He shook his head and took several steps toward the bathroom before turning around to look at her. “Because no matter what I do, I will always be the sleazy bastard.”
Libby stood. “Noah.”
Some dark emotion covered his face. “I’m going to take a shower.” He went into the bathroom and shut the door. The water turned on seconds later.
Her temper raging, Libby grabbed his phone and scanned his messages. Megan and Blair had both sent him texts accusing him of taking advantage of her. They clearly did not take her marriage seriously.
Undecided on who to call first, she settled on Blair, who answered on the first ring. “You have some explaining to do, McMillan.”
“He doesn’t owe you a damn thing.”
“Libby,” Blair said, sounding surprised. “Why are you calling from Noah’s phone?”
“Because I left mine at home. Remember?”
“Gram was supposed to bring it to you.”
Well, shit. It was probably in her purse, although it was undoubtedly dead. “Look, it doesn’t matter which phone I’m using. What matters is you’re harassing my husband.”
“Libby, listen. I think we can get it annulled.”
“Why would I want to get it annulled?”
“You’re obviously not thinking clearly. I saw the photo of your wedding. Did you get married in a circus? How drunk were you?”
“I wasn’t drunk at all, not by the time we got to the chapel anyway.”
“So you’re admitting there was alcohol involved? That’s good. We can use that as evidence.”
Libby groaned. “Blair, what do you want?”
“I want to make sure you’re okay.”
“I was fine until Noah found the texts from you and Megan.”
“What did you expect us to do? You wouldn’t answer your phone.”
“Here’s an idea—how about you try congratulating me?”
Blair was silent for a few moments. “Libby, I know you’re confused right now. I know you believed in the curse, so I’m sure you jumped at the chance to make it come true. Especially with the bad influences around you.”
“You mean Noah.”
She remained silent.
“Okay,” Libby said, her voice tight. “So let me get this straight. You think I was so desperate to make the curse come true, I would have married anyone who came along.”
“You were going to marry Mitch.”
“Only because I expected my soul mate to show up.”
“Like that sounds any better? Are you listening to yourself? You didn’t even know who it was. So then you married Noah.”
“I love Noah.”
“You love Noah,” she repeated in a monotone. “Since when? You two are friends, like two rule-breaking kids who’ve found a co-conspirator in each other. You never once said you thought Noah was your soul mate. When did you figure this out? Last night when you were drinking? Everything’s so much clearer when you’re drunk.”
“I thought you were my friend, Blair.”
“Believe it or not, I am.”
“No, you just want to lord it over me.”
“What does that mean?”
“You and Megan love that I’m the irresponsible, head-in-the-clouds, screw-up friend. That way you both can feel superior to me.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“Is it?’
“Libby.” She sounded irritated. “You have a pattern, and if you would just hop off the Libby whirlwind express for a moment and take a breath, you would see it too. You never handle a breakup well and you always make some stupid decisions you regret later. That is exactly what you’re doing now.”
Fear bubbled in her chest, stealing her breath. Blair was right about her previous breakup behavior. What if she was right about this too? But there was no way in hell she’d let Blair know she’d gotten to her.
“Libs”—Blair’s tone softened—“I love you and I don’t want to see you get your heart broken again. Noah is a user. He’ll take what he wants and move on. If he doesn’t cheat on you first.”
“How can you say that?”
“You know he never stays with one woman for more than a week. And yeah, I know he was in a month-long relationship with that woman in Seattle,” she said dismissively, “but that only proves my point. He’s in a relationship with some woman and then he just up and marries you? It won’t last.”
“I’ve had my own share of men, Blair. I’m not exactly the Virgin Mary.”
“True, but you were always looking for love, deep down. He’s just looking for his next lay.”
“So if Noah is just looking for his next lay, and we both know I’m an easy conquest, why did he marry me?”
“I didn’t say you were an easy conquest.”
“Why did he marry me, Blair?” she repeated with more force.
She paused. “I don’t know yet. I’m still trying to figure out his angle.”
“Well, figure it out without me.” She hung up and scowled at the phone in her hand, wishing she could throw it against the wall. Megan would want to hear from her too, but she couldn’t deal with her right now. Especially since the claws of Blair’s accusations were sinking deeper and deeper into her head.
What if Noah got tired of her? The feelings she had for him were so much deeper and more intense than anything she’d experienced before, but what if it wasn’t the same for him? There was no denying he was a good friend. Could he have married her, in part, to make her feel better? And worse, what if this was just another of Libby’s many desperate attempts to find someone to love her?
Was she really that pathetic?
But then she thought about everything she had shared with Noah, both before and after their wedding. She could trust Blair or she could trust Noah. Which one would it be?
The temptation to go to him swept her into the bathroom. He was leaning against the wall of the shower, his forehead buried against his arm. His hair was wet and water dripped down his muscled back. He really did have the face and body of a god. No woman had ever held enough of a lure to keep him for very long. Why did she think she could?
He heard the door open and looked up, anguish on his face.
Who did she choose to trust?
Staring into his eyes, it was really no choice at all.
She stepped into the shower and pulled his mouth to hers, pressing her body against his chest.
His arms were around her back, pulling her close, his mouth hungry and desperate to claim hers. His hands were everywhere and so were hers—seeking, demanding, begging, claiming. He grabbed her ass and lifted her against the shower wall, entering her as she clung to him. There were no words; their bodies said everything that needed to be said. She came quickly, Noah following right behind her. She buried her face against his chest, still shocked that he was really here with her. That he was hers.
She would believe what she held in her hands, the proof in front of her eyes.
Her friends could go to hell.
Chapter Twenty-Three
“Noah,” Libby murmured against his chest, then looked up into his eyes. “I’m so sorry about my friends.”