Page 70 of After All This Time

I don’t just find Noah attractive.

I have feelings for him.

I think I always have, but I never wanted to admit it to myself because how could I have feelings for a man I used to hate? I have no idea if Noah feels the same way about me.

He used to tease me all the time.

Why is the way he’s treating me now any different? It’s not, but it is. It’s not teasing in a way where it’s mean and cruel. It’s really hot.

How am I going to survive through this entire day with him now that I’ve admitted my feelings for him? Well, internally, I mean.

BELLA

ME

you were right. i’m not just attracted to noah. i have feelings for him. THIS IS SO FUCKING BAD, BELLS!!!

BELLA

I told you so. Give me all the details. NOW!

ME

this is going to be a long ass text, just warning you

last night, we went to marina’s for dinner and went grocery shopping afterwards. we both were up pretty late because we couldn’t sleep. we talked for like an hour or two about books, my dad, and ben. this morning he made me breakfast. he’s taking me to sweet & salty so i can get inspired to write again. then, he’s taking me to coastal shores for lunch. he said everything’s a mystery after that

BELLA

You’re having writer’s block again?

ME

yeah, it fucking sucks, but i’m hoping this trip to sweet & salty might help. or maybe just the entire day. i don’t know

BELLA

It sounds like he’s pretty crazy about you

ME

i love you, but please don’t feed into my delusions

BELLA

You do realize the shit you read in romance books can actually happen in real life, right? You just have to find your own book boyfriend. But Dani, you already found him. He’s been in your life this entire time. And you both spent most of your lives fighting over the dumbest shit. Take this opportunity to get to know him and I mean really get to know him. We don’t find love, it finds us. Well…some of us

ME

wow, that was beautiful. i really hope you’re not feeding into my delusions because i’m going to be so disappointed if you are

BELLA

Ugh, shut up, Dani

You both deserve time away from the hospital. time to decompress. Time with each other. And time to get to know each other in a different light. Like you said, everything changed when you took care of him when he had his panic attack. You deserve someone who wants to take care of you. You take care of all of us: me, Sage, your mom. You’ve been taking care of Laura, Lizzie, and now, you’re taking care of Noah

Dani, you’re my soul sister. After everything you’ve been through and after everything you’ve done for me, you deserve all the happiness in the world. Especially if that happiness is with Noah!!!

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