Page 75 of My Kind of Trouble
‘Right,’ Alex muttered.
He tried to keep his face straight, but his skin burned under the pressure of lying to his best friend. His chest felt so tight it was almost concerning.
Was he having a medical event?
‘And she told me that you offered her this job so that she could really make a good go at the writing thing. That was real nice of you, man. You’re a good friend, and I don’t say it enough.’
Alex sunk farther and farther into the leather wing-back chair he sat in at the back of the bar, hoping he would either become a part of it, or that the several beers he was chugging would numb the increasing sense of guilt right out of him.
‘You’re quiet tonight. Everything alright?’
The genuine concern in Ryan’s eyes made Alex feel even worse. He needed to get it together, or else it was game over.
‘Yeah, I’m fine. It’s just been a long few days. These beers are helping, though. Going down a treat and, at least, I have a day off tomorrow.’
Ryan perked up even more at that. ‘You know what that means, right?’
Alex just stared at him, waiting for him to fill in the blanks.
‘We haven’t gotten drunk together in so long. Let’s have a lock-in like old times.’
‘It’s hardly a lock-in with the two of us. We do that most weeks,’ Alex grunted.
‘Potayto, potahto,’ Ryan shrugged, his voice a sing-song.
‘Fine, but if we’re doing this, then we’re doing this properly. We need a bottle of whiskey and a bucket of ice.’
‘No other way to do it,’ Ryan agreed as he headed behind the bar.
Was he skipping? He was definitely skipping. Christ.
‘No, we need the good stuff I reserve just for me. It’s in my office. I’ll go.’
Alex went to move from his chair, deciding a breather in his office to gather himself was probably a good call.
‘I got it man,’ Ryan called, holding his hand up before Alex could even advance from his seat.
As the door banged behind Ryan, Alex let out a long breath. Yes, whiskey sounded like a great idea indeed. He sat,deep in his own thoughts, waiting for Ryan to return. He tried to muster up a plan in his head. What was the best plan for telling Ryan about him and Noa? Every time he tried to picture it—the perfect way to tell your best friend that you’ve been secretly dating his sister—he came up short.
Should he take him out for food? Do it in public? No, that didn’t sound ideal. Too many prying eyes and ears in this nosy town.
Maybe, they could break it to him at one of the Friday night dinners at the Drakes’? Bethan and Isaac were reasonable people. If Ryan jumped to any conclusions, something that wouldn’t be entirely out of character for him, Alex was sure they’d make good buffers. Or, at least, settle him enough so Alex and Noa could explain.
Yes. That’s what they would do. The second he could talk to Noa and update her on his plan, he would. And he was sure she’d be all for it.
A second later, doors slammed again but, this time, it wasn’t the office ones. Instead, they came from behind him. Turning around to see who the hell was coming into his bar at this time past midnight, he was shocked to see a breathless Noa in the doorway.
Her hair stuck to her face in a matted mess from either the drizzle of rain outside, or time spent running her hands through it. He could see the faint smattering of sweat above her furrowed brow.
She looked like a woman on a mission as she stalked toward him, and he couldn’t quite work out the emotion on her face. Anger mixed with fear, maybe?
Whatever it was had panic instantly flaring in his gut, and he wanted to capture her in his arms. But Ryan was here, so he remained still as she continued across the room. She bit her lip,in the way he knew she did when she was worried, and stopped in front of him.
Alex opened his mouth to tell Noa her brother was here, but was quickly cut off by words flying from her lips at a rapid pace. Frantic, nonsensical words that he struggled to keep up with. He tried to gesture in the direction Ryan had gone, hoping it would be enough for her to understand. But she kept on going, looking only confused by his attempts at silent communication.
Eventually, he just sat there and listened as she untactfully blurted out the words that he never thought he would hear. Words that had his ears ringing and his knees almost buckling.
If he wasn’t sitting, he was sure he’d have lost a few teeth in his nosedive toward the floor. He stared right at her, focussing on trying to keep upright whilst, in the space of seconds, she flipped his entire world upside-down.
