Brax laughed. “I’m way past my experimental stage. Talk soon.”
He hung up, leaving Nolan with more questions than answers and a growing sense of frustration. All he wanted to do was make wine and sleep soundly at night, alone and without earplugs.
Marielle reappeared at his elbow. “Where’s my drink?”
“Sorry, I forgot. I’ll get it right now.”
He should have stayed at home.
CHAPTER 16
ALEXA
Down below, Nolan’s vineyard grew bigger and bigger, and I squirmed in my seat. I hadn’t wanted to come, not after his last message, but Chase and Jay both told me not to be a chicken and chartered a helicopter.
I’d replied to the “Ruffles?” message with three question marks, and Nolan had sent me a picture of Marielle dressed like a Gold Rush-era hooker.
Was he mad? Hard to tell, so I’d played it sort of safe.
Me
OMG, I love it! Great shoes
Nolan
Well, she does like to be the center of attention.
Huh. I still wasn’t sure if he was angry, but the first message suggested he’d guessed at my involvement. Chase looked over my shoulder.
“Just own it,” he’d said.
“What if Nolan’s fishing? What if he’s trying to trick me into a confession?”
“Granted, I don’t know him the way you do, but he doesn’t strike me as that kind of guy. Nolan’s straightforward. And I’m also not convinced he’s even involved with Marielle, not that way.”
“He was at a party with her last night. The party where she accepted the invite for both of them.”
“I’m just saying.”
“What are you just saying?”
“That he doesn’t look at her the way a man would look at the love of their life.”
“And how is that, exactly?”
“The way Cole looks at Jezebel. The way Marcel looks at Bottega Veneta boots. The way Dusk looks at that hot movie star she used to date before she changes the channel.”
I wanted to believe Chase, I did. But I’d suffered too many disappointments to snatch at his thread of optimism. And whatever, I wanted Marielle out of Nolan’s life. Spending time around a narcissist never left anyone with a happy ending.
Which was why I was currently sitting on the helicopter, my head resting against the vibrating window in the hope it might unscramble my thoughts before we landed. Because Nolan’s last message had sent me into a tailspin. It had dropped into my inbox this morning, after I told him we’d be arriving at lunchtime.
One line of “gotcha.”
Nolan
Do you want one room or two?
How did he know? Why would he even suspect Chase and I weren’t a couple? Chase had played his part perfectly, the way he always did.
