Page 5 of Stolen Kisses
Chapter 2
Noah had decided groveling in front of Grace Donner and Abby Sawyer was a bad idea. Instead, he’d come straight to Krista’s front door. Looking at her now, he wondered if that wasn’t a bad idea, too.
Her lips were pressed into a plump line. He could almost see the wall building between them right in front of his eyes.
“Stop that,” he said, still standing on her porch.
“Stop what?” She crossed her arms at her chest.
He kept his gaze above her shoulders.Alwaysabove the shoulders. “You’re shutting me out because you’re mad at me. I’m sorry.”
One invisible brick tumbled. If he’d been smart, he would have brought chocolate and watched the whole wall crumble with minimal effort.
“What are you sorry for?” she asked, lifting her chin stubbornly.
Noah squeezed past her and waved at Joey on the couch.
“Hey, I didn’t invite you in,” she objected, spinning around to face him again.
Noah grinned at her. Another brick fell. “Krista, I’m sorry that I brought Amber to dinner last night. I didn’t realize it was going to scare you off.”
Joey sat up. “Sothat’swhat happened last night.”
Krista shushed him. “I felt sick. That’s why I left. You’re free to bring people to our Wednesday night hangouts. There are no rules.” She shrugged nonchalantly. “Not a problem.”
“She’s lying,” Joey said, sitting behind them. He pointed. “See how she’s biting her lower lip?”
Krista’s face reddened and she spit out her lip.
Noah suppressed a laugh because she was already mad at him, and now her brother was tossing logs on her flames. “Can we take a walk? Talk in private maybe? How about I be your DD tonight with the girls?”
Krista shook her head. “I’m not going tonight.”
Noah could see the shine to her blue eyes. There were tears behind them, waiting. He knew her well enough to know it wasn’t all about him. Something had probably happened at work today. She loved being a nurse, loved her patients almost to a fault. “All right. How about we take a drive together? I can take your mind off the day and win back my best friend.”
Krista glanced behind her to a boiling pot on the stove. “I’m making mac and cheese.”
Joey stood and headed into the kitchen. “Go, I’ll finish it. It’s the thought that counts, blah, blah, blah.” He looked up and winked at his sister.
Turning back to Noah, Krista gave a small nod. “Okay. A drive would be nice, I guess.”
“Well, let’s go.” Noah led her to his four-door Jeep Sahara and took the driver’s seat. They cruised down several roads before she started talking.
“It’s fine that you brought someone to dinner last night. Great, actually. And she seemed to be just your type.”
“Ha. Definitelynotmy type,” Noah said. “I’d rather have Wednesday Wings with you. Just you and me on Wednesdays from now on. I promise.” He glanced over as they drove. A small smile set on her mouth. “Wanna talk about today?” he asked.
He could hear the sharp intake of breath filling up her chest. She blew it out and he knew, if he looked over, he’d probably see her fighting off tears again.
“One of the kids on my floor had to be medevaced to the children’s hospital at Duke. That only happens if we can’t meet their needs. If…” Her words trailed off. She rolled her lips inward and sniffled at his side.
“I’m sorry, Kris,” Noah said in a low voice, feeling helpless suddenly. “I’m sure the people at Duke will take good care of him or her.”
Krista wiped a finger under her eye. “I know.”
Noah heard the crack in her voice. He wanted to make it all better. “Ice cream?” he asked, turning toward the Blushing Bay pier. There was an ice cream shop there where he and Kris had shared many a cone together. In his experience, ice cream made things better. All the more if it was chocolate ice cream.
“I didn’t say yes,” she said, noting the direction of his Jeep.
