Page 56 of Fifty-Fifty

He nods.

I close my eyes in defeat as Noah admits that all of the positive things about stayin’ weren’t from him at all. They were from Harold.

“But,” he continues, “that doesn’t mean I don’t agree with him.”

I fold up the piece of paper without finishin’ and hand it to him.

Shakin’ my head, I say, “I’m sorry he bothered you, Noah. Harold sometimes sees me as the lil’ girl he never had. Sometimes he forgets his place. I’m sorry he inconvenienced you.”

He shakes his head right back before takin’ a step closer to me. This time I can’t get my feet to cooperate and move away.

“Beau.” His voice is like a vice around my heart. “I’m an idiot.”

My brows pinch in the center as I look at him. “What?”

“I was wrong. I was an idiot. I am an idiot,” he corrects himself. “And I’m sorry that it took me a second too long to realize that I could have it all. That, by staying here, I’m not sacrificing a damn thing. And by leaving? I’m losing it all. I’m losing everything that’s ever mattered to me. You.” He looks around my bedroom. “This place.” He motions to the stairs. “Mac.” He spreads his arms out wide. “Everything.”

I tilt my head, examinin’ him while searchin’ for his sincerity. But I don’t know what to say. “But what about the tattoo shop? What about the deal with Slater, and Shane?”

“What about it?”

My feet start pacin’ the room as anxiety pulses through me. “You’ve always dreamed of ownin’ a tattoo parlor, Noah. I can’t let you stay and regret it down the road. That ain’t fair to you. And that ain’t fair to me. I can’t live my life wonderin’ if I’ll end up bein’ your regret. I can’t.”

He rushes forward, stoppin’ me in my tracks. Intertwinin’ my fingers with his, he raises our hands to his mouth and places a gentle kiss across the back.

“Beau. I think this is one of those cases where I really do get to have my cake and eat it too. I just can’t believe I was dumb enough not to figure it out on my own.”

My teeth sink into my lower lip as I gaze up at him.

“What’re you sayin?” I ask as hope starts to blossom in my chest. I try to restrain it, but it doesn’t listen.

“I’m saying that I love you, Beau Williams. I’m saying that I love Mac, too. Like my own little girl. I’m saying that I want to stay here. With you. I want to be by your side. I want to run this place. And when we finally save up a little nest egg, then we can consider spending it on a tattoo shop in town. Something little. Maybe one or two chairs. But I can have both, Beau. We can have both. But only if you’ll have me. Only if you’ll be by my side.”

We’re nearly chest to chest by the time he finishes his little speech, but it’s close enough that I can feel the way his heart is racin’.

“What are you askin’, Noah?”

He smiles before leanin’ down ‘til our mouths are an inch apart. His breath fans across my face, causin’ the loose strands of my hair to tickle my cheeks. “I’m asking you to give me another chance. To give us a chance. One where I put you first.” His smile turns into a full-on grin as Mac squeals at the game from downstairs. “I take it back. You get second. A close second,” he teases. “Little Miss Dinosaur gets to be put first. You okay with that?”

My face nearly splits in two from the happiness threatening to burst from inside me. I can tell he’s sittin’ on pins and needles as he waits for my answer. I stay silent, pretendin’ to weigh my options before I finally say, “Yeah. I think I am.”

He closes the gap between our mouths, kissin’ the smile off my face with the heat from his lips. I open up to him before wrappin’ my arms around his neck and leanin’ backward. He grabs my hips, and his fingers dig into my flesh as he helps keep our balance. A giddy laugh bubbles out of me, causin’ his lips to pull into a smile against my mouth.

“I love you so damn much, Beau,” he admits before placing a soft peck against my lips.

“I love you too, Noah.”

“I guess they were right.” Noah shrugs before slidin’ his hands down my arms and linkin’ our fingers together.

“Who was right?”

“The whole town.”

“About what?”

“About Harold and Betty slipping something in the coffee,” he jokes.

I giggle at his observation before throwin’ my arms around his shoulders and jumpin’ into his arms. He catches me without a hitch, and we spend the next ten minutes makin’ out like a couple of teenagers before bein’ cock-blocked by a toddler whose game ran out of batteries.

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