Page 75 of Dream Chaser

I set the tray across her lap and sat beside her, leaning against the headboard.

She tasted the soup and hummed her approval. “I’ve never tried anything like it. It’s delicious.”

Warmth spread through my chest. “Thanks. It’s good for low iron.”

She shoved another spoonful into her mouth. “Really? How did you know that?”

“Asked Manu.”

Surprise flashed in her eyes. Fuck. Not what I wanted to admit, but too late now.

We ate quietly. When we finished, I washed the dishes and returned to her room. Some awkwardness lingered as we brushed our teeth side by side in the en suite. Nova stayed in the bathroom to change into her PJs while I changed in the bedroom, tension gripping my muscles.

I straightened the bedding and waited for her. She emerged from the en suite, face bare, long, silky hair falling down her back like an auburn curtain. Her tank top clung to her breasts, outlining their shape.

I swallowed thickly, averting my eyes, and opened the duvet for her. After she got comfortable, I slid into bed beside her.

Silence swallowed the room. My pulse hammered. Nova shifted, sending a whiff of her flowery perfume my way. Fuck. Having her so close smelling so good was fucking torture.

“Thank you.” She lay on her side, looking at me.

“You already thanked me more than enough,” I said, turning to face her. “How are you feeling?”

“Like crap.” A tired chuckle left her lips. She slid her hands under her cheek, blue eyes roaming my face. “How much did you hear before when I was on the phone with my mother?”

“Enough.”

Sighing, Nova rolled onto her back. “This is so embarrassing. I’d never have imagined she’d side with my ex, but she did. I’d already lost my father. Now it feels like I lost her too.”

Her voice trembled. I fucking hated it.

“You deserve better,” I said. “And you’re the only person who gets to decide how your life should be lived. You shouldn’t tolerate disrespect from anyone, Nova. Especially not the person you married.”

Her beautiful face smashed into a cake. That smug piece of shit renovating her property without permission and calling her a whore. If anything, she should’ve left him sooner.

“That’s why I left him. I got tired of disrespect. Of constant criticism. Of never feeling like I was enough.” Her chest moved with her deep exhale. “I’ve put up with his bullshit for so long I lost respect for myself, but leaving scared me. Guess that’s what happens when you grow up fearing other people’s judgment.” She paused, staring at the ceiling. “For a while, I stopped. When I studied here.”

Gently, I tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. I shouldn’t have. Not when her proximity heated my blood and frayed my self-control, but I couldn’t help myself.

“Did you start dating him back in college?”

Thinking about her with him stirred something ugly inside me. I’d never cared about a woman’s past lovers. Nova and I weren’t even together, so why the fuck was she any different?

Nova sighed. “I ran into him at a nightclub in Emerport my senior year. We went to the same school, but he was two years ahead of me. His father had been mayor, and his family basically founded the town. He asked me to dance. Bought me a drink. The following day, he was waiting outside my dorm with flowers. I didn’t date in high school and was too busy trying to excel in college to go out with anyone, but he was persistent. He was already working at the bank in Millford. When my mother found out we were dating, she was over the moon. He proposed right after my dad died three months later.”

“Not one to waste time.”

Nova chuckled softly. “I thought the rush was because he was madly in love. Or so my mother said. It turned out, running for mayor was better with a family. Traditional values and all that.”

“Were you in love?”

Another thing I had no fucking business asking.

“I liked him,” she said. “At least, I thought I did. Everything happened so fast—engagement, my graduation, and a wedding barely a month later in July. At first, I thought I made the right choice. I was young and mourning the loss of my dad, but I had a husband, and I could focus on my career. That’s when the problems started.”

“Let me guess.” I slid my bent arm under my head and stared at the ceiling. “He didn’t want you to work.”

“The only available jobs in Millford had nothing to do with marketing. I suggested we move to Emerport. His bank had openings here, and he’d have earned more in a city. Renting a small place wouldn’t have been a problem. He yelled at me and called me selfish. Said I didn’t care about him and his career.”