Alexis seemed just as reluctant to answer the question as Noah had been to voice it. She avoided it completely. “I think we should just start with the blood test and go from there.”
“Come to Huntsville,” Candi said, her voice a blend of desperation and exasperation. “Please.”
Alexis puffed out her cheeks and let out a long breath. “Look, I know what you’re hoping will happen here. That we’ll have some kind of big reunion with tears and hugs and stuff, but I think you should lower your expectations.”
“But don’t you at least want to meet your family?”
“They’re not my family.”
Candi’s eyes pinched at the corners, as if the words had struck a painful blow. Once again, Noah managed to feel a small twinge of pity for the girl.
Alexis let out a weary sigh, as if she regretted what she said. “We share a bloodline, Candi. That doesn’t make us family. It just makes us related.”
Candi’s lower lip took a beating again. She looked pitiful enough that Noah knew Alexis wouldn’t last much longer before agreeing to whatever Candi wanted. Noah stood and dug out his wallet. This needed to end. He dropped a twenty on the bar and rested his hand on Alexis’s shoulder. “We should get going.”
Noah handed Alexis her purse as she stood. Candi slid off her stool, hands clenched against her stomach. “I have to go back to Huntsville. I can’t leave without knowing what you’re planning to do.”
Alexis offered an empathetic gaze. “You know there’s no guarantee that I’m a match, right?”
“Does that mean you’ll do it?”
Noah held his breath as deeply as Candi held hers.
Alexis finally nodded. “I’ll schedule the blood test.”
Candi’s hand flew to her mouth, and her eyes got wet. “Thank you. Thank you so much.”
“I’ll let you know how it goes,” Alexis said, backing up until she collided with Noah’s chest. He gripped her hips to steady her.
They were silent all the way back to the elevator. When the doors closed, though, Alexis turned to him. “Thank you for coming with me.”
“Stop thanking me for shit before I get insulted.”
Before he could react, she stepped closer and wrapped her arms around his waist. Every cell in his body collided as she leaned into him and pressed her cheek to his chest. They’d shared hugs before. Many of them. But this one felt different. At least to him.
He encircled her torso with his arms. She was hot and soft in his embrace. The ground tilted beneath his feet as a rush of tenderness and desire made his limbs weak and his breathing catch. Noah forced the air to keep moving in and out of his lungs and prayed she couldn’t hear the way his heart reached warp speed.
He gulped. “What’s this for?”
“For being such a good friend.”
He coughed. “You’re a cross to bear, but I endure it.”
She chuckled and pulled away, but not all the way. Her arms remained at his waist, her hands near his hips. He looked down just as she looked up. Her gaze drifted from his eyes to his mouth and lingered there. And there it was again. That look. Desire.
The ding of the elevator brought them apart. Silence was like a physical presence between them as they walked to the car. Neither spoke until Noah pulled out of the ramp.
“You hungry?” he asked.
“Are you?”
“I could eat.”
“Okay. Do you . . . Do you want to go somewhere or . . . ?”
“What do you want to do?”
“I don’t care. We could go somewhere or go back to my house or whatever you want.”
Jesus. Their conversation couldn’t be more stilted and painful if they’d been trying. Noah dragged a hand across his beard. It was never like this between them, and he fucking hated it.
“How about this?” he said, forcing an easiness into his voice that he didn’t feel. “Let’s swing by the taco truck, take tacos back to your house, and start working on that LEGO set.”
She nodded, and her hands loosened their assault on each other. “Perfect.”
“Put some music on,” he said lightly.
Lexa plugged her iPhone into his car and swiped through her playlists until she found their favorite. Twenty minutes later, Noah pulled into a parking space in front of the taco truck.
“I can get this,” she said, reaching for her purse at the floor.
“My turn,” he said, opening his door. “You made me a cake for my birthday.”
He jogged over the curb and approached the counter. The guy who worked there knew Noah’s order by heart now and immediately started working on the vegetarian tacos and rice. Noah looked back over his shoulder just in time to see her bring her phone to her ear and start talking.
Five minutes later, he got back in the car.
“That smells awesome,” she breathed. “I’m hungrier than I thought.”
Noah waited until he pulled back onto the street. “Who was on the phone?”
“I called the transplant center.”
“And?”
“I can drive down tomorrow to meet with the coordinator and get tested.”
“On a Sunday?” His air vacated his lungs. “They’re not wasting any time, are they?”
If she caught the sarcasm in his tone, she ignored it. “My appointment is at one.”
“Then I guess you’d better get some food into you and some decent sleep tonight.”
He peeled his hand from the steering wheel and offered his pinkie. This was what she needed from him. Friendship. Nothing else. No matter how she looked at him.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Alexis left for Huntsville just before eleven the next day after stopping at the café to make sure everyone was settled and able to handle things without her. Before pulling out into traffic, she hammered out a quick text to Noah.
On my way.
Call me if you need me.
She plugged in her music, turned it up
