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Nick seems surprised. “Harrison said I was smitten? That doesn’t sound like him.”

“He said obsessed, but I softened it with smitten.”

Nodding, Nick slinks his arm around me and pulls me to his side. “I am fairly obsessed with her.”

“Fairly?” I ask, hitting him playfully in the chest.

He lifts my chin. “Utterly, head over heels, obsessed with you, Natalie.”

I’m not sure if my knees go weak from his words or from how he’s staring into my eyes like he can see forever for the first time, though the latter might just be me. Either way, my walls have crumbled at the feet of this man, and I’m letting him into my life like we have more than tomorrow ahead.

Tatum adds, “I’m just saying that I’m glad you two reconnected, and I know Harrison would feel the same.”

With Nick’s arm around me like it’s now mine to parade around the place showing him off, I say, “I appreciate that, and I think we’re going to take off.”

I give her a hug, and then she and Nick share a friendly embrace. He says, “I’ll let Harrison know I ran into you.”

“Yes, tell him hi from me. I’m going to say hi to some people I saw just walk in.” She’s about to dash off but stays a second longer to say, “Congrats, Nat.”

“Thanks. I’m pretty excited we have a job for another year.”

Thumbing toward Nick, she laughs. “I meant for him but on the loan as well.” She winks and then disappears in the mass of people crowding O’Reilly’s. It’s hard to pass up a Monday at this bar because of the great atmosphere and live band. Except it’s suddenly becoming easy to leave since Nick is here.

We hold hands as we work our way toward the exit, but talk about bad timing. I reach the door just as Dane walks in. My ex’s eyes dart from my face to my hand clasped in Nick’s. He glares at Nick before he turns back to me. “Nat.”

“Hey,” I say, my view suddenly aimed at the floor. I force my eyes up, not letting him win. I felt like shit when we were together, and though it was hard to get out from under that relationship, I did and have never felt better. My hand wraps around Nick’s a lot tighter, and I say, “Bye.”

Dane stands in the way, but I slink around him. Nick, though . . . he waits until Dane gives way. Out on the sidewalk, we start walking wordlessly until we reach the corner of the block. Nick stops, and says, “Don’t ever cower to a man. You don’t owe anyone anything. You stand up for yourself by not giving him or any other man the power to think they’re in control. They’re not. You are. Own it.” His voice is as tense as his shoulders.

“Why are you mad at me? Because I didn’t want a confrontation with an ex-boyfriend?”

“No, because you deserve better than how you just treated yourself. You don’t owe him jack shit, so tell him to fuck off and move on with your night, or better yet, your life.”

Anger rises inside me, the heat reaching my chest. “I have.” Holding our conjoined hands, I add, “See?” But I don’t feel understood, so I step back, needing the distance to get my thoughts together before speaking again. “I may have seemed weak to you, but that was me facing my demons for the first time since we broke up. What you fail to understand, Counselor, is that I don’t need to wage a war with him anymore. Like you said, I don’t owe him anything, not even another moment of my time. So when I told him bye, I meant it. Hopefully, it’s forever this time.”

I move close to a candy store entrance to get out of the pedestrian traffic and watch as he stares at me. He finally joins me under the pink and white awning, and says, “I’m sorry. I misjudged your response, your strength in that situation, and replaced it with how I thought it should go. So I was wrong, and I’m sorry for not understanding.”

Pinching his shirt in the front, I tug him closer. “I expected a fight.”

“I can admit when I’m wrong. In this case, I shouldn’t have said anything.”

I rest my forehead against his shirt. “I hope this counts as our first fight.”

His brow raises and his eyes widen. “You want it to?”

“Yes, because if so, then we can move onto the last item on your to-do list.”

I didn’t know it was possible for his eyes to go wider, but he manages it and then balks with laughter. “I give you a taste, and you want the whole damn ice cream cone.”

“You’re not wrong.”

Pointing toward the ice cream parlor, he adds, “Pun intended.”

Taking his hand, I tug him toward the street so we can hail a taxi. “Come on. We’re running out of time, so let’s get to it. Your place or mine?”

“Depends how loud you plan to be since you have a roommate.”

“Your place it is.” When I take off walking again, I’m pulled to a stop. Looking back at him, I ask, “What?”