It Started with a Crack by Piper James

Chapter Thirty-Five

Dakota

Despite knowing Noah wasn’t home, my knees were rattling together as I unlocked the door and walked into the house. Sage texted me earlier, telling me Chase and Noah would be working on a remodel all morning, so it was safe to go grab some necessities from the ranch.

My breath whooshed out of my lungs as I walked inside. Every inch of the place was filled with memories. My gaze darted all over the place, trying not to look at the couch. Or the dining table. Or the kitchen counter. Or the walls. Or the floor.

I couldn’t escape the visions of Noah and me together here. The laughter. The long talks. The friendship. The sex.

I rushed into my bedroom and snatched the duffel bag down from the top shelf in the closet. I ripped clothes off the hangers, stuffing them haphazardly into the bag before moving to the drawers. Yanking them open, I grabbed fistfuls of panties, bras, and socks, shoving them into the bag before rushing into the bathroom to grab my toiletries.

I needed to hurry. I needed to get out of here before I suffocated.

Walking back out into the bedroom, I searched the space for anything else I might need. From the nightstand, I grabbed my e-reader and the charging cord, which reminded me—I needed my phone charger. I slid the drawer of the night stand open, but it wasn’t there.

“Shit,” I muttered, remembering where I left it.

I’d moved it into Noah’s room, to charge my phone while we slept. Fuck, I really didn’t want to go in there. I could just buy a new charger.

“No, you can’t,” I mumbled, remembering the still-sorry state of my bank account.

So, I took a deep breath and stalked out of my room and into Noah’s. Memories assailed me as I entered, making me stumble to a stop. The whole room smelled like him—cedar, citrus, and man. Trying not to breathe it in, I darted toward the bed. My charger was plugged in behind the nightstand, and as I bent over to grab it, something caught my eye and I froze.

Straightening, I picked up the book that rested on the polished wood. My eyes widened as I read the title and took in the cover—a bare-chested Fabio, hanging off the edge of a ship’s deck, a big-busted woman leaning into his chest with a look of rapture on her face.

Noah reads historical romance novels?

I flipped the pages in awe, barely cringing at the dog-eared corners. As if he weren’t perfect enough, he was a fucking romance reader.

Perfect…except for the one thing that mattered most—commitment.

“That one is one of my favorites.”

A screech tore its way out of me as the book slipped from my fingers and thudded against the carpet. I spun toward the voice to see Noah, his large frame filling up the doorway. He leaned against the jamb, ankles crossed like he didn’t have a care in the world.

“Sorry,” I mumbled, bending over to pick up the book and setting it back where I got it. “I was just grabbing my phone charger.”

“You’re not moving out,” he said, his voice still light and conversational.

“Noah,” I said on a sigh. “I don’t want to fight. I just want to grab my things and get out of here.”

“You’re not leaving,” he said, stepping inside and closing the door behind him. “Not until you hear me out.”

“We’ve already said everything we need to say,” I argued, crossing my arms over my chest to hide the way it heaved with my rapid breaths.

“No, we haven’t,” he said, mimicking my posture.

“Why are you even here? Sage said you’d be out all morning.”

“Yeah, I owe her a tub of cookie dough ice cream for that,” he said, smirking.

“She…” I said, trailing off as the truth dawned on me. “She set me up?”

“Don’t be mad at her,” he said as my face heated with anger. “She and I ran into each other at Bull’s Eye yesterday. We had a nice, long talk.”

“About what?” I asked, my anger slipping away to be replaced by quickly rising anxiety.

What did Sage say to him?

“About how someone I care about, a lot, has a habit of jumping to conclusions and running away instead of finding out the truth for herself.”

My heart skipped a beat or two as he spoke, his eyes burning with some emotion I couldn’t define as he stalked closer. I took and involuntary step back, the wall halting any further retreat.

“About how this special someone saw me talking to potential clients and assumed the worst.”

“What?” I asked, forgetting my nervousness for a moment as confusion filled me. “What are you talking about?”

Noah moved closer, not stopping until he was only a few feet away. He fished his phone out of his pocket and tapped at the screen. Then he held the device out, motioning for me to take it.

I plucked it from his fingers, seeing the Perry Brothers Construction website on the screen. I looked back at Noah, my brow wrinkling, but before I could ask why he was showing me this, he narrowed his eyes.

“Scroll,” he said, his tone daring me to disobey.

My finger moved to the screen, dragging up pictures of Noah. He was working, apparently installing some kind of electrical wiring. My hand froze as the last picture came into view, and I forgot to breathe. My head started to swim as I studied the photograph—Noah, wearing jeans and a black t-shirt with a tool belt strapped around his waist, standing next to two gorgeous blonde women. They were smiling at the camera, an arm looped around each other’s back as one held her hand in a thumbs-up sign.

The caption read, Astrid Welsh and Melanie Smith, new homeowners and satisfied customers: “Noah Perry rewired our entire house in a day. He was professional, a hard-worker, and made sure the work was neat and the place was clean before he left. Would hire again. Five stars.”

Finally breathing again, I went from zero to sixty with harsh pants that did little to fill my lungs with the oxygen I needed so badly. I recognized those women. They were the ones from the bar—the ones Noah propositioned…for a threesome…

“What is this?” I asked when I could finally speak.

“Those women,” he said, tilting his head toward the device gripped tightly in my hand, “sought me out at the bar one night after seeing me get out of the work truck. They wanted to know how to install two light switches to control the same light. I explained they needed a three-way switch, how it worked, and gave them a business card. They hired me immediately.”

Three-way switch? Three-way? Three-way, not threesome. Oh, god.

“Dakota,” he said, his tone softening, “I’m not the man I used to be, but even back then, I wasn’t the type to proposition complete strangers for sex like that. I would at least get to know a woman a little, first.”

My eyes were burning, and I blinked back the tears that were blurring my vision as I continued to stare at that picture. I refused to look at Noah. I couldn’t. I’d been so wrong…

“Hey,” he said, his hand lifting to block my view of the screen. “Look at me. Please.”

When I finally lifted my gaze, he gave me a small smile. My efforts to stem the flow of tears failed, and they flowed down my cheeks as my breath shuddered in my chest.

“It’s only been you, Dakota. Since the moment I laid eyes on you, you’re the only one I’ve seen. The only one I’ve thought about. The only one I’ve wanted. When I showed up here and found you living here, I had other options. I could’ve stayed with Ethan or rented some shitty apartment for a while, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it because I wanted to be here. With you.”

“I’m sorr—”

“Don’t apologize,” he said, cutting me off. “I know why you thought what you did. I have a bit of a reputation. I know that. But why didn’t you tell me what you thought? I asked you why you took off that night, and you lied to me. I could’ve set your mind at ease weeks ago. Hell, months.”

“I don’t know,” I said, my gaze dropping back to his hand where it covered mine.

He plucked the phone from my fingers and shoved it back into his pocket. Taking my hand, he sat on the edge of the bed and pulled me down beside him. Pulling my hand into his lap, he covered it with his other one, sandwiching mine between the two.

“I think you do. Tell me.”

“I know you didn’t go home with them. I believed you when you said you hadn’t been with anyone since you moved to Texas, but…I still thought you tried. I thought we were having a great time together that night, but you moved on to better prospects the minute I left your sight. It hurt, a lot, and I felt stupid for allowing it to bother me so much. We’d just met, after all. It shouldn’t have mattered so much.”

“And you were embarrassed to admit that to me?” he asked, his voice soft and tender.

“Yes, but it was more than that. When you and I started this thing between us, I wanted to enjoy it while it lasted. I knew you’d move on sooner or later. It’s just who you are. And I knew hearing you admit, out loud, what you’d done would ruin the little time I had with you. My pride would force me to end it.”

“Do you still think that’s who I am?” he asked, an edge of anxiety in his voice.

“No,” I admitted, the flow of tears down my cheeks swelling into rivers. “I was wrong.”

“I hate that you ever thought that about me, but I understand. And I’m sorry I fucked up and kissed that awful woman, but I really thought she was you, coming home early to surprise me.”

“It’s okay. I get it,” I said. “I’m sorry I overreacted and ran away without demanding an explanation.”

“It would have saved us both a lot of heartache,” he said, one corner of his mouth lifting.

“If I even believed you,” I said, my own lips curving upward. “I probably would’ve called you a liar and kicked you in the balls after tearing Chantelle’s extensions out.”

“Feisty. I like it,” he growled playfully, making my smile grow, but it quickly fell.

“When you texted me right after, you said we needed to talk. I was sure you were going to tell me you found someone new and wanted me to move out.”

“Jesus fucking Christ,” he muttered, shaking his head. “It was the complete opposite, Dakota.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, tilting my head to study him as I wiped the last of my tears away.

“When I went to breakfast with my brothers, I told them I wanted to take the ranch off the market.”

“What?” I asked, shock vibrating through me. “Why?”

“I want to keep it. I want to live here, with you. I was going to ask you to stay here with me, officially. You know, as a couple.”

“You…what?”

My brain was going haywire, not comprehending the words that were coming out of his mouth. Was he asking me to move in with him? I shook my head to clear it. I already lived here, so that wasn’t right.

“I want my girlfriend to move into my bedroom, permanently. I want this to be our home, not a temporary stopping place before we move on. Because that’s what it is now, Dakota. Our home. We’ve started building this life together, and it’s better than I ever imagined it could be. And I don’t want it to end.”

“I want that, too,” I found myself saying.

I gasped, realizing it was the truth. I really did want everything he was offering. But most of all, I wanted him.

With a loud whoop, Noah rolled, pushing me back to the mattress and pinning me down with his weight. He stared into my eyes, his hair flopping over his forehead adorably. His hands linked through mine, pulling them up and pinning them above my head.

“I really like you,” he whispered, a much stronger emotion burning in his eyes.

“I really like you, too,” I whispered back, and his mouth landed on mine the second the words passed my lips.

His kiss was hard and demanding, and I gave myself over to it. No more reservations. No secrets, no lies, and no misunderstandings. It was honest and real, and I couldn’t get enough of it.

This ranch wasn’t my home. Not really. Noah was.

And I was so glad to be back in his arms. Right where I belonged.