“Great!” Nicole lied, and walked away as quickly as she could, relived to put distance between herself and Davis. She found Tabby under an oak tree, all five puppies piled on her chest. “We need to go.”
Tabby squinted up at her. “Did you give that prep-miester your number?”
“Maybe. I mean, yes. It was a panic move. He said the puppy meeting would be a good story for our grandkids.”
Tabby snorted. “What a douche.”
She stood, brushing the bark from her dress, and Nicole wondered why she’d called him a douche. She pressed on the word like it was a lemon half.
It’s douchy because it’s insincere.Because Davis doesn’t know you and talking about grandkids is presumptuous. It’s also a little bit scary that a stranger could say something so intimate.
Then, like a key slipping into a greased lock, she could see why Tabby and Sam hated Aaron so much. He’d always been polite, at least at first, but he was always saying big, flowery things, giving her expensive gifts, saying romantic stuff too soon. And he’d always dropped little barbs, the way Davis had. Calling Tabby nuts, watching her run through the park with such obvious, ‘glad I don’t know her’, superiority.
She thought about her number, scrawled into his book. She hadn’t wanted to give it to him, so why had she? Just because he said she was stunning? Because he had an Apple Watch? Or was it, her nausea stabbed at her insides, because he didn’t have tattoos?
“Did you ask old mate why he was readingParadise Lost?”Tabby asked.
“No. Have you read it?”
“Yeah.”
That wasn’t surprising. Tabby was a stealth genius. She’d read most of the classics in high school, devouring the kind of fat Russian novels that Nicole felt drained just glancing at. “What did you think of it?”
“Thematically interesting,” Tabby said, vaguely. “Paradise Lost was the theme of Sam’s Ink the Night. Weird coincidence, huh?”
“Yeah.” Nicole suppressed a weird burp. “I guess.”
“That was the night Scott and Sam hooked up.” Tabby twiddled her pink kitten badge. “Maybe it’s a sign. Maybe Davis is your next boyfriend.”
Nicole sank to her knees on the dry grass, mouth dry, head spinning. Her nausea was in her throat like a slimy ocean, but when she coughed, nothing came out.
“Shit!” Tabby pounded her on the back like she was choking. “Nix, are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” she said, easing Lilah onto the grass. “I’m just dizzy.”
She pressed her face in her hands, trying to see through the thoughts swamping her brain. Noah, her DaSilva tattoo, Davis, Aaron, her boyfriends, her future; it was all swimming like dirty clothes inside a spin cycle.
“Do you want me to get you some water?” Tabby asked, sounding scared.
“No.” She stood up, feeling weirdly steady despite her stumble. She didn’t know much, but she knew where she needed to go. She held out the dog leashes to Tabby. “Can you take the pups home without me?”
“Of course.” Tabby’s forehead was creasing with worry. “Are you sure you’re okay? Do you need me to get you some Hydrolyte?”
“No, I just need to go somewhere by myself. It’s important.”
Tabby took the leashes. “Call me in an hour,” she said as Nicole ran toward the edge of the park. “Do it or I’ll track your phone!”
Noah’s house was thirty minutes away by foot. By the time she reached his street, her makeup was dripping down her face, stinging her eyes. She knew she must look horrible, but she didn’t care. She was so scared of losing the diamond clarity she’d found in the gardens before she saw him. He was her end point. He’d be able to tell her what to do.
When she reached his door and knocked, she found it locked. That was weirdly offensive, as though he should have known she was coming and been waiting in the front yard. She banged on the wood. “Noah? Are you there?”
A hideous possibility occurred to her—he and Daniella in bed together, his gorgeously tattooed body working against her tan one. Jealousy cramped her stomach…or maybe it was a stitch? For the first time, she wondered what the hell she was doing here. She turned to leave, and the door swung open. There was Noah, not having sex with Daniella. At least not if his fully clothed body and grumpy expression was any indication. He saw her and his face changed, lifted maybe. Brightened. He opened his mouth, but she didn’t let him get the first word.
“Do you believe in destiny?”
A line appeared between his dark brows. Nicole pointed at it. “Don’t. I know I’m acting like my dad. Or Tabby. But don’t pay attention to that. Just answer the question.”
“Do I believe in destiny?”