Peyton glanced at Tabitha. She liked to think Tabitha wouldn’t spread anything she heard here tonight, but none of this was stuff her publisher would want to get out to the general public. Before she could figure out how to answer the question, Noah was at her side, eyeing the two of them suspiciously, as if he’d somehow known they were talking about something serious.
“Your mom wants to know if I’m in danger,” Peyton said softly. “And I thought you’d rather tell her the story now, instead of while we’re eating dinner with Tabitha.”
“I’d rather not tell her at all,” Noah said shortly. “But since I know she won’t stop badgering us if I don’t, I guess I don’t have a whole lot of choice.”
Eileen laughed as she turned the light on in the oven and bent down to check on the cornbread through the window. “That’s true.”
Peyton mostly listened as Noah quickly explained the situation, only adding details when Eileen specifically asked for them. She didn’t want to worry Noah’s mother, but the longer they talked, the more concerned Eileen looked.
“Is it safe at your house?” Eileen asked softly, pulling the cornbread out and transferring the little biscuits to a serving basket. “Would it be better if the two of you stayed here with me?”
Noah frowned. “Thanks for the offer, Mom. Really. But if I thought I couldn’t keep Peyton safe at her place, I definitely wouldn’t bring her here and put you at risk, too. If we need to go somewhere else, it’ll be to a place no one can get near her, much less find her.”
From the look on Eileen’s face, it was obvious she didn’t like that idea at all. But she bit her tongue and nodded, then headed toward the table with the cornbread, motioning at Noah to bring the chili.
He took the ceramic pot from its heating element, glancing at Peyton as he set it on a metal trey in the shape of a chicken. “Hope I didn’t scare you with all that talk of moving you to someplace you couldn’t be found. I would never do that unless I really had to, if it means keeping you safe.”
She reached out and put her hand on his arm, feeling the corded muscles beneath her fingers. It was difficult to describe the comfort she felt having him this close. “You didn’t scare me. The opposite in fact. It’s nice knowing I have somebody who’d do anything necessary to keep me safe.”
He gazed down at her warmly, and for a moment, Peyton thought he was going to kiss her. And despite the belief that they were two different to ever get together, she was more than ready to let him. Even if it was right in the middle of his mom’s kitchen.
But then Laurissa and Tabitha were calling out from the table, telling them to hurry up with the food, and the moment was gone.
“You ready to have dinner with Tabitha, the super fan?” Noah asked, a grin replacing the intense look that had been there mere seconds before as he picked up the tray. “Something tells me she’s going to talk your ear off tonight.”
Peyton laughed. “I’m not too worried about that. There’s a reason I have two of them.”
CHAPTER SIX
IT WAS WELL after ten by the time Noah pulled his SUV into the driveway of Peyton’s home and turned off the engine. It was only then that he realized how tired he was. And that his ears were actually ringing a little bit. Turns out Tabitha could be really loud when she was excited about something.
“Are all fans like that?” he asked as they sat there in the vehicle.
Peyton leaned back in her seat, stretching like a cat. “Like what?”
He grinned. “As intense as Tabitha. I’m surprised you had a chance to eat, the way she kept bombarding you with questions.”
“Oh!” Peyton laughed. “Most of them are exactly like that. But those are the best kind of fans. I love meeting people like Tabitha, people who are as excited about my characters as I am. It lets me know they’re invested completely in the story, and that’s what it’s all about.”
He gave her a sidelong glance, his hands still resting on the steering wheel. “But it’s a story. They know that, right?”
“Sure. But the very best books are those that grab the readers and pull them in anyway. It gives them characters they care about and fall in love with. It’s a total escape from the rest of the world.”
Noah considered that. When Peyton put it that way, he supposed it made sense. Tabitha had looked like it was Christmas morning when she’d recognized Peyton standing in the kitchen. And even Laurissa’s eyes had been shining bright as the three of them talked about the characters and plot lines in Peyton’s books. Hell, even his mom joined in a few times, which shocked the crap out of Noah. He had no idea she even read, much less books about young adults. He found himself smiling at the thought. The whole evening had definitely been a learning experience, but he had to admit he enjoyed himself.
In the beginning, he’d been half afraid his mother would pull out photos of him as a baby or something equally horrifying. But thankfully, she was on her best behavior. Just as importantly, she also didn’t bring up the topic of Peyton being in danger or Noah being her bodyguard. That was something he didn’t want to discuss in front of Tabitha.
Instead, Tabitha begged for spoilers about what was going to happen next in the series. Spoilers that Peyton refused to give her. Laurissa’s friend had been totally bummed by that until Peyton promised to get her into the release party on Saturday and a signed copy of the new book coming out. Tabitha pretty much lost her mind. Five minutes later, she was on her phone excitedly texting all her friends. He guessed
