Page 123 of Nikola
He waved his hand nonchalantly. “More visitations.”
I had no idea what that meant.
“So you’re okay with me being gone for a while?” I signed hesitantly.
He winced. “Not exactly okay, but I know Nikola and you need some time alone to work things out. I want you to be happy.”
“And both of you need to be open-minded,” Mama chimed in. “Happiness needs work.”
“You two make it look so effortless,” I noted.
Mama smiled. “It’s not. There’s always an obstacle waiting, but as long as you stick together, nothing else matters.”
“I’m going to see him.”
I clapped my hands excitedly and started circling the room again.
“I’m glad you’ve finally got your spunk back, but I sure am going to miss you.”
Mama grabbed my hand and forced me to still. “We need to get you packed before your papa changes his mind.”
50
SKYE
Idescended the stairs of the Nikolaev private jet, expecting to see Sasha waiting for me. To my surprise, it was Nikola.
My steps faltered, and I froze mid-descent as our eyes met. It had been ages since I’d seen him, and suddenly, all the feelings I’d been keeping at bay came crashing down.
I blinked twice, but he was still there.
He wore black loafers, black trousers, and a white dress shirt. No tie. Under the warm Louisiana sun, his hair seemed lighter than usual and his eyes paler than the frozen glacier waters. But gone was that careless expression and in its place was a somber face that resembled his father’s more than ever before.
But it was still him. My Nikola.
I blinked profusely, trying to keep stupid tears at bay. It was pointless.
He wheeled himself forward, and before I knew what I was doing, I ran down the steps, discarding months of clinging to my pride and his hurtful words and actions. I ran all the way to him.
It wasn’t until my knees were on the ground and my hands wrapped around him, his cologne filling my lungs, that he finally felt real.
I leaned back, meeting Nikola’s scalding eyes, intense and full of emotions that burned in my chest.
When he pulled away, his expression, warm but somewhat reserved, zeroed in on me.
For a few moments we just soaked in each other before he broke the silence. “I missed you so fucking much,zayka.”
One, two heartbeats.
“You let me down, Nikola,” I signed, my fingers shaking.
Shadows full of conflict flared across his face before he ran a hand across his face as we stared at each other silently. My heart trembled in my chest while feelings clogged my throat. Was it so easy to forgive? Deep in my soul I knew it was, but I wanted to hear more words from him. I needed his assurance that from now on, it’d be us against the world. I didn’t want to risk his shutdown when we reached another obstacle.
Weneededto talk about the fact that he shut me down and pushed me away. How he hurt me. I understood that he hurt too, but his disability should have been something we tackled together.
I should have been here with him every step of the way, not across the ocean worrying about him and aching for him.
“Should we go to the compound?” he offered as if he could sense my conflicted thoughts. “I can see all the questions swirling in your head and we have lots to talk about. Let’s hold off until we get home. Okay?”
