Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 92466 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 462(@200wpm)___ 370(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92466 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 462(@200wpm)___ 370(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
“What made you stop by?” she asked. “I hope it’s not to give back the money.”
I pulled the envelope from the inside pocket of my jacket. “I can’t take it, Nicole. As much as I would love to attend that workshop, I just can’t do it.”
She frowned. “I really wish you would.”
I stepped closer to her. “You have no idea what you offering it to me has meant. My sister and my parents think I’m crazy for believing I could make a career out of music. You’re the first person who has ever told me they believed in me.”
Nicole placed her hand on my face. Her skin felt so damn soft. I closed my eyes momentarily, yearning to kiss her. But just like I couldn’t take that money, I couldn’t take her. Not yet, at least.
“While I won’t be accepting your generous gift, you’ve given me an even bigger gift that will stay with me. Thank you for believing I was worth your savings. I’ll never forget it.” I exhaled. “And mark my words, if I ever do make it big, I’ll make sure to repay your act of kindness.”
She opened and closed her mouth multiple times like she wanted to say something but thought better of it.
I chose not to say anything else, either. Maybe someday the time would be right to tell her how I felt. Maybe I’d get to a place in my life where I felt like I deserved her. But today was not that day.
CHAPTER 7
ATTICUS
As always seemed to happen, Dr. Jensen popped up on the screen before I could get the damn sound to work on my end.
“Can you hear me?” I asked for the third time.
She shook her head no, and her mouth moved as she said something I couldn’t make out.
“Shit…” Then my sound suddenly started working. “Can you hear me now?”
“I can now, yes.” She nodded. “Hi, Atticus. Long time no see.”
“I know. I finally have a chance to think straight with the band on break.”
I’d decided to do this session from my car, which was parked outside Mimi’s. There was no sense in going somewhere else around town where I might be recognized. I also hadn’t told my family I was here in Monksville yet, since I knew I wouldn’t have time to see them right away. I planned to visit them after the two weeks with Mimi were over. Then I’d actually have time to hang out with my sister and her kids. Like Nicole’s mom, my parents had moved down to Florida, so I wouldn’t be seeing them this trip. But there was a chance my sister would find out I was in town if the press got wind of it. The tabloids didn’t target me nearly as much as they did Tristan, but occasionally I’d catch someone on my tail when I went for a coffee run back in L.A. It was unlikely anyone was camped out here, though, but you couldn’t be too careful.
“I’m glad you scheduled an appointment,” Dr. Jensen said. “Why don’t you fill me in on what’s been happening since we last spoke.”
My mind had been in a tailspin lately, and I needed that to end. There was only one way to make that happen. I let out the breath I’d been holding. “I think I’m ready to talk about her.” I shut my eyes, feeling immediate regret about committing to something I wasn’t sure I could handle.
“You’re ready to talk about what happened with you and Nicole, you mean?”
“Well, ready is not the best term. It’s more like I need to talk about it or it’s going to kill me. I’ll probably never be ready.”
“What brought you to this decision?”
“Funny you should ask…” I chuckled. “We’re temporarily living together, actually.”
Dr. Jensen’s eyes went wide. I explained the situation with Mimi and the favor Nicole had asked of me. All Dr. Jensen had known prior to this was that I was divorced, that Nicole was dating a former friend of mine, and that I wasn’t willing to talk about any of the things that had led to the demise of our relationship. Needless to say, we could only get so far in therapy without my full participation.
“Well, this news is certainly a surprise.”
“Yeah. For me, too,” I said.
She scribbled something down. “I think for me to understand the impact Nicole has had on your life, we need to go back to the beginning. Are you willing to do that? It would require reliving some of the happier times, which might be difficult. But I think it would be good for you to feel all of that in order to release any trapped emotions.”
This is going to be fucking hard. I rubbed my eyes. “Okay, well, you’re gonna have to guide me because I have no clue where to begin.”