Page 170 of Sour Notes

“He cornered me when I came to change my shoes at the wedding. Grabbed me and tried getting aggressive to scare me.”

Realization dawns on Mario’s face.

“Fuck, Swayze said you were taking too long and wanted to come find you, but I kept talking like an idiot. Oh my god, Mia. Did he hurt you? I heard him trash-talking you to my friend Cat last night and that’s why I punched him in the face. Goddamn, now I wish I’d done more.”

Her.

“Cat? The pretty one you came to the BBQ with, right?”

“Yeah! She’s the best. It’s a shame you didn’t get more of a chance to get to know her, I think you’d really like her. She’s a huge fan of your work and was really excited to meet you.”

I smile weakly.

“That’s nice. Although, she seemed more interested in Swayze than me.”

Goddammit. I didn’t mean to let that slip out.

Mario barks out a shocked laugh.

“Mia mou, are you jealous?” He wiggles his eyebrows. “Don’t love Swayze my ass. She’s a lesbian babe… if anyone should’ve been worried, it would’ve been him. She has a huge girl crush on Mia Monroe.”

Well, damn. I didn’t see that coming.

“So, now we’ve cleared some of that up, what do you say, Mimi? Can you be brave and put yourself out there, so you can get the happiness you deserve? Mom hasn’t stopped talking about the pretty wolf cubs you’re apparently gonna give her.”

Nick smiles wryly at me.

“Oh, and before I forget… here.”

He picks up a bag from the floor I hadn’t noticed him walk in with and shoves it in my arms.

I pull out the wonky bowl Swayze and I made in pottery class. It’s glazed in shiny orange and yellow hues and Swayze must’ve written our initials in a heart dead center when I snuck off to get more wine because they're right here. S & M. Clear as day, his sharp handwriting easily recognizable.

I trace the S with my finger, fresh tears falling down my face.

Looking up at them both, I suck in a breath and decide to be brave. “What if I can’t fix it? What if I’ve hurt him so badly he can’t love me back? What if I’ve broken him, like I broke us?”

Both of them reach out, each taking one of my hands.

“You won’t know until you try. But a wise Doctor once said there’s no way of knowing without actually talking to them about how you feel.”

Wait—isn’t that what I said to Hopelessly Devoted weeks ago?

“Nick, did you just quote Dr. Reality Check to me?” He smiles smugly and Mario chuckles before chiming in.

“Wasn’t that the same one who said Sometimes the perfect person for you is right under your nose and you don’t even know it?”

My jaw drops. “You read them too?!”

“Mia baby, your mom set up a family WhatsApp. She screenshots them to all of us every week. Look!” He unlocks and tosses his phone at me.

“She called it MimiLeaks?” I laugh through tears.

“Well, no, that was me. She chose Mia’s Masterpieces, but that’s no fun.” Nick shrugs.

I scroll the chat and there it is. She’d added screenshots of every article, every Dr. Reality Check response.

Oh my god. Dad laugh-emoji’s them.