Chapter 17
NOLAN
It’s later than I planned when I finally pull into the driveway, but hell if I’m not excited to see Bree.
I barely got to talk to her after the website presentation earlier today, before she took Kat in search of a moose, and I was locked in with the crew preparing the presentation for our potential investor tomorrow.
But Blakely promised me she’d drop Bree off once the elusive moose was spotted and captured on camera.
Gary whimpers from the front seat, seemingly concerned.
“Don’t worry, boy. I’ll share her.”
He looks at me, as though annoyed.
“Okay, fine. You can have her first. But once you fall asleep, she’s all mine.” I’ve been anticipating this night for hours. There is no website for Bree to work on. No reason for her to leave my bed until morning.
But when I step inside, the house is eerily empty.
I’ll admit, I haven’t really gotten around to making this place feel like a real home, but it holds a special kind of quiet that warns me something is wrong.
Very wrong.
“Bree?” I call out, searching each room for any trace of her, hoping she’s still out with the girls or maybe outside enjoying the view in some quiet nook I didn’t see when I pulled up.
But my search turns up…nothing. Not a stray sock, a pair of purple panties, or even the towel she used this morning.
The only trace that Bree was ever in my house at all are the purple glasses on the floor next to my desk. I bend to pick them up, and Gary nudges me in the arm.
“What is it, boy?”
He drops a piece of paper at my feet, and I go stiff instantly.
It’s the wedding invitation, from a marriage that was supposed to take place yesterday.
One I kept in the sofa table drawer as a reminder to keep my heart guarded.
Fuck, does Bree think I’m still in love with Chantel?
Or worse, does she think I’m hiding a fiancé from her?
Panicked, I call Jasper.
“You forget something for tomorrow?” he asks.
“Is Bree with your mom?”
“No, why—”
“Is Kat still at your mom’s?”
“She didn’t tell you, did she?” Vanessa’s voice comes on the line, the gentle compassion enough to buckle my knees. “They changed their flight. They leave in half an hour.”
Thirty minutes.
Fuck me. That’s how long it’ll take me to get to the airport. For the first time since I bought this place, I’m second guessing the wisdom of being so far from everything.
“Nolan?” Jasper says.
“Yeah?”
“This is not a drill.”