Fortune's Christmas Baby (Fortunes of Texas)

The sudden stilling of everything about her, the sharpening of her gaze, struck him as extremely non-Lizzie. And that hint of fear he’d seen cross her expression? He had to have imagined that.

He might have had a fling with her and left, but he’d never, ever given her, or any other woman, any cause to fear him.

“What did she tell you?” The question was sharp, in a tone he’d never heard from her before.

“Nothing,” he said, his frustration growing. “Just that I’d messed you up and needed to come see you.”

The anger that flashed in her eyes wasn’t hard at all to decipher, though the origin of it was not quite so clear. Either he or Carmela were in for it, though.

“She had no business going to see you.”

Deciding the wisest course was to keep quiet until he could figure out what was going on, Nolan didn’t voice his agreement on that one.

“And that’s it?” she asked. “That’s all she said?”

He nodded. He told himself she looked okay, so he could go. Should go.

Instead, he stayed glued to the spot.

“Well, as you can see, I’m fine. I’m sorry she bothered you. You can go now.”

There. She confirmed it. Time to turn around and get back to his day. To walk aimlessly around the campus area and forget he’d ever known her.

Or see everything that reminded him of her and know that he’d made the right decision.

Maybe he should take a cab to the other side of the city and look at things he’d never seen before. Or, better yet, call home and get an update on all the drama he was missing. With six siblings, there always was some—a lot of times revolving around twenty-five-year-old Savannah. She was perhaps the smartest one of the bunch, but was way too beautiful for her own good, in Nolan’s opinion, and didn’t take kindly to being told no, which he knew well. Having been born just a year before her, Nolan was the one who’d taken flak the most often when his sister didn’t get her way.

“Please, Nolan, just go.”

Lizzie’s words, the honest pleading in them, brought him back fully to her doorstep. And the fact that he was still standing there.

“What did Carmela mean about you being messed up?” That’s why he couldn’t go. He was a gentleman and he had to know what was going on. To know his own culpability, or lack thereof, and take responsibility so that he could be completely free from what had turned out to be the most unfortunate incident in his life.

“I have no idea,” Lizzie said. “I was...hurt...when you left and I couldn’t get ahold of you. Maybe she wanted to give me a chance to chew you out. Maybe she thinks that would help. And, maybe for some, it would. I had no desire to hold on to any anger and I’m over it. Completely. As you can see, I’m fine.”

Yes, she’d already said that. And she was guarding her door like a member of the Secret Service. It occurred to him then that she might have someone inside. A man would be the most obvious guess.

He turned to go. “Well, let her know I stopped by, will you? So she doesn’t show up at the club again tonight ready to smash my grill.”

She nodded. He took another step toward the parking lot and his escape. “You look good.”

“I look like crap,” she said. “I’m cleaning...” Her voice broke off, and she glanced away, almost as though she was also remembering the time he’d helped her clean the bathroom. That had been a Saturday morning, as well.

“So...Carmela said you graduated and got a job.”

She nodded, and named the school district.

She had to really be all right, then, looking as great as she did and working for the city’s public school system.

“Please, Nolan, I mean it. We had a great holiday. I really want to leave it at that. I’m asking you to leave now. And I’ll talk to Carmela.”

She looked so good.

“We could go for coffee. Just to catch up.” What was he doing?

When she shook her head, he told himself he was relieved.

“Maybe later in the week, then. Come by the club, and we can set something up...just to talk...”