Page 114 of So Steady

“Wait one sec. You know Nicole’s there, right? That she’ll want to see you.”

Noah’s gut tightened. “What’s your point?”

“That she’ll be able to see you. You know, be close to you. In the flesh, as it were.”

“Huh?”

Scott winced. “You’re going to make me say it, aren’t you? Jesus, you’d think this would be easier than robbing a man…”

“The fuck are you talking about?”

He sighed. “Okay, no offense, but you look like shit and you smell worse. And that was fine while you were freaking Gil out, but I don’t think Nicole will appreciate it. Especially if you’re going to convince her that she should overlook all this bikie business and whatever the fuck you said to her last night, and be your girlfriend, or old lady, or whatever it is you want to call it.”

“Oh.” Noah looked down at himself, seeing his stained t-shirt and patchy jeans anew. He could only imagine the state of his teeth and stubble. “Yeah, I should shower.”

Scott looked relieved. “And shave. And change your clothes. Give your entrance a less authentic biker feel.”

“Yeah, okay. Message received.”

Noah revved the engine. He’d have to be quick getting home; Gil’s helmet didn’t fit and he didn’t want to get busted for riding without one. He didn’t want to get busted for anything ever again. “See you soon.”

Scott shoved his hands in his pockets. “One more thing?”

“What?”

“Thanks for what you did for us. For Sam. I didn’t think we’d see a penny from Gil, and I know we don’t have eighty grand’s worth of things, but at least he didn’t get away with it. And that’s thanks to you.”

“Oh.” He found himself wishing for Gil’s helmet so he wouldn’t have to look Scott in the face. “Yeah, no worries.”

Scott nodded, clearly as uncomfortable as he was. “Right, well, if things go well with Nicole, well, then…welcome to the family, I suppose.”

He turned and strode to the van, looking profoundly awkward. Noah grinned. He had a feeling he’d be giving Scott shit about this someday. It was a good feeling to have. He revved the bike, feeling like he’d just been handed the keys to another life. Maybe he had. He needed to get home, shower, and get to Silver Daughters. Open the lock.

Chapter 21

John Mayer crooned about the nature of gravity as Nicole stared out of her bedroom window. She didn’t believe Tabby’s half-assed claim the boys were playing golf. They didn’t need to take Noah’s van to play freaking golf—they’d gone to confront Gil. She didn’t know why the idea made her so nervous—it wasn’t like Gil was dangerous. It just seemed like such a reckless thing for Scott and Toby to do.

“Was it Noah’s idea?” she asked Tabby, but she’d just covered her ears and shouted ‘lalalalalalalalala’ until Nicole gave up. A typical Tabitha DaSilva victory.

All she’d wanted to know was if he was okay. He hadn’t answered any of her calls or messages. His being gone shouldn’t have changed anything, it had been less than two days, but she ached. She missed him. Everything seemed more unstable without him around, crowding out tattoo room two, reading his books at the front desk, sitting at Monday meeting, saying nothing and eating everything. Last night she’d dreamt he was her priest again, cupping the back of her neck and forcing her to her knees. If she never slept with him again it would be the single biggest non-death tragedy of her life.

Hello? A bit of focus, please?mind-Sam snapped.

Nicole forced her gaze back to her laptop and re-read her draft email.

Hello all,

Due a change in our personal circumstances, Aaron and I are no longer getting married. I’ve decided to move back to Melbourne to spend more time with my family. I’ll be contacting people individually to sort out loose ends, but for now, I’d just like to say thank you for all you’ve done for me,

Nicole DaSilva

In the ‘to’ box was her boss, her Adelaide friends, wedding providers and any and all relevant parties she could think of. The message was hokey and a bit ‘politician forced to retire’, what with the bit about spending more time with her family, but it was the truth. She was done trying to make the narrative of what happened with Aaron compelling and tasteful and mutually blameless. It was time to let the train go off the tracks and see where the damage fell.

Besides, it was only a formality. From the messages she’d been getting, Aaron was telling everyone in Adelaide she cheated on him with Noah. Sam wanted to mail him a king brown snake, but Nicole told her about the plate condom and, once they were both done laughing, agreed they didn’t need any more of his pettiness in their lives.

She re-read the email again, her mouth bone dry. Telling everyone was the right decision, but she wasn’t sure about moving to Melbourne. Now the mysterious money pit problem was solved, she had no real reason to stay.

Except Noah.

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