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A moment later, Nolan is back in the office and we’re alone.
“You think this dresser will be big enough?” Hands fisted on his hips, his eyes travel to the fresh laundry piled up on the couch, then to my suitcase, then to the shopping bags from my shopping spree a little while back.
I draw my fingertips along the smooth wood finish of the dresser. It’s a sturdy antique piece and it’s so nice.
“Nolan, it’s a beautiful piece of furniture. But I won’t be here to use it.”
The man studies my face for a long moment. Then he sighs heavily. “Inez, I’m sorry that I’ve been weird with you lately. But I want you to stay.”
“Why…?” I ask, my heart begging, praying that he’ll give me the words I need.
My tummy twists itself into a knot as I wait a long moment for him to respond.
“There are a million reasons why,” he begins softly. “To be safe from the reporter guy. To save money on rent. Because Stella likes having you around.” Then he steps closer, his eyes not leaving mine. “But putting those million reasons aside, the biggest reason is….I’ve been much happier since you’ve been here.” He drops his head and chuckles with boyish embarrassment. “I know I probably sound like a totally selfish asshole when I say that, but it’s the truth.”
And my heart…oh, my heart. It does some type of acrobatic move in my chest I never realized it was capable of.
Still, on the outside, I try to come off as tough. “So it’s all about you, huh?”
He nods in confirmation. “It’s all about me. It’s completely. Totally. One hundred percent about me,” he says ironically. He reaches out and gently takes my hand. “Please stay.”
He looks at me like that and the iron gate I built around me is melting like butter. Every ounce of my resistance is breaking down.
God—this wasn’t the plan. Not at all.
I’m supposed to be searching for the real thing. A husband. A family. A happy-ever-after. How the hell am I supposed to find any of that when my heart is invested in this strange friend-tuation-ship with Nolan Brighton?
Still, I can’t say ‘no’ when he’s looking at me like that.
“Fine,” I say after turning the situation over in my head half a million times. “I’ll stay, but I have conditions.”
I can see the restrained excitement on Nolan’s face and it gives me a fluttery feeling in my chest. “What are your conditions?”
“Stop punishing me over the mistake we both made. That’s a fucking dick move, Nolan.”
He flinches. “You’re absolutely right. I’m sorry, Inez. I promise I won’t do it again. Anything else?”
I lay down my next condition. “No more flirting. And definitely no more hooking up. Because you obviously don’t know how to be cool about it.”
The pained look persists on his face. “Okay. That’s a fair condition,” he says eventually.
I stick out a hand to him. “We have a deal, then. We’re just friends.”
Nolan’s grimace deepens and I pretend that I don’t notice. “Yeah. We’re ‘just’ friends.”
16
NOLAN
Iwake up and hop right out of bed, on a mission.
Today’s the day I’m going to look at cars. I’ve put it off long enough. It’s beyond embarrassing to have a piece of shit rust bucket that’s quite literally falling apart with Inez in the house.
She’s been taking taxis all over town and I’m sure that the cost is starting to add up. It’s ridiculous that she can’t just drive my car on the days when I’m not using it.
To be clear, my vehicle is perfectly safe and I make sure that it passes all the essential tests and regular inspections. I drive my princess around in that thing, after all. But the knobs and handles and buttons are falling off. At this point, an upgrade isn’t optional anymore.
While I’m making the bed, my phone dings with a new message. I grab the device off my nightstand, expecting it to be a text from Darius.
