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I hung up, parked the truck, and headed to my office. I pulled up the long list of things I needed to take care of before the wedding this weekend at the vineyard. Luckily, I didn’t have another out-of-town wedding until July. It was truthfully the only one that I was looking forward to. I liked helping my friends here in town, but the rest was a lot of red tape and trying to keep bridezillas from not ruining their big day.
Hollin popped his head in an hour later. “Hey.”
I glanced up at him and frowned when I saw the worried expression on his face. “Dad talk to you?”
He strode in and flopped into the chair in front of my desk. “Well, he said you were living with him.”
I sighed and closed my eyes. “I told him not to talk to you.”
“You going to tell me what’s going on?”
“No, I’m not,” I growled. “Just leave me alone.”
Hollin reared back at my tone. “Nora, it’s me. When have I ever not been there for you?”
“Hollin, please. I just…I can’t talk about it.” At the thought of West leaving for LA, tears came to my eyes again, and I blinked furiously to stop them.
“Fuck, you look like someone broke up with you.”
I froze at those words.
Hollin noticed though. Of course he noticed.
“This is about West, isn’t it?” he asked carefully.
I put my head in my hands. “Do you always have to pry, Hollin? Can’t you let me be sad?”
“Nora…”
“Yes, it’s about West. And if you tell Campbell that anything happened, I will have your balls,” I snapped at my brother, rising to my feet and staring down at him.
Hollin’s eyes rounded in shock. I’d never talked to him like this. Not ever.
“Wow. What did he do to you?” he asked, all soft with concern. As if he were approaching a baby deer.
“We were dating, but I didn’t want either of you to know. He left for LA. That’s what happened. Campbell would go ballistic if he found out. I don’t want to break up the band. Swear you won’t tell, Hollin.”
He nodded slowly. “Okay, okay. I won’t tell Campbell. Breathe.”
I sank back into my seat. “Thank you. I’m sorry.”
“Hey, don’t apologize. And don’t cry,” he said hastily as a tear streaked down my cheek.
“Damn it, Hollin!” I said, reaching for a tissue.
He laughed at that. “What are siblings for?”
“To be a royal pain in the ass.”
He snorted. “True story.”
I blew my nose. “Thanks.”
“Anytime. You know you can come to me. Even though I want to punch him.”
“And that’s why I didn’t.”
“I would have listened. I don’t want you to think that I wouldn’t.”
“You punched August.”
“He was making out with Tamara!” he cried. “That is not the same story. Then, they got engaged. He fucking deserved it.”
“Yeah, well, they’re not engaged anymore. Tamara called to tell me that he dumped her because he was still in love with me.”
“Tell me you’re not going to go back to him. I’ll punch him again for emphasis.”
“No, that’s long over. He started texting after it happened. I told him I wasn’t interested and to leave me out of the drama.”
“That’s grown-up of you.”
I sighed. “I don’t know. I can’t deal with anyone else’s problems when I’m going through my own heartbreak.”
“I understand that perfectly. Just…try to keep your chin up,” he said gently as he came to his feet. “You’re perfect just the way you are. If Weston Wright didn’t see that, then he doesn’t deserve you.”
Tears spilled onto my cheeks again. “Thanks, Hollin.”
Then, he disappeared, back to work. I stared down at the mound of paperwork in dismay. Fuck, I needed to stop crying every time I thought about West. It wasn’t like he was coming back.
