“List?” Nick frowned. “What list?”
“Dr. Thantos... He…he gave me a list of things to accomplish.”
Nick could feel the anger bubbling inside. “A bucket list? You’re kidding me, right?”
Rebecca shook her head. “Paris was on the list."
“That was when you were dying!” Nick snapped. “You’re not dying now. I thought we—”
“Nick… I’m going to Paris. What’s your problem with Paris?”
Nick moved in, closing the distance between them. “To hell with Paris! I don’t have a problem with you going to Paris. But tell me if I’m wrong, we’re in a relationship, right? We’re a fucking team! At least, we’re supposed to be. How could you make a plan to leave the continent without so much as a discussion?”
Rebecca took a step back and looked up at him. He could see the tears pooling in her beautiful eyes. He could see her distress. Nick felt a tightening in his chest. Unable to bear the thought of her sadness, he clutched her shoulders and pulled her into his arms.
“What is it, baby? What’s going on?” He could feel her chest rise and fall with each heavy breath.
“Rebecca?”
“I can’t do this,” she said after a sniffle.
Nick’s heart dropped. He pulled her tighter, refusing to entertain the possibility of being without her. He’d lost too much. He wasn’t about to lose Rebecca too. “No,” was all he could muster.
She struggled slightly to pull away, but he held on. “Nick…”
“No, Rebecca.Please.”
With a bit more determination, she wiggled herself free. She took a big step back and looked up at him. Her remorseful expression pissed him off. He took a step and reached for her, but she sidestepped his touch. The gesture shut down any hope he had of convincing her that they belonged together.
“Rebecca?”
“Everything is so crazy right now, Nick. It’s all going too fast. I can’t—”
“No! Don’t say it. Rebecca, what the hell is wrong with you? What’s happened?”
Nick reached for her again, but she pulled away. Surely, he’d imagined every word that had fallen from her lips.
“Re—”
“Hey, guys,” Tanya interrupted, preventing him from begging Rebecca to reconsider. “What are you doing out here?”
Vince was standing behind her with his son’s carrier looped in his arm. He gave Nick a look that said he understood something not so good was going down. He pushed his hand to the small of his wife’s back. “Let’s get the car, babe,” he told her, urging her down the sidewalk.
Nick was grateful for the privacy. But when he turned around, Rebecca had advanced, putting at least twenty feet of distance between them. She gave him one last apologetic glance before scuttling down the street.
Like a fool, Nick watched as she ran right out of his life.
20
CATO
“Nick, that’s some very expensive scrolling you’re doing. I’m sure you didn’t ask to see me so I could watch you check your Twitter feed.”
Nick sighed and placed his phone on the table in front of him and looked up at Dr. Thantos. “I’m not on Twitter, Doc. I’m checking my phone for the millionth time. It’s been two weeks and she still hasn’t called.”
“Well, have you called her?”
“Repeatedly,” Nick grumbled. “At least, for the first week.”
