“Nattie, the only person who knows you better is the one you’re runnin’ from.”
I threw up my hands in exasperation. “He said I was free to go, Nash, so that’s what I’m doin’. Now, can you drive me to the airport so I can get out of this godforsaken place early or not?”
He pulled me into his chest, pressing a kiss to the top of my head. One would think that it’d feel the same, considering both he and Asher were my best friends and had been nearly the same amount of time. But it didn’t. There was no electricity here, no warmth seeping into my bones where he held me tight. Comfort, yes, but not need. “For the record, I think this is your dumbest idea. And we both know exactly how long that list is.”
“Are you gonna drop me off or not?”
He blew out a long-suffering sigh. “Yeah, Nattie. I got you.”
“Great, thanks.”
Perfect, in fact. While I didn’t love that I was leaving, I couldn’t say I wasn’t looking forward to boarding my first plane in a month. Traveling the world had always been a salve for me. Been how I escaped my life…my history…all the baggage I came with.
Hoped it would be how, too, I escaped this pain.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
ASHER
I never thoughtI’d miss sharing a bed with someone. Especially when that someone was Nat, who hogged the bedandthe covers, and used my legs as her toes’ personal warming station. But I couldn’t deny it was true.
For more than an hour, I’d lain there, in the bed we’d shared, on the pillow that still smelled like her, my mind turning over everything she’d said. Her body language had been off, her words hadn’t been right… I’d never seen her fake a smile for me, but I was sure she’d done it tonight.
My phone buzzed with an incoming call, and I grabbed it, hoping it was Nat. Instead, Nash’s face stared up at me from the screen. I blew out a sigh and closed my eyes, knowing exactly how this was going to go. He’d want to know if I had bucked up and talked to Nat, told her how I was feeling.
No. No, I absolutely had not. I could’ve, when she’d asked me about the song I’d been playing, with lyrics I’d written about her. Or when we’d started talking about what we were going to do now that the hearing was over. But nope. I couldn’t bring myself to when I already knew where she stood.
The call clicked over to voice mail, and fifteen seconds later, it buzzed with a text.
Nash:
Pick up, asshole.
I hadn’t even finished reading the message before the phone buzzed again. From experience, I knew Nash would keep this up for hours if he needed to. Which meant I should just skip ahead, avoid a lot of irritation, and answer now.
“What?”
“Is it true you told her it was time for her to go?”
I blew out a heavy sigh. At least she hadn’t led with me suggesting divorce. “That wasn’t exactly what I said, but it doesn’t change that itistime.”
The line was silent for long moments before Nash said, “And that was it?”
“What else was I supposed to say?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe, Nat, I love you? Please stay?”
“Why the hell would I ask her to do that when shewantsto leave? She loves her job and she loves not bein’ stuck in one place and she loves?—”
“You, you jackass.”
“You read it wrong, Nash.”
He huffed out an incredulous laugh. “Right. You didn’t see her when she came over here, but somehowIgot it wrong. Look, I’m gonna give you a little more leeway than I would any other guy who broke her heart?—”
“Her heart’s not?—”
“Shut up. I told you earlier you needed to figure out how this could work, and I meant it. I’ve got a chance to have both my best friends here again, at least some of the time, and I’d appreciate it if you assholes didn’t ruin it for me.”
