Chapter 60: A Woman of Many Talents

Chapter 60: Chapter 60: A Woman of Many Talents

The drive to the shop felt longer than usual. It probably wasn’t. Traffic was light, and the route hadn’t changed. Still, I spent most of the drive wondering what Nicole had in mind for Devon.

She’d been awfully cheerful since breakfast, which was usually a good thing. Unfortunately, I’d just told her about a woman who’d decided my having a girlfriend was an interesting detail rather than a reason to leave me alone, and Nicole had laughed in a way that made me question the wisdom of sharing that information.

Now she was sitting in the passenger seat of her Mercedes, playing one of those word spelling games on her phone and humming a song under her breath like she didn’t have a care in the world.

Every now and then, she’d pause to think, tap a few letters, and hum a little louder when she got the word right.

I glanced at her. She didn’t look particularly interested in anything beyond the game on her screen, which was mildly concerning.

I returned my attention to the road and continued driving until we reached Tanaka Auto. After parking, I turned off the engine.

"We’re here."

Nicole looked up from her phone and smiled at me before slipping it into her small crossbody bag. We got out of the car, and I shut my door, already wondering what the next few minutes had in store for me.

We walked into the shop to find Marcus taking his lunch break. He was halfway through whatever he’d brought when he spotted us and made his way over, still chewing.

Nicole smiled at him. "Good afternoon, Marcus."

He swallowed before nodding at her. "Afternoon, Nicole. It’s been a while."

"It has, hasn’t it?"

Marcus nodded, but his attention immediately shifted to me. He glanced at Nicole, then gave me a look, his expression asking a very clear question: Does she know?

I gave him a small nod.

His shoulders relaxed, and he let out a long breath. "Oh, thank God."

"Where is she?" I asked.

Marcus turned to look toward the office. "She was here a moment ago. Maybe she went to—"

"Nathan?"

We all turned toward the entrance.

Devon had just walked in, her eyes briefly settling on Nicole before she made her way over to us with a smile.

"I’ve been waiting for you," she said, looking directly at me.

Then she turned to Nicole, her smile widening slightly. "Who’s she, babe?"

Marcus’s jaw dropped. Nicole looked genuinely shocked for a second. I couldn’t say I was handling it much better. Devon had just called me babe as though we’d been dating for the past six months.

"Oh!" Devon’s expression brightened as if she’d just remembered something. She looked at Nicole again, smiling sweetly. "Is she the cousin you told me about?"

For a moment, I could only stare at Devon. She was actually trying to make Nicole believe we had something going on, and she’d apparently decided that inventing a cousin was the best way to sell it. If I hadn’t told Nicole everything over breakfast, this could have been a complete disaster. The thought alone was enough to put me in a bad mood.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Devon?" I asked, clearly pissed off.

"Buh—but, babe..." She stared at me, looking genuinely confused by my reaction. "Why are you acting like this, Nathan?"

She glanced at Nicole, her expression shifting as though she’d only just remembered she was there. "Wait..." Her eyes widened slightly. "Are you cheating on me?"

"Cheating? CHEATING—" I stared at her, genuinely struggling to believe what I was hearing. "Oh, my God. Are you even hearing yourself right now? You’re standing here making things up about me, and somehow I’m the one who’s supposed to explain mysel—"

"Are you cheating on me, Nathan?" Nicole asked softly.

I turned to her so quickly I nearly gave myself whiplash.

She was looking at me with the saddest expression I’d ever seen on her face.

For a moment, I could only stare at her. Marcus looked equally confused, his gaze moving between Nicole and me, but he wisely kept his mouth shut.

"Nicole, I literally told you about—"

"How long has it been?" she asked softly, still looking at me with those heartbroken eyes.

I stopped. "How long has what been— What are you even talking about right now?"

"How long have you been seeing her, Nate?"

My mouth fell open. "I haven’t been—"

Nicole let out a small, shaky breath, then covered her mouth with one hand. "Oh, my God." Her voice wavered. "I can’t believe you’d do this to me. After everything we’ve been through, you could actually look me in the eyes and—"

She broke off with a quiet sob.

Devon’s expression brightened slightly. She crossed her arms, looking at Nicole with feigned sympathy, though the satisfaction in her eyes rather ruined the effect.

I stared at Nicole for another moment.

Wait. Oh. OH!

"You know I’d never cheat on you, Nicole," I said immediately.

She looked back at me, her eyes glistening. "But how am I supposed to believe that?" Her lower lip trembled before she let out another quiet sniff. "I can’t do this anymore, Nathan. I just can’t..."

She paused, wiping at her eyes with the back of her hand. Then, in a perfectly calm voice, she turned to Devon.

"Is that how you thought this would play out?"

Marcus looked like his jaw was about to hit the floor. Devon blinked, the smug look on her face faltering as she tried to make sense of Nicole’s sudden change in tone.

Nicole calmly wiped beneath her eyes with the back of her hand again, clearing away the tears she’d worked so hard to produce, then looked Devon over with a pleasant smile.

"I didn’t realize people came this cheap these days."

Devon’s brows drew together. "Excuse me?"

"You. Cheap," Nicole said, shaking her head in pity as she pointed at Devon. "Very cheap."

Devon’s face tightened. "Who the hell do you think you are?"

She took a step toward Nicole, but I moved in front of her before she could get any closer.

"Don’t you dare," I said, meeting her glare.

For a moment, Devon looked as though she couldn’t believe I’d stepped in her way. Then her gaze shifted past my shoulder.

Nicole was peeking out from behind me, her expression perfectly innocent until she stuck her tongue out at Devon.

I held Devon’s gaze. "Let me make this clear. If you show up here again to harass me, I’ll take legal action. I’m done asking you to leave me alone."

Devon stared at me, her expression twisting with disbelief. For a moment, she looked as though she wanted to argue, but before she could say anything, Marcus finally seemed to recover from whatever had happened to his brain.

"Hey, lady." He stepped forward, gesturing toward the entrance. "You heard the man. Get the fuck out."

Devon went quiet. Her gaze shifted around the shop, and she seemed to notice for the first time that she had an audience. Diego was watching from nearby, shaking his head with a look that suggested he couldn’t quite believe what he’d just witnessed. Across the shop, Jude had taken off his headset and was staring at us, apparently having decided that whatever was happening here was more interesting than his song. Even Mr. Tanaka was standing by his office window, watching the scene unfold with his arms crossed.

Her eyes eventually returned to Nicole, who was still standing behind me. The moment their eyes met, Nicole batted her eyelashes sweetly at her.

Devon’s face twisted. For a second, she looked as though she might actually cry, but she pressed her lips together, turned on her heel, and walked out of the shop without another word.

I watched Devon disappear through the entrance before turning back to Nicole.

She was still standing behind me, wearing the sweetest smile I’d ever seen. The moment our eyes met, however, her expression changed, and she pressed her lips together as though she were struggling to keep something in.

Then she started laughing.

I couldn’t help joining her. "I can’t believe you actually faked crying."

She lifted her chin, looking entirely too pleased with herself. "I’m a woman of many talents, Nathan."

"Clearly."

Marcus turned to look at us, shaking his head with a disbelieving smile. "I gotta admit, you two are really something."

Nicole beamed at him, apparently taking that as a compliment.

Diego glanced at the clock. "Break time’s almost over."

I looked at him, then at Nicole, and opened my mouth to say—

"Can I stay and watch?" she asked, clasping her hands together. "I’ll be good."

I stared at her for a moment before smiling. "Yeah, sure."

She smiled back at me, looking rather pleased with herself, and I shook my head with the smile still on my face before heading off to change and get ready for work.