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As my mother continued to interrogate Nolan—and my sister Sam asked about some movie stars—Nolan was polite and smiling the whole time.
Unfortunately, we didn’t get any time alone again, not even when he said farewell. Once he’d left, my mother patted my cheek. “Good job, Katie. He was always my favorite of the Wolfe boys. And to think he invited us to stay at his house and let us use his private beach! The summer can’t get here soon enough.”
Except by summer, Nolan and I would no longer be together.
The thought of rarely seeing Nolan, let alone talking to him, caused sadness to rush through me.
Needing a distraction after the long day, I fetched some wine, a steamy book, and relaxed in a bath.
And the fact my dreams replayed all the steamy parts with me and Nolan instead of the characters from the book? Well, it was a fantastic end to the day, short of actually sleeping next to Nolan himself.
Chapter Twelve
Nolan
Me: Katie? Did you get my last message? You missed our phone call.
Katie: Sorry. I was passed out. I’ve been sick.
Me: Sick? What’s wrong, baby? Tell me.
Katie: Nothing, just a cold. I’ll be fine.
Me: Do you have a fever?
Katie: Yes. And my whole body hurts. But…
Me: At least tell me your family is looking after you.
Katie: Er…
Me: They aren’t?
Katie: Well, they’re visiting my aunt and uncle in Sacramento until Christmas Eve. I have so much family that we have to do each side at different times for Christmas.
Me: And they just fucking left you there?
Katie: Calm down, Nolan. Cassie wanted to stay, but I told her not to. One of her old high school friends moved up there and she hasn’t seen him in forever.
Me: I still can’t believe they abandoned you.
Katie: They didn’t! I’m not a kid, Nolan. But I’m tired and want to take a nap. So rage text all you want, but I’m going to ignore you now. Good night.
Later the same day as Katie’s last text message, I pulled into the Evans place. The plane ride had helped to calm down my anger, but worry had replaced it instead. I’d interrogated my sister, who had said she’d stopped by Katie’s place to drop off some soup. And yes, she was really sick. But no, she hadn’t been able to stay because she was helping Emmy with a wedding. Not to mention Katie had told all the BFF Circle she was fine, and they didn’t need to bother disrupting their day to stay with her.
Yet again, she was shouldering something alone. Katie Evans was indeed a stubborn woman.
I’d wanted to keep questioning Abby, but eventually she told me if I was so worried, to go check on Katie myself.
And so here I was four days before Christmas, in Starry Hills with a care package, and doing my best to keep my temper in check. Oh, I wasn’t angry with Katie. No. But I still didn’t think her family should’ve fucking abandoned her.
I debated ringing the doorbell, but didn’t want Katie to walk around unnecessarily. So I tried calling her. She picked up on the fourth ring. “Nolan? What do you want?”
Her voice was scratchy and faint. I didn’t like it. “I’m at the door and brought a care package. But don’t you dare get up. Is the door unlocked? Or is there a spare key somewhere?”
“Wait, you’re here? Why?”
Her voice sounded weaker, and I gripped the phone tighter. “I’m here to check on you. Tell me how to get in, Katie, or I’ll have to break down the fucking door.”
