“Oh, honey,” she said as soon as I told her what happened. “You should just come home.”
I closed my eyes briefly. “I don’t want to. I really like it here. And I love my job.”
There was a pause on the other end.
“Okay,” she said finally. “But just know you can always come home if you need to.”
“Thanks.”
After we hung up, I called Ky.
He reacted exactly the way I knew he would.
Within thirty seconds, he was offering to transfer me achunk of money and insisting on paying for a hotel while I figured everything out.
“Just send me the total,” he said. “I don’t care what it costs. Put it on my card. I’ll cover it.”
“Ky—”
“I’m serious, Nora. Don’t try to tough this out. I got you.”
There was no hesitation in his voice. Just steady, protective big-brother energy.
Which only made my throat tighten with gratitude. This wasn’t the first time he’d used his money to save me from a bad situation.
By the time we reached the end of the call, he casually said, “See you soon.”
“What do you mean?” I frowned. “Are you in town or something?”
“Yeah. For Ian’s wedding. Miles told me he’s bringing you.”
My stomach dropped.
“Crap,” I breathed. “I completely forgot all about that.”
“You’ve had a lot going on,” Ky said dryly. “Will you still be able to go?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted, trying to think through the logistics with my tired brain. “I don’t exactly have a dress to wear anymore.”
I pulled my phone from my ear to glance at the time.
Miles was supposed to pick me up in less than an hour.
Was there even time to find a dress?
A dress appropriate for a billionaire’s wedding?
I ended the call with Ky and stared at my reflection in the dark screen of my new phone. Today had already felt like a month long. But apparently, it wasn’t finished with me yet.
“It sounds like you might need a dress for tonight.”
I looked up.
Theo was standing just inside the living room, one handbraced on the doorway like he’d been there long enough to catch the important parts of my conversation.
“Yeah,” I said, glancing down briefly. “I completely forgot about the wedding.” I blew out a breath. “I don’t even know if any of the dress shops in town are open this late on a Saturday.”
And even if they were, there wasn’t enough time to do my hair and makeupandfind something that didn’t scream I bought this in a panic an hour ago.