Wild Nights With My Brother's Ex-Best Friend novel Chapter 61

NICOLE

One Month Later...

As soon as I step out of the courthouse, I breathe a lot easier.

I'm finally done with Dan and he's out of my life for good. Well, at least, I hope he'll be out of my life for a long time. He's been sentenced to seven years in prison—not nearly enough for what he did, but it's satisfactory and I won't have to worry about him for some time.

In many ways, it's a relief. But at the same time, not nearly as relieving as I expected it to be.

I'm numb.

I walk past a newspaper stand and my eyes quickly scan the first few newspapers on top. My eyes find an announcement near the bottom of the page. I saw it as I was heading to the courthouse, but now, I'm seeing it again.

Roman and Carmen got married.

I try not to think about them at all. Some days are harder than most, but for the majority of the time, I succeed. As the days go by, it just gets easier and easier.

As for Esmeralda, I haven't heard from her since. She arranged with Haley to drop off the things I left at the hotel, and we just haven't talked at all. I'm not going to say that I'm particularly bothered about that—if anything, this makes me angrier.

What gives her the right to be so judgmental about my life? I can't believe that things between us ended in such a brutal way.

But you know what? It's for the best.

After I get in my car, I check the time on the dashboard. Great. I'll be on time to meet Sebastian for lunch. The reason he couldn't come with me for the sentencing is that he had a meeting he couldn't ignore. Though he wanted to cancel it, as his secretary, I knew how important it was. So, I convinced him to go and assured him that I would be just fine. He didn't have to worry.

I could handle myself.

I find him seated near the back of the restaurant, and when he sees me, his eyes light up. Warmth spreads inside of me, and before I even near the table, he stands up, snakes an arm around my waist, and kisses me on the lips.

"How'd it go?" he asks in a low voice.

We sit down across from each other and he takes my hand in his. Sometimes, I have a hard time believing that he and I are going out. That we're together. Accepting him as my boyfriend still feels like the most impulsive decision I've ever made.

It's not that I regret it—there's no way you can be in a relationship with Sebastian and not fall for him. He's sweet. Loving. Patient. Supportive. He's a great guy. Stable.

But sometimes, I do think that I should've taken things slowly.

I'm afraid of doing the wrong thing and hurting him.

"Well, he got sentenced. Seven years."

Anger masks his features. "That's not enough! That bastard deserves to rot in prison for what he did, Nicole!"

"Yeah," I agree, tucking a lock of my hair behind my ear. "But I'm just glad it's done and over with and that I won't have to deal with him anymore. At least for some time."

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