I tap my nails on the desk, debating what to do. I need to make this easier on us, except it probably won’t. In fact, I’m about to lead us down a dangerous road.
I skim the lobby with my eyes and see that there is one older guest who is enjoying his cup of coffee while reading a financial newspaper as he sits in a comfortable chaise lounge.
Tucking a few loose strands of my hair behind my ear, I take the plunge. “Perhaps we can talk outside?” I suggest.
“Sure.” Nash seems invested in wanting to have a discussion which is a start.
I close the laptop on the desk, perhaps with a little too much gusto. Nash lifts his arm out, indicating that I should lead the way. I offer him a polite half-smile, and he follows me in tow.
Just like the other day, we find ourselves on the inn’s dock. And again, we face one another in an odd silence. I glance down at my foot as I draw a half circle on the wood, and I cross my arms.
Nash stuffs his hands into the pockets of his jeans as he rocks on his heels. “We always seem to end up here… past and present.”
Our eyes meet with recognition. “Seems so.” We linger in a moment that feels too heavy on my chest. “We should probably get over this awkwardness if we’re going to be around one another more.”
Nash nods once. “I agree.”
“We have both been thrown into an unknown realm that Zac set us in.”
He scoffs. “He was your husband. You would know him best.”
That sets me off like a cannonball. “You really are going to keep throwing it in my face, aren’t you? That I had a husband and have a son. And it’s with your brother, too.”
“Sorry.” There is remorse in his tone, and he rubs his forehead.
“I’m not sure that’s true.” I mosey on past him with my back now facing him. “You’re the one who walked away all those years ago. You had me first then let go.”
“And you walked straight into his arms.” Now he just sounds bitter again.
I pivot, and my head whips in his direction. “Youpaved the road, Nash.” Anger is now building up. I walk straight to him and push him because I’m furious at the heartache he gave me. “Maybe Zac never realized, but you’re the one who pushed me away because of loyalty to your brother. I know I’m right.”
“At least someone got their wish.” His words are barely audible but not quiet enough. “He got you. The whole reason I let you go. He got the wife who he loved because you moved on from me.”
I growl in frustration. “You wanted this!” I jostle him again.
He tenses, and he too is aggravated but does his best to keep it in. “Summer,” he cautions.
I step in again, and he steps back. “No. I won’t walk around as though I’ve done something wrong by becoming a wife and a mother.”
Nash looks away. “A part of me always thought that you wouldn’t return his feelings, but still, we couldn’t hurt him. I just didn’t think you two would ever happen. But he actually got to put a ring around your finger.”
My shoulders puff up, and I do my best to square off with him. “Nash, you have no clue, do you?”
His brows rise. “What? That you were his wife and had a baby with Zac? It’s pretty obvious.”
My hands form fists as my tongue swipes across my teeth, gathering my strength for this conversation. “I loved him but in a different way.”
He shakes his head, not believing me.
“Nash, I wanted to make him happy while he was sick. He asked, and I didn’t say no because that’s how much I carefor him, but that doesn’t mean that I was madly in love, you idiot.”
His entire body stills as if a bullet just hit him, and for a few ticks, he evaluates my words. “Say that again.”
“Our marriage wasn’t what you thought.”
Nash voluntarily steps back, and my feet follow as I face him, but it causes him to stumble… right into the water.
“Nash!”
