Layla didn’t immediately accept my answer, her steely gaze testing me to see if I would crack. But she eventually relented.
“A while back, in France, there was this man that I had a fling with,” she said. “He charmed me like no other and won me over. And this wasn’t some exotic lover who spoke a foreign language—we’d known each other from elsewhere and built up a real chemistry, a real dynamic. And then, out of the blue, he just…disappeared.”
I had never heard this story before. And I only needed to see the look on Layla’s face to know how frustrated and sad she was about it.
“It tore at me for a long time, and to this day, I still hold a grudge against him. Pierre was his name. If I fucking saw him again…but anyway, I digress. I bring this up to tell you that while you are no Pierre to Izzy, you constantly barraging her with messages doesn’t do anything. If Pierre suddenly started messaging me on the phone to say how sorry he was, after that first message, it would just seem whiny.”
“OK,” I said. “So, what do I do?”
“You’re not going to like the answer.”
Oh, for fuck’s sake, I thought.
“Just tell me.”
Layla folded her arms.
“You’ve told her you were sorry, and you’ve told her everything else you feel. She knows everything she needs to now. You’re going to have to wait.”
“It’s been a week—”
“And I’ve heard crazier stories,” Layla said. “But if you reach out to her now and try to do something, it will only result in her feeling overwhelmed. You gotta give her space, Nick. I’m sorry, but that’s the only way.”
I bit my lip. I guessed that was the only way if Layla was saying it. She hadn’t steered any of us in the wrong direction with relationships before.
“By the way,” she said. “What the hell did you do with her ex, anyway?”
“I just told Uncle Nick that I needed him taken care of. I figured he’d get his ass beat in prison. I didn’t think he’d be murdered!”
“And then Dad went off on you,” Layla said. “It was a surprise to me, too, if it makes you feel any better.”
“Seems like there are a lot of surprises in this family.”
Layla could only nod. And I knew the surprises were only going to keep coming.
“But it’s on me,” I said. “So, however we have to dig ourselves out, we will. I’m not putting—”
My phone buzzed on Layla’s table. She looked down. Her expression said it all.
I grabbed the phone without asking her permission. The notification confirmed it.
I was bursting out the door of her office and to my Tesla before I could even say goodbye. I had someone I had to say hello to again here.
Chapter 26: Izzy
I still wasn’t sure that this was the right move.
But I was sure that the only way I was going to know if it was the right move or not was to bridge the gap of virtual communication. It was too easy for Nick to say “sorry” on his phone, and it was too easy for me to pretend things were fine when he wasn’t there. Getting him face to face, with both of us in calm states, would reveal the answer.
I hoped, at least.
I went through the apartment one last time. I had it all cleaned up. It did not look like a three-year-old boy lived there, minus the one room dedicated to him. The kitchen was clean, my bed was made, and the floors had been vacuumed and swept. There was nothing to distract him.
I went to the window and looked out. I saw Nick’s Tesla pulling up into the visitor’s spot. I texted him and told him the door would be unlocked. I wanted to be sitting on the couch when he arrived—I didn’t want him to try some dramatic gesture, like sweep me up for a kiss, when he came in. Admittedly, it would be kind of sexy…
I sat on the far edge of the couch, the side furthest away from the door, with a small glass of wine. I winced when I realized I’d gotten the Ferrari Wine without even thinking about it, but it was obviously too late to change, and I wasn’t about to toss good wine down the sink just because of appearances.
He reached the door. I took a breath. I told myself to remain calm. And then it swung open.
He looked as nervous as I had ever seen him. Even on our first date, Nick didn’t look as uncertain as he did when he walked into my apartment just now. I tried to tell myself that I was just as uncertain as he was, but I had to admit, the sight of him had an effect on me that pushed me a certain direction.
“Hey,” he said as he took off his shoes and sat on the couch.
“How are you?” I said with a soft smile.
“I’m good,” he said. “Good. Is, uh, Ryan around?”
“No, he’s with my parents right now, I just wanted to talk to you alone.”
Nick bit his lip, perhaps trying to avoid getting ahead of himself. I had to remind myself of the same. We needed to have a productive conversation as adults before anything, and I mean anything, else happened.
“So listen,” I said, sitting up and crossing one leg over the other. “I felt like things ended rather dramatically the last time we hung out. I was just so taken aback by the news about Malcolm that I couldn’t think straight. And so…I just want to hear your side of things. I accused you of a lot, and I want to know how you saw them.
