Nicky
I was pissed andI had no right to be.
Noah not giving in, grated on my nerves. Something changed in him. He’d clearly had enough, like he had said. I wanted to call his bluff but when he left my hotel room after I fell asleep, he was obviously done. With me. With us? I wasn’t sure but we had to sort this shit out before I left town. No. Fuck that. I wasn’t leaving. I could do my job anywhere and I was going to plant my ass in his apartment and work from there. Whether he liked it or not, Noah and I were going to be together. Forever.
When I arrived at the restaurant that Noah was at, I saw Veronica sitting at a table by herself. She was eating a salad and looking out the window every so often. When her eyes flicked to mine, a slow grin spread on her face. She placed her fork down and sat back, crossing her arms under herchest.
I glanced at the place setting across from her. It had been cleaned up, so it didn’t look like Noah had been here at all.
“Where is he?” I demanded, not caring in the least that it came off rude.
“He left.” She lifted her chin defiantly.
“I can see that.” My hands clenched into fists at my sides, a tremor of hot energy rushing down my spine. I needed to get it together. “Tell me where he is.”
“Why? So you can break his heart again?”
“I…” I shook my head. “I did no such thing.”
“No? Are you sure?”
“You think you know us. Trust me, baby girl, one night with us fucking every single one of your holes means shit.” A few gasps sounded around us, but I didn’t care. “No one knows Noah like I do. And he’s the only one who knowsme.” I pointed at myself. “Only him.”
“Then you need to tell him that, Nicky.” She sat forward, clearly unaffected by my little outburst. “You need to tell him that you’re in love with him because you obviously are.”
“I tried that,” I said softly, my shoulders slumping with defeat.
“You tried telling him at the wrong time.” She pointed to the empty chair across from her. “Sit.”
“I need to find him,” I argued.
“I know, but you need to sit down and cool off first because if you go find him with how you’re feeling right now, it won’t be good for either of you.”
I opened my mouth to argue but thought better of it and sat across from her. Maybe she was right.
“Take a deep breath,” she ordered.
I raised an eyebrow, staring at her.
She sighed, rolling her eyes. “Just do it please.”
“Fine.” I did as she told me and breathed in deep, letting it out slowly.
“Again.”
I did it a few more times before she was satisfied.
“Better?”
The anger rushing through me was no longer there. I was still annoyed but not as bad as a few moments ago. “Surprisingly, yes.”
“Good.” Veronica went back to eating her salad. “My son has a temper thanks to his father, so whenever he gets overwhelmed with his emotions, I wrap him in my arms and tell him to breathe. Doesn’t work every time of course because it isn’t foolproof, but it does help settle him a bit.”
“I can see why. Although, you didn’t put your arms around me,” I pointed out.
She laughed. “Yeah, that’s true but I don’t think it’s my arms you need around you, Nicky.”
She was right. Again.
