Page 100 of Just My Type
“Why?” I ask, confused. But before Ben can respond, I hear aclinkon the windowpane, and then two more in rapid succession.
“What is that?” Jo asks. Jordan chuckles and dips down, whispering in her ear, and then they both turn to me.
“What?” I demand.
Jo giggles. “I think it’s for you.”
Clink. That noise again, and everyone in the room is looking at me expectantly.
Huffing out an impatient breath, I stalk to the window, and when I glance out, what I see has my heart rolling in my chest and butterflies swarming my stomach. Standing in Hallie andBen’s backyard, lit only by the dim lights on the deck and the glow of the moonlight, is Noah. He’s wearing shorts, a navy-blue T-shirt that saysAbscessed With Oral Surgeryon it with a cartoon picture of a smiling tooth, and those flip flops that still make me weak in the knees. He’s grinning up at me, blue eyes sparkling with mischief, and his hair is tousled and messy in a way that makes me want to run my fingers through it.
Feeling my insides warm at the sight of him, my own grin spreading, I open the window and lean out, crossing my arms over the frame. “Were you throwing rocks at my window?”
Noah shrugs, grin spreading. “Had to get your attention somehow.”
“And you didn’t think to maybe come inside like a normal person?”
“I’m not a normal boyfriend, Gorgeous. I’m the cool boyfriend.”
My stomach flips at the wordboyfriend. It’s the first time he’s used it, and I love it, but I also can’t help but think thathusbandis kind of growing on me too. My entire body is vibrating with the need to jump straight into his arms, but we wouldn’t be us if I didn’t give him shit first, so I school my face into a bored expression.
“Are you really quotingMean Girlsat me?”
Even from up here, I can see Noah’s eyes light up with amusement at the callback to our conversation from the bar so many years ago. “What can I say Hans? It’s Amy Poehler at her finest.”
I bite the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing because god, this guy. “Is there something you needed?”
He spreads his arms wide, and my gaze is drawn to the glint of silver on his left hand. Is he…I squint to look closer and yep. The lunatic is wearing his wedding ring, right in my sister’s backyard. His gaze follows mine and he gives me a wicked grin, like he knows exactly what I’m seeing.
“I just need you. It’s magic hour, Han. Come kiss me at midnight.”
Behind me, I hear Jo let out a little squeal. Glancing over my shoulder, I realize that none of the four of them have moved. They’re all standing there, grinning like insane people, looking directly at me. And honestly, I couldn’t care less. Ours was always meant to be a family affair.
“What’s in it for me?” I call down.
Noah’s smile softens, his eyes filled with something I can’t quite name, but it takes my breath away. “Everything.” His voice is quiet, but he might as well have yelled because that one single word has me on my feet in seconds, down the stairs so fast I barely even touch the floor. Then, with a smile on my face, I walk out the back door and straight into Noah’s arms.
And I’m home.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
NOAH
“Iknow that look,” I say to Jordan, glancing over at where my brother stares down the long aisle between rows of chairs as wedding guests take their seats. “You’re thinking about something dirty.”
It’s absolutely true, but I mostly say it to distract Jordan, who is practically vibrating with anticipation as the four of us and Ben stand at the front of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Hall of Sculpture where we’re waiting for Jo to make her entrance. Jo used to work at the museum before she moved to Boston. It’s one of Jordan and Jo’s special places, and a really cool place to have a wedding, but I don’t think Jordan really sees any of it. Never has there ever been a more impatient groom.
Cooper backhands me across the chest. “Can you go, like, one second without being gross?”
I just turn to Jordan, looking at him expectantly. He glances at Cooper and shrugs. “He wasn’t wrong.”
Elliot laughs, which sets off not only me and Cooper but also Ben. Then Jeremy, Asher, and Gabe crack up from their seats in the front row, and I literally watch the nervous energy drain outof Jordan, replaced by a relaxed sort of happiness mixed with something else I can’t quite name, but Elliot seems to understand.
“We’re all thinking about her too,” Elliot murmurs to Jordan, and I know he’s talking about Allie.
Jordan turns to him, giving him a grateful smile. “I know. I think she’d get a kick out of all of this.” He gestures to the soaring ceilings of the Hall of Sculpture, the massive replica of Dippy, this dinosaur that Pittsburgh is famous for and Jordan and Jo are obsessed with, and the high-top sneakers we’re wearing with our tuxes because Jo told us that life is way too short to wear uncomfortable shoes.
I grin at Jordan. “Everything in here looks exactly like Jo.”
