Page 77 of Begin Again
“Why? He’s not wrong,” Elizabeth says with a smile. “You guys are cute together. Besides, he loves Elena.”
I wonder if they know how impossible they are making it to take my mind off Beau and the way my entire being has yearned for him since I was in his office this morning.
“Lascia perdere! Entrambi.”I plead for them to drop it before someone else overhears the conversation. My siblings share a glance and laugh as I roll my eyes, stalking out of the kitchen to my room. “You’re both insufferable.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
DO YOU EVEN CARE that he’s gone?
Alex’s words echo through my mind as my feet pound against the dirt trail. They haven’t left me alone since he said them, not even after I talked to Beau about them yesterday. I know it’s Alex’s grief talking, but it doesn’t make his words hurt any less. I want to talk to Alex, to try and fix the damage done by our argument, but every time I try, something pulls me back. I think it’s my fear of escalating the situation further. Beau’s presence last night only pissed Alex off further, but the rest of the family didn’t seem to mind, and it made Elena happy. Her happiness was all I cared about.
My pace slows as I round the bend leading to the Marah Lakes, a group of three large bodies of water off the trail. The largest one is a bit farther off the path but has the best views. Slowing even further, I take the path veering to the left of the main trail. After another ten minutes, I finally step through the tree line where a gorgeous (and worth the new bruise on my shin) view awaits me. A rocky beach leads to crystal waters where the mountain peak rises high into the sky, and the day’s last sunlight reflects off the remaining pure white snow yet to melt away. I don’t have long before it’s dark on the trail, and I don’t want to be out here without any light.
Not alone, anyway.
Sitting on one of the bigger rocks on the shore, I take a deep breath and hold it before exhaling.
Do you even care that he’s gone?
Those words hit me like a freight train, and every time I hear them, it makes me think of the fight Nick and I had the September before he disappeared. The fight we had before we returned to New York…I can still remember it like it was yesterday.
“What did Kai want?” Nick’s voice caught me off guard.When did he get there?Turning away from the window, my husband stood in the doorway of my home office. His arms were folded, his gaze slightly narrowed.
I sighed.
I wanted to digest this before telling him. Hoped I could find the right time, but I knew that wasn’t possible, considering the time constraint. From the look on his face, I was ninety-nine percent sure he already knew what my brother wanted, and I hadn’t even said anything yet. It wasn’t hard to guess what it meant when I said Kai wanted to talk business.
“Oh, hi,Fossette,” I said, offering a smile, the familiar nickname rolling off my tongue.
His brow raised, unimpressed with my attempt to deflect. “Dee, what did your brother want?”
I bit down on my bottom lip, setting my phone back on my desk. Nick was going to be mad, there was no doubt about it, but I didn’t have a choice…
“Eileen is about to pop any day now and he wants to be able to be there for her.” I shrugged. “He asked me if I’d consider stepping in for a bit.”
“He’s not giving you much time to think about it. Eileen is due in two weeks.”
“I know…I said yes.”
“You said...” Nick scoffed, shaking his head in utter disbelief. “Nina, we didn’t even talk about this! Don’t I get a say in this, too?”
“I can’t let the company fall into anyone’s hands.”
“What about us?” The wordushad a particular bite to it. “What about our break? We’re supposed to pack up and move back to New York because Kai doesn’t want to do his job anymore?” He gripped the other side of my desk, staring me dead in the eye as my face fell. “I don’t want to go back to New York, Nina. And neither does our daughter. She likes it here. I like it here, and I thought you did, too.”
“I do! It’s just—”
“It’s not enough for you.”
“Nick, that is not what I said.”
“You’ve been going nonstop yourentirelife, Dee. You have always been there to step in for Kai when he didn’t want to do his job, but who steps in for you? Even now, you’re still helping out with DV Designs. You’re still on the board of Villa Inc. You haven’t fully stepped away.”
“I can’t—”
“You could, but you don’t.”
“Non capisci,” I pleaded with him.
