Page 122 of Leave

Housekeeping wouldn’t be coming around this late, would they?

Wait, didn’t his family know where we were staying? And we’d kept our phones on, but we had been in the shower for a little while, and I’d slept a bit myself. If someone had called or texted during that time…

Shit. I needed to find out who it was.

Fortunately, Nolan and I had both pulled on sweats earlier, so I didn’t have to wake up him to tell him to get dressed. Instead, I carefully freed myself from his embrace, letting him sink gently back onto the pillow. He stirred a little and murmured in his sleep, but he didn’t wake up.

I grabbed a keycard off the nightstand and went to the door. When I peered through the peephole, to my surprise, the person standing on the other side was… Sophia.

Her eyes were red from crying, though she seemed composed now.

I opened the door and stepped out into the hall, carefully and quietly closing it behind me. “Hey. What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to talk to Nolan.” She folded her arms loosely across her hoodie, as if she were trying to keep from shaking rather than being defensive.

I chewed my lip. “He’s asleep.”

Her brow pinched. Then she looked me up and down, and she must’ve put some pieces together, because she blushed bright and looked away. “I’m… I’m sorry. Maybe I should’ve texted, or…”

“No, it’s okay.” I idly turned the keycard between my fingers. “Is, um… Is there a new development, or…?”

She pushed out a breath and shifted her weight. “I just want to talk to him. Now that everyone’s had a chance to process abit.” She shyly met my gaze, and when she spoke, her eyes welled up and her voice shook. “I’m not angry at him. I’m not here to yell at him or anything. I promise.”

I believed that without a second thought. Nolan had been through the wringer tonight, but so had she, and she looked both raw and genuine right then.

“Let me wake him up,” I said. “See if he’s up for talking to anyone. It’s, um… It’s been a tough day.”

“I know,” she whispered unsteadily. “And if he doesn’t want to see me, I’ll leave. I promise.”

I nodded. “Okay. Give me a minute.”

With that, I slipped back into the room. I hated to disturb Nolan when he was sleeping, especially right now, but this seemed important, so I sat on the edge of the bed.

“Nolan?” I touched his arm. “Hey, baby. You awake?”

He wrinkled his nose and burrowed into the pillow, grumbling adorably. I grimaced; I really, really didn’t want to be waking him up. Still…

“Nolan?” I carded my fingers through his short hair.

He made a soft, disgruntled noise, and his eyelids fluttered open. When he saw me, he pulled his hand out from beneath the pillow and searched out mine. As soon as our fingers clasped together, he closed his eyes again. “What time is it?”

“Uh…” I wasn’t even sure. “I don’t know. But… Sophia is here.”

In an instant, he was awake, eyes open and sharply focused. Turning on his side, still gripping my hand, he looked around the room, then up at me. “She is? What’s going on?”

“I don’t know,” I whispered. “But she said she wants to talk to you. If you don’t want to see her, she’ll leave, but…” I glanced toward the closed door, then met his gaze again. “She’s not here to read you the riot act or anything.”

Nolan sat up, pausing to roll his shoulders and crack his neck. “Where is she?”

“In the hall. I wanted to see if you were up for seeing her first.”

The look he gave me then was soft and sweet, and he cupped my cheek as he drew me in for a kiss. “You’re the best. You know that?”

I flashed him a toothy grin. “Damn right I do.”

That got the desired laugh out of him, and he rolled his eyes. He kissed me once more, then got to his feet. “Let me take a leak and put on a shirt.”

I put one on myself, and when Nolan was ready, I opened the door. Sophia had been leaning against the wall, thumbing through something on her phone, and she raised her eyebrows when she saw me. I nodded into the room. Her relief was undeniable, as if she’d really expected us to chase her off.

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