I curse myself inside. “Again, I won’t ever do that again.”
I see his demeanor change. He hisses like a cobra at me. “And what do you think you’re doing here, Noel?”
Frowning at him, I huff. “What do you mean?”
Oh, I know what he means, but I’m low on sleep and I’m tired of men not being forward. Do I really need to tell you what you probably already know?
“Noel, you don’tknowhim. You just got dumped by a guy, do you really—”
“Really? Do you think it’s a great time to throw that in my face?” I fist my hands at the side of my body and glare at Nolan. “This guy saved my ass, Nolan. He stopped the robber and sacrificed his body… his head. Forme.”
“Then bring him some muffins and say, ‘thank you’, but,” Nolan huffs, “that doesn’t mean you need to be by his side. Doesn’t he have a family?”
I cross my arms and my body chills in the icy air that’s blowing off of my brother. “Not here.”
Nolan gives me that mysterious twin look that people wonder if we can communicate without ever having to say a word. In a way, yes, we can, but anybody who spends an exorbitant amount of time together builds that kind of communication. It’s more intuition than some magical connection.
I roll my eyes. “Nolan, I’m not going to fall for the guy.” My stomach clenches, deep. A part of me does have a connection to him. I look back to his room. “I’m just here to make sure he’s okay. It’s the least I can do for him since he has no one.”
He leans against the wall and runs a hand through his hair. “You get in a funk after a relationship goes south. I don’t want to see you go lower by jumping into the arms of another douchecanoe. And sis, you’ve been kinda, well… grumpy.”
Nolan flinches his eyes a little bit as if I’m going to Hulk out on him.
I fall against the wall next to him. “I know that I’ve been a little on edge. I’ve got bills to pay, and I had a guy tell me my job is why he can’t be with me. Things keep building up. It’s hard to manage all that and keep a sunny disposition.”
Nolan wraps his arms around me. “I didn’t know that he said that. You didn’t tell me why he broke up with you, only that he did. Now I really want to punch him.”
A bubble of laughter pops from me.
He smiles at me. “Are we still going to the Christmas parade tomorrow night?”
“Sure. Are you bringing Oriana?”
“No, she has a girls’ night out with her friends.”
I nod. I’m happy that I got my brother to myself, but I’m sad that I won’t get to know Oriana better.
“I hope you know what you’re doing, sis.”
Deciding to keep my mouth shut is wiser in this situation. The less I say, the better. Sometimes knowing and feeling are on the same wavelength but right now, I’m feeling a lot more than I’m knowing and the wavelength is more like a child’s scribbling everywhere.
But he doesn’t need to know that.
Nolan shakes his head at me. “All right. Just be careful, please.”
I get on my tiptoes and give him a massive hug. At least I have a brother who will always have my back.
Stepping away, I head back to Evan’s room while my brother leaves.
The blankets on the bed are rumpled and hanging at the side, and the room is empty. My heart falls.
He didn’t even say goodbye.
“At least this one left before I fell for him,” I mumble and grab my purse off the chair. “And I kind of liked him. How—”
“Just kind of?”
I jump like a frog on hot concrete at Evan’s voice. My cheeks blush redder than a poinsettia and my insides turn to warm jelly.