Page 37 of Freed By Fire
He should have a say in this, too.
With trembling hands, I sit up straighter and grab a handful of peanuts.
There’s a loud cacophony of voices somewhere across the room. I sit up straighter and peer into the semi-darkness. Then I jolt back and panic courses through me when I spot Noah’s father. Hastily, I look away and pretend to be busy on my phone.
Footsteps approach the table.
Please walk away. Please walk away. Please…
“I’m surprised to find you here.”
I look up at him. “Excuse me?”
“I heard you were with someone rich now. I assumed he’d take you to nicer places.”
My brows furrow as I stare at him. “I think you have me mistaken for someone else.”
Noah’s father snorts and sits across from me. “Even with that ridiculous wig and the cheap clothes, I still recognize you, London.”
I ball my hands into fists. “Keep your voice down.”
Noah Sr. pulls my drink closer to him and takes a long sip. “Why would I do that?”
“Because I don’t think you want people to know you were here, either,” I say. “I know you’re making a play for the senate.”
Noah Sr. takes another sip of my drink. “Noah never did know how to keep his mouth shut.”
I refuse to look away first. “What’s your point?”
Noah Sr. finishes my drink and reaches for the bowl of peanuts. Something about the gleam in his eyes makes me go cold all over. I always did my best to be civil toward Noah’s dad, but something about him always rubbed me the wrong way.
I’ve never liked how he acted like the world owed him something.
Like he was above reproach.
And I like it even less when I’m sitting across from him in a diner in the middle of nowhere.
Suddenly, I wish I hadn’t come.
Will Noah’s dad draw attention to us?
Has he seen something he shouldn’t?
“You know, I always wondered how my son landed someone like you,” Noah Sr. begins. “You’re smart, beautiful, and obviously resourceful. Way out of my son’s league, so I knew you’d leave him for someone who was going places.”
“That’s not why Noah and I broke up.”
“I can see now that I was wrong,” he says. “You’re not as smart as I thought if you wound up here, dressed like that.”
“We’re both here,” I point out.
“So we are. I wasn’t surprised when Noah told me you broke up, but to find you here… I’m disappointed. You’ve downgraded, and it’s such a waste.”
I meet his gaze. “Let’s not pretend that any of this was about your son. We both know that you only cared when it was convenient.”
“I always felt that attitude of yours needed adjusting.”
I stare at him and say nothing.
