“You know, you never even told us what you’re going to New York to do, just that you got one final task from Tanya,” Nelle notes.
“Right. I do wanna tell you guys about that. I’m just not ready.” Not to go into details at least. I don’t want to dredge up all those feelings right before I’m going to face the man responsible, but I want to get better at being honest with my friends.
Nelle grabs my arm. “Wait, are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m good. Or I will be. But I promise to tell you everything when I get back.”
“You don’t have to if it’s too much,” Evie assures me. “Just know that you can.”
“I know.”
“Does Micah know whatever it is you’re not saying?” she asks.
I nod slowly.
“Good. Do not let him out of your sight. I don’t know if it’s a person or a thing that put that faraway look in your eyes, but I do know if it’s not us that’s gonna have your back, Micah damn sure will.”
For once, my heart and my head have no objections to that.
“Do you wanna free Rome from his prison cell?” I ask.
“No, this is his punishment for not telling me about you and Micah sooner. I mean, what am I giving up the cookie for if he’s not doing pillow talk correctly?”
Fucking Tanya. The longer I sit on this bench, the longer I’m cursing her name.
I’m already itching to leave this city, but I didn’t come this far to let it tear me down.
“And your friend was sure this is the time he comes?” Micah peers around the bench we’re sitting on, which is situated across from the spa that Nigel frequents. When I told Micah that I wanted to confront Nigel, I knew I wasn’t going to reach out to him to do it. I’ll be damned if I give him the satisfaction of letting him know he still has an effect on me after all these years, but what I will do is stage a little run-in. I called Anya, as she’s still modeling in New York and part of Nigel’s circle, much to her chagrin. She and Pedro were more than willing to help me set this in motion.
“She said he’s still a creature of habit and this is his appointment time every week.”
At 3:00 p.m. on the dot, I pretend not to see him approaching the door to the spa. My teeth chatter as if they know the moment he spots me.
“Dani? Danielle? Is that you?”
My skin crawls at his use of my full name, as if he knows me well enough to do that.
Micah’s eyes never leave mine and I’m grateful for that because they keep the proverbial walls from closing in just slightly.
The voice calls out to me again, this time closer, and when I jump up on instinct, Micah moves me behind him.
I can’t run from this. I won’t let him chase me away from this.
“Hi, Nigel.”
“Wow, it’s been too long. You look amazing.” His voice is dripped in a tone that makes my blood run cold.
He holds out his arms for a hug, but Micah doesn’t move from in front of me. I can’t see Micah’s face, but I’ve seen his eyes when they turn dangerous and I’m sure—based on the way Nigel stepped back—that’s exactly how they look now.
Nigel, never wanting to concede his supposed alpha male spot, clears his throat and pivots his approach. “Well, how have you been? I saw you stopped doing runway and started doing little, um, videos, right?”
Please. His comments on several of my posts were practically begging me to notice him. Now he wants to pretend they were barely a blip on his radar. “Yep. Best decision I ever made.” My voice conveys a strength I don’t feel.
He smiles, just barely covering the sneer I know he wants to send my way. He’s deemed my career change inadequate because it’s taken me out of his web of control. I know this, and yet it still eats me up to see him do it.
“Good, good. Well, how long are you here for? We should get dinner to catch up,” he offers.
“Nah,” Micah responds. He doesn’t offer any excuse or try to soften the blow, he just shuts the possibility down with one word. It’s incredibly attractive.
