Page 439 of The Doctors Will See You Now

I took two sharp breaths and then dove right in. There was literally no time left to handle this on my own, and if I didn’t come clean now, the show would do it for me. Some inkling told me this was the better way. “I know you’ve been imagining what light the show would paint me in, but I think you should worry about something else.”

“What?”

I rubbed painfully at the surface of my forehead with the tips of my fingers. “It’s Charlotte.”

“Charlotte? What are you talking about?”

“My ex-girlfriend, the one who, in the interest of full disclosure, I probably won’t ever be over, is Charlotte Hollis.”

“Charlotte Hollis,” she whispered.

I closed my eyes and let my head fall back on the couch with a thud. I had a feeling I probably wouldn’t be able to hold it up myself after she got done with me. “Yep.”

I wasn’t ready, though, for the power of her reaction—and the sound of her tears.

“Oh Jesus. Are you crying?” I pounded my fist against my forehead. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know who she was. I never would have started something with her if I’d known the history between her and Remy. I found out early on about the wedding, or the non-wedding, I guess, but I didn’t know who the groom was until the weekend she was supposed to meet Lexi. I—”

“Nick,” she called, interrupting me.

“Yeah?”

“Shut up.”

“Win, I’m sorry.”

“I said, shut up!” she snapped.

My eyebrows were drawn, but I did as I was told and shut my mouth.

“I get it now…why you’ve been so upset. Charlotte is… Charlotte was…she was my sister. I loved her, and I miss her every day. She cut all contact with me after what happened with Remy, and I never blamed her, but I…I missed her. I still do. So, I get it. I get why you can’t get over her, and more than that, I don’t think you should.”

“Win…”

“It happened twelve years ago, Nick. We were all kids. Hell, what happened between us went on for seven years, and three with you like you are now, and I’ve forgiven you. I think I can handle you and Charlotte together after twelve. Unless you fucked it up for some other reason.”

“No,” I laughed. “The family relation is about the only reason.”

“I had a feeling. You’re not all that bad when you’re not knocking people up.”

Ouch. Still, I deserved it. So I ignored it.

“What about Remy?”

She sighed. “Remy needs to face that demon head on. He’s never been truthful with himself about how much of that was his fault or how Charlotte didn’t have to be his only. That she wasn’t his only.”

“Yeah, but I’m not sure I want to be a part of him learning that lesson. He hates me enough.”

“Too bad. And shame on you for not telling me earlier! I could have saved us all the three months of you doing your best impression of Hobo Joe.”

“I don’t know if it’s that simple. Char…she’s texted me a few times…and I didn’t answer her with anything worthwhile…or sometimes at all. It was just too hard.”

“She’ll get over it if you’re honest with her. She might knee you in the nuts, but I’m not entirely opposed to that.”

“Great,” I commented. “Does that come before or after the black eye from Remy?”

“Well, I’d say before. He can’t get mad until he actually sees you together, and to see you together, you have to win her back. Duh.”

I winced. “Yeah, about that. I’m pretty sure it’s going to come out whether we’re back together or not.”