Elastic Hearts (Hearts #3)(93)

“No, I’m on leave until your divorce papers come back.”

“So . . . you’re still partner?” I asked quietly.

He sighed and took a seat beside me on the couch, putting an arm around me. I put my legs on his lap and scooted closer. “I am,” he said, running his fingers through my hair. If he kept this up, the massages and the hair touching, I’d definitely keep him. “I was there when your dad called you.”

My eyes widened, meeting his. “Did I . . . well, obviously he kept you on board so I didn’t mess anything up, but . . .” I groaned. “I hate that he put me on the spot like that.”

“You did great, Nic.” He pulled me closer to him. “You did great, and,” he let out a breath, “you were fine. It was fine. Will just doesn’t want any more attention around this until it’s clear the divorce is over. I really can lose my license. That’s not a game.”

I blinked. “We were just outside kissing. You just told Brent that you were my attorney and insinuated you were my boyfriend.”

“Fuck Brent. He’s not a threat.”

“You don’t know that.”

He shot me a look. “If he becomes one, I’ll take care of it.”

“Like you took care of Darryl?” I asked, raising an eyebrow. I knew I’d caught him off guard because of the way his eyes widened and he reared back slightly. “I saw him in Argentina. His face was all cut up the same week you had a bandage on yours. Coincidence?”

“Probably. I’m sure a lot of people want to cut his face,” he said.

“You’re going to sit here and lie to me?”

He sighed, running a hand through his hair. It was telling.

“You can’t just go around beating people up because of me,” I said. “Isn’t that worse than us being out together?”

Victor let out an unamused chuckle. “Not in the state of California.”

“He can press charges.”

“Let him try,” he scoffed, then looked at me. “You don’t have to worry about any of that, Nicole. Trust me.”

“I do. I just don’t want to be the reason you go through all this trouble and lose a great job.”

His gaze held a seriousness that made my heart dip. He didn’t say anything else, instead he reached for my hand and brought it to his lips. I leaned the side of my head on his shoulder, and we sat in silence for a little while, just silence. A comfortable, beautiful silence.

“I have something for you,” he said, arching off the couch to pull something out of his back pocket. He handed over a folded packet, which I took as I sat up. I opened the papers and read through it, gasping, my heart beating uncontrollably. Tears started to form in my eyes before I even finished reading the entire thing.

“We’re going to Iceland?” I asked in a hoarse whisper.

Victor smiled softly. “We’re going to Iceland.”

“You know that’s where they film—” I started, but he snatched the papers from my hand and turned the page before I could finish. I screamed. Loud. And bolted out of the couch. “Oh my God! Oh my God! We’re going? We’re really going? But how?”

Victor laughed and pulled me onto his lap. “I know people.”

“Did you tell your sister about this?” I asked after long quiet minutes, in which I read everything on the pages he’d given me.

“Hell, no. She’d kill me. We can send her a picture when we get over there. We leave in a week by the way,” he said, kissing my forehead.

“A week.” I paused, eyes wide. “I have to find out if we’re still on shooting break.”

“You are.”

“How do you know?” I asked, my veins still drenched in adrenaline.

“Your friend Talon told me.”

“What?” My mouth dropped. “How did you get in touch with her?”

He chuckled, pulling me so I could straddle his lap. “I already told you, I know people.”

I wrapped my hands around his neck and smiled. “I really do love you.”

“You better,” he said. “I don’t even watch that f*cking show.”





ICELAND WAS FUCKING freezing, but the permanent smile on Nicole’s face made the trip worth it. We were on set, and even though she said she was a huge fan of the costume designer, all she did was check out the guys.

“You’re drooling again,” I whispered in her ear. She shivered, wrapping her arms around herself.

“I’m sorry. I know it’s in bad form to check out another man in front of your boyfriend, but oh my God,” she said, her teeth rattling. I laughed, wrapping my arms around her.

“I’m not worried.”

She smiled, tilting her head to look up at me. “You’re so sure of yourself.”

I shrugged. No point in denying it. She wasn’t going anywhere, and neither was I. Even if I wanted to leave her, my family would probably disown me at this point. In the week we had between our reconciliation and the trip, we’d been inseparable, which meant everywhere I went, Nicole was there and vice versa. One of those days, we’d gone over to my parents’ house for dinner, where Mia, Jensen, Oliver, and Estelle joined us. Whenever Nicole wasn’t in the room all I heard was, “put a ring on it” and “you better marry that girl.” Every time I reminded them her divorce wasn’t even officially final, they shook their heads as if it was somehow my fault. But when I admitted I would marry her someday, Jensen and Oliver didn’t shut the f*ck up about me being in love.