Chapter 20
Claire
About an hour later, Nick finally replied to my text.
“I have to work late tonight.”
“Oh, okay. When you get off, come over.”
“I’m just going home and straight to bed. It’s been a crazy day in the ER.”
I furrowed my brows as I read his message.
“Okay. Tomorrow?”I asked.
“We’ll see. I have to go.”
I sighed as I set my phone down. Something was off with him. I could tell by his messages. It was six o’clock when my phone rang, and Sam called me.
“Hi, Sam.”
“Hey. Are you busy?”
“Just sitting on my couch watching Netflix.”
“Can you come over? I finished the plans for the house.”
“Already?” I asked with surprise.
He chuckled. “Family takes priority.”
“I’m on my way.”
I slipped on my shoes, grabbed my purse, and left my apartment. I knocked on the front door of Sam’s house. Julia answered, grabbed my hand, and pulled me inside.
“We don’t knock around here.” She hugged me. “You just walk in.”
“My wife is right.” Sam smiled, kissing my cheek. “We have rules on this beach. You’ll get to know them quickly. Come on. I’ll show you what I did.”
I followed him into the kitchen, where he had the plans laid out on the table.
“Oh my gosh, Sam. This is incredible. It’s exactly how I pictured it.” I grinned.
“I’m happy to hear that, sis.” He hooked his arm around me.
“Now, the important part. How much?” I asked, glancing at him.
“You don’t need to worry about that.”
“Excuse me?” My brow arched.
The sliding door opened, and Shaun walked in.
“Well, what do you think?” He smiled at me.
“It’s gorgeous. I love it. Now, Sam, give me the final cost.”
“You don’t need to worry about that,” Shaun said as he walked over and studied the plans. “Sterling Capital is taking care of it.”
“What?” My brows furrowed. “Absolutely not.”
“Absolutely so,” he said. “You stole that house out from under me.” A smirk crossed his lips. “And you work for me. I take care of my family and employees.”
“You don’t remodel their homes for them.” I narrowed my eyes.
“How do you know that?” His brow arched.
“Fine. I’ll call Selena and ask.” I reached into my purse and grabbed my phone.
“Uh, no. Don’t do that.” Shaun grabbed my phone from my hand.
“Just as I thought,” I said. “I have plenty of money to afford this remodel. I am not letting you take care of the cost, Shaun.”
“You don’t have a choice, little sister. It’s done, and that’s how it’s going to stay. One thing you should know about me is that the only person I let argue with me is my wife.”
“Shaun.” I cocked my head.
“Claire,” he spoke with seriousness.
“Shaun, I?—”
He put his hand up. “Discussion over. Sterling Capital is covering the remodel cost.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
“A simple thank you will do.” He smiled.
I wrapped my arms around him. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” His grip around me tightened.
“Stefan hired a special crew for the house,” Sam said. “I spoke with Raphael earlier, and they’ll be out of the house on Saturday. We’ll get our workers in there first thing Monday morning.”
“What timeframe are we looking at?” I asked.
“About a month.”
“That quickly?” My brows furrowed. “We’re talking major renovations.”
Sam chuckled. “Never underestimate Kind Design and Architecture. It will be done within a month. Stefan wanted to be here, but he’s at Lily’s soccer game. He told me to tell you to start picking out all the flooring and fixtures for the entire home as soon as possible.”
“Oh my gosh. Where do I start?” I asked.
“Talk to Ava. She’ll help you out.” He smiled.
“Right.” I grinned. “I’ll do that.”
“Now that everything is settled, let’s go down to the beach for a beer,” Shaun said. “Where’s Nick tonight?”
“Apparently, he’s working. I don’t really know.” I sighed.
“Is everything okay?” Julia asked.
“I don’t know. I texted him earlier about dinner, and he said he was working. So, I asked him to come over after work, and he said he was tired and going home to bed. Something was off in his text messages.”
“You haven’t told him yet, have you?” Shaun asked.
“No. I was going to tell him everything tonight.”
“The sooner, the better. Trust me. Come on. Join us down at the beach.” He smiled.
Sam grabbed a couple of beers from the fridge and handed me one. We went down to the beach where Simon, Conner, Nathan, and Carter sat.
“Congratulations on the new job.” Carter smiled when I sat down.
“Thank you. I’m very excited.”
“It’ll be great having you at the office every day,” he said.
“Hey, everyone.” Sebastian walked over and joined us. “Hey, Claire.” He smiled.
“Hi, Sebastian.”
“As I was leaving the brewhouse, I saw Nick sitting at the bar. I’m surprised you two aren’t seeing each other tonight.”
“Really? He was there?” My brows furrowed.
“Yeah. I only spoke to him briefly because I had to get home.”
“Oh.” I tipped the bottle to my lips.
“What’s wrong?” Simon asked.
“He told me he was working tonight.”
“Oh boy,” he said. “Maybe his shift got cut short.”
“Or he just lied. He wouldn’t be the first guy to lie to me. This is the exact reason why I do not sleep with the same guy more than once, maybe twice,” I voiced with irritation. “It isn’t fucking worth the aggravation.”
“So, I take it there was no boyfriend back in Connecticut?” Simon asked.
“No. I haven’t had a boyfriend since I was seventeen.”
“What?” Sam chuckled. “That’s impossible. You’re a beautiful woman.”
“It is possible when I choose to avoid relationships at all costs.”
“She really is a Kind,” Sebastian smirked.
“Thanks for the beer,” I said, standing up from my chair. “I’m heading home.”
When I pulled into the parking lot of my apartment building, I saw Nick’s car. I stopped at his apartment door, and as I went to knock, I stopped myself, unlocked my door, and stepped inside.
Nick
I heard her door shut as I sat on the couch, scrolling on my phone. As much as I wanted to go over to her place and ask her why she never told me about her brothers or the house she bought, I decided not to. She’d give some lame excuse, and I wasn’t in the mood to hear it. I had trust issues as it was because of Katrina. Maybe Claire had her reasons. But I thought we were close enough that she wouldn’t keep something like that from me unless she used me to get closer to them. The more I thought about it, the more I had to know.
Getting up from the couch, I walked over and knocked on her door.