Page 73 of Terms + Conditions
“We didn’t always get along.”
“But you stepped up that night at the ball…And you weren’t standing where I was. It was pretty obvious. I always thought there was something there, you guys were just too stubborn to realize it.” Nina reaches out to squeeze my hand. “Josh, I begged her not to file those papers. To talk to you. I thought I had convinced her, but then she filed anyway. She was so set on it. And then she met Ryan at one of our networking events and—”
“You introduced them?” I can’t hide the surprise in my voice.
Nina shrugs. “Inadvertently. And when I tried to warn her about what an asshole he is, it only pushed her further into his radius.”
“Were they together at your wedding?”
“No, as far as I know. But truthfully, I don’t know. I didn’t even know they were together until last month.”
“What do you mean?” I ask.
“I have spent the last year trying to convince her to make it work with you and the whole time…she was talking to him. The night you showed up at her house in Jupiter, she called me earlier that day to tell me the truth about Ryan. She thought things were finally getting serious after a year of secretly seeing each other.” Nina scoffs, shaking her head. “Josh, I don’t know what the truth is anymore. I thought Ryan went with her this weekend, but the next thing I know, I’m seeing a photo ofyouwith them, not him. And when I called her, she told me everything, including the part where she told you she wanted you and then you left her—”
“What was I supposed to do Nina? He was there!”
Her brow lifts at my outburst.
I take a deep breath trying to recollect my thoughts. “He was there and she walked away from me to be with him.”
Nina bites on her bottom lip before swallowing the rest of the whiskey. “You say you don’t want this divorce, Josh, but you’re not fighting to stop it either.” Without waiting for a response, she stands from her chair and leaves.
I don’t watch her walk away, instead I stare into the dying flames of the fire. Scrubbing a hand down my face, I question if she’s right. This isn’t the first time someone has said that…Alex said the same thing at Thanksgiving.
And I think they might be right…Ihaven’tdone anything to stop this divorce from happening. Not really. I’ve been too scared to face the possibility that even if I tell Elizabeth how I feel, she will still turn me down.
Not anymore.
I’m going to do just that, right now.
When I walk back inside, the current conversation between Nick and Nina halts. I can tell by the look on Nina’s face she has been rehashing our conversation outside with her husband. Stepping up to the island, I rap my fist on the marble countertopand suck my lips between my teeth before I clear my throat. “I’m…gonna drive down to Jupiter.”
Dear Josh —
I hope this letter finds you well. It’s been a long time, like a long time, and a lot has changed since you got in the car and drove off with your friends. Do you even remember me? Spring break 2010, Daytona. Coconut Joe’s. After all this time, you would think those memories would have faded, but I still think about them often.
It’s hard not to.
And I wonder if you do, too.
There’s something that was left unsaid all those years ago, and we need to talk about it.
Viv Coffee Co
Wichita, KS
July 18th, 2024 @ 11am
Juliet Sinclaire
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
THEN
July 2024
“I DIDN’T THINK YOU’D be back until tomorrow.”
