Chapter 0147

Hannah glared daggers at Noah as I yanked him closer, my fingers still twisted in the fabric of his shirt. His eyes widened in surprise, but I didn’t care—he had just been caught red-handed, watching us like some kind of detective on a case.

“What the hell are you doing here?” I hissed, twisting my hand even harder around the front of his shirt.

Before Noah could respond, Drake was at my side, placing a gentle hand on my arm as he regarded my husband with an amused grin.

“Relax, Hannah,” he said easily. “Your husband was just enjoying a bit of entertainment, that’s all. Isn’t that right, Noah?”

Noah’s jaw clenched, but he gave a terse nod. “I was just in the area and happened to glimpse you two together. That’s it.” The blatant lie made my blood boil, and I opened my mouth to call him out with a scathing retort, but Drake beat me to it.

“Come now, Noah, there’s no need for deception,” he chided. “If you wanted to join us, you could have just asked. Hannah and I are just friends, despite what you think—I’m not trying to steal her away, I assure you.” A flicker of shame crossed Noah’s stony features, but he quickly schooled his expression into one of indifference. “I wasn’t trying to join you,” he muttered. “I was just passing through.”

“Bullshit,” I growled. “I saw you lurking like this was some kind of spy movie. Honestly, I’m surprised you didn’t have binoculars.”

“Noah? Where did you go?”

The all-too-familiar sound of a female voice caused both me and Drake to whip our heads up in shock. No, I thought to myself. It couldn’t be…

My heart plummeted as Zoe sauntered into view, her face stretched into a sickly-sweet smile as she clutched a fistful of game tickets in her perfectly manicured hand. Of course, Noah wouldn’t be alone—he had brought Zoe along with him. Had we just walked into a secret date between the two of them, or was Noah actually trying to get under my skin?

“Zoe,” Drake said first, his voice tight. “I didn’t realize you would be here as well.”

Zoe waved a dismissive hand and flipped a blonde curl over her shoulder. “Yes, well, Noah was so kind as to come and cheer me up after my surgery,” she said in that sing-song voice of hers, practically batting her lashes at him. “I was feeling a bit down, and he just showed up at my door, telling me to get ready to go out and have some fun with him.”

I felt like I might be sick. Suddenly, that burger wasn’t sitting very well. My hand instinctively fluttered over my belly, that urge to cover the small food bump beneath Zoe’s discerning gaze suddenly becoming all too strong.

Chapter 0142

Noah’s gaze flickered to me at that moment, but I quickly averted my eyes and dropped my hand back to my side, my chest caving in on itself. Of course, he would parade Zoe around in front of me—just another twist of the knife.

Drake must have sensed my discomfort, because he stepped closer, wrapping a protective arm around my waist and pulling me against his side.

“Well, in that case, perhaps we should make this a double date,” he said. “Hannah and I were just getting ready to stroll down the boardwalk and play some games. You two are welcome to join us.”

Noah opened his mouth, no doubt to protest, but Zoe cut him off with a smile as she held up the tickets in her hand.

“That sounds nice,” she said. “We were just about to play some games as well.”

With that, she gestured for us to follow and began to lead the way, leaving Drake and me little choice but to follow. As we fell into step behind them, Drake leaned in close, his breath warm against my ear.