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The man is oblivious to the fact that he just ruined my panties. With two simple words and a forehead kiss.
Nolan gives my cheek one final stroke before starting the car and gripping the steering wheel again. And then I settle into my seat and let him drive us the rest of the way to his place.
There’s nothing more important than knowing how to make it in this world on your own.It’s true—I have been making it on my own for so long. But for the next little while, I just have to swallow a little pride and ask for a hand here and there to find my way.
When we pull into Nolan’s yard, his ex-mother-in-law is watching us from her trailer again. I’m sure she has all sorts of opinions about her former son-in-law bringing random women home. And this? This looks so bad.
I give the lady a little wave—even as I cringe—walking up to the house. She responds with a mischievous grin.
Nolan’s eyes flick toward the older woman and then back to me, as he unlocks his front door.“You’ll be staying with me until you find adequate accommodations,” he says definitively.
I raise an eyebrow, following him into the house. “Adequate?”
He sets down my suitcases and kicks off his shoes on the front mat. “As in, not a fucking hotel with spiders and creeps.”
I let out a frustrated laugh. “Well that just about eliminates every freaking option in the county.”
“Well, so be it, roomie,” he responds with a smirk.
Ugh. This man.
I’m so annoyed.
He’s so annoying.
But hey, at least my bossy boss is super hot. And super protective. And super sweet.
And it sure doesn’t hurt that his itchy, scratchy spare couch smells just like him.
Only emotionally available men, Inez. Only emotionally available men.
I turn for the office door. Nolan turns for his bedroom. But right before he disappears inside, he pauses.
I glance back and find him peering at me over his shoulder. “And Inez, you can always call my phone. You can always show up at my door. There will always be space in my home for you. Do you understand me?”
I feel myself getting choked up again. “Yeah…”
“Good night.” He closes the bedroom door behind him.
I feel an ache beneath my ribcage as I close the office door and collapse against it. “Good night.”
7
NOLAN
The next morning, I wake up in a good mood again.
Sunday is mine and Stella’s sacred father-daughter day. It’s our time.
The weekdays revolve around the bar and school, and I make sure to keep my schedule free for all of Stella’s extracurriculars on Saturday mornings. But I always plan a special activity to do with my little girl on Sundays. No matter how tired I am from working Friday and Saturday nights,Stella and I reserve Sunday mornings for a special daddy-daughter date.
She’s at that age where she wants to go everywhere, experience everything. And I want to give her the world.
None of it is normal. None of it’s easy. But Stella is happy and healthy, and I think this life is working for us.
Today, I’m taking her to an insect exhibition.I get dressed early and tiptoe past the office, mindful not to wake Inez. Then I head across the yard to pick up my daughter from her grandmother’s trailer. While Stella is finishing up in the bathroom, Genevieve invites me in with a mischievous grin.
She hands me a steaming cup of her favorite herbal elixir as I cautiously sit at her small table.
