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NOVA
I went inside, pausing just within the doorway. A sweet aroma clung to the air, one that could only be from one thing—pumpkin pie. A much better smell than the bleach I’d inhaled while cleaning the blood off my kitchen floor.
“Nika?”
“In here!” Her voice carried from my right.
I shut the door and locked it before heading towards the kitchen. The smell of pie magnified with each step. Seeing it resting on the counter had my stomach releasing an angry growl.
An audible reminder that the only thing I’d consumed today was alcohol.
“You want some?” Nika asked amusedly. “It should be cool.”
“Maybe later.” I waved her off, and a heavy silence settled between us. I looked at her with a critical eye, frown painted on my face as two very different versions of her and the men I cared about played out in my head.
“Sooo, what’s up?” she questioned, placing her hands on her hips. “…Nova?”
Blinking, I shook my head and laughed. “Sorry, I was thinking.”
“Is that safe?”
“Ha, very funny.” I walked over to her small table and tossed my purse down, deciding right then I wasn’t going to pussy foot around. This was one confrontation that, in my opinion, was long overdue. I turned to face her, crossing my arms.
“I was wondering why you never told me you slept with Rhett.”
“What?” she choked on a loud, breathy laugh. “Where did that come from? Is that what that look was for?” With a flip of her long blonde hair, she giggled. “I knew you coming over here out of the blue wasn’t for a simple chat. You only do that with Em. You can rest assured that there isn’t anything between Rhett and me. Our relationship is a bit complicated, that’s all.”
“Okay. I’ll buy that,” I replied.
Funny how I could have said the exact same things. She didn’t give me any more details or fully answer what I’d asked, though. I studied her face, unable to get a read on how she was feeling until she shifted in obvious discomfort.
“That’s not all, is it?” she asked.
I ran a hand through my hair and shook my head. “That wasn’t my only reason for coming here, no. I’m more interested in why you’d know anything about this.”
I gently tugged my necklace from my rear pocket, holding it between us the same way I had with Rhett.
Annika stared at it, her smile gradually fading. “I thought your dad took that to fix it?”
“He did, but how would you know that?”
Her lips parted but no words came out. She continued to eye my pendant as if it were going to fly across the room and attack, her skin visibly paling. Her throat bobbed; angry brown eyes flashing suddenly to mine.
“Did he tell you something?”
My brows met in confusion. “Did who tell me something?”
“Rhett,” she spat his name out like it left a nasty taste in her mouth.
“No…Emery did. But why does it matter who told me? That doesn’t explain how you knew my dad had this.”
“You told me,” she objected.
“No, I told you the clasp had broken.”
Her lips lifted behind the force of a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “Yeah, and I naturally assumed he’d be the one to fix it for you. He’s—he was--a jeweler Nova.”
“Then why did you just ask me if Rhett told me something? Is there anything you want to tell me?”
