“Soon, I hope. I’m stuck in wine country at the moment.”
“There could be worse places,” André said cheerfully.
“I’ll send you a bottle.”
“Come and drink it with us.”
“Or maybe you could come here? If the dirt thing goes well, I might need assistance with a project.”
“A working vacay? I’m tied up for a few weeks, but we’ll make it happen, my sweet.”
“Speak soon, okay?”
“Give my love to Chase. Ciao, darling.”
See? I wasn’t a complete sociopath. I had friends.
But did I feel guilty for fucking with Marielle?
Not even a little bit.
“Chase has gone to pick up dinner. Hardly anywhere delivers around here.”
After meandering around the estate, I’d finally found Nolan cleaning the chicken shed. Since I liked live chickens about as much as I liked dogs, I figured I’d stay well back, but Nolan was slick with sweat, and his T-shirt clung to his abs in all the right places.
One step forward wouldn’t hurt. How fast could a chicken even run?
“I’m nearly done here,” he said.
“Do they always scratch the dirt like that?”
“Yup.”
“You know you could just buy eggs in the grocery store, right?”
“These taste better, and wouldn’t you rather have an egg that’s travelled fifty yards instead of fifty miles?”
“I’d rather have an egg that means I don’t have to clean up chicken poop at six o’clock in the evening.”
“I’ll make you an omelette for breakfast tomorrow, and you’ll change your mind.”
Hmm, I wasn’t convinced, but I did like the idea of Nolan making me breakfast. Kind of like the old days, but both our lives had changed so much since then. In Blackstone House, my wishes had been simple—stay the hell away from my family, make enough money to live, and eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner with Nolan de Luca.
My world was very different now, but I realised my old hopes and dreams hadn’t changed, merely evolved.
Especially when Nolan peeled off his shirt on the walk back to the house.
Years ago, I’d kissed him out of desperation, fearful of being dragged back to California against my will and never seeing him again. I’d had no real plan. I just needed an outlet for a mess of feelings I didn’t understand.
Now?
My feelings were still a mess.
I’d made a new life for myself, a successful one, and that life wasn’t on a glorified farm in California. I hated the great outdoors. I hated staying in one place for more than a couple of weeks.
But I still liked eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner with Nolan de Luca.
And tomorrow would be my last breakfast with him for a while.
