“It’s the truth. You’ve gotten around, and these are your consequences.”
“Helpful.” I glared at her and was about to grab a beer when my phone went off. “Shit, is that her?”
“I don’t know. Are you fourteen? Answer your phone,” Grace said, rolling her eyes and laughing. She picked it up and tossed it to me. “It’s Nora.”
“Shit.”
I sighed and answered. “This is Fritz.”
“Hi, yes. Fritz. I need assistance. I tried your doors, but you didn’t seem to respond.”
“Doors?”
“Yes. Your front and patio door.”
“Stop trying to break into my place, Nora.” I made my eyes bulge out, and Grace and Gilly snorted into their fists. “What’s up? I’m not home.”
“Oh. Okay.”
She sounded sad.Maybe it’s about Anthony’s email.“What’s going on?”
“I’ll video it or something on YouTube. It’s fine.”
“I’m on the phone, just tell me.”
She let out a long, frustrated sigh that had me making a fist at my side because for all the weirdness about her, I felt bad. “I have bills.”
“Most people do,” I said, fighting the urge to laugh. “Price of being an adult.”
“I don’t…I have three. Do I go to the store to pay them?”
Let her struggle. Let her. Let her learn. Don’t offer to help.My mouth didn’t follow my brain’s instructions, and before I could stop myself, I said, “I’ll be back later. I’ll help.”
“Really?”
God, her voice was filled with hope, and I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Yes, I’ll help. I’m with friends, but I’ll be back soon.”
“Thank you, Fritz. Oh, I appreciate this. Okay. I’ll see you soon. Enjoy your friends.”
She hung up, and Gilly had a questioning look on her face. “Princess request your presence?”
Her question shouldn’t have caused me to frown and feel the need to defend Nora. There was no reason to defend her. She was an heiress. And helpless. I shrugged. “Yeah, I’ll head over there in a bit.”
Gilly shared a look with Grace for a second, but I didn’t have time to decipher it before Christopher came back into the house with hamburgers. My stomach growled, and thoughts of Nora left my mind. Most of them, anyway.
She smelledlike mint and flowers, and it wasn’t the worst smell. Her overlarge pink shirt saiddonateon it in a small font, and it hung on her thighs like a dress. Her rainbow bracelets covered her wrists and her pink hair seemed brighter than the last time I saw her, and I couldn’t explain the lightness in my chest when she smiled shyly and led me to her kitchen table. She had four envelopes and a sleek laptop open, and a credit card sat to the right. “Thanks for coming. I, uh, think I got it figured out. I’m not sure.”
“Let’s see.” I sat next to her, and she scooted her chair closer. “What are you wanting to set up?”
“Um, I think paying bills. My parents sent me my phone bill and insisted that I pay for water and electricity here. I haven’t opened the letters yet, but my father walked me through how to use the credit card.”
“What did you do before? When you went out with friends or shopping?”
“It was always taken care of.” She took a breath, and her cheeks flushed. “I don’t know, okay?”
“Okay, that’sdifferent.” I covered my mouth to prevent myself from laughing. Once I settled down, I jutted my chin toward her envelopes. “Let’s open them, and I can show you how to set up autopay. You’ll want to set an alert though to make sure it goes through each month. I used to set up autopay and not touch it for a while, but that can be dangerous.”
“Autopay. Right.” She moved her delicate fingers over the keyboard and stared at me. “What does that mean?”
