His eyes closed in a moment of overwhelming relief.
“No mitigating factors forcing our decision, no black-mailed flash drive hanging over our heads. There is not a damn thing in this world influencing this decision—just each other.”
He said it with such joy—such complete, unadulterated joy—but every word was a dagger straight in my heart. Freedom, he wanted? An unbiased decision?
I had just come here with the greatest mitigating factor of them all.
My eyes drifted down to my belly, as he grabbed my face and kissed me again. Without a second thought, he pulled me tight against his chest. So tight that I could feel every pounding heart beat—each one lighter than the one before.
“Abby...I am so impossibly happy right now.”
Yes, he was. Because Nick wanted to be free. Even if that freedom meant that the two of us would stay together—we would make that decision for ourselves. Choose for ourselves the way we wanted to live. No one swaying us. No one forcing our hand.
That’s the freedom Nick wanted. That’s the way he wanted to live.
...and I wasn’t going to take that away from him. I refused to trap his free spirit.
“I know,” I whispered back, “I’m happy too.”
A pair of tears slipped down my face, and I wiped them quickly before pulling out of his arms. My hair swung down like a protective shield, as I hurried quickly back to the elevator.
“I forgot...I left a package down in the lobby.” The door opened the second I pressed the button and I darted inside. “I’m just going to go get it.”
Nick stared in surprise for a moment, before surprise turned to confusion.
“Babe—you don’t really have time. Let me call down, someone will send it up.”
“No, it’s fine,” I answered quickly, pressing the button for the main floor. “You know I always feel guilty making people do that. I’ll...I’ll be back in just a second.”
“Uh...okay. Well, hurry back.”
“I will.”
As the door slid shut, I glanced up to get one final look at his face. He was frozen exactly where I’d left him—his sparkling blue eyes fixed on the elevator with a look of curiosity. A curiosity that only grew deeper when the two of us locked eyes.
We froze there for a split second. A split second full of a thousand silent questions.
Then the doors closed and I could see him no more.
Abby—you stupid, stupid girl.
I didn’t stop walking when I got to the lobby. I didn’t pause when Max called my name. I didn’t stop moving until I was back on the sidewalk—hailing down a cab. My shoes were still in my hand, but I’d gathered myself enough to grab my wallet on the way out. Without looking back behind me, I handed up a fifty and said, “JFK.”
Thirty minutes later, I was at the airport.
By now, Nick had long-since realized I was gone. By now, a search party had no doubt been assembled, and that busy hotel was turning itself inside out. By now, a call had most likely gone out to Mitchell Hunter, who was sitting in his office—seething with rage.
But I couldn’t bring myself to care. I couldn’t bring myself to do much of anything at the moment. I simply placed my hands on my belly, and walked up to the front of the line.
“One ticket, please.”
The airline stewardess looked at me curiously, before typing away madly into her computer. “Alright, um...is there anywhere in particular you had in mind?”
“First flight you’ve got.”
As she took my credit card and printed out what was likely the most expensive plane ticket I would ever buy, I turned and glanced back out the window at the city.
The city that had my face plastered in almost every single magazine. The city that had thrown every twist life had to offer. The same city that housed a man I loved with all my heart.