her heart feeling this incredibly vulnerable and ready to fall apart over a guy had unbelievably both been because of him: first, the night after his fight when she was forced to see him with a groupie and then later that same night when she found out about Rita. But hearing that he'd seen Rita the day after she'd finally given into her desire for him—the very day after he'd admitted to being in love with her—had such an instant crushing effect

"Wow," Derek said as they walked down her porch steps. "I haven't seen that kid in years. I'm surprised he's not in jail."Veronica turned to him, her arms crossed in front of her. "What makes you say that?"Derek chuckled. "That kid sat outside my office more than my damn receptionist when he went to Garfield."She wasn't sure, but it made sense that Derek might have reason to try to discredit Noah. She'd seen his expression when she told him Noah was her roommate. Just the fact that she'd previously mentioned her new roommate was a guy she was sure had already gotten him speculating. His showing up here unannounced today was not on impulse as he'd said it was. Derek did nothing on impulse.But she decided to bite anyway. "Why was he at your office so often?""Typical troublemaker. Did you run a background check on this guy before letting him move in?"The thought had never even occurred to Veronica. "No, because he's a friend. What do you mean troublemaker? What kind of trouble