Wild Nights With My Brother’s Ex-Best Friend novel Chapter 24

NICOLE

The day of Mason’s arrival is slowly approaching-tomorrow morning, he’ll be here.

That means that soon, this suspense will end and I’ll be able to live in peace with the choice I made. Sometimes, I’ll think about the whole thing obsessively, wondering what Mason will say and how he’ll react. Other times, I don’t think about it at all.

But since his arrival is close, it’s harder to ignore my anxious thoughts.

I’m at home today because there really isn’t much to do at the office. Haley’s out doing…Gosh, I don’t even know. I wasn’t paying attention to what she was saying. My head is a mess.

Roman calls me at around noon, inviting me to lunch. I decline, though.

“Why?” he asks. “You don’t want to see me?”

“Of course, I do. I want to see you every day. It’s just that I’m not in the mood today. I really just want to stay home and think about…a few things.”

“Mason,” he finally says. “You’re thinking about the conversation you’re meant to have with him tomorrow.”

I don’t answer him, and he sighs. “It’s alright. It’ll be okay, you’ll see. If he loves you, he’ll respect your decision.”

“I hope so.”

“Now, about tonight. There’s someplace I want to take you. Come on, Nikki, say yes. I’ve been planning for this all week.”

“Okay. Where will you take me?”

“It’s a surprise,” he answers, and I can just hear the wickedness in his voice. “Be ready at six.”

“Early night?”

“Yeah. I have someplace to go afterward. You’ll be ready?”

“You know I will. Have I ever let you down?”

Roman is silent for a few beats, then answers, “Sometimes, I wish you would.”

The call ends, and I feel a lot happier. See? This is exactly the effect that Roman has on me. I sit up straight on my bed and look around the room. There’s no reason why I should feel so sad. I’m finally going to end this torment once and for all.

It’ll be great.

I go through my closet, wondering what the hell 1 should wear. I have a cute dress I haven’t worn since I bought it, but I’m all out of lingerie. He seemed excited when he told me he wanted to take me someplace, so I want to impress him, too.

I decide to step out to buy something new. Nothing too crazy-just something he’ll appreciate. Roman’s the kind of man who pays attention to details.

And yes, I want to impress him.

I head toward my car and unlock it. It’s parked right along the street. Someone calls my name, and I turn my head to the sound of Dan’s voice in utter disbelief.

There’s no way he’s still doing this.

“Dan?”

Slowly, he approaches me. His eyes are reddish, and the circles under his eyes are dark. He looks like he hasn’t slept in a long time. I’m shocked, which is why I ask him, “What are you doing here?”

I would have agreed with her if I didn’t feel so guilty about leaving him. He’s right-I sprung the whole thing on him. It wasn’t fair. But yes, he was obsessive too. And crazy jealous.

Haley starts reaching for her phone but I grab her wrist, stopping her. She looks at me like I’m crazy, and maybe I am. “Nicole. This has to be reported. Look what he did to your car!”

“I’ll just get it fixed.”

Rage is etched on her features. “You’re kidding me. You have to be kidding, Nicole!”

“I don’t have time to file a police report,” I claim, which is true. I have to find a decent lingerie set and meet Roman tonight-I only have two hours to do that. And then, tomorrow, I’ve got to be honest with Mason. “I have to go.”

“Go? Where do you have to go?”

“I have something to do.”

I unlock the door and slide into the driver’s seat. Haley stands on the sidewalk, watching me. I refuse to look at her because the truth is that I’m ashamed, to an extent.

“What the hell has gotten into you?” she asks just as I start the car and drive away. I run my fingers through my hair, genuinely upset because I was just having a nice day before Dan turned up.

At some point, I’ll confront all of this and make the right decisions. But right now? I’m overwhelmed. I’ve got too much going on.

And I have a bad feeling about walking away but for some reason, that hasn’t stopped me. I might live to regret this decision of letting Dan off the hook so easily, but right now, all I can focus on is Roman.

The thought of him brings a smile to my lips. Honestly? That’s all that matters to me at the moment.