Page 15 of Until Now

“I can go with babe if you want.” He tossed the last piece of his own muffin in his mouth. “What's on the agenda today,babe?”

“Let’s just stick with Dee, okay Fossette?”

“Fossette?”

I just smile.

“Whatever you say,Dee.”

Chapter Ten

“Oh, you mustmeet Nicholas!” I hear my mother as we walk through the front door. The Madigans must be here. I touch Nick’s arm getting his attention and hold my finger up to my lips. I’m not ready to face our guests just yet. Despite our attempt to go unnoticed, we’ve already been discovered. As we reach the second floor, Mother calls down the stairs. I ignore her continuing down the hallway to my bedroom, but Nick is stuck between playing the good boyfriend to my family versus me.

“What are you doing?” I hiss when he begins walking up the stairs. “If we go like this, she will murder us in our sleep.” We're covered in sweat and dirt from the trail. Not Sopris. No, I promised I wouldn’t take him there unless he asked. But, I was pleasantly surprised at how easy conversation came to us on the trail.

“But isn’t your favorite pastime pissing her off?”

My eyes widen when my laugh echoes through the awaiting silence. Shit. I didn’t mean to laugh so loud. Now we have no choice, we have to go upstairs. Mother will be furious if we don’t.

“C’mon,” Nick reaches his hand out to me. “I’ll be right there with you.”

With a heavy sigh, I take it.

§

It’s obvious Mother is biting her tongue. Her murderous gaze zeroed in as we reach the third floor. “Oh good, you’re here! Come, come.” She ushers us into the living room where two of our guests await us. Lee Madigan — my ex-boyfriend, financial analyst, and sole heir to the Madigan family fortune. He looks like he just walked out of a frat house, the Vineyard Vines plaid button down and matching pink shorts nauseating. His blonde hair doesn’t match the thick, dark beard growing on his face — was he still dyeing his hair? I can’t remember it being so blonde. But, the raven-haired girl beside him looks exactly the same. Short dress. Full makeup. No curves. Black hair hanging just past her shoulders. Teagan Kennedy — former best friend, college dropout, and professional nuisance.

Nick takes a small step in front of me, shielding me from Lee’s roaming eyes and I squeeze his arm in thanks.

“Lee, this is Nicholas, Davina’s new friend.” Mother introduces them, looping her arm with Lee just as she had done with Nick yesterday.

“Lee Madigan,” he extends his free hand, but Nick doesn’t reciprocate it. Without missing a step, Lee turns his attention back to me. “It’s good to see you, Nin.”

“Oh, Davina! It’s so nice to see you.” Teagan pushes Nick aside, embracing me tightly, but I push her away. “Oh wow, you smell awful.”

“We just came back from the trail,” Nick gains her attention.

“Oh,” she purrs and grips his bicep.

The action stirs something inside me. Jealousy? Wait — am I jealous? No, I can’t be jealous.

“Brina said Nina brought a friend, but she didn’t say how handsome you were. Where in the world did she find you?”

“Enough, Teagan. If you want a man to grope, look behind you,” Kai says when he follows Eileen into the kitchen from the patio.

“Kai, don’t be rude! Teagan was just being friendly.” Mother smiles apologetically at Teagan who retreats to Lee’s side.

“My mistake, I must be thinking of a different Teagan. The one who slept with Lee for three years behind her best friend’s back. You’re right, this Teagan is very friendly.”

Teagan rips her hand from Lee storming off to the corner guest room. At the same time, Mother huffs off to join Daddy and the Madigans on the patio.

Nick stops Lee when he tries to approach me, “I think it’s best if you don’t.”

Lee ignores him. “Nina, come on, can’t we talk? I don’t want this to be weird. I mean, when did you start dating again?“

“It's not any of your business, is it, James?”

“James? So, we’re on a first-name basis now?” I don’t respond. “Let’s talk about this, Davina. Like adults.”

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