Page 81 of Worth the Risk

I don’t like it, but I get it.

Needing to find out what Nash remembers about that night, I took a chance, and he was the only one who didn’t unfriend me, so I was able to message him. I asked if we could meet up, and he agreed.

When Nash enters the restaurant and spots me, he makes his way over.What is the protocol here? Do I hug him like I would a friend, which I still consider him?He must be as confused about that night as I am.Does he believe I crawled into bed with him to get back at Leo like Amber said? Does he blame me for ruining his relationship with both Leo and Sophie?If he does, this conversation will not go well, and I don’t think I can take much more.

Hug him or stay seated?In the end, I stay seated.

He slides into the booth as I sum up the courage to talk to him.

I give him a timid smile. “Hello, Nash.”

“Hello, Kylie.”

“How, um… have you been?” I ask.

“All things considered, I’m good. I’m at my new job and enjoying it. It isn’t Knight Industries, but it pays well, and I get to be with my mom and sister.”

“Good… good,” I say, but I have nothing else.How do I even start an awkward conversation?

After a beat, Nash puts his hands on top of mine. “Listen. I’m not sure how that night happened or what happened, but no matter how many times I play it over in my head, I don’t believe we had sex.”

I exhale a big breath.Thank God.

“How can you be so sure? I mean, I don’t think we did either, but, well… there was that morning I… I woke up naked in your bed. It’s the only thing that makes me doubt. That one little piece I can’t understand.” I grimace remembering it.

He returns his hands to his side of the table when the server comes over to take our drink orders. I’m still unable to eat much without vomiting it up, so I order an unsweetened tea.

Nash only orders a drink as well.

After the server leaves, Nash says, “I don’t know, Kylie. Please don’t be upset when I ask you this, but how did you end up naked in my bed?”

“I honestly don’t remember. I’m sure I went to bed in Leo’s room. Then, somehow, I was in your bed the next morning. Amber said I got drunk, and my memory is a bit hazy, but I don’t recall drinking more than the one drink she gave me. I remember thinking it was strong, but one drink shouldn’t have knocked me on my ass.”

Nash thinks for a moment before asking, “What else do you recall about that night?”

The server places our drinks in front of us. I take a sip, then tell him what I remember. I explain how Amber showed up later than expected and how she told me he got drunk.

Nash shakes his head, but I continue without interruption.

I rehash my confrontation with Beth and what she said about Leo and her being together. Nash’s eyebrows raise.

“So I went back to the house to grab my things but changed my mind and chose to confront Leo. I called him, and eventually, he admitted to it but claimed it was only once and was before we got together.”

Nash chooses his next words carefully. “Kylie, I must be honest with you. He only slept with her once. I have no reason to lie for him. He met her our first night here, and she came home with him, but that was it. He never once gave her a second glance. He was completely infatuated with you, and you were all he thought about after that. Beth had a way of always showing up where we were. She even showed up at the casino, and Leo said he hid in the back offices, and I believe him. He honestly thought she was stalking him, especially after you two got together. He wanted to tell you, but he knew you would take it badly, and he thought you would leave, and it scared him. It became harder for him to tell you when he fell in love with you.”

I believe him. Nash has no reason to lie and defend Leo now. I only wish we could have figured things out together, that I would have asked him about Beth calmly and not lost my shit, and that he would have let me try to explain that morning.

But how could I explain it when I don’t understand what happened myself?I also acknowledge that if I had walked in on him with a naked girl in his bed, I would have reacted the same way.

What must he have felt seeing us together like that? Especially after what Amber told him.

“I loved him too. I still love him. Thank you for telling me. I appreciate it more than you realize.”

“I shouldn’t be backing him up right now, but the truth is the truth, and you need to hear it.”

Nodding at him, I continue with the rest of my story. “I yelled at him on the phone and eventually became so angry that I threw it against the wall, and it shattered. I was crying on the floor, and this is where my memory gets fuzzy. Amber came in and gave me a drink. It was strong. I was tired, so I thought I fell asleep in Leo’s bed, but I woke up the next morning in your room.”

Nash remains quiet, considering everything I’ve told him, then concern passes over his face. “I don’t want to scare you, but something you said has me thinking. Are you sure it was only one drink?”

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