Chapter 14
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Vanessa
I was finally forced to leave my room when it was clear my stomach wasn't going to stop growling and demanding that I feed it.
By the time I made it down the stairs and into the kitchen, I found Nolen at the sink, washing the dishes.
"You don't have to do that. I have a dishwasher."
"It's fine. I needed something to keep me busy."
Guilt gnawed at my already empty stomach. I had selfishly hid in my room after a nice evening with Nolen because I was too consumed with finding out who B. Feather was.
"Is that French toast I smell?" My mouth was watering at the thought of French toast.
"It is. I made plenty, so dig in."
I uncovered the plate on the island and found that they were still warm.
"It's almost eleven o'clock. How are these still warm?"
"I made some fresh when I heard you moving around upstairs. I figured you haven't eaten since last night and were probably starving."
Damn this man for being so thoughtful. At this rate I was going to be falling in love in no time.
You don't have time for love.
The little voice in my head reminded me. And it was right. I absolutely didn't have time for love, at the moment, which really sucked because I could easily see myself falling for Nolen.
"Has anyone ever told you how sweet you are?"
Nolen snickered. "I don't think anyone has ever said that."
How was that possible? There had to be someone in his past who appreciated his level of generosity. I had only known him for a few short months, and even I could see it.
Nolen handed me a plate, fork, and the syrup. Only further showing how kind he was.
"So no long-term girlfriend who told you that?"
Was I fishing about his past? Absolutely.
Did I care if he noticed? Not at all.
"A little hard to have someone in my life full-time when I was married to the Marines."
Oh right. Valerie had mentioned that all the guys at Willow Creek Security had retired from the Marines before they moved to town.
"Plenty of people in the military get married."
"I'm sure they do, but it just never worked out for me. I could never find a woman who understood my need to leave on a whim when called upon."
That made sense. It was a little sad, but it made sense.
"And now? You've been in the States for some time."
Yup I was definitely fishing and not even hiding it.
"I guess I haven't found anyone worth my time just yet."
Well, ouch. I mean I hadn't expected him to wax poems, but I thought maybe we had some kind of connection.
Or it's all in your head.
I really hated that my self-doubt was rearing its ugly head. It was one of the things I was working on with my therapist, but clearly it was still a work in progress.
"These are fantastic, by the way." I took another big bite and practically moaned at how good they were.
"You probably shouldn't make those kind of noises while you eat."
I stopped midchew to glance up at him and instantly regretted it. I had been wrong. So wrong. There was no mistaking the heat in his gaze as his eyes locked on my mouth.
I was suddenly self-conscious as I put my hand over my mouth to continue chewing.
"You really don't think that's going to help, do you?"
Well, I had thought it would. With a very audible gulp, I swallowed the piece of French toast.
"I mean…"
Nolen chuckled. "Covering your mouth does nothing to erase the sound of you moaning while you eat."
"You're making this weird." He was making me hot and bothered was more like it, but I couldn't tell him that.
"Okay, I won't mention it again but just know moaning in front of a man who hasn't had sex in a long time never ends well. You're just lucky your ribs are broken."
That turned intense awfully fast. But also left me intrigued.
"Why exactly haven't you had sex in awhile?" Hell, if he was able to ask me, then it was fair game for me to ask him. Plus it would seem like all social norms between us were being thrown out the window at this rate.
Nolen sighed. "You get to a point in your life where meaningless sex is no longer worth it. I got to that point a couple of years ago and was never able to get back into it."
That completely changed my outlook of the male species. In my twenties, men had made it seem like they would die without sex. Maybe it was just a maturity thing because Nolen didn't appear to be the least bit bothered by not having sex.
I continued to eat my French toast in silence while Nolen went back to washing the dishes. It was the comfortable kind of silence that only two people who had spent enough time together would have, so it was weird that Nolen and I got to this place so quickly.
Of course it didn't last long. One minute the kitchen was quiet with just the sound of running water, and the next, my phone was blaring with an incoming call.
One look at the screen, and my stomach dropped. The French toast that just moments ago tasted so good suddenly felt like lead.
"Hello?" I answered on the second ring. I didn't know which would be the better scenario. My sister calling to tell me she was being threatened again or one of the nurses calling to say something was up.
As it turned out, it was Nurse Sarah, and she didn't have good news for me.