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I’m not going to dig out my calendar, but even I can do that math.
“Congratulations again,” I say. “Excuse me.”
I head inside to the counter, picking up the coffee order on autopilot, making sure Tawdra and Libby are nowhere in sight when I make my way back to the building.
“Hey, doll,” says Finn, holding the door for me when I get upstairs. “You had three calls; Nic said just to let them go to… Natalie?”
I really need a minute alone. Probably should have thought of that before I walked in here. God only knows what my face looks like.
“Hey.” I try to smile. Finn’s frown only deepens. Whoops. Guess that didn’t work. “I’m just gonna set this down.” I walk straight through to Nic’s office, not bothering to knock.
Whoops, again.
“Hey, thanks for—” Nic looks at my face and stops mid-sentence. “What happened?”
“Nothing happened. I’m fine.”
“She went down the street to get the coffee and came back like this. She was only gone maybe fifteen minutes.” I scowl at Finn the tattletale.
Nic takes my hand, walks me over to the sofa, and urges me to sit down next to him. He strokes a cautious finger over my knuckles.
“Did you eat lunch?” he asks.
“I’m not the one around here who skips meals, boss,” I say. Sitting so close to him now here on the couch in his private office, it comes out sounding like a dare. The energy in the room changes, kicking up a notch.
“Not low blood sugar then,” says Nic, clearing his throat. “So, something happened while you were out.”
I blow out a breath. Might as well get this over with. “I ran into my ex-boyfriend’s new girlfriend.”
Nic’s jaw tightens. Finn frowns again. “The ex-boyfriend who works at Sizzle?” Nic asks.
“Yeah. His new girlfriend works there, too. Sorry, his fiancée.”
“Ah,” says Nic. He’s being so damn careful. I hate it when he acts careful with me. He sounds the way he did the day we met before we started doing this thing we’re doing, whatever it is. He sounds like a polite stranger, and I hate it.
“That sucks,” says Finn, also cautious, but mostly sounding confused. “You guys have been broken up for a while, right? So them getting married is probably not shocking news. Or maybe I’m missing something.”
“It came out in the conversation that they got together before Jeff and I broke up.” I squeeze my eyes shut, the shame and humiliation too much to stomach with them watching. I can’t bear to see their faces, not right now.
“It’s not a big deal,” I say, rising to my feet. I ignore the coffee on the desk, one hundred percent not interested in eating anything in case I end up eating everything in a three-mile radius, like I used to do when I was upset. “It just surprised me. I’ll be all right, just give me a minute.”
Finn moves out of the room, and I keep my eyes on the floor, intending to follow. Nic grips my wrist, stopping me from leaving.
“Nic.”
“Natalie.” He tugs me back toward him gently, bringing me to stand right in front of him on the couch.
He kisses my knuckles, one hand and then the other, then holds my hands to his cheeks.
“You are precious to me,” he says, his voice very low. When I finally manage to raise my eyes to his, his expression is warm, wide open, and earnest.
How could I have ever thought him cold?
“Nic, you don’t have to?—”
“I know I don’t have to.” He turns to press a kiss to my palm. “You are precious to me, and this may not be what you want to hear, but not an hour goes by I’m not grateful to that prick for being fool enough to let you go. I don’t like you getting hurt, sweetheart, but I figured out a long time ago that he’s the one I owe for bringing you to me. I want to ruin him for hurting you, but Natalie—” His voice breaks. He stops, opens his mouth. Closes it. Takes a deep breath, like he’s bracing himself for impact. “Did you love him very much?”
“What? No.” The question is startling. “I mean, I thought I did for a little while, but then things started to go off.”
