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Groaning, Nolan squeezed my hand in his. “For the first time in my life, I hate seatbelts.”
“Why?”
“Because I want to hold you in my lap.”
“Oh.”
I shared a glance with Nolan, and the man looked at me like he couldn’t wait to eat me up.
Since talking about tonight would only make us both flushed, turned on, and frustrated, I changed the subject. “So, what was your meeting about?”
He hesitated, and my mind turned to the worst—he’d had a hot and bothered reunion with his ex, had declared his undying love, and was thinking of ways to let me down gently.
Then I remembered Nolan unzipping me and decided that was ridiculous. I may not know the man as well as I wanted to, but I would never pin him as a two-timing bastard.
He finally let out a breath. “I run a charity, and they needed my help.”
“Wait, what? You run a charity? Since when?”
“I’ve been doing it for years. I don’t want or need the glory, though, so I keep my involvement a secret.”
“Even from your family?”
“Yes, even from them.”
Maybe it wasn’t my place, but I couldn’t help but blurt, “Why do you keep so many things from your family? They love you, Nolan. You can’t deny that.”
“I know they do, but it’s complicated.” I raised my eyebrows in question, and he sighed. “Well, when I first started getting big roles and received the paychecks to match, I offered to help my family with things, such as replace the roof, upgrade the winery equipment, you name it. However, Beck got angry, saying he could make it work by himself, and that he didn’t need my charity. I suspect he acted that way because he was young and out to prove something. But it still hurt. And even more recently, when I offered to pay for Abby’s college tuition, she said she’d manage it on her own.” He shrugged. “Over time I’ve learned not to offer them anything. And I guess my charity became just another secret, one they might resent me for.”
I frowned. “Resent you? Why the hell would they do that?”
“I don’t know. It was just a gut feeling.”
Oh, Nolan. I squeezed his hand in mine. I wanted to shout that he was being ridiculous, and he should share with his family, and that everything would work out.
However, the Wolfe siblings were beyond stubborn. I’d known them my whole life, and their stubbornness tended to make them dig in when they shouldn’t.
Besides, his family wasn’t here—I was. And I wanted him to know he could trust me with anything. So I asked, “Why don’t you tell me about your charity? Because now I’m extremely curious.”
Nolan searched my gaze, and I let my curiosity show. Finally he looked at our hands, ran his thumb against my skin, and answered, “It has two main focuses. The first one is support for kids dealing with grief or family troubles.”
“Much like you had to deal with it.”
He nodded. “I was fortunate. Because despite all our problems, my family supported and loved me. However, not every kid has that. So I wanted to have resources available—hotlines, texting outreach, and counseling services to help them deal with their grief.”
“Wow, that’s amazing, Nolan. And yet there’s still more. What’s the other part your charity focuses on?”
“Well, mostly helping kids deal with grief, family troubles, and mental health in general through the arts. There are programs for acting, music, painting, writing, dancing, you name it. Mainly I have art centers and summer programs, although one day I’d also like to expand it to scholarships and grants.” He met my gaze. “While my top charity directors know I fund it, along with Jenn and Tina, no one else does. If word got out, it could be a disaster.”
I put it together. “People would find your programs and arts centers, wanting to catch a glimpse of you.”
“Yes.”
“And yet you told me. Why?”
His gaze searched mine. “I don’t know. I just wanted to.”
He trusts me. That realization made my heart rate tick up. Was it my imagination, or was our relationship growing deeper and more complicated by the day?
