Chapter Fourteen

I hesitated to open my eyes. I could feel the sun peaking in through the sheer curtains across from my bed, so I grabbed the extra pillows next to me and covered my face with them. I couldn’t remember the last time I had a hangover, but this was exactly why I never let it happen.

I inhaled a deep breath and felt the muscles in my body release from their previously tense state. I was just another deep breath away from falling back asleep.

ring!

I groaned as the tension I was so desperate to get rid of quickly found it’s way back into my body. 

ring!

Oh, for crying out loud. I huffed as I lifted the pillow from my face, keeping my eyes closed, and reached towards the sound of the phone.

“Hello?” I croaked.

“Hey!” Nolan chirped. He was obviously more accustomed to dealing with hangovers than I was. “You wanna meet me downstairs for breakfast?” There was only silence from my end of the conversation. He continued, “there’s a really nice garden behind the bed and breakfast where we can eat. I thought we might be able to spend some time out there before we head out.”

I dropped my head back onto the pillow and sighed. “Sure.”

It took me three times longer to get ready than it normally would have. I was moving at a pace of a sloth. By the time I made it outside Nolan was already enjoying a cup of coffee. The table in front of him was filled with breakfast food.

“I’m sorry.” I griped as I sunk into my chair. “I had a hard time getting up this morning.”

Nolan smiled. He didn’t even need to know what was wrong, he just picked up a pitcher of water and poured out a glass for me. “Mint water helps every time.”

“Thanks.” My eyes widened when a burst of ice cold freshness hit my taste buds. Before I knew it my glass was empty. Nolan hadn’t even put the pitcher down and he was already pouring out more. 

“Whoa, easy there girl.” He laughed.

“Ugh,” I groaned. “It’s been years since I’ve felt like this.”

“You barely had anything.”

“Barely? I was trying to keep up with you.”

Nolan shook his head. “You shouldn’t have done that.”

“Yeah, no kidding.” I stabbed a stack of pancakes with my fork and dropped them onto my plate. I watched from the corner of my eye as Nolan opted to go for the bowl of mixed fruits instead. Maybe I should skip buttering my pancakes…

“So,” Nolan cleared his throat. “Last night I was thinking about how,” He furrowed his brows and sank into a deep concentration as he paused. A second later his eyes met mine again and he continued, “different you are.”

I stopped mid-pancake cutting and let out a laugh. “Thanks, I guess?”

The skin between his brows loosened when he realized what he’d said. “What I mean is I’ve never met a girl like you before. To tell you the truth, I don’t think we would have been in each other’s lives as long if we’d met more casually.”

I slowly chewed my food in guilt. We wouldn’t have been in each other’s lives if I hadn’t forcefully interjected myself. Here Nolan was thinking this whole thing was fate, but little did he know he was just a pawn I was using to win a game in my career.

“It’s taken me some time to realize it, but you’re not like most girls I’ve met. Just thinking about how I won’t see you after tomorrow makes me feel like I’m going to be missing out on something.”

I set down my fork and knife and wiped the corners of my mouth. “I know how you feel because it’s exactly how I’ve been feeling. You’re the first guy I’ve had a connection with in a long, long time. You don’t even irritate me anymore.”

Nolan laughed. “Did I ever?”

“Yes!” I said without any hesitation. “Definitely in the beginning, but then the more I got to know you the more…you know.” I shrugged my shoulders.

Nolan’s smile flashed for a second before it was gone. “The problem is that I have a business to run in Charleston and you have a better chance of finding work in Boston.”

I pushed my plate away as I let his words resonate. 

After breakfast we decided to walk through the garden. It was quiet and peaceful with only the flutters of butterflies and occasional chirping of birds. Most of the plants hadn’t bloomed yet, but it was still a beautiful sight. A dirt pathway weaved in and out of canopies covered in vines. We stopped to sit down at a bench that overlooked the hills beyond the bed and breakfast. It was a shame more people didn’t visit this place. 

Nolan wrapped his arm across my shoulders as a cool breeze sent a shiver through my body. I snuggled in close to his chest and rested my head on his shoulder. “Do I have to go home tomorrow?” I asked as I pretended to whimper.

“I could always kidnap you.” I felt his chest gently rise and fall as he laughed. 

I smiled as I looked up at him. Nolan’s electric blue eyes stared back at me. It might have been our conversation from earlier or just the way we both hopelessly gazed into each others eyes, but in that moment I don’t think either one of us wanted to let go.

My arms were covered in goosebumps as Nolan’s hand swept across my cheek and rested on the nape of my neck. His fingers wove through my hair as he leaned forward and pulled me in for a kiss. It wasn’t like any other one that we’d shared. It was filled with passion and lined with regrets.

Regrets that the spark between us had been there all long, but we were just too stubborn to recognize it. Maybe that’s why Alexander Nottingham had written 21 Questions. For people like us, who needed a reminder to pause their daily struggles just to engage in a simple conversation. 

Nolan’s hand softly ran down my body and gripped onto my thighs. He pulled my body over his and began tugging at my clothes.

I pulled away from him and froze. He hadn’t gotten the hint and continued to kiss his way down my neck. “Nolan.” I whispered for his attention.

“You sound so sexy.” He managed to whisper back between kisses.

“What? No.” I pushed his shoulders back so he could see the concerned look on my face. “I think someone’s coming.”

He shook his head. “It’s no one.” 

Nolan’s eyes were set on my bare skin beyond the buttons that he’d managed to wrestle open. He bit his lip as he began to undo the rest. Another shiver ran through my body when his skin touched mine. The rush of adrenaline and sheer joy made me lose my train of thought. 

Somehow our clothes had ended up on the bench and our bodies on the ground below. We were so exhausted that just dusting the dirt off one another sent us into a hysterical laughing fit. 

Nolan and I went back to his room to clean up and spent the rest of the afternoon cuddled up in his bed. 

“Today was definitely an adventure.” I smiled 

“Everyday since the day I met you has been an adventure.” 

“What’s been your favorite part so far?” I asked as my finger traced the edges of his ear. 

“You mean aside from today?” He turned his head and playfully bit my hand. “I’d have to say the night we danced in that gazebo.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, that pie was totally worth it.” He rubbed his nose against mine as he joked. “What about you?”

“Aside from today, the day we were snowed into that hotel.”

Nolan leaned away from me and furrowed his brows. “I thought you hated me then.” 

I laughed when I remembered how hard of a time I’d given Nolan that day. “I didn’t hate you. I just didn’t know you. I tend to put up these walls to intimidate people.I guess I’m too afraid to show everyone the real me. That night you looked beyond the walls and opened up to me. No one’s ever done that before. It changed everything because I knew if you could open up to me after everything you’d been through, I at the very least owed you the same.”

“You’re beautiful inside and out. You have nothing to be afraid of.” 

Despite our desperate prayers for the day to never end the sun came up right on schedule the next morning. I’d gone back to my room to finish packing before I came downstairs.

Nolan was sitting on the window bench in the library nook. As I was about to approach him I felt a tug on my arm. I turned around to find Jean with a smirk on her face. “I’m glad you decided to take my advice.”

I laughed uneasily. “What do you mean?”

“Don’t act like you don’t know.” She wiggled her brows. “Marty and I saw what you two were up to in the garden.”

I covered my mouth with my hand as I gasped. “I knew I heard someone.”

“It was quiet a show I must say.” She laughed as she slowly walked back up the stairs.

I turned back around and headed to the library nook. “What are you reading?” I asked Nolan.

A confused look flashed across his face as he let out a slight laugh. “This book is so ridiculous.” He had been leaning his back on the windowsill before he pushed himself upright. “I grabbed it cause I didn’t recognize it from yesterday, but it’s about asking a series of questions to make people fall in love.”

It’s amazing how something as vital as breathing comes naturally to us. We don’t even have to think about it, it just happens. No matter how much of a stressful situation we might be in, our bodies force our lungs to fill with oxygen.

“You look pale.” Nolan said as he looked up at me.

It was only in that second that my body had failed me. I had forgotten to breathe because every last atom in my body had frozen, leaving me paralyzed, when I saw the cover of the book.