Page 60 of Fragments of You

“On what?” I’m hesitant to ask.

“On you.” The tenderness in his voice makes me feel off balance.

“Me?” I feign surprise at his words, but really, I already knew what he was going to say when I asked the question.

“Oh, come on, P, we both know you have all the power here. Whether I stay, whether I go, it all hinges on you.”

“Why? Why can’t you just do what you want to do regardless of me?”

“Because that’s not how this works, and you know it. If you go through with this wedding, if you marry Felix, do you honestly believe I could stay and watch the two of you live happily ever after? Would you if the roles were reversed?”

“I suppose not.” I allow myself to admit.

“Why are you here?” He asks the question he should have asked when he opened the door to find me standing there.

“I don’t know.”

It’s not untrue. I don’t know. The entire drive over, I tried to convince myself that I needed to do this, but honestly, I think I just wanted to, and I had to find a way to give myself permission.

“Did something happen with Felix?”

“Why would you think that?”

“Because you’re here,” he states the obvious.

“No,” I lie, my mind drifting back to the look on Felix’s face as he demanded I leave. A part of me was so devastated, but I can’t deny another part of me, albeit a small part, was kind of relieved, which in turn only makes me feel worse. “I mean, yes.” I blow out a hard breath. “I don’t even know anymore.”

“You wanna talk about it?”

“Not really.” I let out a humorless laugh. “Can we just be here? Can we just exist here without talking about the past or about the future? Can we just be Nash and Paisley for a little bit?”

“Okay.”

“What are you working on?” I look around, spotting a sledgehammer on the floor next to a small hole in the wall. “Are you taking that wall out?” I gesture to the vicinity of where I’m looking.

“Trying to give the place a little more of an open concept.”

“Great. Can I help?”

“You want to help me demo?”

“Very much.” I nod, the thought of having something to take my aggression out on very enticing.

“All right then.” He waves his arm in a way of saying go for it. “Have at it.”

“Okay.” I move toward the wall, setting my cell and keys on the still-intact breakfast bar before letting my hand wrap around the handle of the hammer.

I’m just about to pick it up when Nash’s voice stops me.

“Hang on there. First, we need to gear you up.”

“Gear me up?” I arch a brow in his direction, watching his backside when he turns and digs through a tool cabinet that he’s rolled into the center of the living room.

Seconds later, he approaches with a pair of gloves and safety goggles.

“Here.” He hands me the gloves. “Safety first.” He smiles as he slides the goggles onto my face, his fingers lingering on my cheek just long enough that I know the contact is intentional. “There, all set.”

“How do I look?” I give him a cheeky smile.

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