Nora
“Have you seen Miles?” I asked Lucy at the end of the night when I realized I hadn’t spotted him in a while.
The reception was starting to wind down. The cake had been cut, the bouquet had been thrown—which Lucy managed to catch—and the dance floor had slowly thinned out after a few final songs.
I’d even had my promised dance with Theo.
Which had been… really nice.
“I thought I saw him talking to Alessi a little while ago,” Lucy said, furrowing her brow as she scanned the lawn where the reception had been set up. “He and Alessi looked like they were arguing about something.”
“I saw that,” I said. I’d caught a glimpse of them during my dance with Theo, both of them leaning toward each other in what had definitely looked like a heated exchange. Those two were always either squabbling or thick as thieves. There never seemed to be an in-between with them.
“I think I saw Miles go inside the building after that,” Owen added from Lucy’s side. “But I thought he was just going to the bathroom or something.” He glanced toward the stone building behind us. “Do you think he left?”
“I don’t know,” I said, a small knot forming in my stomach.
He wouldn’t just leave me here… would he?
I sighed. “I guess I’ll go see if I can find him in there.”
I gave Lucy and Owen quick hugs before heading toward the building, clutching my purse with my new phone tucked safely inside.
Hopefully, my fake boyfriend was somewhere around here.
The building was much quieter than the lawn outside. Only a handful of people lingered near the bar and along the hallway.
Theo stood off to the side, talking with a middle-aged couple. When he noticed me walking through, his brow furrowed slightly, like he could tell something was off. But I just gave him a quick wave and kept moving.
I checked the hallway outside the bathrooms first.
No sign of Miles.
Maybe he was inside?
But when I stepped into the men’s restroom entrance and called, “Miles, are you in there?” there was no answer.
Okay, then.
I slipped into the women’s restroom to use it before heading back outside.
But as soon as I closed the stall door, I heard someone sniffle quietly in the stall next to mine like they’d been crying. My gaze drifted downward, and I immediately recognized the sparkly gold wedges visible beneath the divider.
They were Alessi’s wedges.
I’d noticed them earlier because they were so cute.
Why was Alessi crying in the bathroom?
The toilet beside me flushed, so I hurried to finish before stepping out to wash my hands.
Alessi was already standing at the sink, pumping soap into her palms. When she looked up, I caught her reflection in the mirror.
Her eyes were slightly red.
So, yeah. She had definitely been crying.
“What’s wrong?” I asked gently.
She gave a small, shaky laugh, clearly still recovering from whatever had upset her.
“Oh, nothing,” she said. “I’m just… I don’t know. I’m in a weird headspace today.”
“Oh,” I said softly. “I’m sorry.”
I dried my hands and then stepped forward, wrapping her in a quick hug. After a moment, I asked, “I saw you and Miles arguing earlier. Does it have anything to do with that?”
Alessi let out a long sigh. “Yeah… I guess.”
“Want to talk about it?”
“Not really.” She shook her head almost immediately, pulling back from the hug. “It’s dumb.”
“Okay,” I said, studying her face for a second. I didn’t want to push if she didn’t want to talk.
Then, wanting to lighten the mood a little, I took in Alessi’s dress again. “You look really hot tonight, by the way.” I glanced down at her feet. “And those shoes are fabulous.”
That earned a small smile from her.
“Thanks,” she said, looking down at the sparkly wedges. “I probably spent way too much money on them.”
“I’ve definitely done that before,” I said with a small chuckle. “Although my weakness is usually cute athletic sets.”
Alessi laughed softly and wiped at the corner of her eyes, then leaned closer to the mirror to check if her makeup still looked okay.
“Well,” I said after a moment, “I should probably go. I’m trying to track down Miles since he’s my ride.”
“Oh.” Alessi hesitated, biting her lip. “I think he left.”
My brows lifted. “He… left?”
“Yeah,” she said, looking a little guilty. “Sorry if I ruined your date. That argument earlier was kind of my fault. You two looked like you were having fun.”
“It’s okay,” I said quickly, waving the thought away. “We were just putting on a show for someone anyway.”
“What?” Alessi looked at me, confused.
I gave a small laugh. “Miles only asked me because he needed someone to be his fake girlfriend tonight. Apparently, he wanted to make someone jealous.”
“Really?” Alessi’s expression flickered for just a second before she looked down at the sink. “Do you know who he was trying to make jealous?”
I shrugged. “He didn’t tell me. Just someone who was supposed to be here.”
“Oh,” she said quietly.
Something about the way she said it felt strange. But before I could think too hard about it, I sighed and grabbed my clutch. “Well, I think Theo’s still here, and I’m staying at his place tonight, anyway, so I’ll just see if I can catch a ride with him.”
Alessi nodded. “Sorry again about chasing Miles off.”
“It’s okay. Apparently, he’s got a lot going on that we don’t know about.”
We said our goodbyes, and I headed back out into the hallway.
I was just turning the corner when I spotted Theo sitting in one of the chairs along the wall, looking down at something on his phone. Like he’d been waiting for someone.
Had he been waiting for me?
He glanced up when he heard my heels and immediately tucked his phone into his pocket.
“Need a ride?” he asked.
I let out a breath. “Pretty sure Miles ditched me, so… yeah.”
Theo stood. Slipping his arm behind me, he said, “Come on. Let’s get out of here.”
Theo and I walked out toward the parking lot where his Volvo was parked beneath a tall lamp post. Once we were inside the car, I said, “Thanks for offering me a ride.”
“I’m happy to help.” He chuckled as he started the engine. “Considering we’re literally going to the same place.”
“Yeah… about that.” I looked down at my hands in my lap, remembering what Ky had offered earlier. “I should probably get a hotel tonight. Ky said he’d pay for one.”
“You want to get a hotel this late?” Theo shot me a look like I’d just suggested something completely ridiculous.
“Well…” I hesitated. “You’ve already been so generous today. I don’t want to take advantage of your kindness.”
“You’re not taking advantage of me, Nora,” he said easily. “If anything, I still owe you for stepping in to watch Charlotte when I needed help. Entertaining a three-year-old all day isn’t exactly light work.”
“You gave me a job,” I said with a small laugh. “I’m the one who should be thanking you.”
“Fine,” he said, pulling out of the parking lot.
“Our arrangement is mutually beneficial.” He glanced over at me again.
“But do you really want to live in a hotel for a while? Because from where I’m sitting, you’re basically at my house all the time, anyway.
It doesn’t make much sense for you to find somewhere else.
” He shrugged one shoulder. “And you might as well save yourself—or your brother—the rent money.”
“Are you sure?” I asked quietly. “I don’t want to be a burden.”
“You’re far from a burden,” he said, his voice firm but gentle. “And if you lived there, you wouldn’t even have to wake up early. You could sleep in and just already be there when Charlotte wakes up.”
I bit my lip, thinking about it.
It did make practical sense.
Still…
“At least consider it,” Theo said. “You don’t have to decide anything officially tonight. But it seems logical to me. And live-in nannies are a pretty normal thing.”
I let out a small sigh. It really would be nice to sleep in a little longer instead of waking up at five each morning. “Okay. I’ll stay for now. But if you ever feel like I’m invading your space too much, you have to tell me. I don’t want to overstay my welcome.”
Theo chuckled as he turned onto another street. “Don’t hold your breath on that. Lucy never complained about having you as a roommate, so I doubt I will.”
“Lucy never complained?” I narrowed my eyes at him. “Not even once?”
Theo laughed as he stopped at the next intersection. “Okay, maybe she got slightly annoyed about a few things,” he admitted. “But I’m pretty sure she was just super anxious about a gymnastics meet or something because she was going off about all kinds of things that day.”
I laughed. “That’s fair. I get like that sometimes, too.”
“Part of being human,” he said easily.
A few minutes later we pulled into his driveway. I gathered my clutch and stepped out of the car, the cool night air brushing across my bare shoulders as we headed inside.
Once we were in the house, Theo veered toward the kitchen to grab some water while I slipped upstairs to the guest room.
My room now, I reminded myself.
That thought still felt strange.
The house was quiet without Charlotte, and the silence made the whole evening feel dreamlike.
The wedding.
The dancing.
Theo’s arms around me on the dance floor.
Crossing the room, I set my clutch on the dresser and slipped my phone out of it so I could return it to Alisha’s closet later. Then I kicked off the strappy silver heels and lined them neatly on the floor in front of the dresser.
They really were fabulous shoes.
Next, I pulled open one of the drawers where I’d tucked the pajamas Theo had bought me earlier that afternoon. A cute bright yellow set. I laid them on the dresser beside my clutch, then glanced at my reflection in the full-length mirror.
The dress really was beautiful.
For a moment, I simply stood there, taking it in.
The way the soft fabric draped over my hips. The way the color warmed my skin. The way I’d actually felt pretty tonight.
I lifted my phone and checked the time. Almost eleven.
I should probably get some sleep.
With a small sigh, I reached behind my back and unhooked the clasp at the top of the dress before finding the zipper.
It slid down a few inches.
Then stopped.