Wild Nights With My Brother's Ex-Best Friend novel Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Chapter 13

NICOLE

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“So,” Mason says on the phone, “do you have any news about the charity? Any donations? Are you truly determined to shut it down come month’s end?”

I narrow my eyes. “I wish you didn’t have to sound so happy while saying that, Mason.”

“I don’t sound happy-you’re projecting. It’s just a question.”

I sigh. I’ve sent Roman’s money back, so I don’t have anything to work with anymore. We’ve received a few small donations here and there that’ll probably be enough for the event, but that’s it.

I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I’d kept that money. Roman was an asshole to me, and I want nothing to do with him.

“I guess so.”

“Haley tells me you’re pretty agitated.”

“I’m fine,” I grit out. “Just disappointed.”

Not only with the charity, but with the matters of the heart, too. I wish I hadn’t gotten involved with Roman.

It has complicated my life so much and brought me so much unnecessary grief.

“It’ll turn out okay. You’re young, and remember, we’ve suffered bigger losses in our lives, okay?”

“Spoken like a true fifty-year-old.”

“Hey, those three years I have on you are more than enough. You don’t realize that now, but someday, you will.”

“Okay. Sure.”

“I’ll be home soon, yeah? I’ve just got to take care of some things.”

“Of course.”

“You and Hales are going to watch a movie, right?”

I turn my hand around as I talk to him on the phone. I’ve just done my nails and whenever that happens, I can’t stop looking at them. “Yeah, that’s right. Some action movie she’s pretty interested in.”

“Yeah. Well, then. I’ve got to go. You’re starting to sound like a disinterested date on the phone.”

“Screw you, Mason.”

“Fuck you, Nic.”

15:13 Wed, Oct 22

Chapter 13

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I smile when he hangs up. It’s so easy to piss my brother off. However, the smile slips from my face when I imagine how he’d react to my fling with Roman.

Maybe I’m overthinking all of this a little too much.

I get ready to leave in half an hour for the movie. I keep my makeup light, and make sure to bring a sweater along with me because it tends to get cold in the cinema. Haley is ready, and I find her in the kitchen, shoving some sweet treats into her bag.

She doesn’t like the snacks that they sell there-she always takes her own.

“Ready?” she asks me.

I nod, and we get going. As I’m locking up to join Haley in the car, I spot Dan across the street, barely hidden behind a car. I roll my eyes and get in.

The drive to the cinema takes about thirty minutes, but we’re early for the movie, so that’s a bonus. One thing about Haley is that she’s always on time, no matter what. The movie is fine and serves as a distraction for me for about a couple of hours. I’m getting tired of thinking about Roman.

I think about him so much that I won’t be surprised if I get a nosebleed the next time I do.

After the movies, we both decide we’re hungry and too lazy to cook something at home, so I decide to pay for dinner. We sit in my favorite Thai restaurant, and talk about nothing in particular. I’m trying to be engaging and conversational, but I’m failing.

And of course, she notices.

Pushing her empty bowl away, she asks me, “What’s going on with you, Nicole? Seriously. You’ve not been yourself, and don’t bother denying it.”

I shrug. “It’s all fine. Really.”

She arches a brow at me and kind of looks disappointed. “You want to tell me about the guy I saw you with, or are we going to continue acting like that never happened?”

Oops. “I was kind of hoping you hadn’t noticed.”

Haley arches a brow. “Really?”

I sigh and cover my face with my hands. The good news is that she would’ve mentioned it if she knew the guy was Roman, Mason’s ex-friend. I can still find a way to salvage this, but the truth is that I didn’t want to talk

about Roman at all.

I wanted tonight to be a chance to forget him for a few moments.

“He’s just a guy I met.”

Haley says nothing and lets me finish. I shake my head and say, “It was stupid. My involvement with him made no sense at all. Honestly, I just want to put it behind me.”

15:13 Wed, Oct 22

Chapter 13

“But why is it stupid?”

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“Because I should’ve known that he was lying to me in some way,” I try to explain. I try to find a way of explaining without giving away that I’ve known him for a long time and find none. So, I give up. “Whatever. It’s over now. It doesn’t matter.”

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