Chapter 16
Nolan couldn’t sleep. He suspected it had something to do with the blonde residing next door. After pizza and a movie, he came back to his place. If he stayed another second, he would have had her beneath him again, and this time, there wouldn’t have been a pizza delivery to stop them.
He kicked his legs over the bed, accepting that he wasn’t getting to sleep anytime soon, and ran a hand over his face. What the hell had he been thinking? He hadn’t been, that was the problem. Whenever he was around Isla, all brain function went out the damn window.
She made it so hard to hate her, to even be mad at her. She was pure light, and like a moth, he was attracted to her. He didn’t care if she’d burned him before, not when everything about her was drawing him in.
Needing to get her off his mind, he reached for his cellphone. His eye instantly went to the notification indicating he had new text messages. He hadn’t looked at his phone since before he’d gone to Isla’s, and it had been freeing, after constantly being on it for work.
He opened the texts, surprised to see two of the three were from George. He’d thought when George called him the other day it had been an accident, but maybe it wasn’t. He should delete the texts without even reading them, but curiosity got the better of him. He opened the text.
Hey. Can you let me know where you kept the files for the Bristal account?
Nolan shook his head. He went over this with his replacement. He kept all of his files in alphabetized folders on the network. If they couldn’t find that folder, then how were they getting any work done? Unless they were working on all new clients, but the chances of that were slim to none.
He clicked into the next text.
The PDF for the Dunkerman contract is password protected. Can you please send the password when you get a moment?
Unbelievable. Nolan gave the moron the password and told him to write it down.
The desire to toss his phone on the nightstand was strong, but George had given him a chance all those years ago. He didn’t owe him anything, but Nolan also couldn’t not help the guy who had at one point in time had been his mentor, so he sent him a quick text, letting him know where to find the files and added a snide remark about how his nephew was given all this information and should have written it down.
“Idiot,” Nolan said as he stood and put his phone on the nightstand. “This is the guy that got my promotion.” Annoyed, he headed out of the bedroom and to the kitchen. He grabbed a beer out of the fridge, hoping the alcohol would at least make him tired enough to get a few hours in.
He sat on the couch and turned the TV on. There was nothing on at one in the morning except for a bunch of infomercials for things he would never buy. He flipped through the channels and stopped on the weather channel when a picture of a hurricane on the map caught his attention.
“The National Hurricane Center is expecting an area of pressure to emerge over the next few days that can lead to a potential hurricane watch for the New York area. Stay tuned for the latest updates.”
“A hurricane,” he said to himself. “Why not? Seems fitting.” He clicked the TV over to some infomercial about a foldable ladder and sunk into the couch.
He awoke to an insistent knocking. He blinked a few times, realizing he was still on the couch, and looked at the time. It was nine in the morning. He needed to get back on a schedule before he made sleeping in a habit.
Still in nothing more than his boxer briefs, he went to the door. If someone was going to knock on his door before ten, they deserved what they got. He opened the door and Isla’s mouth opened wide, then snapped shut. Her eyes drifted up from his stomach to his face.
“Do you own clothes?” she asked. “I know you quit your job, but surely you have some money to keep yourself covered.”
“You know I sleep in my underwear.”
“Yes, but it’s nine in the morning.”
“Not all of us are bright eyed and bushy-tailed first thing.”
“You used to take the train to Penn at six in the morning, so who are you fooling?”
He ran a hand through his hair. “Is there a reason for the early morning house call?”
Her teeth slid over her bottom lip and tugged at the pink flesh. “I was wondering if you’d want to go get the sheetrock today. If you have plans, it’s totally fine, but the hole is making me sad, and well… I just thought if you weren’t busy, maybe you wouldn’t mind.”
He held his hand up, cutting her off. “I don’t mind.”
Her eyes lit up. “You don’t?”
“Can you give me twenty minutes so I can grab a shower and put some clothes on?”
“Well, I wasn’t expecting you to go like that.” She waved a hand at him. “Besides, all the stores have a no shirt, no service policy.”
“What about the rumor mill?” he asked.
“What about it?”
“I don’t know… last night you were freaking out that Hal was going to tell the entire town, and you wanted to go over a script on how to handle it.”
She shrugged. “I’m okay with them talking.”
“Since when?”
“Since I can’t stop staring at the god-awful hole in the wall. I don’t think my grandma would have let it go unfixed for long, and I’d like to follow in her footsteps with maintaining the house.”
“I’ll go change.”
“Perfect! And I’ll drive. Your matchbox car isn’t going to be big enough for what we need.”
“I’ll make sure to grab my helmet and knee pads.”
“Very funny. I’ll see you in twenty minutes.” She moved down the porch steps like a brush of wind that showed up just long enough to satisfy before leaving.
He hurried to shower and was out the door with a minute to spare. Isla leaned against a familiar truck; long legs sticking out of jean shorts. A navy tank top dipped low enough to remind him of what could have happened last night if the pizza didn’t show up.
She pushed off the old truck that belonged to her grandmother as he made his way across his yard to hers. “You forgot your helmet and knee pads,” she said.
“I thought I’d take my chances. Holding out hope you’ve improved in the last three years.” He nodded at the old Bronco that Mrs. Garrick used to drive onto the beach with. “Where has this been hiding out?”
“In the garage. I figured it would hold a lot more than my car can.”
“At least if you hit something, we should be okay.”
“I’m not going to hit anything.”
“We’ll see.” He went to get in the truck and stopped. “I thought you went back to work today.”
“I didn’t want to, but I asked for the morning off, so I could get this out of the way.” Isla always had a one-track mind. Until the wall was fixed, she wouldn’t stop thinking about it.
“You’re giving us a lot of credit if you think we’ll be able to buy it, cut it, and hang it before you have to go in.”
“I thought about that. But even if I just have the sheetrock and know it’s there, ready to be put up, I’ll be happy.”
“You didn’t have to take time off of work. I could’ve gone and picked up the supplies for you.”
“We already decided that nothing will fit in that car of yours.”
“You could’ve lent me the keys to this.” He patted the old metal. “It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve driven it.” Living next door to Mrs. Garrick, Nolan used to help her out whenever she needed, which included driving to the store to pick up mulch for the yard or taking the truck for a test spin after he helped give it a tune up. Mrs. Garrick also lent him the keys when he had a special date planned for Isla and his old Honda decided to blow the head gasket a few hours before. They also made good use of the backseat that night.
His eyes drifted to that very spot, and vivid memories flooded his mind. A smile curved his lips, and Isla cleared her throat.
“It’s already done,” she said.
“Okay. Let’s go then.”
In the truck, Nolan grabbed his seatbelt and made a show of buckling it into place.
Isla rolled her eyes. “Very funny.”
He lifted his hands in front of him. “Just being safe.”
“Don’t tempt me to hit a tree.”
“You wouldn’t.”
“You’re right. I couldn’t hurt the truck.”
He’d missed this —t he back-and-forth fun banter that came so naturally with her. He’d been so caught up in work, he barely had time to even make new friends in Seattle. Being back in Morgan’s Bay, he wondered if he did have a chance, if any of the people he met would have been able to hold a candle to Isla. She had not only been his first love, but she’d also been his best friend. They just connected on a level that he never could explain, and no one else got him the way she did.
“What are you thinking about?” she asked.
“Why do you think I’m thinking about anything?”
“Whenever you’re overthinking or are in deep thought about something, your brow furrows.”
“Is that so?”
She nodded, a smug look crossing her pretty features. “Yup. And we’re getting old so you better stop it or you’ll wind up with wrinkles.”
He barked out a laugh. “Wrinkles don’t bother me. Besides, they make men look more refined.”
“Keep telling yourself that. So, what are you thinking about? Work?”
“You, actually.”
Her eyes widened for a split second. “Oh. About what? How I’m ragging you out of the house to buy sheetrock?”
“Not quite. I was thinking about how you know me better than anyone else. Funny that you just proved that point. I didn’t even know my brow furrows when I’m thinking.”
“It’s not like it’s not hard to pick up on. You do it all the time.”
“Maybe you’re just the only person who cares to notice when I have something on my mind.”
“Maybe.” She pulled into the big box store a few towns over and put the truck in park. “You survived.”
“It was a bit touch and go there for a minute.”
“What are you talking about? I drove like the perfect driver the entire way here.”
“There was that car you cut off when getting onto the highway.”
She let out an exaggerated groan. “The guy was pacing me. What was I supposed to do? Run out of runway and drive down the shoulder? He gave me no choice.”
“I was kidding.”
Her eyes narrowed into two annoyed slits. “I hate you sometimes.” The glint in her blue eyes told him she was kidding.
They got out of the car and headed into the store. She moved slower than usual, and he remembered the glass she’d stepped on last night. His mind had been occupied with thoughts of her mouth and the feel of her body beneath him that he’d forgotten what led them there to begin with.
“Foot still bothering you?” he asked.
“Just when I first start walking on it. I took an anti-inflammatory; it helped. I had to change the Band-Aid this morning. I bled right through it, but it’s stopped.”
“I should have wrapped it better.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. You did more than enough. Besides, I was the one who broke the glass in the first place. My grandma used to always say that one day my clumsiness would take me out.”
“Nah, it’ll take a lot more than that to knock you down.”
“Says the man who wanted to wear protective gear just to get in the car with me.”
“Valid point.”
They walked through the store and grabbed what they needed. Isla had no idea what she was looking at, which made Nolan laugh. She’d be a fish out of water if he wasn’t here with her. She paid for the supplies, and they got in the truck and headed home.
He helped her carry the stuff inside, and she pointed to a corner. “You can just leave it there for now.” She looked at her phone. “I really need to get down to the shop. I thought I’d have more time.”
“Go, and if you want, I can get started.”
“I couldn’t ask that of you.”
“I have nothing better to do.”
“Sure, you do. It’s summer in Morgan’s Bay. You can go to the beach. Go have a drink with Connor down at McConnell’s. Anything but this.” She motioned to the hole in the wall.
He wanted to have a good old-fashioned summer. The kind he used to have before work became his life, but he didn’t mind staying in and getting his hands dirty. It gave him purpose and something to accomplish. The beach wasn’t going anywhere, and for the time being neither was he. “I want to.”
“I should argue with you.”
“But you won’t because you want it done. I know it’s driving you crazy.”
She sighed. “It really is.”
“Let me do this for you.”
“I’m going to owe you more than a couple slices of pizza.”
“I like pizza… especially New York pizza.”
“You sure you’re okay with this? You’re not going to resent me in twenty years for wasting your time when you could’ve been at the beach, enjoying life instead of being stuck fixing up an old house?”
“Where do you even get these thoughts?”
She pointed to her head. “It’s a constant movie reel up there. Most people would probably be exhausted if they got a peek inside.”
“I assure you I won’t resent you in twenty years. Now go, so I can get to work.”
She kissed his cheek and ran out the door, leaving him to wonder if this is what his life could’ve been if he didn’t leave.
If so… he’d made the wrong choice.