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Abby stopped and faced me. “Why didn’t you tell me about you and Nolan?”
“Given how the media tries to ferret out the smallest gossip about Nolan, it seemed safest to test out the waters in secret. I’m sure you understand that, right?”
Abby searched my gaze. “Maybe. But you’re going to be his ex’s biggest target now. It won’t be easy.”
While I secretly worried about how bad it’d get, I kept my doubts to myself. “I know. But hopefully she’ll get tired of Nolan ignoring her and move on. I mean, how desperate do you have to be to want a guy clearly dating someone else?”
“Oh, Wendy Webster doesn’t like being denied anything. She’s famous for that. And to her, Nolan is merely a trophy. One she wants.”
The thought of Nolan being boiled down to an object, wanted for his fame and not the man himself, made me want to punch something. “Well, she can bring it. I’m not a rich movie star, or some social media darling, but I’m no wilting flower. She won’t say anything that I haven’t heard before.”
“Katie, it’s going to be a million times worse than what you went through with those bitches from elementary and middle school.”
While I knew Abby was merely looking out for me, it still hurt. She didn’t believe I could stand on my own two feet. “I can handle it, okay? You asked for some space after the Douchebag Disaster in San Jose, and we all left it alone. In return, all I ask is for you not to harp on about Wendy Webster, okay?”
She searched my gaze. “I just hope you know what you’re doing, Katie. I’d love for things to work out between you and Nolan, and we could be sisters for real. However, I don’t want you to get hurt or shattered in the process.”
Abby had been hurt so many times in her life—by her dad’s death, her mom’s battle with cancer, West abandoning his family, and Zane joining the Navy SEALs and pretty much doing the same thing. Then the guy who broke her heart last year had been the worst, making her want to shift her lifelong dreams and become someone I didn’t really know any longer.
Because of that, I softened my voice and put an arm around her. “I’m made of tough stuff, Abby. Besides, I’m one of the few people who can embarrass Aunt Lori. I think that proves my mettle, above all else.”
Abby smiled. “She did blush when you asked about that book you gave her.”
I waggled my eyebrows. “I think the four guys sharing the woman in the story was her limit.”
We stared at each other and broke into laughter as we remembered Aunt Lori trying to work out the positions of all the guys in certain scenarios. I wish we still had time for the sexy book club, but life had gotten in the way.
After hugging Abby, I released her. “I’ll fill you in later, with everyone else at dinner, so I don’t have to repeat myself.”
She sighed. “And because you’re dating my brother, I can’t ask for the juicy details. Why can’t you all find and love guys not related to me?”
“We can’t choose who we fall for. And I look forward to whispering with Emmy and comparing notes.”
I wagged my eyebrows, and Abby mimicked throwing up.
With a laugh, we made our way down the hall and into the dining room. Part of me regretted the fact I’d never get to compare notes with Emmy. After all, sex wasn’t part of the deal with Nolan, no matter how curious I was about how he’d be in bed.
As soon as we entered the room, Emmy—Emilia Mendoza, another BFF Circle member—and Sabrina O’Connor—Beck’s girlfriend from San Francisco who’d moved to Starry Hills earlier in the year—came right up to us.
Emmy asked first, “Is it true about you and Nolan?” I nodded, and Emmy clapped her hands. “This is so exciting! I’ve thought for a while that you two would be amazing together.”
I frowned. “You did?”
Emmy nodded. “Of course. I know the Wolfe family a little better than you since I grew up with them from the age of ten. And Nolan always had a soft spot for you.”
Abby blinked. “What the hell are you talking about?”
Emmy replied, “Katie often sought out Nolan when we were kids and would try to get him to play with us. He never really did, and we all thought he hated us. But then when we were eleven, and the Secret Santa came up…don’t you remember, Katie?”
A vague memory flashed into my mind of opening a present and revealing a book Nolan had been reading a few months earlier. “Nolan bought that book for me?”
Emmy raised her brows. “He never told you?” I shook my head. “Well, it was him. I overheard Nolan asking his mom and Aunt Lori to take him into town to buy it. The exchange stood out to me because the book was over the dollar limit, but Nolan argued that he’d pay the extra amount.”
I still had that book—The Hunger Games. “I was surprised to get it, but really happy. I’d read the back cover copy months before and asked to borrow it from Nolan. He said no because he didn’t want me to drop it into the bathtub like the other book he’d lent me.”
He’d remembered all that. Why? I would’ve sworn he viewed me as an annoying pest back when I was eleven. Of course, I could’ve been distracted by other things, like my hellish life at school.
Abby snapped her fingers, garnering my attention. “I remember that gift now! We all ended up reading The Hunger Games and even tried making our own bows.”
