I was so curious to know about the identity of the beautiful girl who was staying with Nick’s family. If she was an old friend, how come Nick acted as if he hated her with so much passion?
When I looked at her, I found her eyeing me too. She was studying me, and Nick’s actions toward me.
Nick took a small portion of the beef medallions and put it on my plate. Then he sliced a portion for himself and tasted it. Then he looked at me, slightly wrinkling his nose.
“Chef Ken Clarke could teach our cook how to make the only beef medallions I could eat all day,” he whispered to me and I smiled. He was right. The dish was okay, but not great.
“Actually, I cooked it,” Margot said, her face turning red. “I know they were your favorite.”
I bit my lower lip in embarrassment. I looked up at Nick, but he didn’t look embarrassed at all. It looked as if he didn’t care about whatever he said in front of this girl.
“Since when do you cook?” he asked in a bored tone.
“I’m learning. You always said that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, right?”
I sliced the beef and put it in my mouth. “They’re good,” I said, trying to be polite, and trying to make the moment not as awkward as it already was.
“Absolutely!” Beatrice agreed, following my cue.
“You’ll make a man a happy husband someday, Margot,” Nick’s mother said and then she looked meaningfully at Nicholas.
I felt a twist in my stomach. Obviously, Nick’s mother and sister already have somebody in mind for him, and she was sitting opposite us at the dinner table. And now, I wasn’t sure it was a good idea to come to this trip at all.
“So, Mackenzie, how did you become friends with my brother?” Beatrice asked.
“I…” The story of how Nick and I became friends was a long novel that I would have a tough time reducing into a mere synopsis.
“We lived in the same town,” I said. “We had common friends.”
“What do you do, dear?” his mother asked me.
“I’m finishing university in a couple of weeks. I took up psychology,” I replied.
“She’s graduating magna cum laude,” Nick said, and I could hear the pride in his voice.
“Wow! So you’re a nerd, like my brother. He graduated early and with distinction,” Beatrice said teasingly.
“Nick has always made us proud. My husband always tells Blaze to put his wits to good use.”
“He is putting his wits to good use. He’s following his heart. Blaze is brilliant at what he does, if you guys just give him a chance,” Nick said, this time defending the brother he just threatened twenty minutes ago.
Everybody fell quiet at the table. Nick’s mom just nodded in agreement.
When Nick took a slice of cake and put it on my plate, Margot said, “That will stay in your hips for a long time.” I knew she was getting annoyed at me for all the attention Nick was giving me. And I introduced myself to them as just his friend.
“It’s okay. After the long flight, I think I deserve sugar in my system,” I said.
“Mackenzie is not obsessed with her figure like it’s the only thing that mattered in the world,” Nicholas said, and although he wasn’t looking at Margot or his sister, he was obviously talking about them. I bit my lip and looked at my plate, pretending to miss Nick’s subliminal message.
When we finished dessert, Nick announced that we needed to rest for the night. I knew he wasn’t sleepy yet, but he just couldn’t wait to get away from this awkward situation. Nick’s mother said she had to make a call to one of their associates. She kissed me on the cheek and told me that it was a pleasure having me in their home, and then she was off.
We all stood up from the table. Margot was looking at Nick, as if she was hoping to get him alone with her, which seriously started boiling my blood. But I took deep breaths. A couple of weeks ago, I was clueless to dating, nor did I have plans to date anyone. Now, I didn’t want to be a girl who fights with another girl because of a boy. If the guy is true to you, there wouldn’t be any need to fight at all.
“Nick, I told you, I didn’t know you were bringing home a friend. Margot uses the guestroom. Maybe Mackenzie can share my room,” Beatrice said.
“No,” Nick said firmly. “She’ll stay in mine.”
Beatrice nodded. “Okay, you can stay with Blaze.”
“Why would I stay with Blaze? Mackenzie and I will stay in my room,” he said, looking at his sister as if she was the most clueless person on earth.
Margot gave me an alarmed look.
“W-would you like us to bring an extra mattress to your room then?” There was uncertainty in Beatrice’s voice and I wasn’t sure why. She couldn’t quite catch on that Nick and I would sleep in the same bed.
“Don’t bother, Bee. Have all our bags sent up to my room. Mackenzie will be sharing my room, and my bed,” he said. “No point sleeping separately here when we live together in the States.”
The two girls gasped. Beatrice was clearly startled and Margot gave me a bewildered look, as if she could not believe what she just heard.
“You… you live with her?” Margot asked Nick, almost in shock.
Nick didn’t answer. He stared at Margot with a cold expression on his face.
She took a deep breath and said, “You were gone less than a year, Nick.”
Nick shook his head. “Excuse me, I don’t understand the relevance of that.”
“Five years was that easy to forget for you?” Margot asked, looking as though she was on the verge of tears.
Nick stared at her angrily this time. “No, Margot. I wasn’t the one who forgot the five years the first time around. Please stop acting like you are the victim here.” Then he took my hand in his and pulled me to the stairs.
Nick was quiet on the way up as he led me to the room at the end the hallway. Even if I wanted to break the thick silence between us, I wouldn’t really know what to say. I was still trying to get over my own shock to the two words I just heard: five years.
We finally reached Nick’s room. It was huge, and like the room in his house, everything was white. There was a king bed in the middle, also covered in white covers.
We stood there in silence for a moment. Nick was trying to calm down. And to be honest, I was trying my best not to scream at him.
Margot wasn’t just a girl his family wanted him to end up with. She was his girlfriend—for five fucking years! Funny he never mentioned that. And I thought before me, Nick spent his years collecting women’s lingerie as souvenir. And if truth be told, I didn’t know which was worse. Dating a player, or dating a guy who may still have unresolved issues with his ex.
I saw a door on the right side. I assumed it was the bathroom. I headed toward it but just before I could grab the door handle, I felt Nick pull me and spin me around. Before I even had time to think, I found myself locked in his embrace. He was breathing heavily as he hugged me to him as tight as he could.
I didn’t know what to say. Apparently, he didn’t as well, judging by his silence. My heart felt heavy inside and I wanted to cry. A little more than an hour ago, we were happy. He was excited about introducing me to his family and saying that he was lucky to have me.
Now, the world seemed to have turned upside down. I went face to face with the girl who everybody in Nick’s family believed was the love of his life. And it looked as if they were doing all they could to get them back together. Except for Blaze, who seemed to think this was a circus.
Nick took a deep breath. “I’m sorry, kitten,” he whispered.
I sighed. “Not your fault,” I said, in spite of this inexplicable pain I felt inside my chest.
But what I said was true. He didn’t plan for his ex to reenter his life and live in his house. I was sure he was just as dumbfounded as I was.
“You shouldn’t have to witness that,” he said. “I’m so sorry for putting you through this.”
I gently pulled away from him so I could stare into his eyes. The look on his face was both frustrated and apologetic.
“You seemed very mad at her,” I said.
He was. The look he initially gave her was only a little bit short of loathing.
“I want nothing to do with her,” he said.
“How long were you together? Five years?”
He took a deep breath. Then he nodded slightly.
“Straight? You didn’t have other encounters with any other girl?”
He shook his head. “Contrary to popular belief, I’m actually a relationship kind of guy.” He tried to make his tone light, but I didn’t buy it.
“When did you break up?”
“Before I went to the States,” he replied.
“Did you go to the States because you two broke up?”
There was a torn look on Nick’s face. It looked as if he wanted to lie to me, but then he decided to be brave and tell me the truth. “Yes.”