Page 31 of Ours to Keep

My hand moves to his back as I lean in close. “You all right?” I ask.

He raises his head and glances at me before he licks his lips and nods.

“Sorry, Noah,” he says, but remains looking at me.His eyes are turbulent dark swirls of browns and greens, silently asking for something. Before I can think better of it, my hand moves to the back of his neck, and I tug him in for a chaste kiss beforepulling back, our mouths still close enough for me to feel his warm breath against my lips.

“You good?” I ask.

He clears his throat and nods, and I drop my hand to his lower back.

When I look back at Noah, he’s watching us, a small smile on his lips.

“You look good on him,” he says to River, who relaxes under my touch just a fraction.

“Nah... he looks good on me,” he replies, turning to me with a wink.

“As does Lily,” I add, smiling, my eyes finding Noah again.

Noah tilts his head in silent question. If anyone would understand, it’s him.

“Lily… it’s complicated… she’s become more than just a client to us, and she was hurt right under our noses. We failed to protect her.” It’s impossible to ignore the shame that fills me at my admission.

His eyes flick between River and me. “I’m sorry. I know how it feels when you let down someone you care about. There are not many people I would trust with my life, but two of them happen to be sitting in this room.”

I shake my head because, at the moment, I don’t even know if I’d trust myself with a fucking hamster. The fact that video feed eluded me only makes my self-castigation more palpable.

“No, El, I mean it. You can try to refute my words, but there’s no point, it’s the truth. You’re good men, all of you. There are not many I consider friends who aren’t family, but you guys fall into that category. When shit went down with Jessica, you didn’t hesitate to get involved. Caleb and I will never be able to repay you for stepping up when we needed you the most. So if loaning you a property for the foreseeable future is a small price to pay and a token of our gratitude, we’ll give it to you gladly.”

Well, shit. “I don’t know what to say,” I admit, rubbing theback of my neck, slightly overwhelmed by his sincerity and generosity.

“You don’t have to say anything. I’m just telling you, both of you,” he says, looking at River, “how it is.”

“Okay, man, go easy on the feels, I’ve only just got Elliot to come around,” River says trying to ease the tension.

I bump him with my shoulder. “Fuck off,” I say, but there’s no weight behind it.

Noah slides a large jiffy envelope across the small coffee table.“Address, keys, alarm system details and codes. I can get the kitchen fully stocked and the house and bedrooms ready for your arrival. Let me know if you have any particular requests, and I’ll get it sorted.”

“Thanks, Noah.”I turn out the envelope and take a look at the contents. Pleased with the security system set and knowing we can connect it to our network while Tommy and Lily are there will at least put us somewhat at ease. “We’ll check with Lily to see when she’ll be up for travelling. But it will likely be in the next day or two.”

We stayed another ten minutes before making our excuses to leave.

“Go, get back to your girl,” Noah says, as he sees us both out. “Oh, and before I forget, Jessica wanted me to invite you all to her grand opening.”

“Opening?” River asks.

Noah smiles from ear to ear. “She finally finished at culinary school. So Caleb bought her a restaurant. It’s where they were off to earlier when you guys got here.”

“Fuck, that’s amazing. Tell her we said congratulations,” River says.

I smile. “Make sure you send us the details. All being good, we’d love to come.”

He nods. “Oh, and your Lily is more than welcome to join you, of course.”

Something about Noah calling Lily ours affects me in a way I never would have expected, making my breath catch.

Is she ours, though?

Does she even want to be ours, especially after what happened?

---