Page 35 of Romancing Melanie
“Oh, ummm, well I guess when you know you know?”
“Why does that sound like you’re asking me instead of telling me, Melanie.” Carla’s voice was deceptively gentle given the intensity of her words. “Look, I’m not here to judge your relationship, but I am here to advise you on how to win this custody suit. And if a judge doesn’t believe you two are madly in love and plan on being together forever, raising Connor in a home with a mother and a father, it won’t look good. I know I encouraged Noah to talk to you about speeding up your wedding, I hope that wasn’t a mistake. The last thing I wanted to do was pressure either of you into something you weren’t ready for.”
“Oh no, it’s okay, I love Noah and Connor.” Mel rushed to reassure Carla. “It was rushed, yes, but if this helps Noah win the custody suit then it’ll all be worth it.” She hoped that Carla could hear the sincerity in her words. After all, she meant every one of them.
A few moments later, as soon as they left Carla’s office building, Noah dropped her hand and sighed.
“You’re going to have to do better at pretending to be in love with me, Mel, or a judge will never believe us.”
Her heart cracked at his gruff words, but she knew he was right. If she were that tense and awkward in front of a judge, they would see right through the ruse.
There was just one problem. Mel wasn’t pretending.
Chapter 18
When they got back to Mel’s apartment, they went their separate ways, and both quickly changed into more casual clothes. When Noah came out of his bedroom, his eyes dropped to Mel’s hand and he noticed she too had taken off the wedding band he had given her.Guess that’s the end of that.He hated the distance that had built between them but couldn’t see a way around it. He would always be grateful for what Mel had given up by helping him and Connor, but at the same time a part of him wished he could turn back time. Go back to before they had confused things with sex. He didn’t regret making love to her, because that’s what it had been for him. A chance to finally show her how he felt, with his body if not with words. But if he had known that being with her that way would eventually lead to where they were now, he would have thought twice. He would never regret loving her, but he did wish things had turned out differently.
He went to pick up Connor by himself, and when he returned Mel had started to make dinner for them both. Once he had fed his son, and settled him in his swing, Noah went into the kitchen to join her.
“So, I found out that I can get the keys to the house tomorrow, instead of waiting till next week. The agent called me while I was driving here. I talked with Ryan, and everyone is available to help me move on Thursday. Which means we’ll be out of here before the weekend.”
Noah hated the thought of not seeing Mel all the time, but knew this was for the best. Maybe with a little space between them, they could work to find their old friendship again. That is, if he could find a way to heal the fissure in his heart that had formed the day that he finally accepted she would never love him the way he desperately wished she would.
Mel nodded, without looking up from the sauce she was simmering on the stove. “Okay. I’m off that day as well, so I can help.” Finally, she glanced up at him hesitantly. “But, Noah, don’t rush out of here because of me. I love having you both here, and if you need or want to stay longer…” Her voice trailed off, but he could hear the wistful tone.
Without thinking twice, Noah reached out and tucked a piece of hair behind her ears. He smiled softly at her. “I know you’ll miss your baby snuggles, but it’s time we moved on. Staying here, with you, has been incredible. But you don’t need us hanging around any longer. Just think, no more bottles cluttering the sink, or dirty diapers making the garbage smell fucking awful.”
Mel’s lips quirked at that. “It’s not that bad.”
They both started to chuckle.
“Yeah it is.”
With that, Noah backed out of the kitchen. He needed to get away from her before he did something stupid like try to kiss her again.
Once he was at a safe distance, clearing the table so they could eat dinner, he spoke again. “Hopefully I can get the custody stuff settled soon and everything can go back to normal. Or some weird new version of normal where I have a house and a kid.” He ended with a wry grin, which Mel returned quickly.
She carried plates of food over to the table and beckoned him to come and eat. With one last glance to check on Connor who was starting to stir, Noah went to join her. He hoped he could at least eat his food before the baby needed him. They ate in a companionable silence, and for a brief moment Noah suspended his thoughts of the chaos that his life had become, and just enjoyed a meal with a woman he cared about greatly. But as tends to happen whenever he tried to forget his stress for a minute, the peace soon ended by Connor whose quiet fussing had escalated in volume. When Mel hopped up to go and get him, Noah let her, sitting back and watching fondly as she walked over to his swing, cooing at him.
But when she suddenly said, “Motherfu—… fudge. Connor, baby, that is GROSS!” Noah roared with laughter.
“I bet now you’re wishing we were gone,” he said teasingly.
The look she shot him was anything but teasing, however. “No, not at all,” she replied quietly, as she carried Connor into his room to change his diaper.
When she was out of sight, Noah dropped his head into his hands.I wish this were easier,he thought futilely. Even now, with the lines drawn in the sand and his move-out date looming, he still wished things were different, that Mel felt differently and could let him in. But he had finally accepted her affectionate words came from a place of friendship and not love. That was the end of it. It had to be.
* * *
The next day, Mel had plans to go for a run with Callie. Once she was dressed in warm layers, ready for the chilly early winter day, she headed out to the park to meet her friend. She’d thought long and hard about coming clean to Callie about everything, and today was the perfect opportunity.
They arrived at the parking lot at the same time, and as Callie climbed out of her VW Bug that she’d had for years, she called out to Mel.
“Holy crap, woman, why did we decide this was a good idea? It’s freezing!”
“Just think of the hot chocolate we can go and get after.”
Callie seemed to consider that before giving her friend a grin. “Good point. Ready?”
