Page 42 of Shattered Oaths

Daisy:Okay. Just let me know when and I’m there.

Blowing out a breath, I lock my phone and tuck it back into my pocket just as my door opens and Noah’s smiling face appears.

“Okay. It’s ready.” He holds out a hand for me, and I take it, allowing him to help me out of the truck before following him to the back.

All of the emotions I had just swallowed down come roaring back up when he flips open the tailgate and reveals the surprise.

Thick, wool blankets are laid out all over the bed of the truck. There are pillows spread out along the sides and back, cushioning the metal edges and in the centre is a tray laden with three different types of soda, two beers and the biggest bucket of popcorn I’ve ever seen in my life.

I gasp, my eyes wide as I turn to look at him. “You did all of this?”

Noah’s smile is giddy as he nods proudly. “Yep.”

My chest aches as I return my gaze back to the setup before me. It’s one of the kindest things a person has ever done for me and I’m having a hard time understandingwhy.

It’s almost like Noah hears my thoughts because he steps closer, his chest almost pressing against my back. “This.”He gestures in front of us with a hand. “Is only a sliver of what you deserve, Bells.”

Don’t cry. Don’t cry.Donotcry.

I blink skyward, trying my hardest to will the brimming tears to disperse but it’s no use and one slips down my cheek anyway. Lifting my hand, I swipe it away quickly and swallow. “Thank you.”

Noah moves to the side and offers me a hand, which I take, once again allowing him to help me onto the truck bed and I kick off my flip flops before crawling to the top, settling back against the pillows. He follows behind, getting himself comfortable beside me and cracking open a soda just as the opening credits of the movie begins to play.

I watch him, completely and utterly stunned yet eternally grateful that thisman is a part of my life.

CHAPTER 18

NOAH

She cried.

Something as simple as a few blankets, soda and some popcorn and it made her cry.

It infuriates me that she has been treated so badly, neglected and starved for just the smallest amount of time and affection, that such a small act has that kind of effect on her.

If Bella were mine, I’d spend every day coming up with new ways to show her just how much she is loved and appreciated.

If she were mine, she would never question her worth, her beauty or her future.

I saw it in her eyes the moment I opened my tailgate. She was asking herself why I would do something like this for her. Silly girl. If only she knew that this is only the beginning of all the ways I’m going to show her what it feels like to be loved and treated the right way.

I know she has the same common misconception about me as everybody else in this town, but she – they – couldn’t be more wrong.

I haven’t looked at another woman since the night I saw Justin in the bar with his secretary. Haven’t even been back there. For the past two weeks I’veenjoyedbeing at home. I look forward to six o’clock when I know Bella is about to pull up outside my house any moment.

I’ve held back on asking how her search for somewhere to live is going, even though I’ve caught her looking multiple times, because I don’t want her to leave.

Throughout this entire movie, I’ve been thinking up ways inside my head that I can try to convince her to stay. To ask her to go on arealdate with me. But every time I think I’ve figured it out, I’m hit with the reminder that she’s not only just gotten out of a relationship, but she’s Killian’s little sister. And the very person he made me promise to stay away from.

***

Fifteen years ago

I sit on the grassy bank, a towel I stole from my mom’s linen closet pulled tight around my bare shoulders as I chug a bottle of water, my eyes fixed on Killian as he swings from the rope and summersaults into the creek.

Daisy, Grayson and Rueben cheer as he lands in the water with a splash and I chuckle to myself, twisting the lid back on my drink.

Bella, Killian’s little sister, sits on the other side of the tree the rope is attached to, a book open in her lap as shescribbles something down. There’s a small dent between her eyebrows from how hard she’s concentrating, and my curiosity gets the better of me. I stand, shaking my damp curls to rid them of any water that might drip and make my way over to her, laying my towel on the ground beside her before I sit.