Page 104 of Axe Backwards
“She’s protective of Victoria. We all are. She’s one of us. She busts her ass every day to make the town better for everyone, despite all the shit she’s been through.”
Graham stuck his tongue out and wiped at it with a napkin as he yanked more from the chrome dispenser on the tabletop.
“Ready to order that omelet?” Bernice gave him her fakest smile.
“That’s it.” He tossed the pile of napkins onto the table. “You’ve lost my business.”
“Oh no.” Grinning, Bernice slipped her pencil behind her ear. “Now I’ll lose my Michelin star.”
Graham glared. “Looks like I’m headed to the fancy new coffee shop instead.” With a grunt, he picked up his Louis Vuitton man bag and stomped to the door.
“Good luck.” Bernice gave him a finger wave.
All around us, people were pulling phones out of pockets and purses, no doubt to warn Raeanna and her staff at the Caffeinated Moose that he was on his way in.
“Bernice,” Finn hissed. The sound was all tease. “Are you colluding with the other small-business owners?”
She nodded, though she didn’t look up from her device as she tapped one long nail on the screen. “He’s lucky I let him walk in here after what he did to poor Victoria.” She shook her head. “Shoulda put ex-lax in his coffee.”
Finn shot up straight. “Bernice.”
She glared at him. “Finn Hebert, don’t you dare sass me. I’ll call your wife.”
“Yes, ma’am.” His shoulders fell, and without another word, he picked up his fork and went back to eating his breakfast. Like the rest of us, he wouldn’t risk pissing off Bernice. She knew everyone and everything in this town. Not to mention the eggs Benedict were that good.
“And you.” She pointed at me. For a moment, her face softened. “You’ve got the cutest baby and the best girlfriend, but”—that stern look returned—“if you hurt her—”
I put my hands up. “I would never.”
“Noah is a good egg,” Finn said. “He knows he stumbled upon a winning lottery ticket when he moved into the apartment above Victoria Randolph. I swear on Marge that he wouldn’t.”
Damn, if my brother was swearing on his plane, he meant it. I wasn’t sure I really deserved that kind of loyalty.
Her shoulders relaxed. “Okay, let me go get the good coffee. You need a refill.”
Chapter 34
Victoria
The energy in the apartment had shifted overnight, and in turn, my anxiety spiked. I couldn’t for the life of me figure out the cause. Was it something I’d done? Something I’d said?
I should have gone back down to my own apartment last night. Instead, we’d slept in his twin bed, intertwined. I’d wanted to be close to him, and at the time, he’d seemed just as eager. Now, though, he was distant.
Dammit. I was screwing this all up.
Leaning in to catch his eye, I pointed toward the door. “I should go. I have errands to run.”
He looked up from where he was feeding Tess in her highchair, his face stricken. “Oh. Okay.”
I turned, eager to put some space between myself and this strange tension. But halfway to the door, I thought better of it.
This wasn’t who I was anymore. I wouldn’t bury my head in the sand. The last thing I needed was to spend my day beating myself up over all the things I could have potentially done wrong. It was time to put on my big girl pants.
“Noah. It seems like something is bothering you.” I did my best to keep my terror in check, but my voice quavered anyway. “I’d like to help if I can.”
Holding my breath, I waited for him to kick me out. Toyell at me. To criticize me for being needy.
Instead, he rose and shuffled over to where I was awkwardly lingering in the middle of the living area.
