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“I appreciate you babysitting her, of course. But more than that…” Nolan rakes his fingers through his hair and hesitates. “…I appreciate you being there for her. I’m still not sure what was wrong, but I can tell she trusts you.”
My stomach twists up into a knot. “You don’t have to thank me for that.” I reach out and squeeze his forearm, deliberately ignoring how hard and strong his muscled body feels beneath my touch. “Stella loves you. She thinks you’ve hung the moon. But even still, there are just some things she’ll only feel comfortable discussing with a woman. I think that’s why she didn’t want to tell you why she was crying.”
Nolan scrubs his hand down his face. “I know. It was only a matter of time. But I’m glad she had you to be there for her today. For whatever was bothering her.”
I nod. I’m tempted to tell him everything. Because I know he wants to help his daughter. But I can’t betray Stella’s trust like that.
“I’ll always be here for her,” I say simply.
We stand there in the shadowy hallway for a moment. Nolan’s eyes pingpong around my face and then down my body. Something passes over his stormy blue gaze as he undresses me with his eyes.
Attraction sparks between us. I know he wants to kiss me again. I can’t lie—I want that, too.
But I’ve learned my lesson once and I don’t need to learn it twice. So I’m choosing my self-respect over the animal lust that’s raging in this narrow space.
We’re just friends. And roommates. And co-workers. Nothing more.
“Good night, Nolan,” I say quietly.
And then, I stalk toward the office, leaving him alone in the hallway.
18
INEZ
Little known fact—The Pancake Village serves the best mimosas in Starlight Falls. Don’t tell Nolan I said that.
It’s a cute little brunch place that’s famous around town for artfully slathering their fluffy buttermilk pancakes in layers and layers of chocolate, whipped cream and syrupy goodness. And in my opinion, their mimosa’s are unmatched. It’s all very fancy pants for Starlight Falls.
I’m so excited that Karli and her friends invited me to meet them here. I’m also a bit nervous to hang out with the girls. But most importantly, I’m relieved for an excuse to be out of the house while Nolan and Stella are enjoying some bonding time, rehearsing for her upcoming piano recital today.
When I get to the restaurant, I’m surprised to find I’m the first one here. I slide into a large booth near the front and I wait for Karli, Layla, Daphne, and Nicky to join me. Daphne also mentioned that her sister Ziggy is in town for a visit and I can’t wait to catch up with her. That girl is always a riot.
Before I can give in to the temptation to check the new emails on my phone, the girls arrive in a flourish, all cute and summery in their prettiest sundresses. There are hugs and squeals and more hugs as they crowd around me in the booth. Pancakes and mimosas are quickly ordered, and Ziggy pulls out her tarot deck.
“Will this really work to find my keys?” Layla asks. “You know I’m usually super skeptical about this tarot thing. But they’ve been missing for a while, and I haven’t been able to drive my car anywhere all week.” She turns to me, eyes wild. “Have you ever tried lugging around a twenty pound baby in a car seat, with no car?”
I chuckle. “I can’t say that I have. But if Ziggy can’t find them for you, I’ll come over and lead the search party.”
She cringes. “I’ll take you up on that offer if I have to.”
Ziggy is stoic as she works, shuffling her deck and slowly flipping cards over one by one.
“What does it say? What does all that mean?” Daphne tilts her head from side to side, pointing at the symbols spread out all over the table.
Ziggy rearranges the cards, frowning as she concentrates. Then she snaps her fingers and points at Layla. “The kitchen sink. No. No. The garbage disposal. Your car keys may be in the garbage disposal. Have you looked there?”
I’m about to laugh at such a silly idea, but Layla doesn’t seem to find it funny. She stares at Ziggy for a moment. Then she gasps and her jaw falls open. “Oh my gosh…”
“What? Are your keys really in the garbage disposal?” I ask.
Layla’s jaw is still on the table. “I…yeah, I think she’s right. The disposal was making this horrible sound a few days ago, so I stopped using it. I was going to see if Archer could come take a look at it, but I’ve been too busy walking my butt around town to figure out what was wrong with it.”
Karli leans back, taking a sip of her drink. “This is wild.”
“Tell me about it,” Layla says in agreement. “Apparently, I don’t need a handyman after all.” She looks at the fortuneteller. “Gosh—how’d they end up there anyway?”
The ominous way Ziggy eyeballs Layla, it seems like the cards gave her that answer, too.
