Chapter 34 Dominic #2
So I came back here and tried to replace his vitriol with facts and common sense, which felt damn near impossible with the things I realized about myself at the forefront of my mind.
I’ve never been dramatic enough to think Gabriel Alexander was out to destroy me.
Never painted the dysfunction and violence I lived through as a child as some intentional, meticulous plan for the person I was supposed to admire the most to tear me apart piece by piece so he could rebuild me in his likeness.
But after spending the night reliving the moment he pressed the bottle into my hand, I think I might have to reconsider.
I push a breath out through my nose and roll off of the sofa, leaving the bottle on the coffee table, so I can get ready for work.
Going through my morning routine without Sloane by my side is weird, and it just drives home the knowledge that I have to come clean with her about everything.
There can’t be any more lies of omission or evaded questions.
I can’t claim to want a future with her and keep the information that changes everything a secret.
And she’s not the only person I owe an explanation to.
As much as I hate the way she acted the last time we spoke, I have to reach out to Kristen and do my best to explain why our relationship was always going to fail without breaking the promise I made to Sloane to keep our arrangement under wraps.
It’s the least I can do after all the years I spent wishing I could love her enough to make the pain of watching Sloane with Eric fade into the background, so I pull out my phone and send her a text.
Dominic: I need to talk to you. Can you meet me for coffee around 12?
She responds almost immediately.
Kristen: Yes! Come to the café by the courthouse.
A few hours later, I’m sitting at the only free table in the coffee shop across from the New Haven Courthouse, waiting for Kristen to show.
From her message, I thought she was excited about meeting up, but I’ve been here for fifteen minutes and still haven’t seen her.
I take a sip of my coffee and decide to check my email.
There’s a message from Alex that he’s marked urgent, which can only mean it’s about the project I’ve been working on for weeks without anyone, but especially not Sloane, knowing.
Underneath that is a progress report on the La Grande Nuit renovation from Andre to me, Sloane, and James. My heart does a free fall into my stomach as I open it. We’ve been ahead of schedule this entire time, but according to Andre’s message, we’re on track to finish the renovation next week.
Fuck.
James has already responded to the thread thanking everyone for their hard work and requesting a meeting with me and Sloane this afternoon.
I type out a short response, confirming I’ll be there, and then pocket my phone.
When I look up, Kristen is floating through the café with her eyes on me.
She’s smiling brightly, and it’s kind of weird to see her so happy, especially given the way we left things, but I don’t question it.
“Nic!” She takes a seat across from me. “I’m so glad to see you.”
“It’s good to see you too, Kris.”
I smile back at her and find that it’s genuine. I am actually happy to see her, even though I know this conversation probably won’t end well. “Thanks for meeting up with me. I wasn’t sure you would want to.”
“Honestly, I’m surprised you wanted to meet after how we left things.”
“Yeah, that was a pretty rough day.”
She laughs. “That’s a huge understatement, Nic.
I was horrible to you, and I completely disrespected your boundaries.
I don’t even remember half of the shit I said, but I know none it was okay.
I just got it in my head that we had to work because there was no real reason why we shouldn’t.
We had all the ingredients, you know? But none of that excuses my behavior, and I’m sorry.
Especially about the picture frame. I promise I’ll buy you a new one. ”
Shock courses through me. I wasn’t expecting this conversation to go like this at all. I run a hand over my head.
“Thank you.”
“Of course. When I told Ash what I did, he said I needed to apologize immediately, but I haven’t had time to reach out because I’ve been super swamped at work.”
“Ash? As in Ash Strickland?”
“One and the same.” She flicks her hair over her shoulder. “We ran into each other at Roku one night and just hit it off. We’ve been inseparable ever since—” She pauses, taking in the surprise I know is stamped across my face. “Oh no, Nic. You weren’t looking to get back together, were you?”
I shake my head furiously. “No, I’m just surprised that’s all. And happy for you, of course.”
“Okay.” She doesn’t look convinced. “What did you want to talk about?”
For a second I consider not telling her, because there’s this happy glow around her and she finally seems to be moving on from us.
But I know backing out isn’t an option. Kris came here and owned her shit, and I have to do the same.
With a deep sigh, I cross my arms and launch into her long overdue apology, being sure to leave Sloane’s name out of it.
At first, I can tell that things aren’t sinking in, because she still smiles fondly when I start talking about how we met. But then I get to the part about using her as a distraction from the pain I was in over a previous relationship, and her entire face falls.
“Who was she?”
I bristle at the question. “It doesn’t matter, Kris. Just know I understand how wrong I was for letting you think we could have had a future together when I knew my heart belonged to someone else. It was selfish, and I’m truly sorry for how it hurt you.”
“That’s such a cop-out, Nic. You’re telling me our entire relationship wasn’t real, and you think I don’t deserve to know the name of the woman I was competing with for all these years without even knowing it?”
“You were never in competition with her, Kris.”
“Well excuse me if I don’t feel that way.” She glances at her watch then stands. “I have to get to court, but thank you for this…enlightening conversation.”
I stand to walk out with her, but by the time I finish sliding on my coat, she’s gone. Sighing, I drop a tip on the table and head toward the door, hoping my conversation with Sloane will go better than this one did.