Page 12 of Nolan

"He apologized?" Val looks scandalized. "For what? Being attracted to a gorgeous woman?"

I shrug, trying to appear more nonchalant than I feel. "He's my boss. There are boundaries."

"Fuck boundaries," Daisy says, waving her hand dismissively. "Life's too short. Trust me, having Tessa taught me that. You have to grab happiness when you can. And I mean with him, I'd grab it with both hands and climb it like a GD tree, know what I'm saying?"

She and Val high-five.

"It's not that simple," I argue. "There's Ashlynn to consider. If things got weird between us, I'd have to leave, and she's already lost so much."

Val finishes her drink and waves for another, raising her eyebrows at me. "Or maybe you're exactly what both of them need."

"I don't know how to approach the subject," I admit, the words tumbling out easier with each sip. "We've been avoiding each other since it happened. There's plenty of time to talk about it. We just… don't."

"Sounds like he's scared," Daisy observes. "Men are simple creatures. They want what they want until they actually get it, then they panic."

"So what do I do?" I ask, suddenly desperate for their advice. "I can't stop thinking about him. About the kiss. About..." I lower my voice, "what might have happened if he hadn't stopped."

"Seduce him," Val suggests bluntly, making me laugh despite myself.

"Very helpful, Val." I'm not the type of woman who has ever been secure enough in herself to seduce a man. Much less one who looks like Nolan.

"I'm serious. Put on something sexy, wait up for him one night. Make it impossible for him to resist."

"Or," Daisy interjects, the more practical one, "just talk to him. Tell him how you feel. Clear the air."

I shake my head, my stomach plummeting.. "I can't risk it. What if he doesn't feel the same way? What if he just got caught up in the moment?"

"Men don't just get caught up in moments like that," Val grins. "Not men like Nolan. Vaughn literally chased me out of my apartment and had me ready to drop my panties in the alley way next to Get Baked."

"What do you mean, 'men like Nolan'?" I ask, purposely ignoring how she's God's favorite. I'd kill for Nolan to chase me like that.

"Serious ones. Responsible ones. The kind who think everything through before they act." She leans in closer. "Which means when he kissed you, Annabelle, he'd been thinking about it for a very long time."

The thought sends a shiver through me, and I drain my glass, welcoming the warm buzz spreading through my limbs.

"Another round?" the server asks, appearing at our table with Val's drink.

"Definitely," we chorus, and as the night deepens, so do my confessions. With each drink, I tell them more, how I notice the way his shirt pulls across his shoulders when he reaches for something high, how the sound of his laugh makes something tighten in my chest, how sometimes I catch him looking at me when he thinks I won't notice, how hot the tattoos are he sports.

By midnight, the room is spinning pleasantly, and my inhibitions have dissolved into the bottom of too many empty glasses.

"I should call an Uber," Daisy says, checking her watch. "Jasper just texted. Tessa's been fed and changed and is actually sleeping. Which means we might get to have some uninterrupted sexy time."

"I should head out too," Val agrees, checking her phone. "Vaughn's here to pick me up."

A sudden, crushing loneliness grips me. "You're both going home to someone," I say, not bothering to hide the wistfulness in my voice. "I'm going back to an empty apartment across town from the man I can't stop thinking about."

Val and Daisy exchange a look I'm too tipsy to interpret.

"You could come crash at mine," Val offers, but I shake my head.

"No, I'll be fine," I insist, even as I pull out my phone. The screen blurs slightly as I scroll to Nolan's contact. Before I can second-guess myself, I hit call.

I should go home. I should call an Uber and go back to my empty apartment and try to forget the way his lips felt against mine. But tonight, with liquid courage coursing through my veins, I make a different choice.

One that will change everything.

CHAPTER SEVEN

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