Page 122 of Restore Me

I smile back at her and find that it’s genuine. I am actually happy to see her, even though I know this conversation probably won’t end well. “Thanks for meeting up with me. I wasn’t sure you would want to.”

“Honestly, I’m surprised you wanted to meet after how we left things.”

“Yeah, that was a pretty rough day.”

She laughs. “That’s a huge understatement, Nic. I was horrible to you, and I completely disrespected your boundaries. I don’t even remember half of the shit I said, but I know none it was okay. I just got it in my head that we had to work because there was no real reason why we shouldn’t. We had all the ingredients, you know? But none of that excuses my behavior, and I’m sorry. Especially about the picture frame. I promise I’ll buy you a new one.”

Shock courses through me. I wasn’t expecting this conversation to go like this at all. I run a hand over my head.

“Thank you.”

“Of course. When I told Ash what I did, he said I needed to apologize immediately, but I haven’t had time to reach out because I’ve been super swamped at work.”

“Ash? As in Ash Strickland?”

“One in the same.” She flicks her hair over her shoulder. “We ran into each other at Roku one night and just hit it off. We’ve been inseparable ever since—” She pauses, taking in the surprise I know is stamped across my face. “Oh no, Nic. You weren’t looking to get back together were you?”

I shake my head furiously. “No, I’m just surprised that’s all. And happy for you of course.”

“Okay.” She doesn’t look convinced. “What did you want to talk about?”

For a second I consider not telling her because there’s this happy glow around her and she finally seems to be moving on from us. But I know backing out isn’t an option. Kris came here and owned her shit, and I have to do the same. With a deep sigh, I cross my arms and launch into her long overdue apology, being sure to leave Sloane’s name out of it.

At first, I can tell that things aren’t sinking in because she still smiles fondly when I start talking about how we met. But then I get to the part about using her as a distraction from the pain I was in over a previous relationship, and her entire face falls.

“Who was she?”

I bristle at the question. “It doesn’t matter, Kris. Just know I understand how wrong I was for letting you think we could have had a future together when I knew my heart belonged to someone else. It was selfish, and I’m truly sorry for how it hurt you.”

“That’s such a cop-out, Nic. You’re telling me our entire relationship wasn’t real, and you think I don’t deserve to know the name of the woman I was competing with for all these years without even knowing it?”

“You were never in competition with her, Kris.”

“Well excuse me if I don’t feel that way.” She glances at her watch then stands. “I have to get to court, but thank you for this…enlightening conversation.”

I stand to walk out with her, but by the time I finish sliding on my coat, she’s gone. Sighing, I drop a tip on the table and head towards the door, hoping my conversation with Sloane will go better than this one did.

.

38

Sloane

Now

On Friday afternoon, I make my way to James’ office on leaden feet and less than two hours of sleep. Every time I closed my eyes last night, I was hit with the image of Dom’s face as he lied his way out of my house. It kept me up all night, forcing me to replay the entire day with him—the good and bad parts—pinpointing the exact moment everything went wrong. My tired mind was desperate to blame everything on the tattoo, but this fracture is about more than that.

It’s about me being in love with him, and him willingly walking out on me even though he promised to stay by my side. It’s about the ghost of a woman looming between us, making it impossible for his heart to recognize the love in mine. It’s about this stupid arrangement and the deadline approaching quicker than either of us thought it would.

And by the time I get to James’ office for the last-minute meeting he called this morning, I’m well and truly exhausted from thinking about it all.

Both men are already in the office, quietly discussing some new resort being built in California, and it’s the most I’ve heard them talk in weeks. James seems more relaxed around Dom than he’s been since he kissed me, though it’s probably just a byproduct of the project wrapping early and saving him money. They both look up when they hear me coming, and it reminds me of walking in here all those weeks ago and being told I had to work with the man I thought hated me.

That day Dom looked right through me —his face a careful mask of cold indifference and thinly veiled annoyance. And today I expect…well I don’t know what I expect, but it’s not this. The shadows from yesterday still slithering around like dark tentacles that reach out to grip my soul. The haunted look he wore when he walked out the door overpowering the friendly, but disconnected, smile he gives me when I sit down beside him.

Our legs brush like they did that first day, and I’m so aware of him. So aware of the love coursing through my veins, fierce and strong even in the face of the doubt swirling in my gut. I don’t know how we’re going to work our way through this hole I dug us into, or if it’s worth the effort when we only have a week left together.

“Has anyone ever told you two how incredible you are together?” James clasps his hands and leans forward in his chair, a huge grin stretching across his face. “Actually, it doesn’t matter because I’m saying it now. You guys are incredible together. The best damn team I’ve worked with in years.”

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