“Apparently, he was more drunk than he let on. When I answered the door today, I knew immediately who he was, but he had no clue who I was. What the hell am I going to do, Autumn?”
“How do you know he doesn’t remember?”
“With the things that man and I did in my apartment that night, there’d be no way he could keep up a façade of not remembering me for a whole day, much less not even let a glimmer of recollection show through on his face. Trust me, it would’ve been impossible for him to forget… if he were sober.”
My sister giggled into her phone.
“Autumn, be serious. What am I going to do? I’m here with him for three weeks until you get back.”
“You could just talk to him and tell him.”
“Ha! That would be one of the most awkward conversations I’ve ever had.”
“I mean, he deserves to know, but if you’re uncomfortable staying there, I can ask Rory to do it instead. She only has a few more days before school lets out.”
I blew out a puff of air, then explained I couldn’t ask my younger sister to do that.
“Hey, my luggage is here, so I need to go. But you need to tell him before it’s too late, Alex. You’re going to regret it if you don’t.”
“Yeah, I know. Ugh, I hate when you’re right.”
“Well, I am older and wiser.”
“Whatever. Enjoy your honeymoon.”
I hung up with Autumn and fell back on the bed, my gaze trained on the ceiling. How would he react when I told him? Would he believe me or question my motives?
“Shit,” I mumbled as I threw my arms out on either side of my body. I gave myself a few minutes to contemplate my next move but came up empty. I knew I needed to tell Nate we had indeed met before, but I was terrified of his reaction. Seeing a look of disappointment in his eyes wasn’t something I thought I could handle.
Rejection was something I was all too familiar with. The pit of my stomach grew sour. It seemed no matter how many years passed, the damage my ex had done to my psyche lingered, holding me hostage in my mind.
It wasn’t anywhere near a decent time to go to sleep, not that I would’ve been able to anyway, so I opted to heft myself back over to the chair I’d been lounging in before Nate stopped by. Flipping open my laptop, I continued reading over the business proposal information I’d been exploring.
With only one more class to finish to earn my business degree, I was one step closer to opening the cake shop I always dreamed of. I’d worry about how that would affect my sister’s endeavor with the bed-and-breakfast at a later time.
There was a piece of real estate on the edge of town that would be perfect for the cake shop I wanted to open, but it would require a top-notch business proposal to get a loan. I knew that if I divulged my plan to my parents, they would happily assist me in getting the money I’d need, but I didn’t want to do that. My dad was already looking toward retirement. Hell, he was well past that time. My lofty goals wouldn’t derail him from that.
Collectively, we all monetarily assisted my sister to start up the Easterly Event Venue on my parents' property. We were lucky the project was already flourishing, and our investments were returned three-fold. I wasn’t as ambitious as Autumn, who had a career in event planning and whose talents were well-sought by clients. I was just someone with a knack for culinary delights, and I felt they were being wasted by focusing on meal prep.
Moving away from the proposal drivel, I began working on one of my finance assignments. The darkness grew in the room, and by the time I pulled my eye away from the online lecture, the clock was nearing 10:00 p.m. I was going to have to get up early to prepare breakfast, since I was aware Nate and his daughters were going to join my family for dinner. It was not something I was looking forward to.
Deciding it was probably a good time to catch some rest, I set my work on the small coffee table and changed from my loungewear into my favorite oversized T-shirt I typically wore to bed. It was a man’s shirt, and it hung mid thigh. I had it since high school, and the fabric had worn away in some spots, but now it was so soft I couldn’t bear parting with it. Slipping my bra off my shoulders, I tugged the shirt over my head and walked toward the mini fridge in the corner to grab a bottle of water. Except the shelves inside were empty.
“Dang it.” I was going to have to slip downstairs and restock the fridge with water.
I slowly twisted the knob for my door, doing my best to hide the clunky sound of the metal moving. A breath whooshed out when I saw the coast was clear. Creeping down the hall and then the stairs, I made my way toward the kitchen, thankful all the rooms were dark.
I went ahead and filled up a glass of water from the tap while I was by the sink, gently placing the glass in the dishwasher when I was finished chugging. Continuing to the butler’s pantry, I grabbed several bottles of water—six to be exact—and juggled them in my arms as I turned to leave the confined space. With my elbow, I clicked off the kitchen light, thankful for the small lamp that illuminated the hallway. Despite the renovations being new, the house was more than a century old and freaked me out in the dark.
Turning the corner to head toward the front of the house, I smacked into a hard, solid body that caused all the plastic bottles in my hold to crash at my feet.
“Oomph!” I cried out as one landed on top of my foot, cutting off the scream that was about to rip from me instead.
“Shit. Are you all right?” the masculine voice asked from the shadows, and I realized it was Nate.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” I mumbled as I kneeled to gather the bottles again.
He must’ve had the same idea, because our heads knocked together as he bent over to grab the few at his feet.
