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Damn straight, I am. The outside world doesn’t see the work that goes into building the muscle memory I fall back on. They don’t see me assess a situation. They don’t have the understanding I do of my abilities. To them, I look impulsive. Reckless.
Non-stunt example: Timothy bought a porno house, sight unseen, from someone he barely knew, a day after being told it was going on the market.
I’d seen this house in many pornos and a few hours of hyper-focused research told me the price was good, the place wasn’t a lemon, and I had the money.
I’m careful. I’m sure about this. Mina is my person. And nothing about waiting half a decade for her is impulsive. I get why Nic’s worried, especially coming off his divorce, but Mina and I have years of close friendship to fall back on—loving her is a muscle memory. We know the dark corners of each other’s souls. We’ve carried each other through difficult times.
Except she went it alone with her hysterectomy.
Maybe I don’t know all her dark corners, but I want to. I think she’ll let me.
I shrug off all of Nic’s concerns. “Mina has my whole heart. If she wants to rip it out, throw it on the ground, and jump on it for a while, it’s hers.”
He looks unimpressed. “Maybe…take things slow.”
“We are taking things slow.” Mostly because Mina will take things at her pace.
He snorts. “She’s taking things slow. You’ve probably bought a ring.”
He has me there. Asking her to marry me was a bit premature, but I regret nothing.
Nic’s face drops. “You bought a ring? Christ, how do you not scare people off in the first five minutes of a relationship?”
I want to point out I never bought a ring for Jake or Elle or anyone else, but something in his words irritates me, so I go with a joke. “I have a great ass. Sparkling personality. I give great hugs and amazing oral.” Not a joke, since all of it’s true.
He shakes his head and I laugh, but he’s right. I am a lot to deal with. I’ve been dumped a lot, often after a few weeks. Right around the time people decide I’m more annoying than fun.
My whole life I’ve heardsettle down,can you stop, andsit stillandoh my god shut up—the last one mostly from my twin. I’m the reason my mom couldn’t have nice things.
Maybe I’m careful, but I’m still a lot.
Mina knows me. She knows what she’s getting and I will do everything I can to make being with me worth her while.
“So you got the ugly-ass house,” I say, changing the subject. “How’d that happen? I thought Addison would get it.”
He pulls out his phone and a moment later slides it across the bar to me.
TMZ has a huge photo of Addison—dated a year ago—and while it’s blurry, it’s obvious she’s naked and the man she’s riding is not Nic. The exclusive is a tell-all from an inside source about up-and-coming Addison Kincaid cheating for years, and when the marriage started to go south, how she fed rumors to the tabloids to make it look like Nic was the unfaithful one.
I whistle. “This whole time? That’s shitty.”
Nic drops his elbows to the counter, his hands in his hair. “Yeah.” He takes a shuddering breath and lets it out slow and controlled. “I should’ve known, right? How did I not notice my wife was sleeping around?”
“Insane schedules,” I say softly. “She was pretty good at hiding it too. What she did—it wasn’t your fault.”
He huffs out a sad little laugh and says nothing. I’m not going to get more out of him, not without alcohol, and I’m not going to encourage Nic to start day drinking.
“When did all this come out?” I ask. I don’t read tabloids or clickbait. It’s a bit of a sore spot, considering they nearly ripped my family apart when I was a kid.
“A couple of days ago. The timing is too perfect, with our court date…”
“Maybe Addison has an enemy.” I wouldn’t be surprised if my mom’s behind this. Addison came for her favorite. “So, does this mean you’re moving out?”
“Do you want me to?”
“I don’t know.” On one hand, I want to be free to explore this new thing with Mina without Nic in the way. But I’m supposed to be keeping an eye on him and that’s easier if he’s living here. “Stay.”
Nic side-eyes me. “Mina okay with that?”
