“I appreciate you putting up the act in there. It was a smart move in front of the gossip piranhas, but we’re good now.” I reach up to touch her arm, but she turns on her heel and starts descending the stairs to the lobby.
“Hey, wait!” I follow her down and catch up to her right in front of the building doors. “Hey, are you all right? I thought we were going to talk now.”
She stares off toward the mailboxes lining the wall behind me. “Oh, that. Don’t worry about it. It was nothing.” She places her hand on the door handle to push it open, but I place my hand over hers.
“What do you meannothing?”
My heart starts racing. Earlier in the night, she seemed excited to talk to me, just like she was the night I met her. This version, the one that’s trying to brush me off, is making me panic.
She takes a deep breath and finally meets my gaze. “I was just going to apologize again. For New Year’s Eve. For being overserved and probably embarrassing myself in your presence.”
“Nicolette—”
“Please, call me Nikki. Everyone calls me Nikki.”
But I don’t want to be like everyone.
“Nikki, that night. A lot happened. A lot was said. And—”
“And I’m saying that I don’t remember. I’m sorry, Tony. Truly,” she says firmly.
Air rushes out of my lungs as I struggle to stand straight.
How did I not see this? How did I get it all wrong?
And this Nikki person. How could she be so cold compared to the funny and affectionate woman I met less than a week ago? Clearly, I should have known better. I should have never changed my stance on relationships for her. I should have known not to trust a woman again, especially after knowing her for just a few hours. Stupid me.
I finally gather my bearings in time to see the look of pity she sends my way. If this woman thinks she can just mess with people’s feelings, she’s got a rude awakening coming to her. And I’ll personally see to it that she never gets the chance to get near my heart again.
“Hey, Nikki?”
“Yeah?”
“It’s Antonio to you.”
I push the door open and let her step out. I decide to follow her, to make sure she gets home safe, but walk a few steps behind until we reach her block. When she approaches the door to her building, she turns to speak to me, but I just change directions and start walking back toward my apartment.
And that was the last time I ever called her Nicolette.
25
Nikki
PRESENT
Samaná,Dominican Republic
He’s avoiding me like the plague.
I’ve written and prepared my apology speech to him fifteen times, but each time I try to reach him, he bolts.
My stomach is a ball of nerves, so I skipped the fancy dinner tonight and instead spent an hour in the shower using every fancy product this resort has to offer.
By the time I’m standing in the closet, my body is scrubbed, shaved, and moisturized within an inch of its life. And since I was on a roll, I was able to do my hair and makeup in record time. Leaving my blond locks half down with soft beach waves and natural looking makeup on my eyes and cheeks, since the tan gods have allowed me to be sun kissed instead of burned. And because I couldn’t resist, I finished off the look with a bold red lip.
I stare at the garment bag hanging before me. I’ve been so wrapped up in Tony that I haven’t been tempted to take a peek inside. But tonight is the night, and if I’m going to confront him with the truth, it might as well be in a cute dress that I’m sure Amelia handpicked for me.
I have to bend low to pull the zipper all the way down. When I stand, I do a double take.
