Page 85 of Until Now

“You want to be there for him, keep an eye on him. But Nick, he doesn’t want that for you. You know that. He wouldn’t have pushed you to come with me if he did.”

“You know about that?”

“He may have mentioned a few things at the wedding.”

“Of course he did.” Nick rolls his eyes. He takes my hand that had been caressing his cheek and presses it to his lips.

A blush creeps into my cheeks. “How about we go get something to eat and not talk about things?”

“I need to tell you something first.”

“I don’t want to talk about it. Any of it. I want to act like nothing is wrong, like we don’t have a million things to talk about.”

“Nina, there is one thing I need to tell you.”

“Forget it, for now. Tonight, let’s just not talk about how fucked up we are. Okay?”

“Nina, I just…It’s about your mom and I really think you should know.” I give him a warning glare from across the desk packing my things into my purse. He is not going to win this battle. “Fine, okay, whatever.”

“Good. Now, we should probably get you a different shirt. I think that shop on Turner Street is still open. Then we can head to The Gathering Place, have you been there before?”

“No.”

“Oh, it’s so good.”

“What if we run into someone in town? Your family, perhaps.”

“Non c'è motivo per cui non possiamo essere amici, right?” I heave my bag onto my shoulder. When he doesn't respond, I look at him, “What?”

“English, please.” His smirk makes me blush.

Oops.

“Plenty of people are friends with their ex. I mean, fake ex? — I don't know what to call us.”

“Whatever you say, Princess,” he laughs.

“Just do that more often, and we’ll be fine, Fossette.”

“What? Agree with you?”

“Yes.”

We laugh and the last of the tension finally seems to disappear. Nick’s hand lands on the small of my back as we leave the office. But, my mind wanders to what he said moments ago. He has to tell me something about my mother? It reminds me of what he said in Haven… As we walk down Sparrow Street towards Turner, I’m starting to think she really is the reason he left Haven. She admitted to looking into him. Did she do something? Say something? The thought doesn’t leave my mind even when he begins telling me about spending time with Alex in Boston, intentionally leaving out the parts with Sheyenne.

Chapter Forty-Nine

Have I beenactively avoiding my parents since dinner at the club? I plead the fifth. I’m not looking for another argument or twenty questions about whyI hired Nick. The answer has remained the same no matter how many times they ask. But, I've avoided them far too long and Elizabeth knows it, so she asked me to drop wedding photos at the house. I refused at first, but Elizabeth wouldn’t give up until I agreed.

The Villa Estate is empty, no sign of either of my parents. I silently thank the Lord, because that means I can get in and out without any interaction. Dropping the photos on the kitchen counter, I’m about to leave when I see the fire roaring outside. I look up at the ceiling as if God himself is staring down at me with a smirk, proud of himself for not letting me escape that easily. “You just couldn’t let me have this one, could you?” I ask aloud.

“Bri?” Daddy calls when I open the patio door. “Oh, Davina. Pensavo che tu fossi tua madre.”

“No, but I was looking for her. Elizabeth gave me some wedding photos for you.”

“Set them inside, I’ll be sure to tell her you left them.”

I fight the urge to go back inside, drop the photos, and run. I’m tired of dancing around him, walking on eggshells, I want to hash things out once and for all. “Daddy, can we talk?”

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