Page 69 of All of Him
“Manda?” I heard Noah’s voice on the other side.
I opened it quickly and yanked him inside, shutting the door before anyone could find us.
“What are you…”
“Shh!” I whispered, covering his mouth.
He sighed, confused but clearly used to my antics. I dropped my hand, unable to ignore the heat of his breath on my palm.
“I just walked in on Claude and Oscar kissing!”
“That still doesn’t explain why you’re in…wait.What?!”
I listened for footsteps, though I didn’t hear any. Wanting to get out of the closet, I opened the door slowly, peeking out.
“Amanda?” Claude asked, smirking.
Damn.
I opened the door wider and walked out, Noah following suit.
“Oh. I thoughtwewere the ones coming out of the closet, but you two seemed cozy.”
“She yanked me in there to hide,” Noah explained. “She’s a mess, this girl.”
“Oh, we know,” Oscar said, winking.
“So,” I started, looking between the two of them, “you guys are…”
“Married,” they said together.
My eyebrows shot up, and I looked at Noah, who also seemed to be blindsided.
“It’s on the down-low, but not a secret per se,” Claude said, wiggling his hand to indicate theydefinitelydidn’t want it out in the open. “It’s just better at work if no one but HR knows about it, you know?”
I nodded and looked at Noah again, who still seemed to be processing the information.
“Secret is safe with me,” he finally said, shrugging.
“Me too,” I added. “And I had a bit of a favor to ask Oscar.”
38
Noah
AMANDA AND OSCAR DOMINATEDin beer pong. I had never seen such a strange sight—an angry, old, white-haired man tossing ping-pong balls into Solo cups. Granted, he was sipping whiskey instead of drinking the beer in the cups, but it was still hilarious. Most people at the party crowded around to watch.
“So,” Teel said to me, leaning in so only I could hear her, “what’s with stealing my sister from all the wedding planning?”
I looked at her, confused, but she was smiling.
“I’m joking,” she clarified. “We haven’t had anything planned recently. I just want to know what you guys do with all your time together.”
I shrugged, watching Amanda as she tossed the ping-pong ball from behind her back. Everyone cheered when she made it, and I couldn’t help but smile at her.
“We just hang out,” I said to Teel.
She narrowed her eyes at me, as if I were lying straight to her face. “Seriously. We talk and work on the house—up until last week at least. We’re good friends. No funny business.”
