NoahLast night's kiss had gone on extra-long. Noah could see he was making progress in breaking through Roni's defenses. He understood why she was still hesitant to go any further. He wasn't without worry either. The possibility that something could go wrong was too real. But there was no way he couldn't try. It was a huge risk but one he felt was absolutely worth the reward should it all work out, and he was certain it would.For now, he'd take what she would give him, knowing they had somewhat of an unspoken agreement. Getting her life back to what it used to be was important to her, and he'd respect that. She did say she wanted to deal with that first before making any major changes in her life. So he'd be content knowing she wasn't considering anyone else either. Most importantly, although she set down the law that she would handle Kratz and there would be no ass kicking should he ever show up again, she did once again mention she had no interest in reconciling with the guy, not

The next morning, Veronica made it a point to be up earlier than the norm. Noah was usually up before her even now that she'd gone back to work, because of his early morning runs. But today, Veronica wanted to spend as little time with him as possible before she left.She was just filling her commuter mug with coffee when he walked in the back door. He wore the usual dark gray hooded sweatshirt he wore every morning. He stopped quickly at the sight of her, taking his earpiece out of his ear and pulling his hood back. "Hey." His smile was so sincere her insides warmed. "You're up. How you feeling?"She returned the smile, attempting to do what she'd decided after a long night of soul-searching and arguing with that little voice of reason, which so often won, but hadn't been winning lately. Noah was one of the best things that had happened to her. Her mother often spoke of people being brought into your life for a reason. He'd been there when she needed him most, but she'd confused thi

The rest of the week continued with Veronica determined to stick with her plan. One way or another she would overcome what was beginning to feel like an obsession. As soon as she got a chance to, she'd talk to Nellie about this. Nellie was always so wonderful about helping her to see things in a clearer light.Deciding that her time after work and before she went to the gym would be her time now, she scheduled something for that timeslot every day that week. Tuesday, she went for sushi with her coworker Sylvia, who had raved more than once about the new place that had recently opened up. So Veronica hit her up, and Sylvia agreed to go with her after work. That evening, she managed to cut the goodnight kiss down to half the time they'd spent on it the night before, but it was still just as sizzling.Wednesday and Thursday, she spent with Derek, but she hadn't planned it that way. Wednesday she agreed to meet him for pizza after work. It was going fine until he asked about the hickey s

"Roni." He hesitated, not sure if he'd be opening a can a worms. In the last few days, he'd decided even if it hadn't been said, he and Roni were in a relationship. No matter what she said or how much she put off making it official, what was happening between them now was very real. He felt it every night when they said goodnight, and he knew she did too. There was no denying it, and like he'd told her before, if she had seen the picture of Rita wrapped around him, she deserved an explanation.She was looking at him now a bit confused, but the nervous smile was still there. "What is it?""Did you, uh ... Did you by chance see the picture Rita texted me this week?" The smile was gone instantly, and he knew then that she had. He hurried to her. "Why didn't you tell me? I would've explained."She shook her head, avoiding his eyes, but he saw the pained look on her face, and he took her hand."Look, she jumped on my bike just as I was leaving Gio's uncle's house. She told Hector to tak

NoahNoah skipped his run the next morning. He was feeling better. The headache was gone, but the decision of whether to get out of bed early or stay in bed cuddling with Roni was a no brainer. He turned his internal alarm off and fell back asleep with Roni in his arms.They slept so soundly that it was already close to ten by the time he noticed Roni wasn't in bed anymore. The bathroom door opened as he walked into the hallway to investigate where she'd gone. She walked out and smiled. Just the sight of her made him breathe in happily.He pulled her to him after meeting her halfway in the hallway."How you feeling?" she asked, touching the side of his face softly with her fingers."Much better. No more headache." He pecked her, tasting the toothpaste on her lips. "You getting up now?""Actually I was thinking of getting back in bed." Her sly smile with the twinkle in her eyes made his heart speed up."I'll meet you there in two minutes." He practically ran to the bathroom, hear