Chapters (45)
‘Never mind,’ she said with a shake of her head. Jo knew this was not a conversation to be had just as the bar was opening on a busy Friday lunchtime. It was the kind of conversation you had after a few glasses of wine in the wee small hours.
‘Well, if you’re sure you don’t want to talk,’ he said, sounding completely unconvinced. ‘Libby is worried about you too, you know.’
‘Libby is worried about me? You’re worried about me? What?’ Jo was more than a little confused. ‘You’ve been talking about me?’
‘We both love you, you know that,’ Noah said, his voice soft. ‘And no, not really talking about you. Not in a bad way. We’re just concerned about you. You’ve seemed to be a little off kilter lately. Not so much that everyone else would notice, but I grew up with you, remember? You became my sister when I needed someone on my side and I love you for it. So, of course, I’m going to be worried when you don’t seem like your usual happy self.’
Jo wondered if she had been giving out great big discontented vibes all this time. She didn’t think she had been. She’d been happy. Well, not so much happy as, well, not sad. Perhaps she could be happier, she mused, but she absolutely did not want anyone worrying about her. Especially not Noah and Libby.
‘Well, you’ve no need to be worried,’ she said, and plastered a smile on her face. ‘Honest. I’m fine. We all have little slumps and maybe I need a holiday or something.’
Noah raised an eyebrow, and kept her gaze.
Damn it, she knew he could read her like a book.
‘And maybe turning thirty is making me reassess some things. I’m trying to figure out what I want from life, but this is not the time and place for this conversation. We have work to do. Have you picked up the champagne order for tonight?’
‘Shit,’ Noah said. ‘I knew there was something. Okay. I’m on it. I won’t be long.’
With that, he was gone and Jo felt as if she could breathe again, but there was no denying there was now a growing sense of unease gnawing at her. Everything was changing, and maybe this was the perfect chance for her to change too.