“You’d spend the remainder of your life regretting it.”
“Really? But you should be thanking me for engineering you into a position where you have to talk to a man you’ve been avoiding.”
I scoffed at the suggestion. “I haven’t been avoiding Nolan. I left Blackstone House to avoid being kidnapped by CPS, and then our lives veered in totally different directions.”
“Oh, so you spy on him the way you spy on the rest of us?”
“‘Spy’ is such a strong word.”
“When I went on vacay with a guy, you positioned a satellite over his boat.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Do you know how much of a ballache it is to reposition a satellite? I merely waited for a suitable satellite to pass overhead and directed its surveillance equipment to take a few pictures.”
Jez raised her gaze to the ceiling. “You think that’s better?”
“My so-called spying saved your ass. You should be thanking me for that too.”
“Fine, thanks for measuring the length of Cole’s dick and sending a rescue team. You’re still going to California. What was it you said earlier? Oh, right—it’s okay to push an unwilling woman into a man’s arms just as long as she secretly likes him.”
“No, you said that.”
“And you agreed.”
Because it was convenient at the time. Dammit.
“Can’t you just airfreight me the laptop?” I tried.
“I could. I could also make you choke on dry crackers. Plus you’ll let down Nolan if you don’t go, and he said it would be good to see you.”
“He did? You spoke with him?”
“Brax relayed the message. Did you know Nolan built a couple of guest cottages at the vineyard?”
“Maybe.”
I didn’t snoop, snoop on Nolan, but I did check the Dionysus website every so often. And perhaps I had an alert set up on his name at local hospitals just in case he had an accident. And I also kept an eye on his bank accounts to make sure he didn’t run out of money, but the vineyard was sustaining itself now, although last year hadn’t been as profitable as the one before.
“He’s getting one of them ready for you.”
What if I told Jez about that final night with Nolan? How he’d pushed me away when I needed him most? Would she still make me go?
Probably.
And a part of me was hella curious to see the vineyard. To see the man Nolan had become and the home he’d made for himself. The roots he’d grown, both physically and metaphorically. Could I pretend the past hadn’t affected me as much as it did? He’d clearly moved on, so maybe a trip to the Sierra Nevada would just mean catching up with an old but distant friend, let bygones be bygones, close Pandora’s box and nail the lid shut.
I headed for my desk, for the half-dozen laptops I carried everywhere. Whenever Chase and I hit the road in search of a new adventure, they were the first thing I packed.
“Fine. Fine, I’ll go, but don’t think I’ll forget this. How did you even find me?”
“Simple. Cole and I hung out at the cute little sidewalk café opposite Le Plaisir and waited for Chase to swing by and pick up macarons.”
Another groan. I should’ve gotten that shit delivered.
“Great. Thanks for ruining my favourite food.”
Jez tapped her watch. “The jet’s waiting. Wonder if Nolan has a girlfriend?”
My head snapped around. “What? Does he?”
