Page 69 of The Fate Of Us

My heart froze—a warranted reaction to seeing Nate off to the right, towering over themoment.

I didn’t have time to step around him before he spoke.

“Do you think it doesn’t drive me crazy to see you with him?”

Fire radiated through me. “If you’re looking for someone to blame for that, then I’llbe glad to fetch you a mirror.”

He took a breath, daring a step towards me. “I can’t stand it, Addy. I can’t stand thethought of… him… holding you like that.” His hands slid up my arms as the tips of our shoes met, freezing me to him, while warming me with feelings I hadn’t basked in for so long. “And when I turned to see him leading you down the carpet, I saw red, and blurted to the woman in front of me that it was obvious you two were an item.”

“But Nate—”

“Do you want the truth, Addy?”

That’s all I’ve ever wanted since I was eighteen.I had no energy to verbally speakthose words to him, but my eyes told him for me.

“I can’t stand it, seeing you with someone else’s hands on you, in the places wheremine wish they were.” He closes the space between us, his head leaning down and invading the space in my neck. I surrender, like the weak woman I am. “I can’t stand it when I see you smile at him, sharing that precious laugh with him, staring at him like you used to stare at me.” His lips brushed my ear. “And what’s worse is that you can do it all without remembering that doing this, succumbing to Asher Hartford, is the truth you’ve been asking me for all along.”

I pull my head away, but he catches me, his lips pressing with a featherlight touch onthe tender skin of my neck. A helpless whimper escapes me and lands in his ears. I practically feel him smile against my skin.

“Every time I see you with him, it breaks my heart that you still think this is all myfault. Convincing yourself that you were innocent in all this—”

I snapped away from him. “Just stop, Nate. Stop talking in riddles. Just tell me what itis you think I did, please. I’m tired of the guessing, and the teasing, just tell me what I did to make you leave me!”

I watched the sadness glaze over in his eyes. The realisation that he’d gone too far. Pushed me too far to the edge. Part of me thought he’d accuse me of playing the victim, but he didn’t. Instead, he stumbled backwards, his hands coming to his face and running through his hair.

Silence graced us, a surprisingly comfortable one. Usually, the silence between us wasthick, and full of unanswered questions, but not this one. This one was like a pearly gate, wide open and inviting me in.

I searched the parts of his face I could see, and without thinking, I took a few stepstowards him, no hesitation constricting me as I wrapped my arms around his waist.

I don’t think he expected this.Ididn’t even expect this. But neither of us spoke,and neither of us questioned it. We just stood there, in a hidden corridor, away from the world, hugging each other.

It wasn’t long before his arms fell around my silky waist, moulding over my curvesand protecting me. It was natural for the tears to follow in pursuit, falling down my cheeks and washing away the glitter and hurt that lived on my face. Nate only hugged me tighter when he felt my shoulders start to shake, one of his hands cradling my head into his chest, engulfing me in crisp white linen and notes of driftwood and amber.

I couldn’t remember the last time we’d done this; held each other.

I felt him squeeze my waist, forcing a quiet sob out of me, utterly exhausted with thischarade we’d perfected. I never wanted to perfect it. I never wanted to pretend I hated him. Have I ever truly hated him? I couldn’t be sure. Things were too blurred at the moment that I couldn’t tell what was real and what we’d been lying about.

But that didn’t stop the truth from spilling from my lips in a sob.

“I miss you,” I cried, barely loud enough that I was convinced he didn’t hear me.

But then he pulled away from me, slipping a hand under my chin, titling my eyes tomeet his, whispering so gently. “I miss you too, Firefly.”

Firefly.

He hadn’t called me that in so long that I’d forgotten it was the name he gave me, theone I confessed I secretly loved, and asked him to never stop calling me.

Time froze. The outside world was a story we chose to bookmark. We didn’t budge as hebrushed a rogue curl behind my ear, his cool fingers icing the blush my cheeks had adopted in his presence.

“I think we need to talk, soon.” he confessed, cupping my cheek. “About everything.”

My body sighed into him, the word ‘finally’ reading across my face.

“I’ll let you go find Asher, he’s probably looking for you.” He whispered, his thumbskimming my cheek, his voice telling me all he thinks about letting me go to Asher, away from him.

I wanted to ask if I could stay like this a while longer, sit down, and talk abouteverything here, right now. Not waste another second while things were good between us. But I couldn’t, didn’t think I could handle something like that without fresh air and a good night’s sleep. Or a drink.

So I nod at him, a whisper of a smile creeping on my face, grateful to have him herewith me right now.

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