Wild Nights With My Brother's Ex-Best Friend novel Chapter 35

Chapter 35

NICOLE

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Sebastian says to Carmen. He then gestures to me. “This is Nicole. She works with

me.”

I can’t keep my eyes trained on the ground. I’m only humiliating myself more. So, as hard as it is, I look up, and my spine turns to steel as I look at Roman’s face.

He isn’t looking at me, though.

His eyes are on Sebastian, and his jaw is clenched.

“Hm,” Carmen says, drawing my attention. “You look familiar to me. Have we met before?”

Yes. I spilled a drink on you once, and a month ago, I snuck into your birthday party and got my heart shattered into a million pieces. I smile and say politely, “No, I don’t think we have.”

“Ah,” she says before her eyes return to Sebastian’s face. “Well, it was nice meeting you. I’m slowly getting more and more acquainted with Roman’s friends and let me tell you-I don’t think I’ll ever truly know everyone.”

Sebastian laughs politely. “Yes, well. He’s Roman Hayes, after all.”

Though my eyes are on Sebastian now as he speaks, I can’t help but pay attention to Roman and how tense he looks. He doesn’t look at me once. A few weeks ago, that would’ve hurt more than it is now, but who am Į kidding?

It still hurts. Pain is pain, and it means unresolved feelings.

Thinking about all of this while he’s standing right in front of me is wrong, though. But I’m not as angry as I should’ve been. It’s more a deep-rooted sadness mixed with disappointment.

“Well, we’ve got to run.” Sebastian places his hand on my upper back and Roman’s eyes follow the movement. It’s the only way he acknowledges my presence. “It was great seeing you.”

Thankfully, we walk right past them and I can breathe again, Sebastian goes on telling me about the restaurant and the food they serve, and I allow myself to focus on this while thinking that was okay. I didn’t break down. Right now, I don’t feel like crying. I’m a little tense, but that’s normal.

Is this what healing looks like?

I sit across from him in the restaurant, and he patiently tells me all his favorite meals and why he loves them. This takes my attention away from the incident with Roman. I focus more on him.

A waiter takes our orders, and then silence falls upon us. Sebastian keeps looking at me, though. He doesn’t avert his gaze for a second. Then, he asks, “So, what happens to the charity now that you have a job?”

I sigh. “It’s going to suffer, I guess. I worked there full-time for so long. But it was declining anyway. There are many more charities around that are a lot more organized. I was mostly alone.”

15:20 Wed, Oct 22

Chapter 35

:

Sebastian nods slowly. “You’re not taking that too well, are you?”

I shake my head again, but keep my lips sealed. I’m pretty sure that if I say something, I’ll sob.

៩ (59)

Sh vouchers

Our drinks arrive, and he changes the subject. Our talk becomes more professional. He explains how he started the company with a few friends, and how his parents didn’t really support it initially because they wanted him to work with them.

“My mother is…she’s a demanding woman, and she has high standards for people. Impossibly high standards. If it weren’t for Katie, I don’t know what I would’ve done with myself.”

Oh, I could tell his mother was demanding. But I ask, “What do

you mean?”

“Well, I spent a lot of time with her. She’s easygoing and believes that it’s important to do what you love in life to make it worthwhile. Wasting time going after money is a mistake so many people make. But what’s the point of having money when you’re miserable?”

“Maybe some jobs just pay well, and a lot of people could do with the extra money,” I point out.

“Yeah, but when you find something you’re passionate about, you have a greater chance to excel in that field. Know what I mean? You can do so many great things because your heart’s fully in it. It’s what you’re good at. It’s what you are. My father wanted me to go into law, but I’ve been a computer nerd for as long as I can remember. I love it-love the whole journey.”

I can’t help but smile at his words. Yes, Sebastian’s a bit of a nerd, that’s true. But I think it’s beautiful. He truly loves what he does.

Our food arrives and I have my mildly spicy enchilada. It’s delicious, but still a bit too spicy for me. I devour all of it, though. I guess all I’ll have to do is wait until tomorrow to figure out just how badly my stomach will punish me.

I genuinely can’t eat food that’s too spicy. Maybe I’m allergic or something.

Finally, we return to the office, but I don’t go inside. Sebastian extends his hand and says, “Well, you’re free to go, and I’ll see you tomorrow. I took up a lot of your time today as it is.”

“No, you didn’t. It was a lot of fun. I enjoyed spending the day with you.”

Sebastian looks pleased by my response. He lets go of my hand and we part ways.

I head back to my cheap motel. But first, I have to take a cab back to the coffee shop, where I left my car. Once there, I sit inside for a while, thinking about Roman and that whole strange, unfortunate encounter.

Now that I’m not around Sebastian and I don’t have to act like everything is okay, it all starts to get to me. The wound has torn on the side a little, and I find myself breathing a lot harsher as I drive back.

I don’t want to be in this awful mood, but at the same time, everything that happened with Roman is so recent. I didn’t think I would come across him anytime soon.

God, what a dickhead.

15:20 Wed, Oct 22

Chapter 35

Verify captcha to read the contentVerify