The Day My Husband Called Me His Sister Chapter 04

The Day My Husband Called Me His Sister Chapter 04

When I woke up the next morning, the apartment was empty.

Adrian had left a note on the table.

[Paige, taking Evelyn to the hospital. There’s some breakfast in the fridge. Just microwave it.]

I tossed the note in the trash and looked out at the gray sky.

My phone had been charging all night. I hit the power button, expecting nothing, and the screen flickered on.

Several missed calls and a voicemail.

I called back. It was the police precinct.

Apparently, after Nolan punched the driver yesterday, the driver had called the cops. Nolan, the pedestrian

with the brick, and the driver had all ended up at the station.

The driver’s story was that the rain was too heavy to see anything, he’d been driving normally, and Nolan and

the pedestrian started it.

Both sides had different stories. I was the only witness.

When I got to the station, Nolan was slouched in a plastic chair in the hallway.

He spotted me before I spotted him. “Well, well. The star witness.”

I rolled my eyes and walked into the interview room.

I don’t know what I looked like that day, but the driver, who’d been digging in his heels all morning, took one

look at me and shut up. He agreed to drop the charges.

Outside the station, Nolan trailed after me, his sharp eyes bright with amusement.

“I owe you one, Ms. Hartwell. For real this time.”

“And since you came through for me, I’ll let yesterday’s grand theft taxi slide.”

I stopped, turned around, and held out my hand. “I paid for your cab yesterday. If you’re calling it carjacking,

give me the money back. This time, I’ll actually rob you.”

Nolan blinked, then made a show of looking troubled. “See, here’s the problem. Inflation’s brutal these days. That cab fare’s already doubled overnight. I can’t possibly cover it in cash.”

He grinned, completely shameless.

“So I’ll buy you lunch instead.”

He took me to a little pub.

His pitch: “The drinks here are terrible, but the food is unreal.”

Nolan flagged down the server. “Two house drinks to start. Just to prove I wasn’t lying about the first part.”

The server stared at him.

“I don’t drink. Milk for me.”

My hand drifted to my stomach without me thinking about it.

Nolan’s eyes lingered on me for a second. Then he turned to the server. “Make it two glasses of milk.”

He wasn’t wrong.

The food was incredible. And something about a good meal always loosened you up.

Somewhere over our milk date, I ended up telling him about the interview.

“Come on, you can’t see it? The universe was doing you a favor.”

He gave a thumbs-down like a Roman emperor. “Any company that tells you ‘interview today, start today’ is a red flag. Best case, it’s a dumpster fire. Worst case, you’ve got some grindset boss who’ll run you into the ground. You dodged a bullet.”

I couldn’t help but smile. “Thanks. I needed to hear that.”

Nolan looked at me for a beat, cleared his throat, and set down his fork.

“Honestly? When you stole my cab yesterday, I thought, this girl’s got nerve.”

“You were sitting in a puddle looking like a drowned kitten, and your first move was to steal my cab and sprint to a job interview.” He leaned forward. “That’s exactly the kind of person I want on my team. I’m hiring, by the way. Interested?”

I stared at him. “I can start right away?”

“Today, if you want.” Nolan leaned back and raised an eyebrow. “Perks of being the boss. I make the hires.”

He actually made me laugh.

It was the first time I’d felt this light since this whole amnesia act started.

The pub door swung open.

Nolan glanced over, and his face lit up.

“Oh, Adrian!”

I looked up.

Evelyn was in the doorway, her arm looped through Adrian’s.

The second Adrian saw me, his expression shifted.

Nolan didn’t notice. He was already on his feet. “And Miss Hawthorne! Wow, it’s been ages. So you two

actually ended up together. Congrats!” He waved them over. “Sit, sit. This calls for a proper reunion.”

The four of us sat down. Nobody spoke.

Evelyn mentioned she’d pushed the biopsy back again because she was still too scared. After that, the table

went quiet.

Adrian broke the silence. His eyes were on me. “Paige, what are you doing here with Nolan?”

“Fate, I guess.” I shrugged. “Nolan and I really hit it off. Actually, I’ve decided to work at his company. Starting

today.”

Adrian’s hand curled into a fist on the table.

“Are you out of your mind?”

Nolan held up both hands. “Whoa, whoa. How is working for me a death sentence? It’s a legit company.

Health insurance, 401(k), weekends off, PTO, the whole package.”

His gaze bounced between us, a half-smile playing on his lips. “Funny, though. I never knew you had a little

sister. And you seem awfully possessive of her.”

“Shut up.”

Adrian’s stare could have frozen the room. “You pushed Mr. Hawthorne into a ditch. Don’t pretend you’re a

decent person.”

Nolan threw his hands up. “Fine, fine. I’m terrible. I’ll take notes from you, Adrian. Learn how to be the perfect,

loyal, devoted man.”

“Just like you and Evelyn, all that back and forth, the breakups, the makeups, and still going strong after all

these years. Honestly, you two are couple goals…” He flinched. “Ow. Adrian, did you just kick me under the

table?”

I stared down at my glass and took a slow sip of milk.

When the check came, Nolan grabbed for it. Adrian stood up and tried to take it from him.

For a moment, it was just Evelyn and me at the table.

She turned to me. “You know, I’ve always envied you.”

I looked at her. “What?”

“You’re so full of life. Like you never run out of energy.” She paused. “Adrian talks about you a lot, you know.

He says you’re his own personal sunshine.”

“Half the time he doesn’t get your jokes, but you drag him along anyway: concerts, musicals, skydiving, bungee jumping… He comes home aching all over and still says he had fun.”

Evelyn’s gaze drifted to Adrian’s back.

“Adrian went through so much as a kid that suffering just became his default. If nobody dragged him into actually living, he’d spend the rest of his life punishing himself out of habit.”

“But with you, he says he actually feels alive.”

“So honestly, Paige, thank you. For being there for Adrian in all the ways I couldn’t.”

“If something happens to me… I’ll feel okay, knowing he has you.”

I finished my third glass of milk.

My stomach churned.

I looked up and smiled.

“Don’t mention it. I was just having a good time. Could’ve been anyone, really.”