Page 60 of Negotiating Tactics

She had a soft smile on her face. “That checks out.”

I smiled back and then blurted, “You know, I actually considered changing my name, but Nonna was adamantly opposed.”

“Why did you want to change it?” she asked.

“Well, at first I fucking resented the asshole who had given it to me—or should I say the asshole my mother took it from because Prescott never gave me shit—and didn’t want to have any tie to him. As I got older, I got irritated by the assumptions people made,” I said.

“That makes sense. So why keep it?” she asked.

I chuckled. “To piss Prescott off. I shouldn’t even have given him that kind of energy, but I admit that it gave me a certain level of satisfaction, knowing that every time he heard my name—and I have no doubt that he heard my name—he knew that I had built my little empire with no help from him,” I said.

“That is petty as fuck. I love it!” Alex said.

She smiled, and I found myself returning the expression.

A testament to how different everything was with her.

There wasn’t another woman, another person, really, that I had spoken about this with. But like everything else with Alex, it felt normal, natural.

On some level, that comfort terrified me, but even more, it made me happy and gave me peace I hadn’t even known I was missing.

Alex smiled at me, reached over to caress my cheek, her eyes soft.

“Thank you for sharing that, Noah. And thank you for the best birthday I’ve ever had,” she said.

If I had my way, we’d share a lifetime more.

But instead of saying that, I kissed her.

Fourteen

Noah

Meet for lunch?

I read Beau’s text and then hastily typed my response.

12:30, your office?

He responded just as quickly as I had.

See you then.

I stood from the sectional and headed to the gym in the lower floor of the townhouse, deciding to go work out before leaving to meet Beau at lunch.

Maybe after lunch, I’d go house hunting.

I liked the townhouse, but I hadn’t spent much time here. I fucking hated the construction zone that was Alex’s apartment, but she preferred to be there, and I preferred to be wherever she was.

But I’d need to find a place of my own because I’d be staying in town.

Alex’s birthday was the night I’d decided.

Alex was here, so I would be too. And I liked being close to my brothers.

This decision raised another question of what the fuck I was going to do with myself, a question for which I had no answer.

Maybe I’d just take care of Alex.

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