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In the meantime, Cody and I finally catch up on his day. He tells me about all the things I’ve missed, and while I’m happy to reconnect with him, my heart is breaking at how isolated I made myself. When my phone buzzes, I have to take a deep breath before I can open it.
Nolan:
How about we sleep on it for the night and talk tomorrow?
Katie:
As long as you’re sleeping in my bed, I’m happy with that idea.
Nolan:
Always. You’re not getting rid of me that easily.
Relief washes away the lingering stress of this day. Now all I have to do is wait for him to get home. Then I can make this right.
CHAPTER 36
Katie
There are so many nerves thrumming in my body that I won’t even come close to falling asleep before Nolan comes home. It’s as if I drank six cups of coffee this afternoon. My body is practically vibrating.
I’ve practiced, rehearsed, and subsequently changed my mind about what I want to say to Nolan when he gets home. Now that I’ve had time to calm down, I know what he did was in my best interest. However, I am still a little pissed that he went behind my back to do it. I can acknowledge that if he’d asked me first, I’d have said no, but I still need him to know that I did not like feeling deceived, even if it was for the right reasons.
I’ve been pacing the living room for the past half hour. He should be home any minute now. He said we should save this conversation until tomorrow, but I don’t think I can wait.
A door shuts outside, and I turn to the door. He walks in, looking down at his phone. When he puts it in his back pocket, he lifts his head and startles a little when he sees me standing there.
“I didn’t think you’d still be up,” he says.
I shrug. “Couldn’t sleep.”
He nods in understanding. His blue eyes take me in, assessing me. Every word I’ve been practicing has dried up in my throat. He looks tired. His shoulders are tight, the tension in his body obvious. I’m not sure what he sees on my face, but his features soften just enough to tell me he’s not as mad as he was.
“Come here, little dove.” That deep voice could tell me to drop to my knees and I’d do it in a heartbeat. Instead, I dash over to where he’s still standing by the door and crash into his chest. My arms go around his waist while he wraps his around my shoulders. I press my nose into his neck, and it feels like coming home.
“I’m so sorry, Nolan,” I say, my words muffled.
“I know.” He squeezes me tighter.
I pull back from him, wanting to say more, but he kisses me instead. It’s a slow, reconnecting kiss. No passion or lust is building between us. This is solely to get us back to where we were.
When he finally pulls back from me, he pushes his forehead to mine. “I know you have things you want to say. I do, too, but I can’t. Not tonight. I just want to hold you. I want to be with you without the bullshit that’s been sitting between us for days.”
I nod my head, understanding exactly what he’s saying. We need time to just be for a minute before we dive into the shitstorm that is our life right now.
“Come shower with me.” He slides his hands to my thighs and lifts me up to carry me down the hallway, not giving me a chance to answer either way. It makes me laugh. “What?”
I grin down at him. “You didn’t give me the chance to accept your offer. You just took off.”
“That’s because I wouldn’t have accepted any other answer besides yes.”
My eyebrow arches. “Is that so?”
Nolan steps into the bathroom and leans into the shower to turn the water on. He still hasn’t put me down, and I can’t say I’m sad about that.
“It is. You’re finally back in my arms, where you belong. I’m not about to let you go now.”
My belly flip-flops at his claim. “I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else, even when I’m being a raging bitch.”
