14 Chapter 14: MISPLACED BLAME: MAGGIE

As I closed the door on the suite, I eyed the tall Irishman who protected Noah. He nodded at me acknowledging my presence, then I made my way back to the safety of my hotel room. The hatred I'd held for Noah had been replaced completely by sympathy. My perception of Noah Haxby had been totally altered to what I felt before I'd met him personally.

Instead, I'd found him a very intelligent, amenable man who was full of genuine compassion for our loss. The last thing I'd expected was to find a very levelheaded, softly spoken man, yet I found that in Noah. His brash rock star persona had irked me from the moment I knew my sister was into him and I was relieved to find he was nothing like that at all.

Even though I was grieving, when Noah wrapped me in his arms and held me the way he did, I was aware of his warmth. It had been a spontaneous and comforting hug. I would never have thought him capable of that from the stories I'd read if I hadn't experienced it firsthand.