Chapter 462

Hannah

“Noah, look at this.”

I climbed into the passenger seat and pulled the ticket from my pocket. Noah’s eyes widened as he took it, studying the details.

“Where did you get this?” he asked.

“I swiped it off Doctor Patel’s desk,” I said, admittedly a little proud of myself.

Noah dropped the ticket to his leg. “Hannah, you didn’t… Tell me you didn’t steal from our doctor?”

“What?” I asked, spreading my hands wide. “I couldn’t help myself. I mean, why did your father buy a plane ticket to the tropics for the family doctor? Who, I might add, was in said tropics for, like, three months straight last year.”

Noah was silent for several long moments. His green eyes flicked to the ticket, then to me, then back to the ticket. I couldn’t decide if he was annoyed or impressed that I’d noticed that detail. He couldn’t seem to decide, either.

Finally, he said, “It looks like it was purchased around Christmas time. I guess my father was in the holiday spirit last year.”

I frowned and folded my arms. “Your father isn’t the gift-giving type.”

Noah scoffed. “No. I guess you’re right.” Another pause as he studied the ticket, turning it over. “Doctor Patel has been our family doctor for decades, though. Maybe my dad—”

“Has your dad ever gotten you a gift?” I blurted out. “Or your mother?”

At the mention of his late mother, Noah’s face paled. He quickly looked away, and I instantly felt my heart sink. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean—”

“No,” he said softly, shaking his head. “You’re right. My dad only ever gave my mother one gift that I can recall, and it was only because he’d been caught cheating with Scott’s mother.”

We both stared at the ticket again. It really was strange; Marcus wasn’t the type of man who gave gifts, let alone to employees—which was essentially what Doctor Patel was to him.

“Then why give him a plane ticket to the tropics?” I mused. “Why fund a months-long vacation?”

Noah’s eyes were fixed on the ticket, but I could sense his mind whirling. Strange, indeed…

By the time the last box was unloaded and placed in the foyer, I felt like my arms might give out from the strain.

“Ugh,” Viona whined, lounging back on the stairs. “When you told me you wanted me to be your Beta, you never mentioned the job might include being your moving lady as well.”

I smirked as I stared down at my friend. Despite offers to hire a moving company, I’d insisted on doing it myself—partly out of fear that something might happen to my valuables during transit, but mainly because I wanted to. Having Drake, Noah, and Viona to help certainly made the work a lot easier.

“Hey,” I said, holding up the pizza parlor menu I’d been hiding in my back pocket all day, “would pizza help smooth things over?”

Viona and Drake perked up at the mention of pizza. Even Noah’s eyes lit up. I could practically hear all three of their stomachs growl at once.

“Pizza it is, then,” I said with a laugh, pulling out my phone.

After ordering the pizzas—with Viona insisting on a mushroom topping for one and a side of garlic knots—we all moved to the living room to relax. Noah put on some music, and I laid back on the couch with a satisfied smile.

Home. I was finally home.

Being back in this house after being away for so long would take some getting used to, that was for sure. But it felt… right. I wanted to give this home another chance, an opportunity to fill the walls with happy memories that would hopefully dull some of the bad ones.