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“I don’t know,” Layla laughs. “For that kind of filthy rich, most women would skip the connection.”
I cringe hard. “I almost did, too. But I just couldn’t fake it. And I couldn’t stop thinking about everything I’d left behind, here at home in Starlight Falls.”
“Everything like what?” Daphne’s forehead crinkles with curiosity.
“Yeah, what’s everything?” Karli asks slyly.
“More like, who’s everything?” Ziggy smirks, like she already knows the answer. Good grief. Even Ziggy seems to know what’s going on in my life, and she doesn’t even live here.
These girls are something else. They have me tripping over my response. “Well, I mean…I guess…It’s just that…”
Karli cackles. “I think we know exactly who everything is.”As I struggle not to blush, Karli shoots me a grin that I can’t decode.
I cringe. “Am I that obvious?”
Nicky’s eyes twinkle with conspiracy. “Well, Ronan had his ‘theories’ about why you were holding back from that bachelor dude.”She leans in. “Hint—it had a lot to do with my boyfriend’s cranky twin brother.”
The girls giggle and I feel my cheeks growing hot. As much as I try to remain in denial, I’m just as transparent as can be. And slowly, my feelings for Nolan are starting to become clear to me, too. I can’t help the way I’m all tied up in knots over him.
The man bought me a dresser. He asked me to stay. And all I’ve ever really wanted in life is somewhere to belong. But Nolan never said he sees me as more than an employee. What if he only ever sees me as a friend?
I’m a fool.
Ziggy nudges me. “You want a reading?”
“Huh?” I startle, realizing I lost track of the conversation around me.
“You want a tarot reading? It might help,” she says quietly, staring at me with a knowing eye.
I shake myself back to the present. “Sure, why not?”
“Okay, let’s do things a little differently,” Ziggy suggests as she shuffles her deck. “Think of a question in your head. Think about it. But don’t tell me.”
“Okay…Hmm.” I don’t even know what to ask.
I’m beginning to realize that what I want is a life here with Nolan and Stella. So how do I move forward with exploring the opportunities that could be waiting for me outside of Starlight Falls? I think to myself.
Ziggy takes her time, like before, flipping over three cards. She taps her finger to her chin and then frowns. She looks up, meeting my eyes.
“Have you ever stopped to consider that maybe you don’t have to choose? Maybe there’s a way you can have both of the things you want?”
“Both…?” I whisper, a sense of overwhelm sweeping over me.
Ziggy nods, a soft smile on her face. “Both.”
That should be good news. But instead, it only leaves me more confused. Dammit.
19
NOLAN
Darius grabs a handful of tissues from the box on my desk and coughs up half a lung.
Then he stretches his phone across the desk to me. “This one has great navigation aids. Plus, satellite radio, a heated steering wheel and massaging seats.”
I throw a cursory glance at his disease-covered device, careful not to actually touch it. “Mmm-hm.”
He scrolls some more before showing me another option. “Stella would love the entertainment system in this one. The display screens are pretty big, which is great for keeping her busy during long drives.”
