Page 72 of Begin Again
On my way to rejoin the family, a photo in our sitting room catches my attention.What is that doing there?This is the first time I’ve noticed it since my return to Haven last year, but I haven’t spent much time here recently. This room was our safe haven, away from the chaos that filled our home more often than not. It was one reason I fell in love with this house. During the remodel, Nick even added built-in shelves on either side of the fireplace, and a wet bar, usually stocked with water or juice instead of beer or wine.
I stand on my tiptoes to remove the frame from the top shelf of the built-ins. The image grips tight on my heart and squeezes, digging in so deep I feel the pain in every nerve ending.
A prickle in the air caught my attention well before I felt the weight of his hand on my shoulder. His fingers applied a small amount of pressure on the space between my neck and shoulder and I covered his hand with mine, giving it a gentle squeeze. “I can’t wait to get you back to the room,” Nick whispered in my ear before he pressed a lingering kiss against my hair.
“Okay, time for you two to start talking,” Elizabeth said when he sat beside me.
Nick’s hand splayed across my thigh under the table. I tried not to squirm when his fingers inched closer to where I wanted him most. It had been months since I’d been this close to himand as much as I loved my friends and my sister, I was ready to get back to my hotel and consummate this love affair. When he showed up in the park earlier, I never imagined the day would turn out this way, but now I can’t imagine a more perfect ending.
“What do you want to know?” Nick asked.
“How about we start with that ring sitting on Nina’s finger,” Josh said from behind his whiskey glass. The suggestion from his cousin earned a glare from Nick, but a chorus of agreement from the others at the table.
“You guys have been apart for years! Now you’re…married?” Elizabeth’s apprehension confused me. Wasn’t she the one telling me Nick and I should set aside our differences and make it work the past two years?
The weight on my left ring finger felt foreign. My thumb was constantly fiddling with the new addition to my jewelry collection—a blue-green emerald-cut stone with a diamond halo and diamond-studded platinum band.
“Well, I think it’s romantic,” my friend and college roommate Lydia swoons, and Michaela agrees.
“It is romantic, just a little unexpected, I guess.” Elizabeth shrugged.
“I love her,” Nick said, his gaze focused on his hand resting on my thigh. Squeezing my thigh, he looked up and met my stare. “Yeah, there are some things we still need to figure out, but I didn’t need time to decide if I wanted to be with her or not…I’ve known for a long time. I’m just lucky she felt the same way.”
After that, the conversation shifted to Michaela’s new job promotion, but I knew the interrogation was far from over. Elizabeth and Michaela would question me…later when we weren’t sitting at dinner meant to be celebrating Michaela.
“I love you.” I looked at my husband. That sounded weird to say…husband.Every time I thought it or said it, a quick wave of adrenaline shot through my veins.
"Ti amo da morire.”
I love you to death.The words held such a weight, but I knew he meant them.
“To death, huh?” I asked.
Nick gripped the bottom of my chair and dragged it closer to his. He wrapped his arm around my waist and leaned in. “Till death do us part, Princess,” he whispered. The nickname was one of the many he’d used over the years, but I’d come to prefer Dee or Princess over all of them. I giggled when his mouth hovered over mine, bringing my left hand to caress his stubbled cheek.
“And after,” I answered.
“And after,” he agreed.
The flash caught me off guard. When we parted, Michaela had her phone pointed in our direction. “You guys were so cute, I couldn’t resist,” she said before returning her attention to the table conversation.
“Nin?” Michaela’s voice pulls me from the memory. She stands in the open door of my bedroom with wide blue eyes. “Is everything okay? You never came back, so I wanted to check on you. I knocked, but you didn’t answer. Then I saw you crying and—”
“It’s fine, Mic. I’m fine,” I say, wiping under my eyes, and return the frame to its place on the shelf. “I’m just…thinking about things.”
Michaela glances at the frame, a sad smile on her lips when she sees the photo from almost seven years ago. Next month should be our seventh wedding anniversary. “That’s still my favorite.”
“Yeah, me too.” The corners of my lips lift briefly when I gaze at the photo one last time. With a sigh, I usher Michaela out the door. “Well, c’mon, before we miss the end of the movie. Elena would never forgive me.”
The stars twinkle in the sky above the mountaintop through the window wall in the great room. When Michaela and I rejoin the family, my daughter climbs over Brie and into my lap, gripping the fabric of Nick’s sweater between her tiny hands. Kissing the top of Elena’s head, I think back to the photo in my bedroom. I think about that lovesick couple, how unfair life can be, and how blissfully unaware they were of what the future had in store for them.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
THE STATION IS QUIET this morning as I follow Elena inside. She skips through the lobby and past Flo’s desk without a care in the world. I half expect to see Deputy Johnson sitting at his desk in the corner, but it’s empty. The whole place is empty—which isn’t unusual for a Sunday—but I know at least one person is here, I saw his SUV parked outside.
Elena woke up early this morning, begging me for a hot chocolate from Vintage House in downtown Haven. And who was I to deny her a warm, chocolatey beverage and some breakfast from her favorite restaurant? It was the same place Daddy and I used to go when we were in town for some father-daughter time and I loved sharing the same tradition with my daughter. Besides, it would be nice to get some time for ourselves before the rest of the day started. Today would be filled with family activities, including a lantern ceremony before dinner.
While sitting at breakfast, Elena suggested we get some breakfast for Uncle Beau because he was probably hungry, too. Little did she know it was already on my agenda to order at least a coffee to-go for our favorite sheriff. I wanted to stop by on our way home and see how he was faring this morning.
