Page 5 of Masked

Noah stopped chopping and leaned forward. “Now that is intriguing. What made you want to study such an interesting combination?”

She blushed but didn’t look away from him. “That’s complicated. But ultimately, I have my eye on helping improve sex education in this country. Whether that’s by working with a board of education, or working with a federal branch of government, I haven’t figured out yet. I could end up teaching at a university and conducting research, or I can run a non-profit. It’s a niche field of study, for sure, but it’s actually quite versatile.”

“I’m impressed. If you ever need a contact at the ACSL, I’ve got a few.”

“They are an excellent organization. But we really don’t have to talk about me.”

He cracked several eggs into a bowl and pulled out a whisk. “Talking about you keeps me from thinking about her.”

“You’ve only known she was gone for a couple of hours.”

“Which means I have a lifetime to mourn.”

She frowned but slid the ham, bell peppers and mushrooms his way. “If you insist. What now?”

He motioned to the pantry behind her. “There should be some good bread in there. We’ll keep it simple and have omelets with toast.”

“Can you talk to your toaster too?”

He smirked. “I could. But my son might have me committed and his mother would try to come after my money again.”

She winced, and he frowned, shaking his head. “Sorry. That was inappropriate. Parker and his siblings are my adopted children, but Parker doesn’t think too highly of me anymore and his mother outright hates me.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. I would give anything to see my parents again so I can’t relate to Parker on that, but I hope the two of you figure out how to be close again someday.”

After that, they worked in silence, and soon they were in the living room eating with Parker who wrinkled his nose at the mushrooms.

“Sorry. That was me.”

“Noah knows how I hate them. He just didn’t correct you because he’s a dick.”

Reva frowned and tried to reassure him with a hand on his shoulder. That was a harsh thing to say to his grieving father. “We can get something else on the way back to my place.”

He shrugged and pushed his plate away. “I got a last-minute meeting with Monica Parrish, and I should really try to get a bit of sleep beforehand, so I should get Reva home.”

Noah shoved his own plate away and stood. “Now who’s being a dick? I’ll walk you both out.”

Reva’s head was spinning from the speed at which things shifted between these two. What was their problem? But she stood and followed the two men to the front door where Parker shifted awkwardly. “I’m sorry about Elise. I’ll have Mandy and Jacob check on you this week.”

Noah nodded and extended his hand for a firm shake before he turned to Reva and smiled. “It was lovely to meet you. Perhaps you can bring my son around more often.”

She opened her arms for a hug.

A mistake she shouldn’t have made.

The way his scent enveloped her had her pulse racing and her mind going places it had no business going.

“I can come sit with you if you need me to,” she heard herself saying against his chest.

Then he kissed the crown of her head and gently pushed her to the door. “Go. You don’t need to sit with a sad old man. I’ll be fine.”

Nothing about Noah made her think of him as an old man. If anything, he screamed sex and danger. She had to get out of there before her thoughts got entirely too inappropriate for the circumstances.

Chapter 2

Five Years Ago

Noah

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