Chapter 28 #3
Just as Nick begins to respond, the waiter brings our wine.
He pours us each a glass and waits for me to take a sip to let him know if it’s up to par.
I take a slow sip. It’s drier than I’ve had before, but I nod my head appreciatively as if it’s the best I’ve ever had.
God knows I’ve had more grape juice than wine.
“You wanted to know why I moved?”
I nod my head.
“Would you like to order first before you hear my long, boring story?” he asks with a slight chuckle.
“Oh… sure.” I lift the menu and I’m bombarded by a long list of choice cuts in various sauces, half of which I can’t pronounce. “Why don’t you just order for me? If that’s okay?”
He smiles brightly and licks his lips. “I’d love to.”
I place my menu down on the table and take a large gulp of wine. I’m feeling increasingly out of my element.
Rodrick returns and Nick orders us both a seafood appetizer of some kind and a steak with a complicated type of wine sauce and an ostentatious roasted vegetable or something.
I take another sip of my yucky wine and sigh internally.
If I’m not careful, I’m going to be toasted before dinner arrives.
I haven’t eaten all day, and I know I’m drinking the wine too fast.
“So, tell me.” I’m suddenly aware that I need to hear his story while I’m still able to comprehend it. I eye the bread on a nearby table and feel my stomach gurgle. The wine is going straight to my head.
Nick runs his hand over his chin and plays with his fork briefly before he stares up into my eyes.
“I’ve worked for Macer, Martin and Fisher for the last eleven years.
They have international clients, and I’ve traveled the world setting up contracts for them.
It was an incredible opportunity and they appreciated my desire to travel as often as possible. ”
I nod my head and attempt to shush my inner voice. “Traveled the world?”
He adjusts his napkin on his lap and leans forward on the table. “I’ve been to Italy, London, Spain, Brazil, and Japan, to name a few. All amazing places.”
I nod again and offer a small smile. I’ve never even left the state. We don’t fit. I shush my inner voice again and take a large gulp of wine.
“But a few years ago they asked me to come here to their corporate office for a long-term assignment, and I couldn’t refuse.”
“Must have been a great opportunity,” I say.
“You could say that.”
“But then you had to give up traveling?”
“I just travel less. I was in France when Cooper met with Gwen. It’s why I didn’t call you right away.”
“I suppose you’ve met a lot of wom… people during your travels?”
He stares at me blankly without saying a word.
He’s suddenly very quiet, and I don’t know why.
I lightly touch the rim of my glass with my finger and stare down at it.
I’m not sure what to say. “Sounds like you’ve had a really great life, Nick.
” I tilt my head gently as I say the words, but I don’t meet his gaze.
The difference between our lives is staggering.
He was in law school and traveling Europe while I was pushing out babies number one and two.
He reaches across the table and takes my hand. It surprises me, but I let him. His hand is strong but soft, and he holds mine firmly in his as if it now belongs to him. I stare at our hands for a moment, and as he pulls mine farther across the table to him, I lift my eyes to his.
“I missed you, Ever.”
I’m quiet for a moment while I examine the seriousness of his gorgeous hazel eyes. I’m not sure if it’s the wine or if it’s my newfound confidence, but I laugh.
He huffs and shakes his head. “You find that amusing?”
I haul my hand away from him, and my sudden movement shocks him.
“Did I say something wrong?” he asks. His brows furrow in concern.
“Do you know what I was doing while you were trotting the globe?”
Rodrick places some type of shellfish in front of me, and although I’m hungry, I realize I have no idea what it is or how to eat it. As soon as he’s gone, I stare at my food and feel tears threaten my eyes.
“Tell me,” he pleads sincerely.
I know he’s trying. Trying to do something.
Maybe he’s just trying to show me everything I missed out on when I let him go.
I was right. Maybe he does have something to prove to me.
My life flashes before my eyes, and I wonder if I had stayed with him if he would have married me.
If I would have traveled the world with him and been the sophisticated woman he is clearly used to.
I stare down at my plate as my newfound knowledge invades my senses.
“I don’t know what this is, Nick, and I don’t know how to eat it. ”
He reaches to his plate and lifts one. “They’re clams. You just…”
“This isn’t me,” I tell him honestly.
“I’ll order you something else. It’s fine.” He lifts his hand to signal for Rodrick, and I stop him.
“No! That’s not what I mean. What I mean is all this.
” I gesture around the room and sigh. I can feel tears in my eyes, and I have the urge to run.
“I’m not sure why you asked me here. Maybe it was to take me out for a nice meal, maybe it was to show off how worldly you are, or maybe it was to just let me know what I missed out on when I broke up with you.
I get it, Nick. I really do. I messed up.
You’re obviously very successful, well spoken, and hotter than hell. ”
I take another sip of wine and glance at his face, waiting for some kind of cocky response to the hot comment.
Instead I’m met with furrowed brows and a worried expression.
I continue, “But this isn’t me. While you were out exploring the world, I was fat, pregnant, and alone, living in my in-laws’ basement and eating frozen dinners. ”
“Ever, I…”
“And while you were eating at expensive restaurants and dating classy women, I was grocery shopping in my yoga pants and feeling like a loser.”
“Will you please let me say something?”
The tears are about to flood the dam. “So, yeah, I understand. Your life is amazing next to mine. But you know what? I have two fantastic kids that I love with all my heart, and I worked my ass off to finish school after the divorce. I may have never left this state, and I certainly haven’t developed a taste for expensive, crappy dry wine, but I’m happy with my life and with me.
” I push myself away from the table and stumble when I try to stand on Gwen’s heels.
Nick leaps up after me, but I deftly remove my shoes and rush away from him and out of the restaurant.
The cool air hits me like a punch in the face.
I reach into my purse for my valet ticket and accidentally drop everything on the ground.
The valet speeds toward me to help, and I can feel eyes full of pity searing into my skin from every angle.
As I bend down to grasp my lipstick, wallet, and a stray tampon, I feel a hand gently touch my back.
“Please, don’t leave,” Nick begs as he places my items into my purse and hands it back to me. “Go for a drive with me? Please give me a chance to explain.”
I find my valet ticket and Nick helps me stand. The attendant shifts attentively in front of us, not knowing what to do. I have this pounding in my head that makes me want to run. I hear my grandmother’s words and I pivot to face Nick, trying to focus on him through blurry eyes.
“Don’t leave. Please. Come with me? Try to trust me, if that’s possible.”
His eyes are burning into mine, awaiting my response.
I simply nod, and he seems to sigh in relief.
He hands the attendant his ticket and notices me shiver from the cold.
He removes his jacket and places it over my shoulders.
I’m hit with the smell of him, and it makes my knees feel weak.
It’s familiar and comforting. As his black SUV is brought around, he opens the door and ushers me into the passenger seat.
He hurries around the car, still holding my heels, and hands the driver what I can only assume is a very generous tip.
He immediately turns up the heat and glances into traffic to pull out.
“Seat belt, please,” I mumble.
He pauses and turns to me as if my simple words are magic to his ears. He smirks and clicks his belt into place. I wonder if he remembers how I used to yell at him for not wearing it when we dated in school.
“Thank you,” I whisper.
“I should be thanking you. I don’t know why I always forget.”
“I meant thank you for coming after me.”
His lips press into a fine line, and I rest my head back onto his leather seat to avoid his gaze. The entire car smells like him, and it’s a little overwhelming. I lift my hand to wipe my nose, and he produces a handkerchief from his suit pocket.
“Always the gentleman,” I mumble.
“I wish that were true,” he states matter-of-factly.
“Where are we going?”
“Anywhere you want.” After a few minutes of driving and silence between us, he asks, “Do you mind if I pull over so I can look at you?”
I nod my head, and within a minute we’re in the parking lot of a business center.
He unbuckles his seat belt and turns to face me. I’m holding the cloth in my hands and running my fingers over the soft fabric. He eyes it quizzically, so I explain. “It’s too fancy. I don’t want to wipe my eyes and ruin it.”
“It’s nothing, Ever. Please…”
He seizes it from my hand and tenderly presses it to the skin under my eyes.
He wipes gently as his left hand cups my face and turns it toward him.
He’s so careful and loving that the act itself is probably the nicest thing any man has ever done for me.
I find my head leaning into his hand, and he sighs heavily as he inches closer to me. He leans his forehead against mine.
I glance up to see his pained eyes. “I’m sorry,” I whisper. “I didn’t mean to embarrass you in the restaurant.”
He tears his forehead from mine while still holding my head in his hands. “You could never, Ever.”