Page 44 of Noah
“Sorry, pup,” I whispered, hugging him close.
Whoever was at the door knocked again, and I hustled over there. It had to be past midnight. What did this person want?
Was it Noah, come for his puppy? Or come for me?
My heart beat harder at the thought of either losing the puppy or gaining Noah, and by the time I got to the door I was breathless with anxiety.
I jerked it open to find Anna on the other side. Not Noah.
“Anna,” I breathed, surprised. “What’s up?”
She lifted one very sleepy eyebrow. “Nothing good. Noah’s in the bar. He needs you.”
Wait, what?
“And I’m sleeping. He’s no longer my problem, Anna.”
She gave me a very sarcastic, very knowing look that made me think he and I hadn’t been as careful with our secrets as we thought we had. Or maybe Anna was just perceptive. I was going to hope it was the latter.
I didn’t like the idea that everyone knew what we were doing.
“It’s entirely your problem,” she said, her expression turning to sympathy. “Because you’re the one he’s shouting for.”
26
NOAH
The world was spinning.
Where was I even supposed to be?
I frowned and tried to remember what was going on, and it came back slowly. I’d been in a meeting with the band. The whole band, including Lila and Anna, as we’d been going over the itinerary for the rest of the tour. We all knew the cities, of course, but some things had changed–like that the record execs weren’t showing up the way we’d thought they would. Rivers had thought that Taylor was working on it, but he hadn’t had any more information than that.
And I’d been furious that he knew more than I did. After all, I was the one with all the ideas. Why the fuck was he getting the inside scoop from Taylor rather than me? I was on the tour too, and hadn’t been distracted like Rivers.
I didn’t have a new girlfriend.
My thoughts had gone back to Molly at that point, though, and the puppy we’d just found. That charming little scene where we’d been taking care of it, and all the things I’d felt as I looked down at that puppy and then up at the girl helping me doctor him.
The memory of those feelings had driven me right to the bar, and I couldn’t remember how long ago that had been. Or how much I’d had to drink.
There was a bottle in front of me, though, and I reached out to grab it and pour myself another shot. Whiskey. Perfect. I named the puppy Whiskey. When I tipped the bottle to pour my drink, though, I realized the bottle was empty. I called for the bartender, but a voice to my right answered me instead.
“He’s gone, Noah. Left a while ago. And I think you’ve probably had enough to drink.”
I looked in that direction, surprised, and saw Matt sitting next to me. When the hell did Matt get here? I wondered suddenly if I’d been talking aloud rather than thinking, because I had a habit of doing that when I’d had too much to drink.
The look on Matt’s face indicated that I had.
Terrific.
“Matt,” I slurred. “Get fucked.”
Matt’s eyebrows shot up. “In a good mood, I see. Glad I called for reinforcements.”
The shift of his eyes and a light touch on my arm told me that whoever those reinforcements were, they were here. God, I hoped it wasn’t Rivers.
“I see how it is,” a voice in my ear said lightly. “You leave me to take care of the kid while you go to the bar.”
