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Chapter Four
“Get the hell out ofthere now, Daria.” Alyx’s voice was grim with foreboding. “It’s a trap.” Daria’s iPad showed her friend in her nightgown and glaring at her through a facial mask.
“It’s not a trap. They told me what they wanted to happen and I said yes.” Daria placed the iPad on the dining table before taking her seat. Her new apartment was a one-bedroom unit on the twenty-second floor, with its own balcony and in the same building as Miranda and Nik’s offices. She loved how the apartment looked, but the last fact made her queasy. Somehow, it didn’t feel right.
From the iPad, she heard Alyx release a sigh of frustration. “Yanna, tell her you think the same thing, too.”
On the other half of the screen, Yanna, still in her office, looked up from her laptop. “Huh? What?”
“Daria says she’s going to say ‘yes’ to working on Nik’s wedding—-”
Yanna’s eyes widened. “No!”
Daria grimaced. “But it’s really not something to worry about.”
“You really think that? You’re going to see him every day, with another woman. You really think that’s not going to hurt you?”
Daria studiously avoided Yanna’s wide-eyed gaze. “Uh...” How did she explain to them that what wouldn’t make sense to them made a lot of sense to her?
She had loved Nik, and he had loved her. But she had lied to him, hurt him, and he had left her. This – even if it did mean having to see Nik and his perfect fiancée be perfect together every day – was her only chance to make things right.
“Daria?” Yanna asked worriedly from the iPad.
She cleared her throat. “Yeah?” She heard the doorbell ring and seized it as an excuse to change the subject. “Hold on, someone’s at the door...”
Leaving the table, Daria padded towards the door and opened it, not bothering to check the peephole.
She regretted the decision a second later.
“Nik!” She was so shocked she ended up saying his name a little too loudly, enough for her friends to hear her. Their feminine gasps echoed in the room, and in front of her, Nik frowned, apparently hearing it, too.
“You have company?” Nik’s voice was stiff with formality.
Terrified that he would leave, she denied it right away, “No!” Okay, that came out too loudly, Daria wincing at the shrillness of her own voice. She cleared her throat, but it did nothing to ease her shock. “I mean, I’m talking to my friends on my iPad, and...” She stopped herself the moment she realized she was babbling.
Up, down, up, down, up, down—-
Then she remembered that Alyx and Yanna could still hear them, and she told Nik breathlessly, “Excuse me.” She ran back to the table, ended the call, and ran back to Nik. “Sorry.”
He gave her an odd look.
That was fine. As long as it meant he’d only be looking at her, she thought, that was fine. As soon as the thought formed, Daria cringed, realizing how stupid it was. Oh God, but it was just so hard to think with her heart set to explode. She could only stare dumbly at Nik as she tried to decide what to ask first. What was he doing here? Where was Miranda? Why was he so gorgeous?
The tense silence between them grew, but Daria didn’t mind. It gave her more time to stare at Nik. It was so much easier to do so now, with Miranda no longer at his side.
He had changed out of his suit and was now dressed in a dark gray V-necked shirt and a casual pair of trousers. He looked elegant, powerful, and so achingly beautiful, she wasn’t surprised that the sight of him led to a sudden, terrible urge to cry.
She could have had forever with this man, but because of all her lies, she only had one unforgettable summer with him.
Nik broke the silence first, his voice rough as he said, “Perhaps you’re wondering why I’ve come.”
She wanted to tell him he didn’t really need a reason. She loved him, after all. He could come here and be with her anytime.
But of course Daria couldn’t say that, so she simply nodded at his words.
At her nod, he continued, “I know I can make this prettier, but the essence would remain the same whatever I say so...”
Hooded eyes met hers. “I’d like to know if you’re inclined to have one last fling with me before I get married.”
