Page 34 of You Fall First

“I have no idea,” I say. “Maybe your pristine ears are malfunctioning.”

“Hold up.” Her eyes widen. “The guy you met at that surprise party last year was named Noah.”

“How did you even remember that?”

“Pristine ears, remember? And you had a major crush on him back then. Scratch that. You have a crush on him. Currently.”

“I do not.”

“You’re all pink and blotchy, my friend. And your mouth keeps going curvy. You like super-hot PT Noah.”

I glance in the mirror. “I am not pink and blotchy.”

Maren ignores me. “You need to go for him, Jo.”

“I absolutely do not need to go for him, Mare. More importantly, I can’t. Go for him, I mean.”

“Don’t be dumb,” she says bluntly. “You’re gorgeous and single. He’s gorgeous and sing—” She cuts herself off. “Oh. He doesn’t have a girlfriend, does he? Because that would be a dealbreaker.”

“He doesn’t have a girlfriend. Just a nephew.”

“The four-year-old? That’s not a dealbreaker.”

“Except for the fact that the four-year-old is moving in with him. So is the four-year-old’s mother.”

“This conversation is too vague.” Maren squints. “Do these people have names?”

“The nephew is Dutton.” His chocolatey eyes flash in my brain, like mini versions of his uncle’s. “Paige is the mother. Noah’s sister.”

“Great. So Noah is going to have a couple of new roommates. What’s the problem?”

“They aren’t roommates. They’re family. And his parents are gone, so it’s just him and his sister and her kid now.”

“So? That means he can’t date?”

“All I know is that he’s planning to babysit his nephew every night while his sister works some graveyard shift. And then he’s got his own job during the day, so yeah. Maybe he can’t.”

Maren shrugs. “What about lunch?”

“That’s the thing. Dex talked about setting him up with the principal at Stony Peak, but Noah shot him down immediately. He said he’s way too busy to go out. Not even for coffee.”

“Sounds extreme.”

“Exactly.” I splay my hands. “Anyway, the point is moot, because I’ve got no interest in a relationship with anyone, let alone somebody who’s unavailable in every way. Professionally. Emotionally. Habitationally.”

This pulls a snort out of Maren. “You’re just making excuses so you won’t get hurt again.”

“That’s not new news.”

She pats her mud-caked cheeks. Then she goes still, staring at the screen for a moment. “I just had a brilliant idea.”

“What?”

Her eyes widen, sparkling with mischief. “You should bring Noah to Landry’s wedding.”

“Ha!” I gape at her, ignoring the revving of my pulse. “Did you forget what I just told you about his total and complete unavailability?”

“So the guy doesn’t have time for a girlfriend.” She hikes her shoulders. “Surely the man can eat a slice of cake.”