Page 82 of Sweet Ruin

“Sorry.” I shook my head. “I’m fine. I just didn’t want to get cornered by Noah.”

“Right.” She nodded, clutching her books to her chest. “What was up with him today?”

“It’s a long story.”

“I thought you guys were over,” she continued. “He’s been so off with you since you broke up, but now he’s sitting near us again. And he was making eyes at you all class.Andhe wants a study date with you.”

“Like I said, it’s a long story.” I’d talked her ear off enough times about Noah in the past, so I knew she deserved an explanation. I did my best to summarize the wild weekend in New York as quickly as I could.

She listened intently as I told her about Noah’s move against his grandfather, how he’d hidden his feelings for me, and how he now wanted me back. Lily’s eyes slowly grew wider and wider as I spoke. It was a crazy story, but it was even harder to comprehend when you were from a humble background like the two of us.

“I’d heard about the takeover,” she murmured. “Everyone’s been talking about it. But, wow, Noah’s really had feelings for you all this time?”

“Yeah.” I glanced down at my hands. I’d come to terms with most of what had happened in New York, but that part was still proving difficult.

“What are you going to do?”

I looked up at her once more. “What do you mean?”

“About Noah? He clearly still loves you.”

“I’m not going to do anything. I’m with Wes, and I’ve made it clear to Noah that nothing is going to happen.”

She frowned slightly, and I wondered if she disagreed with my decision.

“Wes is really good for me,” I added, trying to emphasize my point. “He’s a great boyfriend.”

“You don’t have to convince me.” Lily’s expression changed as she gave me an easy smile. “I know how much you care about Wes.”

“I do,” I agreed.

We continued our walk across the courtyard, but I couldn’t shake the feeling Lily thought I was making the wrong choice. In my mind there wasn’t even a choice to make. I was with Wes, and that was all there was to it.

* * *

I spentthe whole of the next day dreading my meeting with Noah in the library that night. I’d already been struggling to alleviate Wes’s concerns about my ex, but it wasn’t like I had much choice in the matter. Not if I wanted to do well on our business management assignment.

I was mainly worried Noah would try to flirt with me or make eyes at me. Really, anything that might convince me to dump my boyfriend and be with him. If people saw that, they might start gossiping about it. But despite my fears and Noah’s attempts to call the study session a date, when the evening came, he was surprisingly subdued.

He sat beside me at the study table and focused completely on our work. He didn’t try to talk about what happened on the weekend or ask me how I felt. He didn’t even try to flirt. It was as though he really did just want to work on our assignment.

I couldn’t decide if I was relieved or annoyed. Had he already given up on me? Was that what I wanted? It’s what I was supposed to want, but I was shocked it had happened so fast.

We actually managed to get most of the assignment done. It took a lot longer than expected because we were practically starting from scratch despite my claims I’d almost finished my part.

We stayed in the library right up until curfew when all of the other students had already packed up their things and left. We were probably only just going to make it back to our dorms in time. I couldn’t complain though. We’d done some great work on our assignment, and it only needed a few final touches now. Thankfully, that could be done separately.

The weather had turned icy this evening, and I was wearing more layers than usual to try to combat the cold. Noah chuckled when he saw me putting on two jackets, a hat, and a scarf before we left.

“Can’t handle the cold?” he asked.

“It’s not cold. It’s freezing,” I said. “And I have no problem admitting I can’t handle it.”

He smiled. “You look like you’re dressed for a night in the arctic rather than Weybridge.”

“Are you sure we’re not in the arctic?” I asked. “Because it feels like it out there.”

We started back to the dorms together. We weren’t walking all that close to each other, yet my skin still prickled at his proximity. Despite the distance between us and the thick woolen jackets I was wearing, I could still feel him at my side. I wondered if Noah sensed me in the same way.

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