Torrid Affair(62)

Sitting on the Adirondack chair near the front door, I pulled my phone away from my ear and hit the call back button. It only rang once before she answered it.

“Sweet baby Jesus. Looks who's calling. Tell me you're okay,” she said in one rushed breath.

It was the first time I smiled. “I'm fine, Yve.”

“Are you sure? Because you've never missed work and your husband has gone ape shit looking for you.”

I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose. “I couldn't take it anymore. I'm so tired. Last night was the last straw.”

“I know, babe.” Her voice dropped the exaggerated tone. “Why don't you come by? I'll make some margaritas and we can bash the asshole.”

“I can't.”

“You're turning down tequila and Julian bashing?”

I chuckled. “I can't because I'm in . . . Charlotte.” I closed my eyes, anticipating her response.

“You're. . . . Oh, shit . . . Oh, motherfucking shit. You left one asshole to go see Satan?” I heard Yve bang something against a hard surface. “Are you out of your fucking mind?”

She was the only person who knew everything that had happened between Nate and me. She had been at the hospital visiting her ailing grandmother while I was there with my mother. She caught me crying in the bathroom a few days after I found out about Nate and Delaney’s pregnancy. I was standing near the sink, my hands covering my face as I wept. She walked out of the stall with her pink tipped platinum blonde hair and said, “Who’s the bastard? I’ll kill him.” She always knew what to say to make me laugh, and from that moment on, we were friends.

“He's the only one who can help Julian,” I said weakly.

“What the fuck is there to help, Brielle?”

“Yve, please. He's my husband.”

“I know. I know. He was there for you when your world was falling apart, blah, blah, blah. But, Brie, how many times do we have to go over this? That was ten years ago. You don’t owe him shit. Well, technically, you owe him a kick in the balls.”

From the corner of my eye, I spotted Nate walking toward me. Alone. “Listen, Yve, I have to go.”

“Okay, call me when you can, and please try not to fall for Satan's words. He chose her.” Never had Yve said anything more accurate. Nate had chosen Del.

“Thanks for the reminder.” I rushed to get the words out before hitting the power button.

Nate came near in long strides. The conversation we were about to have had been ten years in the making.





Chapter 23





Nathaniel


I was dumbfounded.

Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine Brielle would knock on my door asking for help.

I had so many things to say to her. I needed to apologize, explain myself, yet my words were lost. Beauty radiated from the woman in front of me, and I desperately wanted to take her in my arms and kiss her.

But I wasn’t twenty-one.

And her last words to me were Fuck. You.

I was certain she hated me more than she ever loved me, for I left her when she desperately needed me. I knew the man her father was, and she had to face him alone. I gripped the steering wheel firmly and let my mind drift.



“All right, your time is up,” Professor Johnson stated. I shoved my pencil in my book bag and dashed out of my seat. I had a plane to catch. Handing my calculus final in, I left the room and headed straight home. Stu had offered to give me a ride to the airport.

When I pulled in the driveway I spotted Delaney sitting on the front steps. Her head was buried in her knees.

“Delaney?” I said as I approached her. When she lifted her head I noticed her face was covered with tears. “What’s the matter?” I rushed to her side. My mind instantly thought of Brielle.

“Can . . . can . . . we talk?” she muttered.

“Of course.” I gave her my hand and ushered her into the house. “What’s up?”

Her eyes swelled with unshed tears. “I’m pregnant.” She huffed.

My body went cold with fear.

Delaney pulled out a positive pregnancy test stick and handed it to me.

I shook my head in shock. “We . . . I . . . I couldn’t remember much of the night we spent together. “That was four weeks ago. Are you sure?”

“I’m late, Nate, I’m never late.” She sat back on the couch and cried. “What am I going to do?”

My phone buzzed in my pocket. I didn’t need to check the text message to know it was Brielle.

With a heavy heart I walked over to Delaney and kneeled in front of her. My future had been chosen for me. I wouldn’t be going to Chicago. I’d be a man and accept the consequences of my actions. “You don’t have to do this alone.” I took Delaney’s hand in mine. “I’ll be here throughout it all.”