CHAPTER 10. EXPOSED #3
I skim the article. It talks about some website—apparently also called Detectives in Love—filled with made-up stories about us as a couple. I don’t bother reading further. It still stings. Especially after the way he humiliated me. Like he knows exactly how I feel—and thinks it’s pathetic.
I fold the paper and toss it back onto the windowsill, suddenly wishing I could hop on the next train out of Shorewitch and disappear.
Thankfully, Katie shows up fifteen minutes early, sparing me from stewing in my own misery for too long. She walks in with her beige coat, matching scarf, and hat all dusted with snow. Underneath, she’s wearing a white linen dress.
And just for a moment, I remember how head over heels I was for her in high school. The kind of soft, uncomplicated love that felt huge at the time. But even at its peak, it could never compare to what I feel for Xavier now.
Not that I should be thinking about him—not right now. Because the second I do, our fight flashes back, and the nausea creeps in all over again.
She spots me and makes her way over.
“Hi,” she says with a smile.
“Hey.” I stand to hug her.
She settles into the seat beside me, brushing snow from her coat. “Have you been waiting long?”
“No, I just got here a little early.” I wave the waitress over. We both seem awkward—ordering gives us something to do while we ease into the moment. Once the waitress leaves, Katie shifts slightly closer.
“So, how’ve you been?”
“Great.” I smile. “Working at the detective agency. Helping the police when I can.”
Katie nods. “Right, the agency. With Xavier Ormond.”
“Yeah,” I say, not eager to go there. A pause lingers, so I fill it. “I see you’re not wearing a ring.”
Katie smiles. “Because I’m not married.”
“What about Joe Gargery?” I ask, pretending to sound curious. “I always thought you two would end up together.”
I honestly couldn’t care less—but I need to keep her talking, anything to steer the conversation away from Xavier.
Katie rolls her eyes. “Joe and I broke up right after high school. And I never really planned on marrying him anyway.”
“Really?” I lift a brow.
“Yeah. He talked about dead people too much,” she says, smirking.
I laugh—almost surprised it sounds real. But judging by the way Katie smiles, I guess it passes.
“Well, it’d be strange to expect a high school boyfriend to stick around forever,” she says lightly, but then something shifts in her expression. Just for a second, I can tell she’s thinking about us—what almost was. She clears her throat.
“Didn’t you always say you’d live in the countryside with a wife and kids?”
I snort. “Sure. But I don’t think I ever actually meant it.” And I didn’t. I only said it because that’s what everyone expected.
“So no dreams of a white picket fence?” Katie raises an eyebrow.
“No, I don’t think so.”
And then—uninvited—Xavier slips into my mind again. A cozy house, quiet mornings, cats and dogs padding through the rooms. Something domestic. Something steady. The kind of future I never let myself believe in. The kind I feel like I somehow lost today.
The waitress returns with coffee and croissants, setting down butter and honey on the side.
Katie and I slip into old memories—high school days, crowding into this very café with half our class, loud and overdressed and pretending we weren’t freezing.
I tell her about running into Fred Collins the other day, and we laugh at how random it was—like the universe decided to throw all of us back into the same room again.
We spend the next hour digging through the past, howling over our doomed first (and only) date back in eleventh grade—that ridiculous amusement park trip in the middle of a thunderstorm.
One story leads to another, and soon we’re laughing over all kinds of forgotten nonsense, the kind of stuff only two teenagers would think mattered.
Then, out of nowhere, she asks, “Ever wish you could change the past?”
I shrug. “Not really. You?”
“Nah.” She meets my eyes. “I think everything happens for a reason, you know? Even the small stuff. What you eat for breakfast, some ad you scroll past, a movie you half-watch… It all adds up, shapes who we are. Change any of it, and maybe we’re not the same people anymore.”
I nod slowly. “Yeah. I mean—I want to believe that. That life’s not just a mess of random moments that lead nowhere. Because otherwise…” I trail off. “Yeah. It’d be too depressing.”
Katie laughs—and then I realize she’s about to kiss me.
I see it just seconds before it happens. She leans in, tilts her head slightly, holds my gaze just a second too long… and then her eyes flick to my lips. It’s a textbook move. I know it’s my cue to lean in, to close the gap. But I don’t. I freeze. My eyes drop to her scarlet mouth.
She takes my hesitation for permission, closes the distance, and kisses me. Her lips are warm, soft, familiar—and completely wrong. Her eyes flutter shut, one hand rising to gently cup my cheek.
But I stay still. Eyes open. Like I’ve just been doused in ice water. Every part of me pulls away. It feels wrong.
This is the girl I spent most of high school pining after—and all I can think about is someone else.
That arrogant, impossible detective I was with just this morning.
The one who asked me to stay the night. Who fell asleep in my arms like he meant it.
And who, hours later, made me feel like a joke for asking one honest question.
I wish I’d had the guts to kiss him instead. Maybe then I wouldn’t be stuck like this, eaten alive by feelings I can’t shake.
“Sorry,” I mutter, pulling back.
Katie’s eyes flutter open.
“Shit,” she whispers, hand dropping, cheeks flushing bright red. “God, I’m so sorry. There’s someone else, isn’t there?” She winces. “I didn’t know…I—I didn’t mean to make it weird.”
“It’s fine,” I say, meeting her eyes, resisting the urge to wipe my mouth. “I should’ve told you.”
“I didn’t see a ring, so I thought—” Katie’s cheeks flush deeper. “God, I feel awful. You must think I’m so stupid…” Her voice trails off.
“No,” I say, shaking my head. “Not at all.”
We both go quiet for a moment. Katie clears her throat.
“Oh my god. I feel horrible.”
“You shouldn’t.” I offer a small smile, trying to put her at ease. “You didn’t know.”
“Can you at least tell me about her?” she asks, crossing her arms. “Or I’m going to die of embarrassment.”
I let out a faint laugh and glance away, my face warming. God, it feels like high school all over again—Monica asking who I was always texting, and me brushing it off like I had some big secret, when really, there was nothing.
I shouldn’t lie to Katie. If I do, I’ll just end up feeding my lovesick brain something else to latch onto—when it’s painfully clear there’s nothing between Xavier and me but wishful thinking.
“She’s smart and beautiful, right?” Katie smiles, fidgeting with a sugar packet. “Come on, tell me. I’ve always wondered who’d steal Newt Doherty’s heart…”
I laugh, cringing inside. God, I’ve backed myself into a corner. I can’t say there’s no one—that’d sound like a lie and just make things worse.
Katie watches me closely, curiosity flickering in her eyes. “Do I know her?”
“I don’t think so,” I say, keeping it vague.
“You’re blushing like crazy,” she says, amused. “Must be serious.”
I look away and nod, heart pounding.
She takes a sip of coffee, then says, “You probably think I’m silly and desperate.”
“No, don’t be ridiculous.” I shake my head.
“For a while, I regretted how things ended between us,” she says, lowering her gaze. “When I ran into you the other day, I thought maybe it meant something…” She trails off, then adds, a little softer, “Not trying to guilt you or anything. I just didn’t expect it to feel like this.”
I smile. “I know. And I’m sorry. I should’ve been more upfront.”
We go quiet again. Katie’s still fidgeting with the sugar packet, and it finally tears—white grains spilling across the table. I watch them scatter, grasping for something to say.
“Have you been together long?” she asks after a moment.
“Yes. No. Not really.” I offer a lopsided smile at her confused look. “It’s…complicated.”
She nods. “Yeah. I get it. It always is with the good ones.”
I just smirk and let that slide. We sip our coffee in silence, the moment stretching a beat too long.
Then I say, “Fred and I are hanging out tomorrow. Probably just at my place, because…” I stop myself before mentioning the paparazzi.
I’m not sure if she’s seen the headlines, and I’d rather keep it that way.
“You should come too, if you want,” I add, trying to ease the tension.
“We’ll eat, drink, remember the good old days—”
Her face lights up, clearly relieved that this doesn’t have to be weird. “I’d love to.”
“Great. Drop by around six. Hickory Road, 17, second floor, apartment 39.”
She pulls out her phone and types in the address. “Will your girlfriend be there?” she asks—then quickly adds, “Kidding. But I am curious.”
I smirk. “Probably not. She’s a workaholic.”
“Ah, I see,” Katie says, giving me a knowing look.
We chat about nothing for a while. I think about bringing up Rishetor, but it feels too soon—like I’d be using her, right after turning her down. Better to save that conversation for tomorrow.
The rest of our lunch goes more smoothly, though the awkwardness from the kiss still lingers between us. When Katie checks her watch and suggests we get the bill, I feel nothing but relief. I cover it despite her protests—it feels like the least I can do after shutting her down like that.
Outside, the snow has finally let up. We walk side by side toward the Independence Monument, our boots crunching softly through the slush.
Before we part, she pulls me into a hug. Just as I start to let go, she leans in and plants a quick, awkward kiss on my cheek. “Sorry if I made things weird,” she mumbles.
“Don’t worry about it,” I say with a small smile.
We leave it at that, and I order a cab home.