Oh, how wrong I was.
CHAPTER 17
NOLAN
Apparently, Chase hadn’t been kidding about Grindr. But before he left to meet a nameless friend for an evening of no-strings fun, he made reservations for Nolan and Alexa at Sanguine. Oh, and he’d warned Nolan that if he hurt Alexa in any way, he’d regret it later.
At first, Nolan had been offended because there was no way he’d harm a hair on her head, and he didn’t intend to press her on her past again either. But he was also relieved that Alexa had someone else looking out for her.
Sanguine was the type of restaurant the locals dressed up to visit, but Alexa jogged down the stairs in leggings, sneakers, and a loose sweater, with an oversized tote slung over her shoulder. When Nolan mentioned changing out of his jeans, she asked, “Why?”
“Because…” Because even though Chase had booked the table, going out for dinner still felt kind of date-ish. But he couldn’t explain that because Alexa hadn’t said anything about a date, only friendship, and he didn’t want to send her running. “Because Sanguine is the fanciest restaurant in the area, and I figured a shirt with a collar would be appropriate.”
“Well, I’m going like this.”
Lisanne had always changed her outfit at least twice before they ate at Sanguine, and Marielle wouldn’t go anywhere without a full face of make-up. This evening, Alexa’s single-mindedness was actually refreshing.
“You want me to change?”
“That’s your decision.”
Nolan had quickly learned that when Lisanne said that, she meant, “You’d damn well better, buddy.” But in some ways, Alexa was incredibly straightforward, and this was one of them. People might judge his attire, but when he walked into the restaurant with Alexa, who looked stunning in an ingénue way and also came from out of town, tongues would wag no matter what.
“Let’s go.”
Dinner would be a welcome distraction from the day he’d just had. First, Alexa’s revelations about her childhood had knocked him for six, and then Teo had walked him up the hill to show him the latest disaster—a row of Syrah vines, reduced to sticks. And how it had happened was a mystery. Nolan suspected the Hayes boys of messing around on the ATV they’d gotten last Christmas, but there weren’t any visible tyre tracks, so it was hard to go steaming over there with accusations. Teo thought the most likely culprit was a black bear, but again, no tracks, and nobody had seen a bear recently either. Another possibility was a wild pig.
After the vine issue, he’d spoken with Marielle in an attempt to refocus her efforts on the second guest cottage instead of his en-suite. The request hadn’t gone down well.
“But I thought we agreed that I’d be responsible for the creative direction,” she complained.
“We did, but the original project didn’t include my bathroom, only the tasting rooms, the kitchen, the cottages, and a few cosmetic changes in the guest wing. We’re having…” What did Brax call it? “We’re having scope creep.”
And Nolan no longer cared about moving back to his room, not now that he knew the truth about Alexa and Chase. He liked having her next door, and just in case any motherfucker tried to screw with her again, he’d dug the box of ammo out from the depths of his closet, loaded his revolver, and tucked it into the nightstand. He wasn’t certain he could hit anything, but the threat ought to be enough, right?
“You call it scope creep, I call it investing in our future,” Marielle said.
Nolan’s blood ran cold. “Our future?”
“Come on, you know how I feel. I understand men hate commitment, so I’ve given you space, but you can’t stay a bachelor all your life.”
“I’m not saying I will, but?—”
“So you need more time?”
“I just don’t see a long-term future for us. It’s not you, it’s me, and I’m sorry.”
Her eyes darkened. He didn’t know how else to describe it—they went from teak to a buckeye brown, and the change was accompanied by a scowl.
“It’s her, isn’t it?”
Absolutely, but in that moment, Nolan felt Marielle’s anger, and he didn’t want it directed at Alexa. Plus he wasn’t certain Alexa was even looking for that type of relationship. Yes, she’d tried to kiss him, but that was years ago, and after today’s confession, he’d understand if she never wanted a man to touch her again.
Better to give Marielle time to cool off, plus he needed her to finish the damn decorating. Then there was the contract they’d signed… In the beginning, she’d explained that after being stiffed by one too many clients, she now insisted on a watertight agreement to protect herself. She asked for stage payments, and if a client cancelled a project after the first milestone had been met, the full amount became payable because by then, she would have ordered the materials and turned down other projects that could have filled the time. That had sounded reasonable, but now Nolan was having regrets. He was also beginning to understand why some customers might cancel projects partway through.
“If you mean Alexa, she’s an old friend I’ve known for over a decade.”
“Oh, sure, she just happens to come on the scene and suddenly I’m cast aside.”
