Page 34 of Awestruck at Dusk
Nathan and Zara sat on the living room couch when I unlocked the apartment and walked in. They were still talking. Nathan lifted his hand and waved it in a quick move. They seemed chill so I approached them.
“Hey, you,” I said, taking a seat next to Nathan. “Are you guys done, or do you need a few more minutes? I could go to my bedroom if—”
“We’re done, love,” Nathan muttered, placing his hand on my thigh, kneading it a few times. Zara glanced at me and smiled. It was a different kind of smile. Sympathetic? I wondered what Nathan and Zara had talked about. But whatever it was, they both seemed exhausted by it.
Zara’s luggage was still sitting in the foyer, staring at me. I didn’t know what that meant. Was she taking it inside my guest bedroom? Was she waiting for William to come back? Should I ask?
No need.
“Zara will be staying with William.” Nathan cleared things up for me in a neutral tone. I guess he’d exhausted all the fire when talking things through with Zara—or yielding to her, from what I could tell. “I’ll go home, take a shower, and meet you here in about a couple of hours or so. Does that work for you, love?”
“Ah … yes. Yes, of course,” I replied.I was so buried in my thoughts that for a second there I lost Nathan. I couldn’t stop thinking about how Zara was staying over with William.
As much as he implied nothing was going on between them, I couldn’t stand the thought of them together every night, waking up and having coffee in their pajamas, or William making her breakfast because let’s be real, hewasgoing to cook for her at some point. Shit. I couldn’t deal with that.
I didn’t care if they werejust friends. It hurt to watch whenIcouldn’t even be his friend. I was nothing. A neighbor. And she was reaping off all the benefits.
My temporary solution consisted of smiling at Zara and Nathan. I could slosh in a pool of my bitterness in the comfort of my bedroom. Behind closed doors. Because I couldn’t allow myself to show any emotion regarding Zara’s decision—obstination—to stay with William during her visit.
Nathan got up, kissed the top of my head, and left after saying goodbye to Zara and me.
“Ugh!” Zara blurted out with exasperation, throwing herself flat on the couch as soon as Nathan walked out.
“What’s wrong?” I coaxed myself to ask. We needed to be able to talk to each other.
“Is Nathan as controlling with you as he is with me?” she asked, glancing at me from the horizontal angle at which she found herself.
“He’s—not, actually. He’s great,” I said. Something shrunk inside my gut. A reminder of what a great guy Nathan was. He loved me, cared for me, made me feel safe. And here I was all messed up in the head because of William.But he’s great too.
Zara took a deep breath and let it out with a sigh. “You should get ready for that boring event Nathan’s making you go. What are you planning to wear?” She sat up straight and shot up from her seat. “What about those pretty dresses?”
Zara walked over to the rack and scanned them. She grabbed one and held it flush against her body, looking down at herself. “These are pretty. I bet they love you at Enzio de Luca after helping them sell a ton of those blush pink pantsuits,” she said. “And everything William touches … it turns into gold. But don’t get me wrong, you looked great.” She glanced at me with a lifted brow.
“How do you—”
“Oh, I”—she laughed as she returned the dress to the rack—“read the note.” She tilted her head toward the foyer table where I’d left the envelope. “And I saw the pictures of the event, too. I wish I could’ve been there with you guys. Too bad Nathan couldn’t be there either, but you seemed to be having a lot of fun.”
There you go.Just friends,my ass.
Zara just admitted to seeing the photographs of William and me at the premiere. I still didn’t know if Nathan had seen them, but I wasn’t going to ask him. If he hadn’t mentioned anything about them, then I guess he hadn’t.
I wondered if Zara was jealous. I couldn’t tell if she was trying to be chatty or polite or if there was any underlying intention in her conversation with me. Figuring that out would be my next mission if I chose to accept it.Don’t.
“You should wear this tonight,” she said, grabbing the dress with the beaded tiger. “Nathan’s gonnadrool.”
I stood up and walked up to her. “Do you think something like this is appropriate for tonight?”
“This is Enzio de Luca. It’s appropriate for anything you want. For Nathan’s boring dinner or a picnic at the park.” She laughed. “Besides, it’s your birthday at midnight, and you get to do whatever the fuck you want. Huh. That kinda rhymed.”
It did.
I wasn’t sure if I was getting tricked, but I took her word for it.
“I’m going to take a shower. Do you need anything? Something to eat or drink?” I offered. “Please make yourself at home.”
“Actually, I’m a bit hungry. Is it okay if I just grab something from your kitchen? I could order something too.”
“Of course. Mimi’s here. She’ll be glad to cook something for you. I’ll go talk to her.”
