Chapter Thirty-Six - Michaela
Chapter Thirty-Six
MICHAELA
WHAT IS THAT SOUND? It’s so loud. Like a constant buzz against wood— Oh, shit. I blindly reach for my phone on the nightstand. A glance at the screen tells me I’m not getting back to sleep if I answer, but if I don’t answer, I run the risk of him continuing to call until I do. “What do you want?” I yawn.
“Good morning, Sunshine,” my cousin’s voice comes through the phone. Why the hell is he calling me? “Stopped by your place, but the doorman said you didn’t come home last night. Or most nights, for that matter.”
Shit. Looks like it’s time for the conversation. We haven’t even fully recovered from Josh, now I have to face Nick?
“You’re in town?” I stifle my yawn.
“Dee and I were visiting Romy and Enzo. They’re in town to see his daughter. I figured I’d stop and see my favorite cousin before heading out to Haven.”
Glancing at the clock, I groan and cover my eyes from the sunlight peaking through the blinds. “Nick, it’s eight in the morning.”
“Good thing I brought coffee then.” Before I can ask what that means, there’s a knock at the door and he hangs up.
I groan and force myself out of bed, throwing a sweater on over my pajamas before running to the door. On the other side is none other than Nicholas Davis.
One cup is not enough for this conversation. I finished the coffee he brought in the time it took me to let him inside, brush my teeth, and wake up enough to try and have this conversation. I pour a cup from the fresh pot and offer him one, but he declines from across the island. He’s probably already on his second or third. That’s the only reasonable explanation for him to be this awake so early. I know why he’s here, it’s been six days since Josh knocked on our door. I haven’t spoken to him since he left my condo that day, but Finn left this morning to go down to Charlotte, and I have a feeling he will be making a trip to Josh’s office while he’s there. “Josh told you?” I blow on the steaming liquid before taking a sip.
“Not sure what you’re talking about.”
“C’mon Nick, don’t play stupid.” I roll my eyes. “I know you’re the second person he called after Elizabeth.”
“Actually, he called me first, and then Elizabeth, but semantics.”
“You’re so annoying.”
He laughs. “Why didn’t you just tell us, Mic?”
“Which part?”
“All of it, really, but at least the part about David. I guess I understand not telling us about Finn this early, but—”
“Finn and I aren’t—”
“Michaela, you’re staying in his condo when he’s not even in town. You open the door wearing his sweatshirt. And, according to your own doorman, you’ve barely been home. So, let’s skip the part where we pretend you’re only fooling around and not dating, okay?”
“What do you want me to say?” I sigh. “My life has been a shit show for the past six months. My marriage failed before we’d even been married a full year. We barely saw each other, which made it —”
“That’s not an excuse, Michaela.”
“Not everyone is you and Nina, okay? Not everyone is okay with being away from their partner for extended periods of time. Some of us like to be with them.”
“You think we’re okay with it?” Nick scoffs. “Being away from my wife is not easy. Do you think I like being gone weeks at a time, not knowing if she’ll be there when I get home? Do you think I like only seeing her maybe once a week or once every couple of weeks? And when we do see each other, it’s usually for some fucking event. Do you think I liked not knowing she’s been going to the fucking doctor? No, Michaela. I don’t like any of it, but like David, our careers take us away sometimes. And you have to make the conscious effort to make your marriage work regardless.”
I take a large gulp of my coffee avoiding eye contact with him.
“I’m not saying you have to work things out with David. That’s your decision and you have made the choice to move on, but you could’ve at least told us. Fuck, you could’ve at least told Dee.”
“I was scared! I didn’t think anyone would understand, especially not my parents.”
“I don’t think you give them enough credit. They want you to be happy, Mic. We all do. And if Finn makes you happy then—”
“Finn has nothing to do with the divorce.”
“Maybe not entirely.”
“I didn’t cheat on David.”
“That’s not what I’m saying.” Nick leans back in his chair with a slight grin. “But, Finn is one, if not the reason you’re ready to move forward, am I right?”
Well, he’s not wrong. I’ve never felt so comfortable with someone. I’ve never stayed overnight with a boyfriend this early in a relationship. Never slept over when they weren’t home. Never had my own space and things at his place. Never borrowed his clothes. Never felt so comfortable to be myself.
“The other thing I don’t understand is what’s taking so long for the divorce to finalize. Josh said it’s still not done. What’s the hold-up?” Nick sips his coffee and his eyes dart to the clock on the wall before landing back on me.
“The ring,” I mumble behind my mug. Nick cocks an eyebrow and I groan. “And, the condo. He wants me to sell it, and he wants the ring back, but I don’t—”
“So, give it to him.”
“What is he going to do with it? Give it to someone else? That’s tacky.”
“What are you going to do with it? It’s not like you’re going to wear it. So what if he decides to recycle rings with the next girl, that’s his problem, not yours.” His phone vibrates across the counter and a smile crosses his features when he picks it up.
I wonder if Finn does that when I text him.
“What’s she doing this morning?” I ask, but I already know the answer.
“Working, what else?”
“She’s wearing herself thin, Nick.”
“Tell her that.” He finally looks up when he hits send on the text message. “She wants to make sure everything is ready for when we’re gone. The honeymoon will be her first real vacation since Ric passed and it’s stressing her out.”
“Kai can manage.”
“Of course, he can. She knows that, but she’s been overseeing almost everything since Ophelia was born.”
“What’s she gonna do when she gets pregnant? She won’t be able to keep going like this.”
“We’ll cross that bridge if we get there.”
If we get there.
The words feel like a rock in my stomach.
“But this isn't about us, it's about you. So, you wanna tell me how you went from hating Sheffield’s guts to sleeping in his bed?” Nick leans forward resting his chin on folded hands and his eyes shine with mischief. “Was your hate just hidden desire this whole time?”
“No, you weirdo. Don’t be gross.”
“Oh, so it was him? He was the one who's been riddled with desire all these years.”
“Oh my gosh, stop.”
“Was it his dashing good looks – his luscious hair and bright, beautiful eyes? Or was it his charm — you know he’s always had a way with the ladies.”
“It wasn’t any of that," I laugh.
“Well, don’t leave me hanging, what was it?”
“I don’t know. I guess, working with him I got to see a new side of him..”
“I thought he was an asshole.”
“Seeing the way he was with the kids.” I sigh, “He was an asshole, but there was just something about him. I don’t know how to explain it.”
"You sound like a love-sick puppy."
"That's rich coming from you."
"What can I say? I love my wife. No matter how crazy she makes me." Nick glances at his phone when the screen lights up again and frowns. "Shit, I gotta head out. I need to stop by the office before I head to the airport."
"Will I see you at the party?"
"You think I'd miss an opportunity to see my wife in a sexy dress?" He wiggles his eyebrows and pulls on his jacket.
"Ew, just... Ew." I shudder for dramatic effect earning a laugh from him. “What are you doing in Haven?”
“We’re finalizing the sale. She didn’t tell you?”
Did she? I can’t remember. I think that’s something I would remember.
“We’re selling the old one and buying a fixer-upper a little further outside Haven.”
“She loved that house.”
“There’s a lot of memories there and I think it will be easier for her to want to go visit if she’s not surrounded by so many conflicting emotions.”
“But, that’s where you guys started.”
Nick shrugs. “She wanted to do it. Talked to Kai and he seemed more than happy with the idea. They’re both still healing, and I think this is going to help them. We can make new memories. Happier ones.”
“Where’s the new one?”
“About thirty minutes from the city. A little further from Sopris, but she’ll live.”
“Will she?” Sopris is her favorite mountain to hike, even if the rest of us complain the whole time. I refuse to go with her again, scratch that, I refuse to go hiking in general. I’d prefer to take a quick spin class than go hike a mountain or go for a run in the city.
He laughs, “As long as she can get there, that’s all that matters.”