Page 36 of The Workaholic Down the Hall

It wasn't exactly the promise of devotion I would have liked to hear, and I realized he didn't understand. He thought being attracted to me and not hating me might be enough to build a relationship on, but I knew better. Or maybe I just wanted more. “I don't want to lose you, either. We just need to establish boundaries and respect each other enough not to cross them.”

“Or maybe we should cross them. What if we agree to date on a trial basis and, if it doesn't work out, we can go back to being friends?”

“A trial?”

“Our daughter should have both her parents around. We need to take a real shot at a relationship and find out if there's anything here.”

“Noah, you've known me for three years, don't you think if anything was here, you'd already know?” He'd said it and I'd thought it, it needed to be addressed.

He frowned and rubbed his hands on his jean-clad thighs, something he did when he was frustrated. “I don't know, Aubrey. I've never been in love, never even gone out with anyone for more than a few dates. I want a chance to prove to you that I can be everything you and our daughter need.”

He was so serious and determined that I wavered. It was a huge risk, and I doubted we could date without one or both of us getting hurt when it didn't work out. But what if I was wrong? Maybe attraction and friendship were enough to build a life on, maybe they were enough to build happiness on. Maybe I'd never be wanted the way I'd hoped, but maybe just being needed would be enough. For my daughter's sake I had to at least try. “Okay,” I said. “But if this doesn't work, no hard feelings—”

“I promise.” His smile was so wide and fierce it slowed my heart for a few seconds. He leapt to his feet and wrapped his arms around me in a tight hug. “But I have a good feeling about this. We're going to make it work.” He studied my face and pushed a fly-away strand of hair behind my ear. His breath ghosting over my lips and I leaned toward him. He was a magnet to me. Even when I knew I was probably making a mistake, I couldn't not lean into him.

A knock at the door made us both flinch. Noah released me and stood. He made his way to the door and opened it to find Carrie, May, and another woman I didn't recognize on our porch. Noah glanced at me, eyebrows high, but I didn't have any more idea why they were there than he did.

“We thought Aubrey might like to get out of the house for a little while, so we got together a girls' day out,” May said.

I pushed to my feet, fell back onto the couch and, before I could try again, Noah was there, his hand in mine, pulling me up. I got to my feet and smiled at the ladies. I wanted to stay and find out how things went with Noah, but I also thought some space might be good for us. It would definitely be good for me, because I was about two seconds away from panicking. “I'm in,” I said. “Should I change?” I was in my most comfortable leggings and an over-sized sweater. I really didn't want to change.

“Absolutely not,” the unfamiliar woman said. “You look adorable.”

“Aubrey, this is Dilly,” Carrie said. “Dilly Aubrey,”

“It's nice to meet you,” I said.

“Ooh, so polite,” Dilly said with a warm smile. “Come on, let's go. I'm starving.”

“You're always starving,” Carrie said, rolling her eyes.

I weaved past Noah and out the door. “What am I going to do?” he asked with an adorable pout.

“The guys will be by in a bit,” Carrie said. She grabbed my arm and led me off the porch to her waiting car.

Once everyone was in and belted up, she turned to me. “What kind of food are you in the mood for?”

“Comfort food,” I said.

“Barbecue?” May asked.

“Italian?” Carrie asked.

“Ice cream?” Dilly asked, her eyes lit with hope.

“Um, any of that sounds great, but I think Barbecue is probably the best for lunch.”

“And ice cream after,” Dilly said, bouncing in her seat.

Carrie started the car and headed down the driveway toward the road.

May, who was sitting next to me, leaned in, a frown twisting her face. “We actually came to rescue you in case things are bad between you and Noah?”

“Nowyou thought I might need a rescue?”

May winced. “Well, Cody told Carrie what Noah said about you being the last woman in the world he'd want to date.”

“That's not what he said,” Carrie said with a heavy sigh.

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