Free Fearless (Pier 70 #2) by Nicole Edwards Page B

around, noticing that Dare had disappeared from the table. He searched the room, finding Dare on the far side talking to someone. A guy. A good-looking guy Noah hadn’t been introduced to.
    Noah watched the two of them closely, and when Dare leaned in and whispered something in the man’s ear, he felt his heart slam into his chest. He swallowed hard and got to his feet.
    Although he was having an irrational reaction to what he was seeing, Noah did not want to watch Dare flirt with some guy. If he was going to survive this trip, he needed to remember that Dare was from his past, not his present or his future. So whatever Dare Davis did was of no concern to him.
    Didn’t mean he was going to sit back and let it play out in front of him.

Seven
    Refraining from going after Noah wasn’t easy, but Dare managed to keep his feet rooted to the floor as he watched the man dart out of the room as though his ass were on fire. After sneaking over to get dessert, Dare had found himself having a conversation with Hudson’s brother, AJ. They’d been talking about how strange it was that Dare had never met the guy, then laughing because they’d witnessed Hudson and Teague glaring at one another, again. Because he’d been so caught up, Dare hadn’t seen the reason for Noah’s quick exit, but now he had to wonder.
    Although he was curious—and yes, maybe a little worried—he fought the urge to chase after him. He told himself not to because he didn’t want to arouse suspicion from his friends. Why he’d wanted to go in the first place didn’t even matter because he knew he shouldn’t. Fifteen years had passed since he’d broken up with Noah. What bothered the guy now was of no concern to him.
    Only he did care, damn it.
    For whatever stupid reason.
    And now, he couldn’t fight his curiosity any longer.
    “Where’re you going?” Milly called out to him when he was inches from the door. “I was serious when I said you better go back to your cabin if you’re gonna get naked.”
    Dare stopped mid-stride, spun around to face Milly, and grinned. “Trust me, I’m not gonna be gettin’ my freak on.”
    “Darn. Someone should.” She looked sincerely disappointed.
    Dare came to stand directly in front of her, then glanced back through the doorway where Noah had exited a short time ago. Taking a deep breath, he turned back to her. “Is Noah all right?” he asked.
    Milly’s gaze followed his past the door and into the open area outside the banquet room. “Why? What did he do?”
    Dare shrugged. “He bolted earlier. Looked like something was bothering him.”
    Milly seemed to consider that, but her eyes didn’t clear. She still appeared confused.
    Appeared Milly didn’t know Noah as well as Dare had thought she did. Whether that was a good thing or not was yet to be seen.
    “I’m gonna go check on him,” Dare told her. It was probably the worst idea he’d had since the night he’d tried to out-drink Hudson. Never mind the fact that Hudson outweighed Dare by probably twenty pounds and Dare had absolutely no tolerance for tequila. Still.
    “Let me know.” Dare heard the concern in her voice.
    “I will. Keep the party alive in here,” he told her with a smile, then turned and headed out of the room.
    It took twenty minutes to find Noah. He wasn’t at the casino—though Dare hadn’t really expected him to be for some reason. He hadn’t been on the basketball court, either. Or at any of the outdoor bars. Nope, after wandering around aimlessly, Dare finally found Noah on the rock wall. Noah had shed his socks and shoes, rolled up the sleeves on his navy blue shirt, and was now halfway up to the top, beside him a couple of kids who were struggling but transfixed by Noah’s speed and dexterity.
    Dare sweet-talked his way to the front of the line, then strapped into a harness after kicking off his flip-flops. Once he was nice and secure, he started up the wall. It didn’t take him long to catch up to Noah, who was