Page 51 of Wanted You More

My best friend gives me a funny look. “It means exactly how it sounds. You and I are going to do something epic with our lives.” She digs through the tote she brought and takes out some sunscreen. “What’s with you and them anyway? I know Noah went ghost on you like a total dickhead, but you barely talk about his parents. You used to be, like, obsessed with them.”

I don’t know if I’d choose that word, but I suppose she isn’t wrong. “It feels weird reaching out to them when Noah and I aren’t talking. His mom said he wanted to come see me graduate, but I don’t think that’s true. If he wanted to, he would have.”

It feels a little unfair to assume that he doesn’t have a lot going on. By next summer, he’ll be done with law school and working as a civil law lawyer. Between classes using up most of his free time he has when he isn’t on duty, it means his life is pretty booked up. When he doesn’t have somewhere to be, Bailey is the person who gets to see him.

I’d know. I stalked her social media pages one day at work when it was slow. She posts pictures of them doing everything and tags him. Whether they’re eating somewhere new, going on morning runs together, or traveling somewhere fun, it’s documented on every platform she runs. And because I love torturing myself, I read through the comments of every picture of them to see what people have to say.

Her friends seem to think he’ll propose soon, and her family asks when they’re moving in together. Only a third of the photographs show off Noah’s pretty smile, yet everybody agrees that they’re destined to be together.

Theitcouple.

It makes me want to gag.

“Who cares about that.” Marybelle scoffs, giving me a look. “You love his parents, so keep in contact with them. It’s Noah’s loss if he doesn’t want you in his life. That doesn’t mean you have to cut everyone else he knows out of yours. They came to graduation, right?”

My lips curl downward. “Right.”

“And they check in on you when you don’t reply all the time, right?” she prods.

I wonder if she’s suddenly team Kingsley because she won’t be around anymore. “Yes, they do that.”

It makes me feel bad when I don’t answer their texts or return their calls. This is the longest I’ve gone without contacting them. I don’t know where I stand, thanks to Noah. I wanted to believe that Bailey was just protecting what was hers and claiming her territory when she warned me away.

But the birthday present he gave me and the lack of contact only confirmed what she said all those months ago.

One of my fingers brushes the big heart dangling from the silver chain on my wrist. “I don’t know, Belles. Maybe this new chapter in my life will be good for me. I’ll meet new people and be able to get past him and his family.”

A skeptical look shades her face. “No offense, babe, but I doubt that’ll happen. You look soul crushed over the idea right now. It isn’t going to go away just because you will it to.”

Since when was she logical? “I thought you hated Noah.”

“Hate is a strong word,” she answers easily, passing me the sunscreen with a smirk. “I didn’t like all the attention you were giving him because that meant less for me. Plus, I knew he’d be too strait-laced to do anything about your situation. Even if he liked you, he’s still older than you. I still think that’s why he’s kept his distance since your big birthday.”

I’m not sure I want to think about that because it’d only bury me further down the rabbit hole. “Eighteen isn’t a big birthday,” I mumble, applying sunscreen onto my legs and arms.

She hums, leaning back on the towel and making herself comfortable. “You can vote, buy lottery tickets, enlist in the army, get charged as an adult for any crime you commit, and, more importantly, you’relegal. Trust me, Austen. Eighteen is a big birthday when you’re in love with a man five years older than you.”

I shoot her a passive glare, worried there are people we know who could overhear. The last thing I need is more gossip about me. “Nobody said anything about love, so quit it. I had—okay, have—a crush on him. We spent a lot of time together. It was bound to happen. I’m basically halfway over it. He’s made sure of that.”

Her laugh is full of amused doubt. “If that’s what helps you sleep at night, then whatever you say. All I’m saying is that if Bailey wasn’t in the picture, you being eighteen would probably be a pretty huge deal to Noah.”

I cap off the sunscreen and slide it back into her bag before lying down on my towel. “I guess it’s a good thing he has her then.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Dad is cookingwhen I walk downstairs and into the kitchen, the bacon in the pan sizzling and making the whole house smell like delicious fat and grease. “You didn’t set the fire alarm off this time,” I praise him teasingly as he clicks the burner off and takes the pan off it.

He gives me the side-eye. “I’m not finished with breakfast yet.”

I grin, looking at the spread laying across the counter. “What’s the occasion? You haven’t made this much food in a long time.”

Grabbing one of the hot pieces of bacon from the plate he lays them onto, I wave it around to cool it off and then crunch down as I watch my father’s face. He’s had a lot of meetings lately at work but never indulges Wolfe or me on what they’re about. I promised him I wouldn’t say anything about his cut hours because I knew it would worry Wolfe more than he already does.

Dad clears his throat, setting the pan down and focusing his attention on me. “I got a job offer yesterday.”

I sit straighter, smiling at the good news he doesn’t seem that enthused about. We don’t always get good news around here, so I’m nervous about his reaction. “That’s awesome! Where?”

The discomfort masks his features. “It’ll be at Chamberlin College—your new school. Closer than the university was. They offered me the same courses that I had at uni, plus a few additional ones I’ve been interested in for some time that I could never get assigned to. They’re willing to pay more, too, because they’ve been having trouble keeping staff and want to give better incentives for faculty to stay.”

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