Over Again | ✓

L a D o u l e u r E x q u i s e

Chapter Nineteen

❝ one of the saddest things in life,

are the things one remembers ❞

;

Agatha Christie

A huge grin broke out in his chiseled face.

          "Well, who do we have here?" Noah's grin spread wider, if that was possible, and sauntered to where I was only stopping a meter away. "Thought I'd see you again."

          I closed my mouth. Then opened it again. Then closed it again. Was he the owner of this building? Riley's cousin? Looking at him now, he looked like he could play the part as the owner. The suit was blue...sharp-looking and looked to be worth more than my dress bought three times. The tie he wore was a simple black silk. And when he smiled like that, he looked almost magical.

          Noah caught me gaping at him and his grin transformed into a smirk. "You're the owner of this place? Why didn't you tell me?"

          He walked to where Riley slept soundlessly, save for light snores, and sneered before facing me with a smirk gracing his pink lips. "That's because I'm not." Then his gaze shifted to my—to my quite revealing dress— and traveled all the way to my lips. And stayed there. "My bestfriend owns this place, remember?"

          Right. Stupid me. "Fate, huh?" I said, gripping my luggage.

          He merely raised a questioning brow. "Or maybe it's my sheer will to take you to bed that brought us back together."

          "Or maybe someone wants to get kneed in the balls." Noah laughed and sat on the white sofa, arms resting on the back. Arrogant. The sweet guy I thought he was? Gone in a jiffy.

          "What brings you here?" Then his eyes grew wide and said, "Shit, you're one of the performer, right?" He snapped his fingers several times. "Harper something. Wo— Woods! That's it. Harper Woods? The multiple award-winner? God."

          I sat opposite of him and shook my head. "Nope, just me. Plain Harper. Harper Woods and not God." Yep, I shouldn't even bother to joke in the future if I was that horrible. But Noah laughed, whether genuinely or at my expense, I didn't know.

          "So," he droned, "what are you doing in her room?"

          "What are you doing in her room?" I countered and raised a brow.

          Noah chuckled, a glint in his eyes. "Fair enough. But you know the obligatory bestfriend-protect-the-cousin thing?" I smiled and nodded. "I'm that friend. And obviously, I don't do my job well because I clearly just arrived thirty minutes ago. Hence why I didn't get to watch your performance."

          I looked at Riley's sleeping form and thought how bizarre this situation was. I was in an unknown room with two people I barely even know. "She doesn't look like she needs any helping, though." I said, remembering how she held herself highly and with such practiced grace and elegance earlier.

          "Oh, she most definitely doesn't." Then he winced as if he recalled an ugly memory. "What she needs is someone to make sure she doesn't fall face-first on the ground. Both literally and not."

          Oh. A yawn broke out of me just as my watch beeped for my 12:30 alarm. I stood up. "Well, this has been relatively nice and awkward. But I have to go." I just wanted to curl up in a soft bed and drink a cup of tea or maybe play some piano.