I don’t know why that of all things makes me emotional, but the lump in the back of my throat hurts, and the look in her eyes nearly undoes me.
I text Leo that I’m leaving and he should come get Skye, and before I can take another step forward, I freeze.
I stand in the middle of the room, naked and dumbfounded that I haven’t realized this before.
This was never about what I deserved.
This is about Nate.
He doesn’t deserveme. He deserves better.
He spent ten years trying to explain, and I pushed him away like he meant nothing. Like our history didn’t warrant even ten minutes of my time.
What type of person does that?
I’m ashamed of myself.
I need to get out of here, so I grab a pair of Nate’s sweats and a hoodie from the closet, pulling them on quickly. They hang loose, soft with his scent, and it takes everything not to press my face into the fabric.
I need time to think everything over before I fully give myself to Nate again.
After all these years, my all, is the least he deserves.
“Are you grabbing me a drink too?” Addie yells from the couch.
I take down two wine glasses and pour us both generous servings. “Of course. Any snacks?”
“As many as you can carry.”’
“Or, you know, you could help?” I call back, rolling my eyes.
What the hell?
“I’m too tired to move.”
I grab the dill pickle pretzels I couldn’t resist at the store and our favorite chocolate chip cookies from Levain Bakery. Addie sits up just long enough to huff and take her glass of Pinot Noir from me.
“Why are you so grouchy?”
“Because I had a work event last night and ran into my hot neighbor. It was a late one, and I didn’t expect to come here and play therapist when you said,‘Let’s have a day and veg out.’”
I wince. Fair.
The moment she walked through my door, I unloaded every thought about Nate that’s been eating me alive. I didn’t mean to. I only needed someone to make sense of the chaos in my head.
But Ad’s is done with me.
Honestly, I’d be sick of my drama by now too.
“Have you heard from Nate?” She takes a sip, eyeing me over the glass.
I shrug. “A few times.”
“And?”
“He wasn’t exactly happy when he found his place empty. I only responded this morning, since I fell asleep so early.” I trail off, twisting my wine stem. “And today, I told him I was busy with you all day.”
She doesn’t look amused as she maneuvers her body to face mine. “Mmm.”
