Possessive beast

Noah and Steve seemed so close and so used to each other that none of their back and forth caused any awkwardness for the two 'outsiders' Laila and Maria. It just brought them a sense of amusement and reminded them of their own dynamic. While all of them laughed, except for Noah, Maria and Laila exchanged glances. Once they were done laughing, the focus returned to Laila who had still left some questions unanswered. Something Steve happily reminded her of. "Now that we have Noah's blessing, tell me Laila, how have you been?"

Though Steve was talking to her like it was any other day and as if they had been friends for years, to her it was the first time that she was meeting him. So, she didn't quite know how to respond even to the mundane questions like 'How have you been?'. A bit unfamiliarly she answered his questions from before, introduced Maria to him as her best friend and politely asked a few back. While they walked through the mall, they continued to chat for a bit more before she was saved by Noah's 'possessive beast'.

"That is enough of your chatting. Go bore someone else while I talk to my wife." Steve gasped and said, "Bore?! Words hurt you know. No need to lash out just because you are jealous or lonely. For the record I will have you know that I am an absolute delight but I will be a good friend and return your wife's company back to you. Come on Maria, let's leave these two lovebirds and find a place to eat." Maria was caught off guard and didn't know how she had gotten dragged into this mess but she was given no say. After saying his piece, Steve put his arm around Maria and pulled her along in his dramatic exit. Laila chuckled as she watched the two and went into a full on laughter once she saw Maria look back and give her a desperate look of 'Help me!'.

After they were a bit more out of sight, her focus could finally return to Noah. He had been patiently waiting and slightly pouting over his lack of attention. She glanced up and asked, "How have you been stranger?" Noah looked back into her eyes and stared into them for a brief moment, as if he was trying to read her thoughts, before he answered, "Better, now that I have your attention." Laila chuckled and said, "I am sorry. I couldn't just ignore Steve. He had helped us and was being nothing but nice. Besides, you yourself gave him your blessing. But now you have my undivided attention. So, tell me, what brings you here? Don't get me wrong, I very much enjoyed your princely rescue but I hadn't expected to see you today much less in my time of need."

Noah pulled Laila closer and said, "I will always be there when you need me. If not because I plan to, then because the universe pulls me to you. After we spoke on the phone on your first day here, I worked my butt off to get things done earlier. I put in some late nights and I managed to finish all that I was supposed to do, two days before your return. Since I was finished with what I had to do, I figured I should come surprise you and combined my visit with a business deal that I had worked on. I flew in yesterday and closed the deal this morning. I came to the mall to buy you some presents, when I heard your voice. I rushed over and even dropped my cake. So, I hope they are still okay."

Only now did Laila notice the large bag that was in Noah's other hand. It contained two boxes from a famous bakery. She figured that he must have picked the bag up right before they left that part of the mall and while she was busy talking with Steve. He certainly wasn't holding it when he was hugging her.

Even though Laila couldn't see what was in the box, she already felt herself getting excited and was happy that today was a day where she had experienced almost no nausea because of her pregnancy. In an excited voice she said, "Belle's bakery!? Those pastries are famous all around the world. I am sure that even if they are a bit damaged, they will still look and taste amazing. How did you manage to get your hands on these?"

Noah chuckled, "This is what you are impressed with? Not my finishing my work earlier to surprise you. Not my closing a deal in such a short amount of time and with such a big amount of damage to Jake. But the fact that I got my hands on a few pastries??"

"Oh come on. You know what I mean. I already knew you were amazing at your work. That is no longer surprising to me. You were always the kind of person who got whatever they put their mind to. But the fact that you were able to get these pastries that you have to place an order for a month in advance on such short notice, now that is something that I did not expect."

Noah let out another soft chuckle and said, "Well it helps if you know the chef in person and have been close friends with them since college. Where did you think I got my little high tea from a few days ago? I can't believe you forgot about her. She made our wedding cake. This pregnancy brain of yours is quite something."

Laila laughed a bit awkwardly and counted her lucky stars that she was pregnant. That pregnancy brain had saved her more than once. Otherwise she would have given herself away on day one. But as more of these moments took place and she cut matters so close, she wondered how much longer she could keep up the façade.