by MJ Fields
“Great, see you in a few minutes.”
Now running to the Jeep, I see a pile of… roses tossed on the ground like trash, and I know whoever they were bought by, must be hurting.
I hit the key fob and swing the door open.
“What the fuck?” I think as I have to adjust my seat, not even remembering that I’d … “Whatever,” I snap at myself as I start the Jeep and tear away from the curb.
At the light heading outside of town, I stop and look at my phone and see Townes hasn’t sent me a message. I look through my call log and see a number I don’t recognize though.
I hit the messenger app and see the location.
He changed his phone number. Interesting. “Apparently, I should have as well.”
I ruffle through the center console and find the blue Tiffany box underneath the registration.
Walking into the coffee shop, I’m prepared for my emotions to toy with me, but I’m also prepared to be strong. Strong for me, for Raff, for Nathaniel, for… us.
I see he’s already at a private round white table, two hot coffees before him. I can see the steam rising from the mugs, but he doesn't touch his. His black jacket is draped over the back of his chair, his posture perfectly straight—his gold Rolex Submariner glints on his wrist, a gift from his parents when he turned eighteen.
I put my hand in my coat pocket and feel for the ring box. I’m not doing anything wrong, but it certainly feels like a betrayal. I didn’t tell Raff where I was headed because it didn’t feel wrong until right this minute.
I’ll let Townes speak, and then I’ll give him back the ring. We’ll say our goodbyes, and there is nothing at all connecting the two of us.
I force my legs to walk inside, and press forward to the table. “Hi.”
Townes jumps up, smiling brightly as he steps to me, wrapping his arms around me and hugging me for what feels like way too long.
Leaning back, his blue-green eyes bore into mine. I can tell there are a million unspoken words on his lips. This may be harder than I thought. “Nikki.”
He lets go, and I take off my jacket, draping it across the back of my chair as he walks back around the table to his seat
He pushes a mug in front of me. “Coffee. Cream and sugar.”
“Thank you. I’m sorry you felt you had to travel all this way.”
“If you hadn’t blocked me after I called you last week, then I wouldn’t have been able to appreciate where you came from.”
Block him? Odd, but possible I suppose. I may have done so accidentally when taking him out of my favorites list in my contacts.
“The drive from the airport was nice. Very...scenic route. But this isn’t Holiday Springs.”
“No, it’s not.” I take a sip of my coffee. “I thought it would be best we met somewhere else. Holiday Springs is a small town, and I'd rather not have the rumor mill going crazy. You may have known about the town, had we had visited once in all the years we were together. But whatever, bygones.”
Nathaniel using the same word flashes in my head. Suddenly, I miss him more than I thought possible.
“Or maybe, it’s because you have a new boyfriend, and you don’t want him knowing we’re meeting?” He quirks a brow.
“No.” I put the cup down, and it rattles against the table. “I mean, yes, I’m with someone else. But I’m not meeting with you here so I can hide something from him. I’m meeting with you here because I don’t want rumors flying that would hurt him.”
“Well.” He shuffles his seat forward, getting closer to the table. “Let’s not talk about that guy. Let’s talk about you. I understand that the way you left was...dramatic.”
“Dramatic?” I huff. “You mean, traumatic. Your mother busted into our apartment before nine in the morning, insulting me left and right. And that’s after years of enduring her abuse—alone. And then you break up with me in front of her, after—”
“Listen,” he interrupts. “It was a mistake. I made a mistake.” He takes my hands in his. They’re warm and heavy. “I understand why you tried to move on. But what you have with this guy can’t compare to what we had.”
“Actually…” I exhale. “It doesn’t compare. It’s much, much more.”
“No.” He squeezes my hands. “That can’t be. We have years together—the best times. Forget when we were with my family. I’m talking about when we were alone ordering Dominos and watching movies—going dancing. Beer specials on the Lower East Side. Even at work, how you knew my steps before I made them. We were good. We are so, so good.”
“Actually, I think you were right when you said our lives don’t gel. They don’t. I need to be with someone who really truly sees me. Not someone who wants my body and brains to channel a woman I’m not, depending on the circumstances.” I shake my head, feeling more sad at this point than angry. “You wanted the real me, sometimes. Other times, you wanted a kept woman who wore the right labels and spoke the right words. But this is me, Townes. I’m not fancy. I’m not kept. I work hard. And I love my family. The fact that after all those years, you saw me as a gold digger—”
“I know, Nikki. God, do I know it. I miss you. And I know damn well you’re not a gold digger. That’s what I love about you. You think I don’t know how different you are from all the other girls? You are beauty and brains. You are warmth and kindness. When you and my mom got into it, I made a huge mistake choosing her over you. You are meant to be—”
“Mine.”
I jump and look up to see Raff standing tall, the vein in his neck pulsing. His dark eyes swirling with anger.
Townes looks up, a look of complete composure on his face. “You are?”
I clear my throat. “Townes, this is Raff. My boyfriend.” The level of hesitancy in my voice? Higher than Mt. Everest. Raff’s gaze moves to mine, and he is angry. Furious. I want to quickly explain what I’m doing here with Townes, but I can’t do that now. Not without undermining what Raff and I have.
“Thanks for taking care of Nikki while we were taking time apart.” He stands up, the men now looking at each other face-to-face. “I guess it’s good I tell you myself in person. We’re going to try again.”
I stand up, the chair grinding against the floor behind me. “No. I-I never said that.” I shake my head, worried that Raff won’t believe me. “Townes, we are done.”
I grab my jacket, putting my hands in one pocket. Nothing is in there. I turn the coat around, cursing that there is so much material. I can’t find the other pocket! I finally find the ring box and pull it out. But then I look around, and Raff has gone!
I drop the box on the table. “I want to be sorry, but I’m not. I’ve moved on, Townes. I’m not coming back to New York City. And I sure as hell am not coming back to you. Good luck.”
I leave the box on the table and run outside, my jacket in one arm and my purse in the other. If it’s cold out, I wouldn’t know it. My blood is running hot.
“The keys to the Jeep, Nikki!” Townes calls from behind me.
“What!” I whip around and look at him.
“The lease is up next month.”
I toss my keys at him and hurry toward Raff, who is on his motorcycle.
Raff throws his leg over the bike and stomps toward the keys, grabbing them before Townes has a chance to.
“She’ll get her things out, and then you can take the fucking thing.”
I shake my head back and forth. “I don’t care, Raff. He can have whatever is in there. I—”
“Nikki, not another word.”
He swings the door open and starts emptying the content of my glove compartment and console into a reusable grocery bag.
“Is that how you like to be treated, Nikki?” Townes huffs.
Raff swings around and steps toward him. I quickly slide between them.
“This piece of shit leases a car for the woman he says he loves but chooses his mummy's tit instead of hers?” Raff spits.
“Raff, it’s okay. I don’t want anything of
his, I—”
He steps forward, his back now against my chest. “This isn’t the kind of woman you rent. She’s the kind you own.”
“I’m not sure my Nikki appreciates someone trying to own her.”
“She’s not yours, you twat!” Raff roars.
“Please just take me home.” I put my hands on his chest and push him back. He’s nearly unmovable. “Please, Raff. I want to—”
“You’re already living off of another man?” Townes' menacing laugh echoes through the air, and Raff steps forward. I turn around facing Townes, using my back to attempt to push Raff back. “Perhaps Mother was right about you, Nikki.”
Before I even have time to think, I slap him across the face so hard my hand stings.
“You fucking hit me?” Townes gasps.
“Bloody brilliant he is.” Raff hoists me up, grabbing the bag full of my things, and walks toward his motorcycle.
“Why are you driving a motorcycle in November?” I ask.
“My fucking vehicle was blocked. Get on, Nikki Winterfield. Now.”
Hands shaking, I put on my jacket, stuffing my purse in the saddlebag. I’ve only been on the bike once in my life, and I didn’t like it at all. But this time, it feels even worse. He’s angry, and I know I messed up. I should have called him, or at the very least, sent him a text. I get behind him, my hands digging into his muscular chest as he takes off. I hold him so tightly, just needing this. I know once we get off, there will be hell to pay.
I bury my face against his back, my body as snug against his as it can possibly be, and still, I’m not close enough.
I wonder if this is what it feels like when your heart slowly breaks.
Back in Holiday Springs, it only takes moments to get into the building using the back entrance. I have to run up the stairs to keep up with him.
The front door barely closes behind us when he says, “Explain.” His dark hair sticks up in all directions. I want to put my hands through it. But more than that, I want to talk to him.
I know that’s weird, but Raff has become my best friend. And I need that friend right now to hear me out. Everything with Townes is done. Dead. I want to jump for joy that the chapter is closed. Instead, my entire body is vibrating in fear. Am I about to lose Raff?
“I didn’t tell you I was meeting with him because I did not want to upset you, hurt you.” I swallow hard, but he’s staring at me, waiting for more.
“I gave him back the stupid ring that’s been in the stupid Jeep.”
“Why the hell do you still have it?” he snaps.
“I didn’t even think about it until today when he called. I swear I hadn’t talked to him, hadn’t even looked at social media since you and I.” I stop when I realize I’m crying and bat away tears. “You wanna know the truth, Raff?”
“Of course, I want the damn truth!”
“I’ve been so busy falling in love with you that I didn’t—”
“Shut up, Nikki, just shut up.” He steps toward me, and I jump back.
“No. I love you, Raff. And only you. You’ve been the best thing to ever happen to me. You make me the best version of myself. I didn’t expect what we have to fall into my lap. Sometimes I imagine God must really be watching out for me because he brought me to you. I wanted to fight it, but honestly, you didn’t let me.”
“God damn it, Red,” his hand grabs the back of my head, and he grips my hair, “shut up.”
His mouth crashes against mine, and we kiss like it’s our first, our middle, and our end, but the direction unclear.
I force myself to pull back and look into his eyes in search of the answer.
He takes my face in his hands and wipes my tears away. “I didn’t let you fight me. From the moment we met, I couldn’t let you go. I didn’t then, and I won’t now. Red, I love you. Nathaniel loves you. We have since the word go. We want you with us, the three of us as a team. But you can’t do shit like that to us. You can’t without it damaging something in here.”
He pulls one of his hands off my face and places it on his chest.
“I’ll kiss it better, Rafferty Graham. I promise I’ll—”
“You’ll do better than that.”
I grip his shirt and pull him toward me. “Anything.”
“You’ll start work Tuesday because tomorrow we’re car shopping and moving you in.”
“Raff.” I shake my head, no.
“Is Nikki moving in tomorrow?” Nathaniel says from behind Raff.
He smirks down at me. “She is, aren’t you?”
I nod. “Yeah. Yes,” I sigh like an enormous weight has been lifted off my back. And then I say the words that have been locked up for months. I swing the gates open and exclaim, “I’m moving in!”
Rule Number Twenty - Five
The map to home, is written in your heart
Raff
Two weeks later
I pull into the small parking lot in front of Nikki’s office and park my new vehicle next to hers. She opted to buy my black Audi from me, at the same price I was going to get for trade.
She didn’t know that I set it up, knowing damn well she wouldn’t let me buy her a car, so I had my buddy Kolby make a bullshit call where he pretended that he had a buyer for fourteen grand and he was going to take it when I mumbled, “Bloody hell, that’s a steal.”
“I’ll give you fifteen grand,” she whispered to me.
And that is how she bought my one-year-old sixty-thousand-dollar car a quarter of the price, which is how I know she’s safe on these roads when she’s driving alone or with Nathaniel.
Grabbing the bag containing our lunch— homemade squash soup and grilled chicken sandwiches—the daily special for both Nikki and me from my place in Vail, and slide out of my white RS Q8, which is what I wanted her to be driving.
Regardless, crisp air smells cleaner than ever before, the sun brighter, the moon more seductive than ever, and my heart is so fucking full there are moments I don’t think I’m really on the same earth that I’ve been on for all my years.
It’s Tuesday, the day the office is empty and we have a standing lunch date. And it’s the week before my favorite holiday—Thanksgiving.
I walk inside, the bell on the door ringing with my entry.
“Red, I’m home!” I call out, watching her face light up.
It’s a silly line, but it makes her laugh, which means I’ll keep on saying it until it loses its luster.
“I missed you today.” She stands from her large oak desk, hurries to me, and wraps her arms around my neck.
Ever since the incident with that arsehole, Townes, and her moving into the loft, things have been fucking amazing. However, I want more. I want her in my bed every night, not sneaking in or out of each other’s before Nathaniel wakes up.
“Missed you, too.” I grab the back of her neck and pull her close enough to kiss her forehead, whispering against it, “If I kiss your lips, we know where this will lead, and you and I need to talk about some things.”
She steps back and looks up, concern etching her features. “Is Nathaniel okay?”
“Christ, I love how you love our boy, and yes, he’s fine.” I take her hand and walk us over to the small conference table. I pull out a chair, and she sits down.
I set the bag down and watch her eyes widen with excitement as I pull the food out and set it in front of her.
I wait until she starts to take a bite of the sandwich to tell her. “I love Raúl’s soups, but nothing, and I mean nothing tastes as good as you.” I sit down beside her.
She pauses mid-bite, a lock of her hair falls in front of her face, and I push it away.
“Thank you.”
She sits back and takes a bite, chews it, and swallows. “I think I made some progress with Shep today.”
“You’re so damn gorgeous. You know that, don’t—”
“Are you listening?”
I smile, loving when she gets all serious about work.
“Yes.”
“Okay, so...?” Her voice trails off, obviously waiting for a reply.
“So, property values...” It’s a shot in the dark, but I know I hit the jackpot when she exhales. “They’ve obviously been rising,” I continue. “Not just during tourist season, but beyond that. Beckett is right about this hotel. If he buys it and fixes it up right, it will be a huge success.”
“I think I have a way to get Beckett and Shep to agree on a sale.”
“Talk nerdy to me, Red.” I wink as I take a bite of my sandwich.
“He obviously wants nothing to do with the resort, he’s letting it fall apart, but the land is everything to him.”
“So?” I think I know where she’s leading but loving the passion she has for everything she does.
“Shepard Granger keeps the land and rents it for fifty years to Beckett, aside from what he wants to keep, of course. We get legal to draw up a contract that allows Beckett first rights to a sale if Shepard decides to sell, and also the ability to renew at the end of fifty years if Beckett still wants it.”
“Becks is my friend, but an arsehole when it comes to business.”
“And he’s my boss. It took one week to figure that out.” She laughs. “But I know Shep, and I know he’ll never sell everything his parents left to him.”
“Between just you and me, are you against this transaction?”
She shakes her head, no. “I think it will be good for Holiday Springs, and I was even thinking, maybe we can add a second location of the Sweet Spot in the hotel lobby. I did the math, and if this works, Nellie can talk to Becks about a little Sweet Spot satellite shop.”
“Kids and candy at a family resort. Gold mine, Red.”
“It was actually Nellie’s idea.” She shrugs but averts those amazing green eyes.
I can tell she’s full of shit. “I’m going to have to remind you of the truth clause in this relationship.”
“Fine, I may have planted the seed, but she watered it.”
“You amaze me.”
She licks her lips. “You amaze me more.”
Now seems like the perfect time to drop the next bomb. “My parents are coming in for Thanksgiving.”
