Page 40 of All of Him
“She stayed with me after the accident,” he continued, still looking at his drink. “She rarely left my side, and tried to take care of me, but I wanted none of it. I pushed her away, like I do with everyone else.”
“That’s still not a reason to cheat…” I started.
“Oh no,” he scoffed. “She cheated the week before the accident. That’s part of what I found out last week. She stayed with me to help after Garrett died, but I wish she hadn’t now that I know what I know.”
“What do you know?” I asked sympathetically.
Noah shook his head and pulled out his phone. After asking him a personal question, I was sure he was annoyed with me, but he held up his screen for me instead. A picture of a baby with the nameJackson Daniel Murphywas displayed. I gasped and looked at him, surprised.
“He’s my nephew,” Noah clarified, finishing off his beer in one gulp. “She cheated on me with Garrett.”
I closed my eyes slowly, remembering how upset he’d been that day he found out. She’d kept it from him for over a year—the cheating and the pregnancy.
“I didn’t see her after she left me, and no one fucking bothered to tell me that she was pregnant with my nephew. For all I know, people back in Dublin think it’s mine.”
“So, you’re going to Ireland to meet him,” I said. “That’s—”
“Stupid?” he asked.
“Admirable,” I corrected, shaking my head.
Noah shrugged and looked away again, obviously conflicted.
“It’s the right thing to do, Noah.”
“I know,” he sighed, turning back toward me. “But now, you get why I was such a mess that day.”
I nodded and reached out to touch his knee gently. Noah flinched but let out a breath once he noticed my expression.
“The past doesn’t define us,” I tried. “That’s an Oscar nugget.”
I pulled my hand off of his knee and sat back, admiring the way his biceps filled out the sleeves of the tighter-than-usual shirt. I thought about sharing my observation with him, just to make him laugh, but it wasn’t what he needed to hear in that moment.
“I might need another story,” he said, trying to flag down the bartender for another beer. “And don’t worry; I’m only having two.”
“I was hoping you wouldn’t ask for another story.” I laughed. “But let me think.”
Noah smirked and watched me as I finished off my drink and slid the glass away. The way he was staring made me blush, and I was relieved that the bar was dim. There was no telling what he’d think if he could see how flushed I was. Scaring him away was not my intention, not when we’d just started getting along well.
“Okay,” I finally said, “I’ve got one.”
“Noah Murphy and Amanda Bette on adate?!” a familiar voice rang out.
My stomach plummeted and I turned around to see Brayden with a couple of other goons from his department, all ordering drinks. They snickered as he approached us, all of them hoping to grab some gossip content.
“We’re not on a date,” I scoffed. “And since when does anyone come here?”
Brayden sashayed closer, smug that he was “catching” Noah and me out together. And we could deny it all we wanted, but itlooked likeit was a date.
“It’s a dive, I know,” he said. “But everywhere else is packed tonight.”
I glanced at Noah, who was just staring at the side of Brayden’s face, jaw clenched.
Brayden turned to him, slapping his back. “How are ya, Noah? Getting to know Amanda here? She’s a firecracker.”
“Yeah, I noticed,” Noah answered quickly. “We were just heading out actually.”
We were?
