“Good,” Nikki said. “That shit was scary.”
I nodded. It certainly was, and it was something that I hoped to not experience again. Though I wasn’t sure about this marriage to Marco, I couldn’t ignore the fact that this marriage would afford me some comfort that I hadn’t had in a long time.
“Are you moving in?” Nikki asked, breaking me away from my thoughts.
I tried to loosen up, but I felt my smile tighten slightly. “I’m moving in over the weekend.”
Nikki’s eyes narrowed in on me, and I knew that she sensed that I was unenthusiastic. I sighed. I was doing such a good job pretending that this marriage was real, only to fuck it up over such a small screw up. “You aren’t excited?”
I released a nervous breath as I thought about how to answer her question. There was a part of me that was excited. I’d seen his apartment, and I was excited to live in such luxury. “I’m nervous about leaving Mikey.”
Nikki’s face was immediately sympathetic. “I’m sure that your mom will make it work. You couldn’t stay with them forever.”
“Marco is getting a nurse who can take care of Mikey during the day.” I hadn’t told my mother this, but I had a feeling it was the only thing she might agree to. Marco offered to pay for the expenses for my brother and mother, but I knew she wouldn’t accept it. Unlike me, she was proud.
“Wow,” Nikki breathed out. “He must really love you.”
I smiled tightly once more, and I felt my stomach turn. I hated having to lie to my best friend, but I couldn’t tell her the real reason Marco was doing all of this for me. He was doing it to keep me quiet. I raised my fingers to my neck to remember what kind of man I was about to tie myself too.
“I’m also nervous because I’ve never lived with a man.”
This made Nikki laugh, and the dark cloud that was over the two of us lifted slightly. “You’ll have to tell me what that’s like.”
I chuckled. “I definitely will.”
I reached out and grabbed her hand, squeezing it. “Thank you,” I told her. I hope that she understood that I wasn’t just thanking her for being there for me when it came to the engagement, but also, being there for me for the past few years. “I don’t think that I would have survived without you.”
Tears were shining in Nikki’s eyes. “I hope he makes you happy,” she said. “Because you deserve it.”
I bit my lip to stop from sobbing. I didn’t deserve Marco, but not in any way she was thinking.
Nikki brushed a few stray tears away and smiled at me. “Let’s enjoy today,” she said. “No more crying.”
I nodded and reached for the menu. “Well,” I told her. “I’ve got a black card, so let’s order the most expensive thing on the menu.”
Nikki’s eyes twinkled, and I knew that today was going to be a great day. It might be one of the last ones that I had, and I was going to enjoy it to the max because after today, my life was going to change.