Page 33 of Until Now

“Nick.” His name sweet on my tongue, but a sigh follows. “I’m sorry. The last week was…I know I’ve been weird and awkward, even though we said we wouldn’t. It’s not your fault. Things are just…When we kissed—”

His phone rings inside, but Nick doesn’t move. A silent invitation to continue, whoever it is can wait because we need to have this conversation. His eyes never leave mine, but I swallow back any trace of what I was feeling moments earlier. “You gonna get that?” I open my book, effectively ending the conversation.

“Probably just my brother.”

“Vai a rispondere al telefono.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be reading?” He flicks my book on his way back inside. By the time he reaches the phone, whoever it is has already started calling a third time. “Damn, Alex. Where’s the fire?”

“I started to think you were dead,” his brother’s voice echoes over the speaker.

“Not unless Nina plans on killing me like the people in her books.”

“Shut up!” I shout from the balcony.

“Wait, what?” Alex asks.

“Nothing.” Through the window, I stick my tongue out at him and he laughs. “What’s up?”

“Happy birthday!”

Nick’s eyes grow wide in horror. He panics trying to take the call off speaker. “You could have just sent a text,” Nick hisses and looks out the window. He’s looking for me, but I’m not there.

“Did someone say birthday?” Nick spins on his heel to greet me in the doorway. I make quick strides across the room and take Nick’s phone. “Buongiorno, Alex! Thank you so much for calling, otherwise, I would have never known it was your brother’s birthday. He must have forgotten to mention it.”

“Of course, he didn’t tell you.”

“Nina, please. Please, don’t do anything,” Nick pleads.

“So, Alex,” I dodge Nick’s attempts to take the phone. “Tell me more.”

And, he does. I don’t know how long he spent sharing stories from their childhood, but I can’t get enough. It’s comforting. I want to meet their parents, meet Alex, and get to know them. I want to see the house they grew up in and spent their entire lives in. I want to see the giant magnolia tree in the front yard with a tire swing. The same one Nick fell out of when he was seven years old and broke his arm trying to help his brother face his fears of climbing a tree. Probably not the best way to get someone over that fear…

I catch him again. Staring. A blush flames my cheeks when he doesn’t look away this time. Instead, that dimple appears in the corner of his cheek and I melt. “Well, I should probably let you go. I need to go figure out what I’m going to do for your brother’s birthday,” I say and hand Nick the phone with a wink.

§

Kai had already scheduled a tee time for eleven o’clock at the country club. Whether my brother knew it or not, I was thankful because it meant Nick wouldn’t be sitting around the house on his birthday. I can imagine Nick walking on eggshells waiting to see if my brother is going to bring it up. But, Kai doesn’t know. I can keep a promise, even if it’s eating me inside. I’ve been chomping at the bit to tell someone, anyone, it’s Nick’s birthday. Who doesn’t want to celebrate their birthday? There has to be some reason, but he refuses to tell me. “I just don’t like to,” he said and shrugged.

“That’s bullshit.”

“Don’t make this a big deal. Please, Dee. I promise I am perfectly fine with treating it like a normal day.” Clearly, he wasn’t going to budge, but after the last week, I felt like I had to do something.

“Fine, Fossette. But, I’m getting you a cupcake and I’m going to celebrate. Deal?” I stuck out my pinky finger.

“Deal.” Nick started to get dressed to meet my brother, but I sat in the same spot on the bed, waiting. Walking out of the closet, he saw me — pinky finger hanging in the air. I wasn’t going to give up until he wrapped his finger around mine. He rolled his eyes, and a heavy sigh, but finally did.

“So, how are things?” Eileen asks. We’ve spent most of the day dressed in plush white robes with fresh glasses of champagne in hand. Between the facial and full body massage, I’m feeling like a brand new woman. “You guys have seemed a little tense.”

“We’re fine.” I smile at the waitress handing me a fresh glass of champagne avoiding looking at Eileen.

“Just fine?”

“We’re good, Lina. We were just working through some things, but we’re good.”

“You’re not letting Lee get in the middle of things, are you?”

Eileen had told me about a conversation she overheard yesterday morning between Karol and my mother. She had been cooking breakfast for Kai when Karol joined Mother for an espresso in the dining room. Mother spent most of the morning expressing her dislike of Nick. “Have you told her your concerns?” Karol asked. I had always liked Karol. She was one of the few who didn’t give in to Mother and her tantrums. We have known the Madigans for many years. Our families met when Jack came to Daddy looking for an investor in his private airline company. The Madigan family had been in the airline business for over twenty years before that, Jack’s father had started a private airline repair company after working on aircrafts for most of his life. Now, the Madigans own the largest private airline company in the world. So, Karol has been around to see the change in Mother from (supposed) loving wife and doting mother to the person we have the pleasure of knowing today. I think it’s why Karol refuses to walk on eggshells around her. “I think you’re overreacting just a tad, Bri.”

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