Page 18 of Until Now

“Perché la mamma non l'ha semplicemente presa da Diana?” I ask my brother. Nick looks to Eileen for clarification, but she only shrugs.

“I told her I’d do it since I was already going into town.”

“We’re gonna stop by the parts store, he’s been hounding me about cars,” Nick says.

“Dad never taught me,” Kai defends himself.

“You were too busy being Mom’s errand boy. Just like now!” I laugh at my own joke.

“Shut up.”

“Truth hurts, doesn’t it?”

“He never taught you either.”

“I learned the basics, it’s called Youtube, Kai. You still don’t even know how to change a tire. At least, I can do that.”

“That's what he has me for.” Eileen pats the top of Kai’s hand.

“How was yoga?” Kai tries to change the subject.

“It was great, after Lina stopped talking.” I steal a fry from Nick’s plate.

“You girls hungry?” Kai offers a menu.

“We don’t want to intrude on your date. Besides, I’m sure Nick has enjoyed spending some time with someone other than me.”

“Typical Nina, never wants to share.”

“Can you blame me? I got tired of it after all these years.” I laugh, but there’s still a twinge of hurt deep inside. I wonder if I’ll ever be able to totally get over what happened. I made up my mind a long time ago, I would never get back with Lee. No matter what he said or did, I had finally freed myself from something I never wanted in the first place. I had refused to date him for so long, but at some point, it felt like my only option. And soon, testing the waters had turned into four years and talks of engagement rings. I had done everything to make him happy, but it still hadn’t been enough. I wasn’t enough.

Rough fingers graze my own bringing me back to the moment. Blinking back the tears, I see Nick’s thumb rubbing across the back of my hand. He offers me a soft smile and I return it, thankful to have him here with me.

Chapter Twelve

I pace thebalcony listening to Michaela explain how a client wants to change the entire design four days into construction. This cannot be happening. Trying to get them to agree on the current designs was hard enough and thinking of the hoops I’m going to have to jump through with the city and county and then— No. This is what Michaela is supposed to be doing. She is supposed to be handling this while I’m gone. “No, I don’t want to talk to him. If you’re ever going to do this on your own, you need to learn how to handle these things. I’m gone, which means you’re in charge.” I’m greeted by a suspicious Nick when I walk into my bedroom. “Look, I have to go, Nick just—”

“OMG. How is that going?” Michaela shrieks on the other end.

“Fine, I guess.”

“Tell her you have to go, your boyfriend requires some assistance,” Nick says loud enough so Michaela can hear.

“What did he say?” Michaela’s voice echoes through the receiver.

“He said, my boyfriend requires some assistance,” I laugh.

“What does that mean?”

“Goodbye, Michaela.” I hang up and toss my phone on the bed with a sigh.

“Doesn’t working on vacation defeat the whole purpose of a vacation?”

“It helps take my mind off things.” I feel like I have to be available to some degree. I’ve worked too hard for something to go wrong just because I’m on vacation. A phone call here or there won’t kill me — seems to be a Villa family trait. Daddy and Kai have been working some every day too. “So Fossette, how was my brother?”

“Didn’t even realize we’d been gone so long ’til Eileen called to see if we ran off together.”

I’m glad that Kai has been able to find a friendship in Nick. Kai normally hangs around the stuffy guys from the office or old school friends. It wasn’t until he met Eileen that he finally started to branch out and get to know other people, but this is the first time I've seen him enjoy himself. A sinking feeling settles in my gut thinking about what is going to happen at the end of summer.

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