Page 62 of Mateo & Nicole

Even still, the heavy ache that came from Sophia’s words stole the breath from her lungs.

Sophia pulled Nikki in for a hug. “Tell me what he did, and I’ll make sure he apologizes. Then we can get the two of you back on track.”

Nikki shook her head, tears already starting to spill. “There’s no going back. He doesn’t want me. And why would he? I’m not exactly the kind of girl?—”

Sophia pushed her back but kept her hands clutching at Nikki’s upper arms. “What? He didn’t say that.”

It was hard to maintain the searching stare that Sophia kept her pinned with. The urge to tear herself away from her friend and demand that she leave was more than crushing. But Nikki stood firm. “Technically…” she hedged.

Sophia frowned. “I know he wouldn’t say that. Nikki, no one has made him as happy as you have. I’ve seen it. The last ten years? He was a shell of himself. When he was with Caroline, he wasn’t as happy as he has been with you. And I’m not just saying that because you’re my favorite person. I’m saying that because I can tell you’re good for him.” She gave Nikki a little shake. “Whatever is happening isn’t the end. You have to believe that.”

Nikki wanted to tell her. She wanted to spill all of Mateo’s secrets—that he’d been speaking to Caroline. That he’d been sneaking around to see her. But she couldn’t. That would make her a hypocrite for doing the exact same thing. She shut her eyes, letting the pooling tears fall. “We’re not good for each other, Sophia. We’re just… not. He wants something else, and I’m not going to stand in his way. He can have her back. It’s clearly what he wants.”

Sophia’s eyes narrowed and she opened her mouth, but someone downstairs hollered her name. At first, all she did was turn her head to the door. Then she turned back to Nikki, but they called for her again. She let out a sigh. “I’m going to see what that is all about, and then we’re going to continue this conversation.”

Nikki shook her head. “Just drop it, okay? If you care for me and your brother, you won’t meddle in what’s going on. Let things end the way they are. It’s already too messy, and I don’t want you to get caught up in the middle of it.”

A look of pain crossed over Sophia’s features as she pulled away. Then she sighed and nodded. “Fine. But if you decide you want to talk about it?—”

“I know,” Nikki whispered. “Thanks, Sophia.”

28

Mateo

Every. Single. Time.

Mateo’s eyes followed Nikki as she strode across the property toward the building where she spent most of her time. He could sense her before he saw her. And every time he did, he’d turn, and he couldn’t tear his eyes from her.

Even after he knew she’d gone behind his back to have lunch with some random guy, he couldn’t make himself hate her.

He rubbed his fist over the place where his heart used to be. In its place was probably a shriveled up organ that couldn’t pass for anything. His soul ached. There was a piece of him missing now.

The worst part was that the more he thought about it, the more things weren’t adding up. Nikki didn’t go anywhere frequently enough to be seeing someone. And he would have heard if someone came here to see her. He’d asked Paxton some vague questions about his mother, and the boy had answered innocently enough.

There was simply no evidence that she was interested in dating.

But he’d seen the picture. Caroline might have been vile, but she wasn’t good enough to photoshop a picture of Nikki with someone else. And Nikki had come home wearing the same clothes that she’d been wearing in that picture.

He’d pulled it out several times to try to make sense of it. At one point, he’d nearly messaged Caroline to demand more information. Why was she at the same place Nikki had been? And how had she known that he was dating Nikki? Sending him the picture had been a calculated decision on her part.

“You need to stop obsessing,” Daniel said at his side. “The two of you broke things off a week ago.”

And yet, Caroline continued to reach out. She’d extended her trip, too. On top of all that, she’d asked several different times if she could help Mateo forget about Nikki.

Mateo dragged a hand down his face and finally met his friend’s eyes. “I’m not obsessing.”

Daniel laughed. “You definitely are.” He jerked a chin toward the building where Nikki had disappeared. “I don’t get it. You two ended things. It was mutual. So why are you acting like she’s the one who broke things off with you?”

He hadn’t been able to bring himself to tell Daniel about the picture. And while he’d been immensely curious about why Nikki thought he was lying to her, he wasn’t willing to confront her about that aspect either. It was better this way—to leave things the way they were.

“There’s something you’re not telling me, isn’t there?” Daniel said.

Mateo scowled at Daniel. “If I’m not telling you something, then it’s clearly none of your business.”

Daniel lifted both hands with a smirk. “All I’m saying is that if you want to talk about it, I won’t breathe a word to anyone. Not to Aria, not to Sophia… no one. Maybe there’s something you’re missing.”

His friend was starting to sound like the echoes in his head. Nothing about this breakup felt right. Sure, they’d hashed things out. She didn’t feel loved, and he couldn’t trust her. Both of those things were necessary in a relationship.

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