Noah (The Mitchell/Healy Family #1)(39)
Author: Jennifer Foor

I put my new dress on and walked out of the bathroom just moments before we were due down stairs. Noah smiled, letting me know that I looked hot in it, but I didn’t allow him to see my amusement in catching his attention. What had happened between us was going to help me say goodbye to him, and I was okay with it.

So I thought.

Noah

I really messed up. Leave it to me to take out my anger on Shalan, who hadn’t done a damn thing to deserve it. I think what bothered me the most was knowing that when she looked at me there was fear in her eyes.

I realized that I didn’t owe her anything. Soon we’d part ways and she’d forget all about our time together.

Still, I couldn’t help but try to convince her that my actions weren’t how I acted normally. Leave it to my dad to get to me even when I wasn’t anywhere near him. Shalan looked beautiful in the dress. Let me rephrase that, she looked appetizing, and I didn’t want to let her leave the room. I think it was that exact moment where I started to feel protective over her. I didn’t want anyone seeing her the way I did. I knew they’d be eyeing her up, imagining what it would be like to be inside of her. She stood by the door and put her hands on her hips. “Are you sure I look good?”

I got this vibe from her question like she was asking because she knew she looked hot. How could she not? The woman was exquisite.

“You know the answer already. Does my opinion matter?”

She smiled. “Maybe.”

I approached her, breaking the small distance between us. I looked down, directly into her eyes. “I should have never bought you this dress.”

“Why? You said I looked good.”

“Because I don’t want anyone seein’ you in it.”

“You’re not making any sense.”

I licked my lips. I couldn’t help it, being so close to her and not doing anything. I placed my hands on her shoulders and noticed immediately that she didn’t pull away from me. “The way you look right now should be a crime. I may have bought you that dress, but I definitely have a problem with you wearin’ it.”

“I don’t understand. Illegal? What are you talking about?”

“Damn it, woman.” I paused and shook my head. “Never mind.”

I turned, attempting to walk away and bite my tongue about the way she was making me feel. After all, I had no right to tell her what to do. She liked the dress and I’d bought it for her. End of discussion.

Shalan grabbed my arm and made me turn back around. “Why can’t you say what you mean?”

“Because my opinion doesn’t matter. Why would it? We’re just friends, if that. Right?”

Her expression went from curious to disappointed, and I couldn’t figure out why. What kind of woman would want a man that she barely knew to boss her around? “Yeah. Your right. Just keep your thoughts to yourself next time.” Shalan grabbed her purse and went out of the room, leaving me standing there alone.

I ran after her, making it to the elevators just in time to catch a ride with her. “Will you hold up? We’re both goin’ to the same place.”

“I don’t want to be late.” She hit the button for the lower floor and the elevator doors closed. “Besides, I figured you need to change or something before you came down.”

I walked over to the corner she was standing in and pressed my body against hers. Our eyes met and her lips parted. There was no hesitation as I planted a long awaited kiss over her lips. I kept my eyes open until hers closed. At first she didn’t respond to me, but after two attempts she allowed my tongue access to her own. I held the sides of her cheek while she reached up and grabbed the collar to my shirt, pulling me into the kiss more.

We only broke apart when the elevator doors opened and it was time to get out. Shalan said nothing as I grabbed her hand and led her toward the lounge area. This was going to be our second night performing, and I felt like we had done a great job the night before.

Of course my mind wasn’t on performing on stage with Shalan, it was what we could do after the show was over. Before we walked inside, I pulled her by the hand and led her to a corner where I could talk to her in private. “Listen to me. I know you’re mad. You’ve got every right to be. There’s just somethin’ I want you to know before we go in there tonight.”

She seemed interested enough in knowing what it was. “Okay.”

“No matter how pissed you are, or what you might be thinkin’, I want you to come back to the room with me tonight, Shalan.”

“Where else am I going to go?” If she thought nobody was going to approach her in that outfit she was blind and pretty naïve.

“Just say you’ll be with me tonight, even if it ain’t in my bed.”

We were still holding hands and Shalan looked down at them as she spoke. “I have nowhere else to go, Noah.”

“That’s not really what I mean. Suppose someone hits on you. What will you do then?”

She pulled away and got this nasty look on her face. “Obviously you haven’t listened to a word I said, Noah. I get that I slept with you without knowing you for a while, but I don’t sleep with strangers. I can assure you that I’ll be back in the room with you tonight, sleeping in the other queen bed.”

I rolled my eyes and walked away, knowing that I’d pissed her off again and it was only a matter of time before we were having words and she’d be telling me she hated me. It wasn’t the time or place for either and I didn’t really like the idea of drawing more attention to how hot she looked in the dress.

Like the night before, we met the band members inside and started our first set a little while after setting up. Shalan was determined to get through the whole night without looking at me, or even saying anything directly to me. She sang her songs as beautiful as ever, giving me those familiar chills down my spine each time.

I sat on the stool next to her, harmonizing the melody, matching her keys, and trying my best to gain her attention. Unfortunately, the only people getting that were the slew of people in the audience watching her perform. At the end of each song she got cheers, and I knew damn-well they weren’t for me. In between sets we all went out for air and drinks. Like the night before, the band stuck together, having a few smokes and mingling amongst themselves. Shalan and I stood off to the side, completely alone. She had her arms crossed over her chest and wouldn’t look in my direction. I moved closer to taunt her, but noticed a couple approaching us quickly. The man, dressed more high class than I was used to seeing at home, held out his hand for me to shake. “I’m Tony Mangalo, and this is my wife Shelly. We have dinner here once a week and noticed that the usual band had some new members, and I’ve got to tell you,” he turned and directed his next words to Shalan. “You have a set of pipes that shouldn’t be ignored, and your friend here isn’t so bad himself. The band members told us to talk to you tonight, if we were still interested. I had to call and make sure it was alright with them to approach you first, since we’re not looking for a whole group. We like to find our own band for our singers and find it works best on a more professional level.” His wife reached into her small handbag and pulled out a card. “This is our company,” she started explaining. “We record and produce music. You may have heard of us. If not, you can go on the website listed and see all of the people we’ve worked with, or are still working with. Are you two a couple? Do you do this act together?”