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Chapter 26
Nolan awoke, lying horizontally across the bed. He must’ve been sleepwalking again. Luckily, he’d put deadbolts on the two doors that led outside, so he couldn’t get too far. It only happened when he was highly stressed.
After his fight with Isla, he’d been drowning in stress. She just had this inane ability to work her way under his skin. He couldn’t believe, after everything, she still didn’t trust him. What the hell did he have to do to convince her that she was the only woman for him?
Did he need to tattoo it on his freaking forehead? Get a flag and hang it outside between their houses? It all seemed ridiculous. There was only so much a guy could do before she needed to realize the insecurities came from within her. He loved her, yet she still thought the ring was for another woman. Did she not see that it was her favorite styled cut?
He kicked his legs over the side of the bed and headed to his dresser. He opened the drawer and moved his folded boxer briefs aside. The black box he’d carried around with him for years stared back at him, and he took it into his hand.
With a sigh, he opened the box and took out the one carat princess cut platinum band from the black pillow it’d been sitting in for the last three years.
The day he bought this ring, he’d imagined he and Isla walking down the aisle toward a future of a white picket fence and a loving home. He’d dreamed about mornings where their children would be running around them while Isla tried to round them up and get them dressed for the day. He’d finish his protein shake and head out for a jog. He never expected his visions wouldn’t become a reality.
He hadn’t thought about that day in a long time, and there was a reason for it. He shoved the ring back in the box where it belonged and snapped the box shut. He tossed in into his drawer and slammed the drawer closed.
The ring was a walk down memory lane that was filled with hurt, betrayal, longing, anger, remorse and at time hatred. He kept the ring, unable to part with it, but he always kept it hidden. As long as it was out of sight it was out of mind, but as his past collided with his present, it didn’t matter how hidden he kept the damn ring.
There was no ignoring Isla Garrick.
He let out an annoyed breath and ran his fingers through his hair, trying to dispel his frustrations. If loving her wasn’t enough, there was nothing left he could do.
Nolan’s phone rang, and he looked down at the screen. George’s name popped up, and Nolan debated if he should waste his time and answer it. He wasn’t exactly in the mood to go over information; he wasn’t obligated to share any longer. Unable to ignore his onetime mentor, he answered the call.
“Nolan! Thank god I got a hold of you.” George’s strong voice echoed through the line.
“What’s going on, George?” He wasn’t in the mood for niceties, or beating around the bush. He’d done that plenty in his life and it got him nowhere.
“I want you back.”
Nolan’s head all but snapped off his neck. “Excuse me?” There was no way Nolan heard him right.
“I want you back. No, scratch that. I need you.” George emphasized need.
Nolan was having a shitty couple of days, and he wasn’t in the mood for games. “What about your nephew?”
George sighed loudly and ended with a bit of a growl. “He’s a damn idiot. I had no choice but to fire him when he made a pass at one of our highest paying clients.” For some reason, that did not surprise Nolan in the least. The guy seemed to play by his own rules and didn’t think he had to answer to anyone. “But enough about him. I’m calling about you. I need you back.”
Oh, how Nolan had longed to hear those words from the minute he quit and walked away, but now that George was finally giving him what he wanted, he wasn’t so sure he wanted it. George didn’t appreciate him. If he did, he never would have let him walk away in the first place. How could he work for a man who didn’t fight for him? “George, that’s not going to happen.”
“I’ll give you exactly what you wanted, but with a twenty percent increase on the number we originally discussed. I’ll also throw in stock options.”
Nolan’s eyes widened at George’s words. That offer wasn’t something he could easily turn down. It was more than he ever expected, and he’d be a fool not to at least think it over. “Can I get back to you?”
“Absolutely, but Nolan, don’t sit on this too long. I need an answer by end of day Friday.”
“That’s two days away.” He was hoping for a week. This was a big decision, one that could change the course of his life, and he wanted to give it more thought than he did when he had quit. That was done on impulse, and he was done doing things on impulse. He preferred a plan, always had, and he needed time to think.
“And more than enough time to mull it over. This is the opportunity you wanted with even more perks. I hope you make the right choice.” George hung up, and Nolan exhaled as he collapsed onto the couch.
It was everything he had wanted, but that was before he came home again. Now that he was in Morgan’s Bay, surrounded by lifelong friends and familiar faces, he wasn’t so sure Seattle was right for him anymore. Not when Morgan’s Bay provided him with the sense of home, he’d been missing. But other than familiar faces, what could Morgan’s Bay give him? He couldn’t get a job with the salary George was offering and definitely not a job with stock options that had the ability to make him very comfortable in the future.
To make anywhere near what George offered, he’d have to take a job in the city again, but that meant he’d once again be commuting. Did he want to spend almost four hours of his day sitting on a train again? He wasn’t so sure.
More importantly, could he walk away from Isla again? Despite everything, he still loved her, and he knew if he walked away now, it would be the end of them for good.
Chapter 27
Two days later, Isla sat across from Olivia and Harper at Aunt Greta’s. The diner, like McConnell’s Pub, had backup generators and was serving a limited menu. The power still hadn’t been restored to Main Street, but the electric company had been working on the poles all day, so the town was hopeful they’d be up and running soon.
