I opened my eyes in time to take in the stunned disbelief on his face. He moved to step closer. I raised my hand. “Just let me talk. Let me get this out. It’s been a long time coming.” I puffed out a breath, not really knowing where to start. “I sabotaged our marriage.”

Confusion marred his face. “What?”

I shook my head. “Not intentionally, but I did sabotage it.” I wrung my hands together nervously. “I’ll regret that most of all, and I’m sorry.”

He blinked. Then he looked at me in a way I’d always loved. In a way that made my insides flutter, still, to this day. “Addie…”

I laughed humorlessly, pushing my hair behind my ear. “You haven’t called me that in a long time.”

Nick stepped forward, inching closer. His eyes never leaving mine, he uttered softly, “You haven’t been Addie in a long time.”

My smile was sad. I was suddenly tired. “No, I suppose not.”

Finally, he stood right in front of me. He hesitated a moment before he asked, “Why did you keep my name?”

The emotions hit me so hard that I felt my knees almost give way. My eyes stung from unshed tears. I blinked them away and swallowed past the thickness in my throat. My lip trembled and I uttered my quiet but hoarse response. “It was all I had left of you.”

His eyes flashed then burned. He reached for me, the tips of his fingers brushing mine. “Do you still love me?”

Tears fell from my eyes. I tried my hardest to not break down. “Always.”

He stared at me, blinking in shock. “Well, I’ll be damned.” Then he asked, “Do you know why I kissed Amber?”

My nose bunched. “Kissed? I think you mean—”

But I was cut off. He shook his head. “I never slept with her, Addie.”

My heart raced. I felt the blood rush up my neck in a hot flush. I whispered, “What? You said you cheated on me.”

His face became shadowed. “I did. I kissed her, and she wasn’t you.”

I didn’t know what to say to that. “I don’t—”

Nick smiled sadly. “I did it to see if you even gave a shit. And rather than being upset, you lifted your nose and told me I’d hear from your lawyer. Not once did you ask why or even shed a tear.” He leveled me with a sad look. “You didn’t care.”

I scoffed hard. “I didn’t care?” I rolled my eyes. “I cried for weeks. I still do on occasion. You know why I acted that way? Because you were done with me. I didn’t want you to have the satisfaction of seeing how hurt I was.” I looked down at my shoes. “You made me feel disposable. How was a meant to react?”

His large hands gripped my shoulders and he got in my face. “Like a normal person. Cry. Get angry. Throw a vase. Shit. Hit me! Show some goddamn emotion, Addie.”

My body tingled at the feeling of his hands on my naked skin. “What you did hurt, Nick. I went into the mode that felt the most comfortable. Self-preservation.”

His hands came off my shoulders. He lifted them and gently cupped my cheeks. “I’m sorry I hurt you.”

I smiled tiredly. “And I’m sorry I turned into a raging bitch.” He held me still and I paused momentarily. “Now what?”

He smiled then, one of the smiles I used to see on a daily basis, when we would cuddle on the sofa and watch TV while eating pizza. It was a comforting smile, and something told me things could only get better from here.

Nick held my cheeks and looked at me a moment. Really looked at me. Searching for the old Addison he knew. The person I was going to be from this day on. His smile faltered. He leaned down and brought his lips to mine, kissing me hard and deep.

He tasted like mint and beer. He tasted like home.

Reaching up, I gripped his forearms and kissed him back with everything I had. If this was to be our last kiss, I wanted it to be so good that it hurt. After a minute, we both pulled back, eyes wide, panting.

“Oh,” I whispered.

Nick lowered his forehead to mine and chuckled. “‘Oh’ indeed.”

It took a moment, but I smiled. My smile turned into a chuckle. And then we were both laughing.

And it was better than good.

It was amazing.

Chapter Forty

Mia

The Desperate and Dateless Ball was in full swing. The deejay played music from the eighties and early nighties, one hit wonders and power ballads—all the hits I would love to have danced to myself.

I managed to talk Ella into attending as my guest. I had my reasons for doing this, but she was yet to find out why. I was completely surprised when she agreed. Honestly, I thought she’d about given up on men all together after what that asshole Rick had done to her.

I watched from the sidelines as men and women, dressed to the nines, eyed each other nervously from across the room. Most of the women came with friends, but the majority of the men came alone. Perhaps it was a pride thing.

The doors opened at eight p.m., and close to nine, the dance floor was packed. Mostly with women. The odd brave man would come along and speak to a woman he liked the look of. It made me smile seeing the very first newly acquainted couple share their first dance.

“Go dance,” I called over the music to a pouting Ella.

She stood with her back to the wall, arms crossed over her chest defiantly. “No.”

She may have acted like she didn’t care, but her gorgeous black dress and teased curls told me different. “C’mon. Take a guy out there and dance with him. You’ll make his night.”

Her narrowed eyes landed on me. “Would you stop pushing? What’s the matter with you?”

I bit the inside of my cheek to stop myself from smiling. “All right, I’ll leave it alone.”

The emcee, a popular radio host from our local radio station, took to the stage. He was a handsome man in his forties with dark hair cut neatly and smiling brown eyes. He took the microphone and called into it, “Good evening, all, and welcome to this year’s D&D!” The crowd cheered. He went on, “How awesome does this place look tonight?”

The crowd went off again. One guy even wolf-whistled, and my ego inflated my head two sizes.

I peered around the room and smiled. It was exactly as I had pictured it to be. The crew we hired to decorate did an amazing job, sitting this event on the fence of chic and fun. The colors of the evening were white, black, and gold, and I was more than impressed with the venue and its catering services. The deejay was a guy who Ella had hired before for a Christmas party, so we knew he’d be well received, and the radio station was extremely accommodating.

The emcee calmed the crowd and spoke with a smile. “A quick thanks to Ella and Mia from Addison Limited for their time and all the hard work they put into the ball.” He looked over to the both of us, pointing, as a spotlight just about blinded me. “There they are. C’mon. Give them a round of applause.”

I stepped back into Ella, mortified at the sudden attention, and she clutched my arm, chuckling. The crowd did their thing, clapping, cheering, and whistling, before the emcee took the unwanted attention away once more. “Good job, ladies! Now, we’re going to pump up the jams; party like it’s your birthday, and remember: you’re here to mingle, so get out there and do your thing.”

The deejay played Sir Mix-A-Lot’s “Baby Got Back” and the crowd cheered in appreciation.

The night was turning out better than I expected. I’d checked and double-checked that everyone was on top of their designated jobs, and thankfully, there weren’t any screw-ups or double bookings on the day. Having Ella by my side made my confidence boost. She was becoming my security blanket. She had years of experience on me, and her knowledge on all things events was astounding. I was in complete awe of her. She was a great friend too.

Which was exactly why I did what I did.

She turned her back to the dance floor and sighed. “Can I get out of here? This is depressing.”