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I just want to hide.
“Oh.” Patricia slaps a hand against her chest, her pouty mouth opening in shock. “Nick, baby,”
“Fucking hell, woman,” Nick growls, and my eyes jump to his. Because this is not the Nick I know. “What are you playing at?”
Her eyes cut to Nick, and she whispers a soft, “Nothing.”
“You broke shit between us,” he clips. “Now you’re here causing a scene when I finally take a woman I’m interested in out.”
“She’s not a woman,” Patricia hisses. “She’s a girl.”
“She’smine.”
“Oh.” Patricia laughs like he’s cute. “You’re just rubbing her in my face because I’ve been trying to get you back.”
I watch as Nick’s body jolts in his seat, an angry scowl twisting his mouth. “Come again?”
“I’ve been trying, Nick. I told Will I miss you—I thought—I thought he would tell you.” She looks genuinely hurt that Will never relayed her message, and I wonder why he wouldn’t. This woman clearly meant something big to Nick once. And Will being Nick’s friend, I’d think he would want him to have what made him happy.
When Nick doesn’t reply, her pitch rises. “I’m sorry, okay? I’m sorry. Is that what you want to hear.” She steps closer to Nick and her voice drops to a husky tone that makes the soup in my belly curdle. “Do you want me to beg? I’ll beg—I know how much you like me on my knees for you.”
“Enough.” His hand claps the table, and the glasses rattle.
Her eyes sharpen. “I told Lucy I want you back.”
At this, Nick actually laughs. I don’t know why he’s laughing. I, for one, do not think this is funny. At all.
“I asked her to help me get you back—she knows you better than anyone—and I thought—she said she would.”
Suddenly, I’m relieved. I’m relieved that I haven’t given this man all of me, even though I know I may never fully recover from the pieces I’ve already given him. I’ve been a fool, thinking I could have the fairy-tale romance Mom and Dad had. I’ve been such a little fool. A girl with stars in her eyes, seduced by the Christmas magic in a small town.
Mom and Dad were once in a lifetime.
My muscles twitch with the need to flee this place, this man, and this drama—when another woman comes into view. I recognize this woman, I realize, as a cold panic settles into the core of me. The woman I thought I’d spend my Christmas with, the woman I spent weeks developing a relationship with over email, phone conversation, and FaceTime—the woman I had genuine feelings of friendship for—appears. Her cheeks are flushed, and her eyes are wild. I realize now, they are the same dark eyes as Nick has, and I curse myself for even noting it.
And right now, as the pain in my heart and soul slices through the wreckage of all the hope I’d set on this man—this quaint little town—the possibility of a love written in the stars—I blame her. I blame her for every jagged ounce of the pain I feel tearing me apart inside.
“I came as soon as Sal called,” Lucy explains, her body coming close and to my shock, she doesn’t stop moving until she hip-checks Patricia away from me.
“Geez,” Nick rubs finger and thumb into his brow like he can’t believe this is happening right now. He’s not the only one. “Mom, what are you doing here?”
“Rescuing Sadie from the Wicked Witch.”
Patricia gasps. “You know her?”
Lucy shoots Patricia a conniving smile. “Sweetie, I brought Sadie here for Nick.”
Patricia looks like she’s about to erupt. “You said you supported me with him.”
“After what you did?” Lucy scoffs. “You thought you’d have my support with my son?”
“So, you found him a little whore to replace me?”
“Enough!” Nick bellows, and the entire restaurant goes silent.
It’s at this moment that I’ve reached my limit. I’m done. I’m so done. Screw the sexy as hell outfit I bought for Nick, and screw Christmas. I’m getting Claus and I’m out of this glittery, magical, hellish place.
My knees shake and my legs feel like Jell-O as I push back from the table. Nick’s eyes take me in, and I know he can read me just as easily as everyone else in this place. I’m an open book, my heartache and humiliation written all over me.
