Read Online Circle of Friends, Part 2 by Susan Mallery - Free Book Online

answering, he bent down and kissed her. Her lips were soft and yielding and she returned the kiss with enough passion to make him resent every person standing between him and some serious private time with the woman in his arms.
    â€œI want you,” he breathed when they came up for air.
    Her mouth quivered. “You haven’t wanted me for a long time.”
    He rubbed his thumb against her lower lip. “You’re wrong. I always want you. I haven’t acted on it.”
    â€œWhy?”
    Suddenly he wasn’t sure. “Things were complicated.”
    â€œThey always will be,” she told him. “I didn’t ask you to stay away.”
    â€œThen I won’t.”
    â€œGood.” She looked into the family room and sighed. “I need to go take care of that,” she said. “Want to come along for a good screaming?”
    â€œSure.” He didn’t care about the screaming, but he was interested in how Noelle would handle the situation.
    She walked into the house and paused. The volume was so loud, the walls shook. When she moved forward, she bent down, grabbed the remote and hit the pause button.
    All seven girls turned to stare at her.
    â€œLet’s be reasonable about the volume,” she said into the silence. “Who’s staying for dinner?”
    Two girls raised their hands.
    â€œI want names and phone numbers,” she said. “I’ll be calling home to verify it’s all right.”
    â€œNoelle,” Tiffany protested. “Can’t we just have fun?”
    â€œApparently not,” her sister said cheerfully. She looked at her watch. “It’s nearly four. Everyone not staying to dinner will be gone by five. For the rest of you, dinner is at six, and curfew is at nine.”
    Tiffany groaned. “You’re such a pain.”
    â€œI know, and being a pain is the highlight of my day. Everyone understand?”
    The other girls nodded. The two staying for dinner stood and followed Noelle into the kitchen, where Dev knew she would make good on her word and check with their parents. Tiffany’s friends who weren’t hanging around pulled out cell phones and began to make calls to ask to be picked up.
    He walked into the kitchen, where she was dialing the phone.
    â€œWhen did you get so good at this?” he asked.
    â€œI took a class.”
    â€œI’m serious.”
    â€œI don’t know,” she admitted. “I watched my mom handle things. I try to think about what she would have done.”
    Too bad her mother hadn’t been around when he’d been screwing things up with Jimmy. Maybe then his brother wouldn’t be dead. Of course, if Jimmy were still alive then he, Dev, wouldn’t be married to Noelle. Despite everything, he couldn’t actually say he didn’t want to be with her. Which meant he was in more trouble than he’d thought.
    * * *
    N OELLE CAME OUT of the bathroom that night and found Dev sitting up in bed. Since she’d declared her love for him and he’d walked out, they’d slept in the same room, but he’d made sure they never went to bed at the same time. He always came in after she was asleep and was gone before she got up.
    She paused in the doorway. “You’re not working late tonight?”
    â€œNo.”
    Did that mean what she thought it meant? Anticipation fluttered inside of her. She loved him and desired him in equal measures. Having things unsettled between them had been painful. She wanted to be in his arms so much, but at the same time, she was afraid. So much of their relationship confused her. Was it right to give herself to him, knowing he didn’t return her feelings?
    Then he smiled at her. The curve of his lips was both apology and invitation. Her gaze dropped to his bare chest and she wondered if he’d pulled on boxers or if he wore nothing at all.
    Maybe walking away was the smart thing to do, but Noelle chose to follow