Page 54 of Hearts on the Mend

“Ugh,” I groan, hanging my head. “He hates me. Nolan Murphy one thousand percent hates me.”

I was such an asshole. He made Ruby’s day, and instead of saying thank you, I attacked him.

“He’s been so grumpy, I⁠—”

“He’s always grumpy,” Sloane says. “That’s kind of his thing. That’s why he likes to do the whole tough-guy-out-in-the-woods routine, kind of like his brother, just a different flavor. Broody man on the ocean. But I’ll tell you what, they fall twice as hard.”

Sarah thinks this is hysterical, and soon, I’m laughing too.

Everything feels like it’s spinning spectacularly off the rails right now.

“Well, I vote for vacuum.” Sarah jumps up, clapping her hands to her thighs. “It’ll be quicker to clean up, and then we can paint before it gets too late. I’ll empty the ashes back in the container. And then you’ll need to figure out what dead relative we just spread across the living room like a confetti popper.”

Three hours later, the room is sporting the first coat of blue paint when Ruby runs through the front door with a T. rex mask strapped to her face. Every time she opens her mouth, it roars.

“Mom, Mom. Look. Watch. Are you watching?” She does it again, then giggles.

I chuckle, gripping my paintbrush tighter. Not sure if I should thank Nolan or chuck this at his head. The noise is a lot, but that giggle? That’s one of my favorite sounds in the world.

Nolan’s watching from the hallway as he shrugs off his coat like he’s in no hurry to interrupt the dinosaur invasion.

“She asked nicely,” he huffs before storming forward to toss the keys down in the dish. Not meeting my eyes, he says, “You have new tires on the Jeep, a full tank of gas, and your oil is changed.”

He stomps back upstairs, closes the bathroom door, and a second later, a hammer blow booms overhead, tile shattering in its wake.

Sloane throws her arm around my shoulders and drags me close. “That man doesn’t hate you at all.”

Chapter 17

Nolan

“We’re going to be late,” Cassie shouts, skipping across the cold floorboards in the kitchen.

“My brothers aren’t taking attendance.” I shut my book, peeking up from my bed at her, frozen in the doorway, glaring.

Good. It’s easier when she’s mad. We’ve been pissed at each other since Career Day. She pushes me away, and I only find something else to dig under her skin. It’s so fucking easy to do.

Right now though? She might have an advantage. The way I want to lick the water droplets lining her collarbone is…

Pathetic.

I’m pathetic. Desperate for another touch, another taste. And now my room and bathroom smell like her fruity shampoo, and my sink makes the local Sephora look like it’s about to go out of business.

“Something to say, Hellcat?”

She brushes back her hair, revealing another sliver of collarbone.

Fuck.

“I’m meeting someone tonight. I don’t want to be late.”

“Hmm.” I toss my book down and stalk closer. She doesn’t shy away, even as I rest one arm up on the doorway over her head and lean, erasing the small distance between us.

“Say?” she parrots. Cassie clutches onto her towel, a determined line to her dark eyebrows. “Sloane told you she had someone for me to meet. Is there a reason why I shouldn’t go?”

I’m too busy losing myself in the depths of her deep-green eyes, in the gold flecks that ring around her pupils.

“You can do whatever you want, Cassie. I’m just fixing your house.”