Page 22 of Defend Me

He looks crestfallen and I realize I’ve insulted him. “But I finished it on the drive,” I lie lamely. “So I’d love another cup.”

I sound like an idiot, but he perks up. “No problem,” he says. “The deck is just down that way.” He points down the main hall.

I walk through a small living room that takes up the back of the house. A worn couch fronts a low coffee table, and a well-used armchair sits by a dormant fireplace. The deck is past a set of sliding glass doors that overlook the backyard, down to the dock. I find Noah standing at the railing and staring out across the bay,a coffee mug in his hand, his shaggy hair damp and tousled. He wears a tight-fitting white tee and a pair of faded jeans. His feet are bare. He looks…vulnerable. The morning sun casts shadows over the planes of his face, highlighting his cheekbones and the sharp, straight line of his nose.

I feel an odd lurch in the pit of my stomach. I’ve mostly seen him in his uniform, or in his bargain basement suits. And I guess I still think of him as a lanky teen. How long has he had those biceps? I notice how the white fabric stretches across his chest. When did Noah start working out?

He senses my presence and turns. Instantly, the vulnerability vanishes. His face tenses, like he’s bracing himself. I bring my focus back to the present and away from Noah’s muscles.

“Hey,” he says.

“Good morning,” I reply.

He chuckles but there’s an edge to it. “You don’t need to be so formal, Von.”

“I’m being professional.”

He gestures out at the surrounding woods. “I don’t think the spruces care one way or the other.”

There are two sturdy chairs that look homemade, with a small table between them. I place my briefcase and thermos on the table and pull out a legal pad.

Suddenly, Noah lets out a sharp whistle and I jump.

“What the—” But before I can even finish, I hear the dull thud of paws and a copper-colored lab bounds across the deck and leaps on me.

“Oh,” I say as she licks my hand and woofs. “Hi.” I pat her head. “You must be Penny.” Her fur is shockingly soft and warmed by the sun. She grins up at me, her tongue lolling out. Then she shoves her face in my crotch. “Whoa,” I say, nearly falling over as Noah chuckles.

“Penny, come,” he says, almost lazily. She instantly turns andplops herself by his side. He leans back against the railing, coffee mug in hand, looking pleased with himself.

I look down and realize Penny has left muddy paw prints on my skirt. I glare at Noah with narrowed eyes.

“You did that on purpose,” I say.

He shrugs. “I have very few things that entertain me right now. I’ve never seen you around animals.”

“So that was some sort of test?”

“Just curious.”

“This isPrada,” I say, gesturing to my skirt now covered in paw prints.

“Like you don’t have a hundred other Prada skirts in your wardrobe.”

“That’s not the point.”

“Penny likes you,” Noah says, and I try not to look too pleased as she cocks her head and gives me a dopey smile. We could never have pets when we were kids. Mom was allergic and Dad…Dad didn’t like animals in the house. But I always wanted a puppy. Cliché, I know.

“She has better manners than you,” I say dryly. “Now, sit down and stop being a dickhead.”

“Is that how you talk to all your clients?” Noah says.

“Only the ones who are dickheads.”

He chuckles again but there’s no real humor in it. As he sits in the chair opposite me, leaning forward, his elbows on his knees, I realize the muscles in his forearms are threaded with tension. He’s trying his best to put on a brave face, but it melts into fear as he looks at me. “So,” he says quietly, as Penny settles at his feet, “what’s the plan?”

His mossy brown eyes are ardent and pleading and I notice there are flecks of gold in them. There’s a small scar near his left eyebrow. A pale freckle just under his right ear. I’ve never really looked at his face for this long. Beneath the strong line of his jawand the angular set of his brow, I can see a flash of the kid I grew up with. He’s really scared.

I feel a sudden urge to say something comforting. Encouraging.

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