Page 66 of You, Again
“Out,” he barked, chopping onions with a knife the size of a small machete. “You don’t belong in my kitchen.”
I held my hands up in surrender. “I’m looking for Nolan. Have you seen him?”
JC stilled his knife and met my gaze. “Maybe.”
“Great.” I huffed in exasperation. “Where is he?”
“Herb garden.” He inclined his head toward the kitchen door and resumed chopping. “Stop.”
I obeyed with a sigh. “What is it?”
Chop, chop, chop.
“I don’t care if you’re famous. Don’t fuck with him, Vinnie.” JC didn’t elaborate or look up from his onions.
My chest puffed up with righteous indignation. “What the hell does that mean?”
“No secret meaning.”Chop, chop, chop. “I like you, and I think you’re a good guy. But…I like Nolan better. That’s all.”
I bristled with misspent outrage, but I didn’t want to waste precious time sparring with my lover’s former lover. I rushed out the side door and—
“There you are.”
I spotted Nolan near the gate leading to the herb garden. He cocked his head and waved as he made his way to me along the narrow path.
“Yeah. We needed mint for the shamrock shakes Big Red and Kinney ordered.” He held up a sprig, a crooked smile on his gorgeous mug.
“Nothing screams celebration quite like a green milkshake.”
Nolan gave a polite half laugh. “It’s their party, so I figured I should make the effort.”
I nodded but couldn’t think of a light and breezy reply with my heart lodged in my throat. I was suddenly nervous and unsure why.
Not true. It was probably the combination of JC’s warning and having the wrong person glued to my side on a day that should have been ours alone.
I shoved my hands into my pockets and stepped off the porch. “Hey, I haven’t had a second to tell you how fucking proud I am of you. I’m stoked for the kids too, but I’m proud of us. Of you. I’ve had more fun this summer than I have in years, and…thank you.”
Nolan flinched as if I’d smacked him upside the head rather than complimented him. “Me too. I think Ronnie wants to offer you a job.”
I chuckled fondly. “Coach Kimbo has a nice ring to it.”
“It does,” he agreed, hooking his thumb at the side door. “We should probably get back to the party.”
“Wait up.” I held my arms open and wiggled my fingers. “C’mere. First, let’s sneak in a congratulations kiss…with tongue.”
“Vinnie…”
“The coast is clear,” I cajoled, stealing a playful glance behind me.
Nolan let out a strangled guttural noise that might have been a laugh and moved down the path to a private patch of lawn hidden by a high shrub. He dropped the mint on a wooden bench and licked his lips.
“I can’t. I thought we’d have more time, but…”
You know that feeling when you’re thrown into a tense situation out of the blue and you can’t seem to stop saying and doing all the wrong things? Yeah, that was me.
“We have plenty of time,” I hummed, setting my hand on his hip.
He pushed away from me. “I’m serious, Vin.”