Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
—I s he gone?—
The five o’clock text from Mia on Sunday prompted unexpected tears to burn in Kat’s eyes.
She muted the television and sucked in a deep, shuddering breath.
She had to get over this reaction. She wasn’t a big crier.
Yeah, he was gone. Nick had caught a two-p.m. flight out of LaGuardia—and she missed him the minute the cab door closed behind him. These goodbyes were hard on her heart.
Kat had decided against going to the studio, preferring to be in her own space with her thoughts for a while, but she’d expected to hear from her friend this afternoon. She took a moment to collect herself then picked up the phone.
—Yeah. Can you talk?—
The phone rang immediately. As soon as Kat picked up, Mia spoke.
“You hungry? Thinking I pick up from Ling’s and make it a girl’s night.”
“That, my friend, is a fantastic idea.”
“I’ll be at your place in an hour.”
“Okay. I’ve got drinks.”
Kat rinsed her brushes, put away her materials, and had the table set when Mia arrived. She buzzed her inside and met her at the door.
“How was your day? Were you at the studio?”
She waved a hand. “Not the greatest day ever, but that’s not what I want to talk about.”
There was no doubt what—or who—Mia wanted to talk about.
Mia dumped the bags of food onto the table and plopped into a chair.
Kat delivered a pot of hot water and tea bags to the table and joined her. As they opened containers, the scent of steamy soy sauce filled the room. “This smells delicious.” She reached for the rice and picked up a serving spoon.
“I like him.”
Kat’s breath caught in a choked laugh. “I wondered if you were ever going to get to the point,” she teased.
“And he likes you, that’s for sure. He hardly took his eyes off you yesterday. I’d say the man is thoroughly besotted—exactly as I predicted.”
Kat couldn’t help grinning. “I like him, too.”
“Yeah, that’s kind of obvious. It was fun to get to know him a little. Seems like a solid guy. Well-grounded.” Mia smiled over her cup. “He’s awfully cute. Did you see how he helped little Shayna use the big scissors? It was sweet. I think she’s got a crush on your man.”
Her man . Those words sent a shockwave surging through Kat. “Haha. She’ll have to get over it. I’m not sharing.”
“So, what’s the scoop? He got the TV thing so he’s going to be famous. And maybe hanging around New York?” Her brows arched in question.
“I hope you just predicted the future,” Kat said. But when she basically said the same thing last night, he’d skirted the issue. We’ll work it out , he said. But he gave no ideas on how they would do that.
“Eh-hem. He did not visit the hotel he mentioned on Friday night, correct?”
As heat flooded her face, Kat set down her fork and picked up her ice water. “That is correct.”
“Girrrrl. Good for you.”
“It’s so crazy how one minute he’s here, and we’re having this fun time, and everything is great. And then he’s gone.”
Mia’s brow furrowed. “When’s he coming back?”
“Not sure.”
“Are they setting him up in a place here?”
Kat shook her head. “Not sure yet. They’re talking about filming in Connecticut, though. Maybe next time we can double-date. You and Jack could–”
Mia held up a hand. “Not happening.”
“Why not?”
“Jack is seeing someone else.”
In the shocked silence, Kat let her glass hit the table hard. “ What ?”
“He told me last night.”
“But…your birthday. He…”
“Yeah, he didn’t want to ruin my birthday. Wasn’t that sweet of him?” Sarcasm gave her voice an edge.
Kat pressed a hand to her forehead, trying to wrap her mind around the surprising news. She searched her friend’s face. “How are you doing?”
“I’m okay. Honestly, it’s weird, but when we were talking about you and Nick, it got me wondering if Jack and I were together because it was easy, comfortable.
Then when I saw you and Nick yesterday…Well.
” She let out a deep sigh. “I’m not sure Jack has ever looked at me the way Colorado Man looks at you. ”
Kat’s heart skipped a beat. She’d love to see that look. But it would be insensitive to ask more now. “Well, damn. Are you sure there’s someone else?”
“He said so. Wanted to be honest and up-front, you know. Hopes we can still be friends.”
Mia rolled her eyes, and Kat knew that wasn’t her style.
She reached out and rested a hand on Mia’s arm. “Give yourself some time. It’s okay to feel bad for a while. It might be a positive in the long run, but right now it feels like a loss.”
“So, I will now live vicariously through your love life.”
Kat pushed back her chair. “This situation calls for chocolate.”
“Bring it on, lady.”
Kat pulled a bag of caramel sea salt chocolates from a drawer and dumped the contents on the table. “This is crazy. Why can’t we ever have a man at the same time?”
“It’s annoying for sure.” Mia reached for a chocolate and let out a long, dramatic sigh. “Guess it’s not our time.”
“I’m thinking it’ll be good for you to go to that Loft show next weekend after all.” At least Mia wouldn’t have to worry about ditching Jack to join Kat at the event. “Remember, you agreed to be my date?”
Mia raised a brow. “Agreed? My arm still hurts where you twisted it out of the socket.”
With a light laugh, Kat pushed candies toward Mia. “Here. More chocolate will make it feel better. She looked across the table to see Mia studying her cup, deep in thought.
The break-up probably hit a little harder than she’d let on. “Hey, let’s have a fun dinner somewhere on Saturday before the Loft event. Maybe China Rose? We haven’t been there for a long time, and we deserve a treat.”
Mia laughed. “Guess we might as well make our own date night of it.”
“Sounds good to me. I’ve got another crazy week starting tomorrow. Not sure I’ll get a chance to eat a real meal.”
Mia lifted her cup. “Cheers to friend dates.”
Kat tapped her mug to Mia’s. Sure, they could laugh. They’d deal with the change. They’d move on. Still, the whirlwind of activity—the uncertainty of the events—happening in her life left her feeling unsettled. There could be so many bumps along the way.
* * *
At nine o’clock Thursday night, Kat turned off the desk light in her cubicle, slipped into her coat, and headed for the elevator. Working late every night had made for a long week. When she came to Cassie’s office, she paused. “Goodnight,” she called.
“Hey, Kat?”
Kat took a step back and hovered in the doorway of her boss’s office. “Yeah?”
“Do you have lunch plans tomorrow?”
She had to be kidding, right? Kat hadn’t left her office for lunch in two weeks. “Uh, no. You need something?”
Cassie barely glanced away from her computer monitor. “Let’s go to the cafe around twelve-fifteen.”
“Sure.”
“See you tomorrow.”
“Night.” That was weird. A working lunch? Just the two of them? Please let it simply be a friendly break with no drama, Kat silently implored. She stepped into the elevator as alarm bells rang through her head. Unusual was always suspect.
She boarded the train and flopped into a seat a couple of rows away from other passengers, then pulled out her phone to catch up on events of the day.
No earbuds or distracting music while riding at night—Nick was sure danger lurked around every corner of the city. It was sweet that he worried about her.
Tomorrow she’d have to find a few minutes to slip out and mail the Valentine gifts she’d picked up for him—some high-end Fair-Trade coffee with an arty label and the ever-popular iconic I “heart” New York T-shirt she’d found at a touristy shop not far from the museum.
It was too soon to do anything overly romantic and serious.
Of course, she’d painted a special card for him.
Since he’d left on Sunday, they’d talked every night after she got home, which made for a few late nights.
But the calls also gave her something to look forward to after a long day at the museum.
While questions of when they would be together next and whether they had any future as a couple hung over them, by mutual avoidance it seemed they’d decided to let things go for now.
That was fine with Kat. Best to let nature take its course.
Here it was, Thursday night, and so far, he’d heard nothing from HomeBuilders about a travel schedule. She sent him a preliminary text.
—Hi! I’m on the subway. Talk soon?—
—I’ll be waiting.—
She read the words with a soft smile and held the phone to her chest. It was almost like having someone to come home to.
Winslow also was waiting for her when she opened the door to her apartment. “Hey, baby,” Kat crooned as the tabby wrapped around her legs. After feeding the cat, she kicked off her shoes and brewed a cup of tea then curled up on the sofa and opened her video chat.
Seconds later, Nick’s face filled the screen. His easy smile triggered a somersault in her heart.
“Hey, babe. How was your day?”
“Good. I got a lot done. I think I’ll be able to cut back on the overtime next week.”
“That’s great. I got a message from Charles this afternoon. He’s scheduling a conference call with a producer and writer next week, so we’re getting started.”
“Oh, my gosh. That’s awesome. But a conference call is so lame. No in-person meetings?”
Nick chuckled. “Believe me, I’m working on it. But it’s probably best to save that for when you’ve got more free time, anyway. You ever been to Fairfield, Connecticut?”
“As a matter of fact, I haven’t. But it’s right at the top of my places to visit.” If she could sell a couple of paintings at the Loft show, she could justify spending a little fun money. “Do they allow visitors on the set?”
“Not that far along yet, but that doesn’t mean we couldn’t work in a few extra days.”
“I’d love it.”
“We’ve got some time to figure it out. How’s your tomorrow looking?”
“There’s been an interesting development.” She launched into the unexpected lunch invitation from Cassie.
“But no idea what it’s about?”