Technically no, but he wasn’t about to argue. Instead, he gritted his teeth as a wave of something rolled through him. Apprehension? Dread?
Excitement?
“I didn’t realise the two of you were still friends.”
“Right now, I don’t much like her, but we work together on occasion.”
“Well, nobody else is getting out of the helicopter.”
“Because you have a dog, and Alexa’s terrified of dogs.”
Fuck. Somehow, Nolan had shoved that little tidbit to the back of his mind.
“What, still?”
“Remember those scars from where she got bit? Well, they haven’t gone away.”
He closed his eyes for a moment, recalling the night Alexa had tornadoed into Blackstone House and turned everyone’s lives upside down. She might have been a waif, but she had a big personality and a stubborn streak that made him want to tear out his hair at times. She’d been scared, clutching her backpack like a shield, and it had been Ruby who’d taken her to the bathroom to clean up, who’d found her a pair of drawstring pants she could cinch in at the waist and an oversized sweater. Ruby who’d discovered the dirty bandage wrapped around her calf and the weeping bite marks underneath. Some asshole had set their dog on her for fun and laughed as she screamed.
Fuck.
“I’ll put Juno in the house.”
“Make sure the mutt stays away from Alexa.”
“She’s friendly.”
“She’d better be well-trained and understand the word ‘leave.’”
“Yeah, she understands ‘leave.’” But only when it applied to chickens and horses. Cats were iffy. Humans? She just wanted to be their best bud, except for Marielle. Juno had never warmed to the woman. “Hey, girl. Let’s go get you a treat.”
By the time Nolan made it back to the helicopter, the rotors were still, and two men were lifting suitcases onto the ground. What the…? Who were these guys? He blinked a couple of times in the hope he’d wake up and find Jerry was just a figment of his nightmares, but no, she was still there. He caught her eye and raised a brow.
“Cole’s with me, Chase is with Alexa,” she supplied. “Where should we put the bags?”
Like, with her, with her? Nolan had met Chase a time or two at Brax’s get-togethers, but the man had always introduced himself as Alexa’s “representative” and remained tight-lipped about their relationship. He was her boyfriend? The news should have come as a relief, but instead of the weight rolling off Nolan’s shoulders, it careened around in his chest and then settled in his gut. Who the fuck was brave enough to date Alexa? Or Jerry, for that matter?
“Oh, really? How did you and Cole meet?”
“I picked him up in the hotel bar after Brax’s wedding.”
“You went to that?”
Nolan hadn’t gotten an invite. Brax told him the wedding had basically been an elopement, organised at the last minute as a fuck-you to Indi’s controlling parents.
“There was free food. The bags?”
“In the cottage there.” Nolan pointed to the open door, then curiosity got the better of him. “What’s Brax’s new wife like?”
“Surprisingly tolerable.”
“I thought he’d never manage to get rid of Carissa.”
“She finally slithered back under her rock. Okay, so the rock is actually a crystal chandelier in a New York apartment that she absolutely doesn’t deserve, but Brax was happy with the deal.”
Nolan swallowed hard. “And Alexa?”
“She didn’t think Carissa deserved the apartment either.”
