Page 44 of Reclaiming Love

Chapter 25

Noah looked up at the girl with the wild blond hair who had interrupted them at such a crucial moment. She smiled at him. “I’m Heather. Melissa’s roommate.” She stood between them, her hands tracing the edge of the small table, barely big enough to sit the two of them.

Noah returned her smile. “Hi, Heather.” Melissa’s heated face didn’t escape him; he leaned back, waiting for her reaction. With no other stools available, Heather half squatted on the floor, balancing on the tips of her toes, while her elbows now rested on the table. She looked comfortable—a lot more comfortable than Melissa.

“And you would be?” Heather asked him.

“I’m Noah.”

“Noah? I don’t think I’ve heard your name mentioned before.” She gave Melissa a pointed stare. “It’s nice to meet you, Noah.”

He saw Melissa shuffle in her chair and noticed the distinct lack of conversation between the girls. Obviously Melissa wasn’t going to be forthcoming. Not that there had ever been anything to report back.

He didn’t know these girls too well, but it seemed to him that Melissa would have a lot of explaining to do when they got back.

“Are you still going to the party?” Melissa asked her.

His insides clenched.

“Doesn’t look like it. It’s late anyway and now wouldn’t be a good time to move. We might as well stay here for the rest of the night.”

Melissa looked at him and smiled. No party. She was going to stay here. Great.

“Where have you been hiding him?” her friend asked, still in good spirits and not in the slightest bit perturbed by Melissa’s apparent discomfort at her question.

“We keep running into each other at the coffee shop.” Noah came to the rescue.

“Running? Do you go to the gym too?” Heather asked, not putting two and two together.

Melissa answered for him. “He’s nothing to do with the gym.”

“Nice find,” said her friend, getting up off the floor. “New Year’s strikes in less than half an hour. We’ll be over there, if you want to join us.” She winked at Melissa, “if you can bear to tear yourself away.” She smiled at Noah and left.

Noah felt as relieved as Melissa looked when her friend disappeared. Half an hour to go. Had the time flown past so quickly?

“Sorry about that,” Melissa said.

“Sorry for what? She seems interesting.”

“She’s harmless enough and a good friend, but she can be a bit nosey sometimes.”

“She seems to care about you,” he offered.

“She does.”

“Are you staying here or moving on?” she asked as she looked over at where his friends sat. He turned to see and noticed that a few of them had scattered. But he was in no rush to join them. “I think we’re staying.”

Her lips curled up at the edges.

So far so good, thought Noah. He wondered again, for the millionth time that evening whether she was single or not. He’d been trying to figure it out for a long time now. But now that she was here in the flesh, he wondered more than ever. Because his next actions depended much on it.

He’d thought of her on and off over Christmas, even during that difficult time. The first anniversary was the hardest, so people told him. Memories of Bree started to slip through his fingers. He always had her in his heart and mind, but now that he’d made this decision to move on, he found himself increasingly thinking of Melissa.

She’d said she’d come alone. But it still didn’t tell him what he needed to know.

“You’re not waiting on anyone?”

“Huh?” She looked away and took a sip of her drink.

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