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Something.
Everything.
I’m not even fucking sure anymore.
“I’ll tell you when I’m ready, Astrid. Now can you tell me what you know?”
She releases a long sigh. “It’s not much, really. Dad once said that he searched for Nicole and when he found her, she was carrying a baby and ran away.”
“Awhat?”
“A baby, Dan. You know, like my daughter, Glyndon.”
“Nicole has a child?”
“I don’t know. Even Dad was surprised by that. He tried to find her again, but it’s like she disappeared off the face of the earth.”
“How long ago was that?”
“I don’t know…our second year in university, so about nine years ago.”
My mind goes into overdrive. Nicole had a child nine years ago. That was also the same year she dropped out of Cambridge, per her résumé.
All her references after that are here in the States. Which means she probably left England after Uncle Henry found her with a baby.
A fucking baby.
My fist clenches.
“Oh, and, Bug,” Astrid says slowly. “There’s something else.”
“What?”
“When Dad saw her, he said her face was badly bruised.”
9
NICOLE
AGE EIGHTEEN
What the hell am I doing?
There must be a rule somewhere that says I’m not supposed to say things like that in front of Daniel.
I shouldn’t be calling him my kink or actually getting on my knees so I can get close and smell him. His cologne has always smothered me and clung to my lungs like smoke.
Lime and bergamot is the type of scent I search for in candles, bath bombs, and male perfume. I secretly keep a bottle, too, for when the feelings get too intense and I need to sense him beside me.
There must be a rule somewhere about how I shouldn’t be this attuned to him.
But maybe I didn’t read the fine print of that rule. Maybe rules are stupid, after all.
I’m not controlled by them.
Or the world.
Or how lucky I am.
