“I offered to give you a loan—an advance.”
“You did and it was very generous of you. Had I not had enough money for my deposit and first month’s rent, I might have taken you up on your offer. But I’m good. I want to do things on my own.” I smile. I want to do things fairly andlegally.
“Good morning, Miss Stone. Can I get you some breakfast? Coffee? Tea?” Sofia greets me.
“Tea would be lovely, thank you.”
Nolan gestures to a room off the foyer. “Mother is still sleeping. Come in and have a seat.”
“Have you told her about me?” I sit in the black and white paisley arm chair by the window. Nolan sits opposite of me.
“You mean that I’ve hired her a babysitter?” He smirks, smoothing his hand over his black trousers as he crosses one long leg over the other.
“A personal assistant and confidante, not a babysitter.”
“Let’s stick to personal assistant.” Nolan narrows one eye. “Confidant implies she’s going to share her secrets with you. She doesn’t know she has any secrets to share, and I’d prefer we keep it that way.”
Sofia serves us coffee and tea.
“Thank you.” I smile before taking a sip. “I thought we could go shopping today.”
“She buys everything secondhand.”
I shrug. “That’s fine. She can show me her favorite places. Does she have a bike?”
Nolan rolls his eyes as he pours cream into his coffee. “She has a driver. Lorne will take you. He’ll be here by ten.” He stirs his coffee with a silver spoon. “How are you feeling?”
My fingernail traces the pattern on the arm of the chair as my lips twist to the side. “You tell me?”
“I don’t feel emotions very well. Physically, you’re much better.”
I nod. “Have you talked to Theo lately?”
“Yesterday. He’s done with the place. I’m surprised you moved out so soon. You were paid up through the month. I take it something went wrong?”
I laugh. “I didn’t die as expected. My ex-fiancé showed up unannounced and met the man I’ve been fucking for months—”
Nolan chokes on his coffee, holding his fist to his mouth. “You… what?”
“Oh, Theo didn’t tell you?”
He shakes his head while clearing his throat.
I watch the wind whip around the tall grass in the distance. “It was just sex, boredom—nothing.” Everything. It was everything.
“I didn’t know you were engaged.”
“Yes. I had a new job. A really good-paying job.” Turning, I narrow my eyes at Nolan.
He grins.
“A new car. Money in the bank. My dad is in prison, but hey, no one has a flawless life. Then there was Daniel. We were perfect together, or so it seemed at the time. Then I got my diagnosis and that perfection just… shattered.” I still can’t talk about it without emotions stinging my eyes.
“To sum it up, I didn’t want to ruin Daniel’s career, or his life. One was enough. So I said goodbye—forever—and I came here to die. Theo was…” I shake my head. “I don’t know. Something physical I needed at the time. It wasn’t until I found out that I wasn’t going to die—at least not right away—that I realized I…” I press the pad of my finger to the corner of my eye, trapping my tear before it falls.
“You fell in love with him.”
I nod.
