Instead, she took a sip, her umber eyes on mine. I tipped the mug again, offering Nina another mouthful. Her throat worked, mesmerizing me, and I smiled. Then I turned it and drank from where her lip balm had left a faint sheen on the rim.
Natasha’s eyes widened so much her bangs hid her eyebrows. I set the mug down, licking the faint trace of her lip balm off my mouth, making the proud point that Nina was mine.
Natasha leaned forward as if she’d just remembered she had claws. “He’s a sweet one, isn’t he?” she cooed, tilting her head at Nina. “He was even sweeter before he was… confused.”
Nina didn’t flinch, didn’t even blink. Eyes locked on Natasha. Her silence loud enough to drown me. My fingers flexed against the counter, hunting for something to hold on to.
Indifference landed harder than any insult, and Natasha shifted—low, sultry, every syllable sharpened and aimed for the jugular. “You know, Lincoln, that outburst earlier isn’t like you,” she purred, letting my name linger on her lips. “You must be feeling tense. I should grab that body oil you love.” She smiled seductively. “Red bottle with pink letters in your bathroom cabinet, top shelf?”
I’d seen that bottle. She described it to summon a memory, but what came through was the urge to scrub my skin raw.
“I could…” She paused, flicking her hair, and bile rose up my throat the second her perfume hit my nostrils. It smelled—familiar.
My chest knotted. I wanted to rip the words out of Natasha’s mouth and shove them back down her throat. My hand shook on Nina’s neck. I let myself feel the boiling anger in my throat again.
“Natasha,” I hissed. “I’m with Nina. Back the fuck off.” My voice infused her name with an apology, searching her face for some sign—for anything—I might be reading this wrong. Nina’s eyes didn’t even graze me before settling back on Natasha. It was damning, the truth I’d feared clawing out from my insides.
I mouthed her name, trying to catch her eyes. Confusion. My shame and guilt in equal measure fighting for control.
Natasha laughed. “We can play it your way for now, Lincoln.” Her tongue peeked out, licking her lips. “Just wait ’til you remember what a good team we made for the Infinity Weddings pitch.” Natasha went on, chuckling. “She was a total disaster. You won’t want her when you remember.”
That did it for Nina. She edged away from me half an inch, but it might as well have been a mile.
The world swallowed me.
I’dbeenwith Natasha. Nothing but cheating could explain it. Nothing but betrayal.
Natasha got off on it. While I couldn’t fucking breathe.
The urge to snap tore through me, but Nina’s stillness pressed harder than any anger. I couldn’t give Nina more reasons to leave me. “Get out,” I grabbed Natasha’s arm and led her back to the entrance. When she resisted, her fingers shooting out to touch me, every muscle coiled to force her out. “Now!”
I slammed the door behind her, and even through the wood, I heard her yell, “We’ll talk soon enough, Lincoln.”
I leaned on the door, forehead against the cool material, but everything whirled around me. The ringing in my ears amplified, pressure blooming sharp and sudden behind my eyes. I tried for a breath, but the air wasn’t right. Dizzy. I was too goddamn dizzy. My head lolled just as my knees bent without permission.
Nina was there before I could fall, one hand steadying my chest, the other cool against my temple. “Easy,” she said, voice low, even. “It’s all good.”
I wanted to tell her I didn’t deserve her gentleness or touch. That if I’d done what I thought, nothing was “good,” but my jaw locked tight. Nina made sense now: she’d been leaving clues for me to figure it out all week long.
My head fell between my legs, too heavy for me to hold upright. My throat cinched tight, fighting to wring a sob out of me, but no sound came. My hands shook against my temples as Nina’s palm warmed the nape of my neck. As much as her touch anchored me, her tenderness gutted me in equal measure. Why would I fuck up something that felt so right?
Pushing through the shame and regret, I whispered in a shattered voice. “I cheated, right?” It came out as a question, hoping against hope I was wrong.
Nina lifted my face so I’d meet her eyes. “What if you did?”
That caught me off guard, and treacherous hope bloomed. “I don’t feel like I would. Ever.”
“You didn’t, Linc.” She squeezed the back of my neck, and just as I was about to breathe in relief, she added, “You definitely have something going on with her, don’t get me wrong, but you didn’t cheat on me.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I’m not going to lie to you, so think about it. Think of that first night in the hospital.”
And I did. I woke up with a killer headache, blood dripping down my neck, and the sight of dark-brown eyes and the blackest hair framing the face of the woman whose name I’d learned was Nina.
When they finally brought her to me…. It was all me.Iassumed we were together based on the warmth in my chest, the sorrow in her eyes. We weren’t together. I swallowed, pressure building behind my eyes. Nina had never been mine.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
