Beneath It All (Beneath #1) (20 page)

“You’re probably right. He goes above and beyond to make sure you’re happy,” she said as she locked her computer. “When the boss is away . . . his wife and I get a pass to go have coffee. Let’s go!”

We hadn’t really paid attention to how long we were gone until we arrived back at the office and Noah hollered from his office: “Where have you been?”

I heard him making his way out of his office. “I just got back from my long lunch with . . . Victoria—what are you doing here?” He seemed surprised to see me.

“Hi. I decided to stop by the office after my haircut to surprise you and see if Whitney was available to sneak away for a cup of coffee.”

“It’s certainly a surprise,” he said as he walked toward me to place a customary kiss on my check in the workplace. “Your hair is . . . cute.” He wasn’t really sure what to say, and I could see the disappointment in his eyes as my long hair was now gone.

He always tried to hide his disappointment, but I had become familiar with this look as I had been seeing it more frequently.

“Thanks. I know it’s really short, but this way it won’t be as big of a shock when it falls out.”

Whitney scurried by me. “I think its super cute, Victoria. Thanks again for coffee.”

“You bet—let’s do it again soon. Well, depending on how I’m feeling, I guess. I’ve heard that things don’t taste the same during chemo, so I should avoid my favorite foods or I might end up hating them later.”

I moved to leave, feeling like I had intruded on their day. “I should get going and let you both get back to work.”

“Sorry I wasn’t here earlier; I had to step out for an appointment, but I’m happy I did get to see you.” Noah sounded sincere in his words, but he shifted on his feet uncomfortably. “Do you want me to pick up dinner tonight on my way home?”

“That would be great. Surprise me. I’m considering it ‘the last meal,’ though, so make it good.” I winked before I turned to say one last good-bye to Whitney.

*

Traffic was starting to back up, so I decided to drive around the lakes instead, which gave me time to call Bobbie Jo.

She picked up on the second ring. “What’s up, hooker?”

“Oh, you know, business is slow since the boobies have disappeared. Apparently men like them. Who knew?”

“Damn girl, even with all of the shit you’ve been through, you still have a sense of humor. How do you do that?”

“Let’s just say I’ve gone into survival mode. I think I would lose my damn mind if I didn’t try to find something to laugh about. I’m on an emotional roller coaster . . . up one moment and down the next. I’m getting motion sickness already and chemo starts tomorrow. I’m afraid I’m doomed.”

“Drugs. Take the drugs.” Bobbie Jo giggled. “You know they give good ones too. Have you asked about medicinal marijuana? I’d totally like to try that one.”

“Why am I not surprised?” I responded before trying the steer the conversation to my reason for calling. “I’m kind of freaked out for tomorrow and was wondering if you would stop over this weekend for a visit. I don’t want to come off as needy, but I’m not sure what to expect or how Noah will be with the unexpected. I’m sorry to ask this of you, but I’m scared.”

“Oh honey, don’t be sorry for asking. You know I would do anything for you and Noah. When do you want me to come over? Do you want me there tomorrow night after chemo or on Saturday?”

“I don’t know. I shouldn’t have called. I didn’t really think this through and should have. I’m just unsure of what to do and what we need.”

“Where are you?”

“I just left Noah’s office, and I’m on my way home. Why?”

“I’m just leaving the office. Are you still downtown?”

“No, I’m taking the scenic route and driving around Lake of the Isles right now.”

“What time will Noah be home?”

“He said he’d be home with dinner, which will probably be around six.”

“Good, that gives us plenty of time. I’m stopping to pick up some treats, and I’ll meet you at your house in a half hour. This conversation cannot happen over the phone.”

“But—”

“Shut it, Victoria. I’m on my way.” Click.

Well, shit.
That didn’t go how I planned. Actually, my mistake was not planning the conversation at all. I let my emotions take over and my mouth started running out of control.

“What the hell?” I said out loud to myself.

I managed to make it home in good time and ran upstairs to change into something more comfortable. There was a knock on the door as I started sorting through the mail.

“Why do you always knock?” I asked as I opened the door. “You know I leave the door unlocked when I’m expecting you.”

“Because my mom taught me manners,” she said as she gave me a quick peck on the cheek before bee-lining toward the kitchen. She set down an assortment of FunkyChunky containers, shrugged her coat off, and tossed it over the back of one of the breakfast bar stools and sat down.

I grabbed the container of ooey-gooey chocolate-drizzled caramel corn and pretzels and sat down next to her. “I didn’t mean to sound so desperate when I called. I don’t know what I was thinking.”

“I know. It’s okay to be scared and ask for help when you don’t know what you’re asking for. Part of being a friend is anticipating your needs when you don’t know what they are. You can count on me to be there for you and Noah. You both have my number and I’ll be ‘on call’ this weekend for anything you need. I’m a phone call and a fifteen-minute drive away.”

She grabbed my hand and squeezed tight. “I love you to pieces, and I know our friendship is based on sarcasm, humor, and shenanigans, but right now we need to focus on keeping you and Noah sane. Come hell or high water, I’ll be here for you, and you can count on that.”

“I love you,” I said, lightly bumping into her shoulder and smiling.

“Love you too. Now enough of this sappy crap—are you going to share that shit with me or not?”

*

I was curled up on the sofa in a lightweight sweater dress when Noah arrived home with two grocery bags just before seven o’clock. He looked rather frazzled.

“Hey, sorry I’m late,” he said has he kissed my cheek and went to set the bags on the counter. “My afternoon got out of hand, and by the time I called to order dinner, it would have taken an extra half hour, so I decided to stop at the store and make you dinner instead. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Not at all . . . a home-cooked meal actually sounds better. What are we having?” I asked as I peeked into one of the grocery bags and started pulling things out. Romaine lettuce, several varieties of fresh vegetables, French bread, baby red potatoes, and a package of filet mignon beef. “Good choice.”

“I’m glad you agree,” he said as he slipped off his suit coat. “I’m going to head upstairs to change and then start the grill. Do you mind washing the romaine and veggies?”

There was a pause.

“Earth to Victoria. Are you there?”

“Huh? What? Oh sorry. I guess I drifted off.” I turned toward him with a few veggies in hand and gestured to them. “This reminds me of when you made partner. Do you remember that night?”

“Yes, I remember it well.” He smiled. “I called to tell you the good news and tried to get a reservation at Kincaid’s but couldn’t on such short notice. You ran to the store and splurged on the best cut of beef you could get, and we made our own five-star dinner and enjoyed it on the floor drinking wine,” he said with a wistful look on his face, as if remembering the happy times that seemed to have disappeared from our life recently.

I stepped toward him and wrapped my arms around his waist. “I miss the simplicity of life back when we didn’t have so much pressure. Granted, we would scramble to pay bills, but we always found creative ways to have fun.”

“That we did.” He placed a kiss on my lips before stepping back. “Let me go change. We’ll have dinner, and then I think we should enjoy dessert in bed. You have two options: ‘Better than Sex’ chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream . . . or sex.”

“I choose option three: sex with cake. I think that might be my new favorite dessert . . . and hold the vanilla,” I said with a wink. “I’m not in the mood for vanilla tonight.”

Noah’s eyes instantly blazed fire, and I could see a twitch in his pants. “You. Are. Evil,” he said matter-of-factly. “How do you expect me to cook and sit through dinner now?”

“I expect you to just be you. You know—a gentleman in the streets and a freak between the sheets.”

He shook his head at me. “Evil, I say . . . pure evil. Start prepping dinner; I need a cold shower and then I’ll be back down to start the grill.”

He gave my ass a good slap before disappearing upstairs to change and well . . . I would guess relieve the “issue” I caused in his pants.

I poured myself a glass of wine and started prepping dinner. It was too quiet and my mind started racing about tomorrow. Scrolling through my playlist, I landed on “Unwritten” by Natasha Bedingfield. Before long, I was singing at the top of my lungs between sips of wine, and damn, it felt good. Then the music changed.

Noah was back and had on a pair of sleep pants and a white T-shirt. God, he looked incredible with his wet hair and lazy look. As much as I loved his suits, I loved his relaxed look even more because it was so rare. Ukulele strums started playing and the smooth voice of Chris Rene started singing “Trouble.” The beat quickly picked up, and I think it was fair to say it was a subtle hint.

“Are you suggesting that I’m trouble?” I asked innocently, swaying my hips to the music.

“It’s not a suggestion—it’s a fact. While the shower helped, it did not solve the problem that you created,” he whispered against my neck. “But right now I’m hungry, and it would be wise for you to eat a good dinner; you’ll be burning a lot of calories tonight.”

“Promises. Promises,” I teased back since I was feeling that first glass of wine already. Since I hadn’t been drinking the last few weeks, my tolerance was slipping.

Tonight, I was going to be the unknowing gazelle dancing its way into the lion’s den looking like his last feast. Which was pretty much true. Who was going to want have any kind of a physical relationship with a bald and boobless woman?
Nobody.
Tonight was going to be memorable.

Dinner was beyond amazing. Noah had set the dining room table with candles and a bouquet of fresh flowers I hadn’t seen, but then again, I only looked in one of the grocery bags. The lights were dim and The Piano Guys played in the background. He served our dinner using our wedding china and pulled out all the stops to make this a romantic night to forget the madness swirling around us. It was perfection.

Noah cleared the table, and I started washing the dishes by hand. It felt good to be able to do daily chores again such as dishes and dusting. Yeah, I said that. It felt good to do chores. I left the heavy stuff for Noah since I still had a post-surgical weight restriction on lifting. We worked well together, and I was starting to feel a bit more like I was doing my share around the house.

Noah reached around me to grab a towel and started to dry the dishes. He would casually brush up against my hip or his hand lightly grazed against my side when he would move to put them away. While it felt innocent, I knew it was anything but.

As stuffed as I was, I wasn’t going to let the fat feeling I had from dinner get in the way of what Noah had planned for dessert. I was going to let my libido and heart run the night, not my brain.
It was time to shut that shit off!

Once the kitchen was clean, Noah steered me into the living room where a fire was flickering. He lay back on the sofa and I quickly found my spot, lying carefully on top of him and listening to the calming sound of his heartbeat.

I sighed deeply and closed my eyes as his thumb gently glided across the small of my back. We were both content lying together; the only sound other than the beating of our hearts was the crackle of the fire roaring to life.

I soon realized it wasn’t the only thing roaring to life as I felt Noah growing hard between us and his heartbeat became more pronounced. He kissed the top of my head, and I lifted my face up to look at him. His eyes were dark and all consuming. They swallowed me up and there was no escape. To be honest, I didn’t want to.