Page 101 of For Butter or Worse
“Excuse me, whoever said that,” Leo shouted back. “Nina Lyon is a James Beard Award–winning chef, so you can just shove this fern—”
The air horn cut him off. He looked at Nina again.
“Despite our differences,” he continued, “that woman onstage is the most brilliant person I’ve ever met. And she is the only person I ever want to be around.”
“Five thousand!” the original bidder called out.
“Six!” he practically screamed back.
“Haven’t you hurt her enough?” another random voice from the room shouted.
Leo frowned. He looked back to Nina, whose lashes had fallen. She stood with her hands at her sides and wiped her palms across the front of her dress. He watched her rock back on her heels, then look up and at him. His mouth moved as they locked eyes, but no sound came out. She was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen, and the idea that he was hurting her all over again was more than he could bear.
He’d meant to make this grand gesture of support to try and show that there were no hard feelings. Because maybe if she saw that they could be in the same room together, she’d be more open to the idea of giving him another chance. But as he looked at her, and how her shoulders tensed and her cheeks flushed, he wasn’t sure they evercouldbe in the same place again.
“Nina?” Leo asked. He wanted her to say whether or not he should go. If she didn’t want him here, he’d leave.
But she didn’t respond.
Leo licked his lips and swallowed down all the hope he’d had walking into this place. He gave Nina one last look, wishing with all his heart that he could take back everything he’d ever done to hurt her. And then he turned away and headed for the exit, grateful for the rain that would be waiting to wash away the memory of what had just happened.
42
NINA
When she could no longer spot Leo in the room, something in Nina snapped, bringing her back to the present. His dramatic entrance had caused her to freeze to the spot where she stood. Seeing him after all their time apart felt surreal. Had she fainted from the pressure and was now hallucinating this scenario?
But he had been there. He’d made a big gesture, and an even bigger bid. And he looked...so good. Better than she remembered. She wanted to curl up against him. Without even being close to him, she could already smell his espresso scent.
Unfortunately, she hadn’t snapped out of her state in time to stop him. He’d walked out of the tent, and back out of her life. And there she was, just standing like a deer about to be run over by reality’s headlights.
“Nina Lyon.” Her sister’s voice cut through her thoughts. She looked out into the crowd to see Sophie, standing and shouting at her. “It is Valentine’s Day, and the man you love just left.”
“Yeah,” Nina said back. “He did.” Breathing felt hard. Her chest grew heavy. What had she done?
“Get off the stage and go get him!” Sophie shouted. She held up her hands like she was trying to reason with a ficus.
“Ditto everything Sophie said!” Jasmine shouted, her head poking out from the kitchen door.
“Shit” was all Nina said before finding the stairs and running, as fast as her wedges would carry her, toward the door.
As soon as she got outside, the rain pelted against her, and she held a hand up to shield her eyes. She looked across the lawn, where tea lights in glass bowls lit a path back to the valet stand. She saw him walking quickly toward the lines of cars.
“Leo,” she called.
But he kept walking, ever faster and farther from her. “Leo!” She cupped her hands to her mouth. “Stop walking with your fast legs, you giant!” she shouted again.
He stopped moving. Had he heard her?
“Devil!” she shouted.
He turned. When she reached him, their bodies were just a few inches apart and she felt him, like a furnace, warming her. She blinked away water, and he smoothed his fingertips above her brow to wipe the rain away.
She’d almost let him leave. Watching him walk away would’ve been easy. All she had to do was stand and wait until his figure disappeared into the dark night. Eventually, she’d be able to bring herself to go back inside, collapse into a heap on the ground and get up when someone forced her to.
But she couldn’t live with herself if she just let him go. Every day she’d wonder if there was more she could’ve done, or said, to make him stay.
“Don’t go, please.” Her eyebrows made a concerned crease. “I’m not sure where to start, but I need to just say that I can’t stop thinking about you. I’ve tried very hard not to, but it’s impossible. I’m sorry if I messed everything up by shutting you out. But I’m here now, and I miss you. I love you so much it hurts, actually.”
