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My stomach sank, the question crawling up my throat and onto my tongue. Don’t do it. Don’t ask. But I couldn’t do it, I needed to know.
“Were Nix and Cherri … together?”
Chloe froze as she towel-dried her hair, telling me all I needed to know. “You should probably ask Nix about that.”
God, I hated the sympathy in her eyes. The sheer pity.
“I’m asking you.” I choked out.
“They hooked up a lot over the summer. You know what Cherri is like; it’s always meant more to her than it ever has Nix. He doesn’t care about her like that, Harleigh. Not the way he cares about you.”
True.
But I hated that he’d been with her, turned to her over the last few months. When he should have been with me.
Cherri Jardin had always been a thorn in my side, a festering wound I couldn’t heal. Because she was exactly the type of girl Nix went for. Bold, brave, and sexy. I’d never been any of those things. She was a bright red rose in a bed of thorns, and I was an insipid flower wilting in the shadows.
My heart sank.
“Oh no, Harleigh. Don’t you dare think whatever you’re thinking right now. Cherri isn’t important to Nix, you have to know that.”
And I did. Somewhere under the years’ worth of self-doubt and second guessing. But she was everything I would never be. And they had history, sexual history.
I dropped down on the end of the bed, curling my fingers into the soft coverlet.
“Harleigh.” Celeste sat beside me. “I don’t know who Cherri is—”
“Total bitch,” Chloe interrupted. “Sorry, continue.”
“But Chloe is right. Anyone can see how much Nix cares about you. The way he literally crashed through Nate’s bathroom door to get to you… we’re talking action movie hotness level right there.”
A small smile tugged at my mouth. “I know. It’s been a long time though.”
She nudged me gently with her shoulder. “And you have a lot to work through. But don’t doubt him before you’ve even given him a chance.”
“You’re really okay with this?” I gawked at her. She knew some of the history. Knew who Nix was to me.
Celeste’s brows pinched. “You love him.”
“You know Michael won’t—”
“Screw Dad.” Anger flashed in her eyes. “He is the last person I want to talk about right now.”
“Same,” I sighed. But the truth was, I couldn’t ignore him. He would never accept my relationship with Nix. Not in a million years.
Celeste took my hand in hers and squeezed gently. “We’ll figure it out.”
“I hope so.” I swallowed the lump in my throat.
I couldn’t lose Nix, not again.
It was bad enough thinking about returning to the house soon and leaving him.
“Well, this is as good as it’s going to get.” Chloe tamed the damp hair out of her face. “I look like a drowned rat but whatever.”
“It was fun though,” Celeste said.
The girls shared a secretive smile and Chloe nodded. “Yeah, it was.”
