“You know Nick?”
“Yes, I’ve seen him once or twice and definitely read a few articles about him. But you know, doesn’t everyone know Nicolas Woods?” He asked amused, “All the parties you want to get into to boost your career are mostly hosted in one of his clubs. I heard that he even invested in a movie or two.”
I had no clue so I couldn’t deny nor confirm it, but my good friend Anna seemed to know because she nodded, smiling charmingly at Chase.
“Aren’t you lucky to run into Emily, Chase?” She brushed her hair behind her ear, “I’m sure you’ll get an invitation the next time an A-list party is hosted in one of Nick’s clubs.”
“I’ll talk to Nick.” I assured him, “Anna if you don’t mind I’d like to have a word with you.”
Chase thanked me and offered to give us some space instead. I was sure he already got what he wanted tonight. This was the first big movie he appeared in, getting invited to one of those A-list parties would open a lot of doors for him. I didn’t mind talking to Nick about it though. I did believe that Chase actually had a talent.
“You wanted to have a word with me?” Anna asked the moment Chase was out of view.
“I talked to Chris while I was in Tokyo with Nick last month.” I could tell that bringing Chris up made her feel something other than hatred for me, “He is really torn up about your divorce. He said he tried to convince you to fight for your marriage but you have given up.” I narrowed my eyes at her, “Because you think that you still have a shot with Nick.”
“Nick and I have a history. I know there was something there and he’ll see it too once he is in his phase. You know Nick has a type, Emily. Before you, he only dated models or actresses, women who live in the same world as him. I’m certain once he is over his fascination for you, he’ll go back to his old dating habits.”
It hurt when she brought up Nick’s past because I knew it was true. Before me, he did only date famous women. I was the first woman he dated who didn’t work in the entertainment business. I was the first woman who didn’t earn enough to buy her own Prada bag. So her comment really stung, but I couldn’t let it get to me. Nick was over his ‘fascination’ for models, actresses, and singers. He was starting a future with me and Anna wouldn’t make me doubt that.
“I’m sure you made yourself believe everything you just said, but if you actually opened your eyes you’d see that Nick is no longer that guy, Anna. He has moved on. I know you are not an airhead like Giselle, otherwise, you wouldn’t have made a guy like Chris fall so deeply in love with you. You must be an intelligent woman.” I saw shoulders slump, she was no longer holding up her guard in front of me, “So for your sake, forget about Nick because he isn’t coming back. He is starting a future with me. All your efforts to come close to him again will only piss him off more. You’ll only push him away. Is that what you want? Do you want Nick to hate your guts?”
She gripped her clutch tightly, “Giselle mentioned that you pretended to be harassed in one of Nick’s clubs to get his attention. I know Nick, he is a good guy so he’d want to help you if that was the case.” She lowered her gaze, “But it’s true, isn’t it? You didn’t fake it, it actually happened?”
I wrapped my arms around myself, “It’s true. I didn’t plan that though, it was never my intention for Nick to find out either. It’s also true that we met because of that event, but we fell in love after meeting a few times. Giselle couldn’t accept that Nick met someone who he didn’t want to chase because of the thrill but because he actually fell in love with her. So she tried to break us up by contacting you.”
Anna nodded, “And I fell for everything she said.” She chuckled, “Because I wanted to feel that passion again when I was together with Nick. I know Chris is a good guy, but it wasn’t the same as when I was together with Nick-”
“I don’t need to hear more.” I dropped my arms and toyed with the clutch in my hand, “Do you agree with me that this has to end?”
“You’re right.” She seemed a lot more stable than the last time I met her, “This has to end. I’ll back off-” She eyed her surroundings, “I already found someone who can help me get over them.”
‘Them’ probably meaning Chris and Nick. I had to admit that I was kind of jealous that this woman had been involved with two pretty amazing guys. She walked past me, flashing Evan a smile before she made her way to Chase. I had a feeling that he was her next target.
Evan and Michael were by my side the moment Anna had left, Michael leading us back to the car while Evan grilled me about my talk with Anna. I told him everything and he seemed to agree that Anna might just back off this time.
***
“I saw photos of you and Evan online.” Nick waved his tablet at me when I walked into the living room, dropping down on the couch right next to him, “You looked amazing tonight.” He kissed my cheek, “You had fun?”
“I had a good time.” I told him, grabbing his hand in mine, “I met an actor, Chase Patterson, who needs to get an invitation the next time an A-list party is hosted at one of your clubs-” I rolled my eyes when Nick raised an eyebrow at me, “And I had a very interesting talk with Anna. I’m sure we won’t be hearing from her anymore.”
“What do you mean you had a talk with Anna?” He asked confused, “I specifically told Evan and Michael to keep you away from her if she showed up!”
“I’m glad they didn’t because we finally talked things over, Nick.” I shifted, grabbing both his hands when he wanted to get up and probably pace back and forth, “I really think that she finally understands that her actions are futile.”
“So you had a heart to heart with Anna? The woman who wanted to break us up from the moment we started dating? She agreed to divorce Chris because she was delusional about ‘our’ relationship. You really think she is going to back off that easily?”
“Yes, I really believe that. Giselle lied to her about everything and she wanted to believe it because apparently, you’re the only guy who made her feel anything sexually-” I held up my hand when he wanted to open his mouth, “She never got to finish that sentence, but I got the hint. I don’t want to know, so you don’t have to explain yourself.”
“So she’ll back off?”
“She already has a new target.” I grabbed the tablet and showed Nick a photo of Anna and Chase together, “Let’s just hope it will work out for the both of them.”
Nick still seemed doubtful about it all, but he accepted it for now. He took the tablet from me, placing it on the table before he grabbed my face in his hands and kissed me. The moment his lips were on mine I forgot about everything that happened tonight and only focused on the amazing feeling of being kissed by Nick. He wrapped his arms around my waist and effortlessly lifted me in his arms, pulling away from the kiss to walk us safely to the bedroom. He carefully placed me on the bed and stood before me, unbuttoning his shirt while he looked at me with that heated promise in his eyes.
I could understand why women were jealous of me being together with Nick. He was after all one fine man who happened to have a big heart too. I managed to catch his attention and make him fall as deeply in love with me as I was with him. I would never let go of him.