Noah

Smiling big, Noah watched through his phone screen as Roni tucked Jack into their bed. She always said she had a hard time sleeping when Noah wasn't home. So, she let Jack sleep in their bed with her whenever he was out of town. Only Little Man wasn't sleeping yet, and Noah knew it was past his bedtime.

As if reading his mind, Roni leaned over and kissed Jack's forehead. "Jack promised he'd go straight to sleep or he'd have to go back to his room. Right, baby?"

She moved the screen so Noah could witness Jack nodding. Noah couldn't help chuckling. As if! Like she'd let him go back to his room even if he wanted to.

"Goodnight, buddy. I love you."

"Night, night, dada. Uv!" Jack waved at the screen then blew a kiss with his hand.

When Roni was back on the screen, Noah smirked at her. "Should I let you go so he can actually fall asleep?"

"No. I already told him mommy's gonna talk to daddy a little more in another room."

She gave him a knowing smirk as she waved at Jack before she walked out the room into the hallway. They both knew what was really going to happen. Jack would find one reason after another to keep getting out of bed until she was finally in bed with him. But Noah had already told her all about the first day of the charity golf tournament he'd attended with Abel and Felix. He'd give talking to her a little longer a try before they inevitably would have to give up so Jack could fall asleep.

Putting her finger to her lips, neither said anything until they were far enough away from Jack's earshot. They might get lucky and he just might fall asleep, but Noah knew it was a longshot.

As soon as he saw her walk into the kitchen, Noah started up again. "So how was your day?"

"Good." For a moment she was out of view as she set the iPad down on its stand on the kitchen counter. "We had lunch with Nellie and Reina."

"Let me guess." Noah smiled playfully. "Reina did most of the talking."

"Ha, ha," she said as she walked away from the screen to grab an orange from the fruit basket. "She doesn't even talk in full-on sentences; it's just she says so much more than Jack did at her age. But I'm done worrying about it. I'm fully convinced now I was just being paranoid."

"Good." Noah sat back against the pillows on his bed. "I for one will be glad when we get this behind us and there's no more need for you to step foot in that doctor's office again."

He left it at that because he'd vowed he wouldn't even ask her about the guy anymore. Noah figured, if she'd heard from the guy again, Roni would know better than to keep it from him. So, he refused to even ask her if she had. Instead, he smiled, admiring his wife's ass under her thin sleep pants as she walked away again and dug in drawer for something.

"I ran into him today."

"Who?"

"Mateo."

Feeling his insides do the same thing they did the last time she referred to the doctor as Mateo, Noah sat up a little. He waited for her to turn around so he could look at her face when he asked, but she didn't. She was still digging in the damn drawer.

"Where?"

"5th Street."

Feeling his brows jump and losing his patience because she still hadn't turned to face the screen, he sat all the way up. "What are you looking for, Roni?"

She pulled a knife out of the drawer and finally turned to face the screen, holding up the knife so he could see as she walked back toward the iPad. Noah took a deep breath, willing the patience to get through this without snapping. "The gym or on the street?"

"The gym." She glanced down at the orange she began to slice. "I worked out with Nellie before we went to lunch, and he walked in just as I was finishing up."

"He's a member there?"

"Not yet." She glanced up at the screen for a moment but then went back to working on the orange. "He got a week pass, but he said he's considering becoming a member."

Fucking great.

Closing his eyes for a moment, Noah dug deep not to make any snappy comments. "Did you tell him we're part owners?"

"Um, huh." She nodded, sucking on an orange wedge but didn't offer more.

She was being weird, but Noah wouldn't point it out. The last two times they'd spoken of this guy weren't exactly pleasant. Like Noah, she was probably doing her best to get through this without things getting ugly, but he couldn't just let it go. This was too coincidental, and he was curious. "What'd he say?"

As she turned away from the iPad again, Noah watched her walk to the other counter again and reach for a napkin. "That he didn't think he'd ever been there."

Confused, Noah shook his head. "What?"

Roni was noticeably still for a moment before turning back to face the screen. "Just before I left his office, when he mentioned he knew me from somewhere but couldn't place me, I suggested maybe he'd seen me at 5th Street and why I was there a lot."

Sucking on her orange wedge again, she looked straight at the screen as if she knew what he was likely thinking at that very moment. Almost as if she were calling him out—daring him to start making accusations—or something.

But Noah wouldn't. Once again, it took everything in him to refrain from dropping the sarcastic remark that begged to jump from his mouth. So, you mention you're there a lot and suddenly he wants to join? She probably knew the moment she saw the douche there today that it's exactly what Noah would be thinking, and she was ready for him.

Her weird demeanor made sense now. Only they both knew that, even if this guy did have ulterior motives, with his personal texts, calls, bumping her appointment way up, and now this, she had no control over his actions. Most importantly, she'd done nothing wrong, and Noah knew better than to even suspect she might've.

Despite all that, Noah still couldn't just let it go. He did have more questions when it came to this. But he'd be mindful of his tone. "How long was he there?"

"At the gym? I don't know." She sucked her orange wedge before going on. "I only spoke to him briefly when he passed by the treadmill I was on."

She explained about her asking him if he'd joined and what he'd said again then excused himself and walked away. Of course, Jack would pick that moment to walk into the kitchen to ask for water. Roni tended to him then walked him back to the room, leaving the iPad in the kitchen.

Sitting back against his pillows again, Noah decided maybe it was for the best if he cut the call sooner than later. From what he'd already heard, there wasn't much else to tell. He was afraid of slipping and regretting it as he the last two times.

He heard her walk back in the kitchen, and then she came back into view. To his relief, the strange demeanor had morphed into her smiling again. "He saw the orange I was eating and now he wants one."

"Yeah, I figured as much. Get him the orange and then get in bed with him."

They agreed Jack wouldn't be falling asleep until she was in bed with him, so after exchanging some very genuine I-love-yous, they were off the phone with her promise to call him first thing after Jack's appointment.

Regardless of how contrived the doctor's sudden interest in 5th Street felt, Noah decided he wouldn't worry about it anymore. He had complete faith in his wife. She'd do the right thing if the guy ever tried or even said anything inappropriate. At which point Noah would take things into his own hands. But until then, Roni didn't deserve to be feeling defensive.

Deciding he was done with this shit, Noah got in bed, determined to not give it another thought. But not before sending Roni one last text.

He sent it off and waited. A few seconds later he got her response.

And there you had it—the only thing that should matter. The two most important people in his life were safe at home, and they loved him just as much as he loved them. Now he could sleep.

Author's Note: Thoughts? Noah's right, right? He has nothing to worry about now does he?