Page 77 of The Holiday Ex-Files

“Can we come in?” Noah asked, when I stayed as silent as a mute.

“Of course.” I waved them in, flustered.

Noah stepped in, and instantly my place smelled like a mix of snickerdoodles and homemade bread. There was no doubt that’s what heaven must smell like.

Thankfully, my pooch was freaking out enough that I couldn’t get lost in that scent or the person who accompanied it.

I held Neville to me, trying to calm him. He couldn’t bury his head far enough into my chest.

Noah hurried to set the food down on the kitchen counter before approaching us with Luna, who was up on her hind legs trying to check out my baby.

“Luna, sit,” Noah gently commanded, and she obeyed. “Hey, buddy.” He scratched Neville’s head, trying to soothe him. “Let me have him.”

“Uh. I don’t think so.” My poor baby was shaking so badly. “I just betrayed him by letting another dog in the house. Though she is lovely.” I smiled.

“You look lovely too.” He playfully wagged his brows.

I knew I should have worn the sweats. Now he knew I was trying too hard. Crap. He was probably thinking about how flirty I had been while we danced last night. That left me no choice but to ask, “Did you have fun with Annika?”

“Yeah,” he responded without fanfare. “It was great to catch up. Did you know she keeps a picture of herself stabbing her ex-husband on her nightstand?” He shuddered. Probably thinking about where she was stabbing her ex.

I shuddered, too, but for other reasons. “You were in her room?” I blurted without thinking. What was wrong with me? Of course he would go in her room. They probably spent the entire time in her room “switching out light fixtures.”

He gave me an impish grin. “I had to switch out the light in there.”

Right. “That’s great. So great.” I had to keep myself from having visions of clawing Annika’s eyes out for touching Noah in such a way. I mean Miss Sparkly did. Noah and I were friends. Just friends.

Noah’s left brow arched. “It wasn’t a big deal.”

Is that how he felt about sex? That was disappointing. Sex was like a monumentally huge deal. It involved intimacy, trust, vulnerability, and let’s not forget oxytocin. That bonding hormone didn’t mess around, which was why I cautioned people not to mess around. Bonding, unfortunately, was too easy—true intimacy is much more valuable and rare, which is why it’s so beautiful. But also, so devastating when it’s violated and severed.

I held Neville closer to me, feeling the sharp pain of that violation. And because I had thought Noah would be someone who valued intimacy. Maybe he did. Or perhaps he and Annika had already been doing the horizontal mambo and so it wasn’t a big deal for him. Still, that was disappointing. Each time Ben and I had sex, even though we were married, it was a big deal for me. To give yourself to someone like that required it to be of significance.

“Are you hungry?” It was all I could think to say.

The corners of Noah’s eyes crinkled. “Starving, but let’s make Neville comfortable first.”

Neither Neville nor I were going to be comfortable tonight. Of that, I was sure. Or at least pretty sure.

Noah snatched my dog from out of my arms. “Come here, buddy.”

The traitor nearly leaped into his arms, to Noah’s delight.

Noah smirked at me.

I gave him the evil eye and he laughed. I stood pensively and watched while Noah loved on Neville, whispering things in his ear, like, “Let’s show your mommy how wrong she is.”

“Excuse me, I can hear you.”

“I know.” Noah chuckled.

“Fine. Prove me wrong.” I folded my arms. I wasn’t being snotty; I was praying that Neville wouldn’t prove Noah right.

Noah knelt with Neville, who shook a little less in Noah’s arms. That didn’t bode well for me. Luna seemed to know not to lunge at my pooch, but she did take a few sniffs. I swore the beautiful dog smiled like she enjoyed what she got a whiff of. For a dog, Neville did smell pleasant. It was the lavender-scented fabric softener I used. Neville loved to snuggle into the blankets.

Noah held Neville out to Luna, while still keeping a firm hold on him. What happened next, I couldn’t have ever imagined. Luna gave Neville a big old sloppy lick and that was it, Neville was hooked. We are talking he licked her right back. And kept on licking her, like he was trying to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop. I was almost embarrassed for him. Meanwhile, Noah was laughing and giving me the gloatiest of grins.

“I knew it,” Noah bragged, “they were meant to be.”

I threw my hands up in the air and headed for the carbs. I seriously couldn’t believe my dog was a lover. He was supposed to stay single like his owner. I was never living this down with Noah. Thankfully, breadsticks and carbonara were in my immediate future to help ease my pain. I didn’t even bother with plates. I grabbed a fork, removed the lid from the aluminum serving container, and dived right into the carbonara—while I watched my dog run around Luna like a lovesick puppy, playfully nipping at her, as she returned the gesture. I was disgusted.

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