Chapter 6
KAITLYN
The sun was streaming through the window when Kaitlyn awoke the next morning. She rolled over sleepily, stretching out her arms and expecting to find Alex next to her. But the bed was empty, and, sitting up, she rubbed her eyes and looked around her.
“Alex?” she called out, for it seemed odd for him to have left.
A sudden fear came over her, a question as to whether he’d really meant what he’d said the night before.
Perhaps he’d gotten cold feet. That same sense of disappointment now seized her.
It was just like before. The promise, the expectation.
His clothes were gone. Was that it? She thought back to all the things he’d said.
There’d been such sincerity in his words, and it pained her to think he’d already cast her aside.
I should’ve known. Perhaps it really was all too good to believe.
But as she was about to get out of bed, she heard footsteps on the stairs, and a moment later, the bedroom door opened.
Alex was standing there with a tray in hand.
On it were croissants and pastries, a carafe of coffee, and a glass of orange juice.
There was butter and jelly, and a small vase of flowers, some of the blue ones from the garden that her mom had planted last spring.
“I was hoping you wouldn’t have woken up yet,” he said, smiling as he set the tray down on the bed.
Kaitlyn didn’t know what to say, though she felt guilty for having immediately jumped to the wrong conclusion as to his absence.
“You did all this?” she exclaimed.
“Even I can open a few packets of pastries. I went to the bakery. I made the coffee myself, if that counts,” he said, sitting down on the bed next to her.
No one had ever made her breakfast in bed before. It was a sweet thing to have done, and Kaitlyn was touched by his thoughtfulness.
“Are you going to do this every day?” she asked.
Alex laughed. “Let’s just start with today, shall we?” he said, just as Kaitlyn’s phone buzzed.
It was Rachel, chastising her for leaving the wedding reception without saying goodbye.
…And what about you and Alex? What’s going on there?
Kaitlyn didn’t reply. She’d explain later, though it was really no one else’s business but theirs. If she and Alex wanted to get married, they could. There was nothing to stop them, no “just cause or impediment” or whatever the exact words were.
“And you warmed them up, too. How thoughtful,” Kaitlyn said as she pulled one of the croissants apart.
They were from Albie’s Bakery on Market Street.
Kaitlyn knew because they’d been her mom’s favorite, the lightest of pastries, like eating a cloud.
Kaitlyn would go to fetch them for her mom’s breakfast, along with her other favorite — a cinnamon raisin whirl.
The thought brought back happy memories of those last few precious months: breakfasts in the garden, and long conversations over coffee that could last the whole morning.
It would never be the same without her, and yet Kaitlyn knew she could learn to live with her loss, now that she had Alex back in her life.
“Is the coffee all right?” he asked, just as his own phone began to ring loudly.
“It’s perfect,” Kaitlyn replied as Alex rose to his feet and crossed over to the window.
“Morning, Hilary. What’s going on? Did they seal the Japanese deal?
” There was a pause, and Kaitlyn wondered what “the Japanese deal” entailed.
“Tell them they can go up another ten million. But no more. I don’t want to start losing money before we’ve even started making it back.
And tell Richard I need those returns. He can email them.
I’ll keep checking. Don’t let him forget.
And will you send someone over to the apartment for the laundry?
It all needs to be done before I get back.
” He exchanged a few more words before hanging up and turning to Kaitlyn with a smile on his face, sighing as he came to sit at the end of the bed. “It never stops,” he said.
“You’ve got business in Japan?” she asked.
“It’s a hotel chain. They’re all pretty run-down, but with a little investment, we think we can turn the chain into a luxury brand. Japan’s up-and-coming. The Asian markets are where it’s at. We need to get a foot in the door if we’re hoping to compete. This is just the first stage.”
His tone seemed to change as he spoke about business.
It became serious, matter-of-fact, as though it was the most important thing in the world.
Kaitlyn had never set great store on making money, though she often reminded herself that such a way of thinking was fine for a person who’d always had enough.
She’d never known wealth or poverty. She had enough and was content with that.
The fact that she was now about to marry a billionaire wouldn’t change her way of thinking, but it would certainly change her way of living.
“And Hilary’s your executive assistant? Do you have lots of people who work for you?” Kaitlyn asked, curious to know more.
“Across the whole company? About a hundred thousand, I suppose. But I only have a dozen personal staff. Hilary keeps track of it all. She runs the company. I just get pushed from here to there and do as I’m told,” he said, laughing and shaking his head.
“What do they all do? The dozen, I mean?” Kaitlyn asked.
“Only” a dozen. Kaitlyn couldn’t imagine anyone needing that many staff.
Her mom had always enjoyed reading, and toward the end, Kaitlyn would sit and read to her — rompish Regency romances, with heroines pursued by dashing dukes and earls.
Back in those days, there was a servant for everything, but those days had surely passed.
What did twelve people do all day? Hilary sounded like a saint, but what did the rest of them do?
Alex looked surprised, as though it was obvious.
“Well… there’s my driver, Stephen. He looks after the cars, takes me from place to place.
Hilary has an assistant, Deborah. She organizes things like lunch bookings and flights.
Erica’s my personal trainer. Brett manages the apartment.
I suppose you’d call him a butler, but it’s not like he’s there all the time.
I barely see him. He just makes sure the cleaners get let in, and the refrigerator’s stocked. Then there’s—”
Kaitlyn stopped him. “I get the picture. But do you really need all those people to manage your life?”
Kaitlyn wasn’t trying to be provocative.
He was the CEO of an enormous company. He had responsibilities she couldn’t possibly imagine having.
But where was the challenge of living life?
Of doing things for yourself? Kaitlyn couldn’t imagine her own life being managed in that way, though she feared it was about to be. Alex looked confused.
“Well… I suppose I didn’t always. But things got more complicated. I started having less time to make decisions and do all those little things that someone else could just do for me,” he said.
Kaitlyn smiled and shook her head. “I’m sorry.
I didn’t mean to be critical. It’s just…
our lives have been so different. You should see the size of my apartment in San Francisco.
It’s a tiny little place, above a pizza restaurant.
There’s hardly room for anyone but me,” she said, feeling somewhat embarrassed at the comparison.
“How do you feel about moving to New York?” he asked.
Kaitlyn smiled. She’d been curious about his life.
Her questions weren’t meant to be critical.
Her feelings were the same as they’d been the night before.
She was ready for a change, a new challenge.
San Francisco had been fun, but the idea of going back there wasn’t appealing.
Her mom’s death had changed her. She’d clung to memories, rather than dreamed dreams about the future.
Alex’s offer had come at just the right time.
“It’ll take some getting used to, and I certainly don’t need someone to clean up after me and do everything for me. But I’m ready,” she replied.
He smiled at her, leaning forward and kissing her gently on the lips.
“Why don’t you finish your breakfast? I have a few calls to make, then perhaps we could go for a walk? I’d better let my mom know what’s happening, too,” he said.
Kaitlyn had forgotten about his mom. What would she say when Alex announced his intention to marry?
Her phone buzzed again. Another message from Rachel, this time a simple “?” Kaitlyn rolled her eyes.
“I’d better call Rachel. Then I’ll shower and we can go out,” she replied. “I’ll let you tell your mom.”
“She’s always liked you. I remember her once saying that you brought out the best in me. I know she’ll be pleased.”
After kissing her again, Alex left the room. Kaitlyn could hear him on the phone with Hilary downstairs. Taking a deep breath, she picked up her own phone and called Rachel. The reaction was just as she’d expected…
“You did what?” Rachel exclaimed after Kaitlyn had briefly explained what had happened at the wedding.
“Why aren’t you out enjoying your honeymoon?” Kaitlyn asked. Rachel and Sean had caught a late-night flight to Palm Springs, where they’d spend the next two weeks staying in one of its fashionable hotels.
“We are, but it’s not like we haven’t been living together for the past ten years,” Rachel replied. “But what were you thinking? You can’t just agree to marry him like that.”
Kaitlyn didn’t think it was really any of Rachel’s business, though her friend’s reaction was hardly surprising. She wouldn’t be the only one to talk about rushing into things.
“We’ve been engaged since prom night,” Kaitlyn pointed out.
“And you’re going to move to New York just like that, are you? You don’t know him. It’s been twelve years since prom night. You said yourself you were nervous about seeing him again. I almost didn’t invite him,” Rachel said.
Kaitlyn could hear the exasperation in her voice. “I was, but then I wasn’t. We just… realized what was missing.”
It was difficult to explain. Kaitlyn knew it didn’t make sense.
Rachel’s words were exactly as hers would’ve been if the situation were reversed.
It was hardly a surprising reaction, and yet Kaitlyn knew she was doing the right thing.
She’d lived in her own shadow for too long.
Life was passing her by. She needed something more, something new.
“Is it because he’s a billionaire?” Rachel said.
Kaitlyn rolled her eyes.
“No, it isn’t that. Look, enjoy your honeymoon. I’ll call you later, all right?” she said, and before Rachel could respond, she hung up, sighing, as she tossed the phone onto the bed.
Doubt was inevitable, and rationality was only going to give one answer.
But the breakfast tray with the pretty flowers, the lingering memory of the kiss, and the promise of a walk together were little signs that what she was doing was right.
Alex had grown up. He was more serious, though Kaitlyn felt certain she could bring out his humor.
She wanted to be with him. She’d always wanted to be with him.
“I’d forgotten how long it takes you to get ready,” Alex said, grinning when Kaitlyn came downstairs after her shower.
She laughed. “It’s a woman’s prerogative. Are you ready? Did you make your calls?”
He nodded. “Hilary’s sorting things out. There’s nothing much I can do from here. Shall we walk past the high school?”
Kaitlyn nodded. She’d walked past the high school dozens of times since returning to Cedarhurst to look after her mom, but doing so with Alex would certainly be a trip down memory lane.
“No Betsy to take us this time?” she asked as they stepped out onto the porch.
“I always wonder what became of her. I drove her to Harvard,” he said.
“I know,” Kaitlyn replied. “I came to wave you off. Remember?”
Alex smiled. “I remember. They didn’t like students bringing cars in. It clogged the place up, apparently. I sold her for fifty dollars. I used the money to rent a laptop. That’s how I started the first business. You could say I owe it all to Betsy.”
Kaitlyn laughed. “She was quite a car. When you managed to get her started, that is.”
Alex pretended to rev the engine, squatting down in a bouncing movement, just as they’d so often done together to get the car going.
“I was glad I didn’t have to do that on prom night in that dress,” Kaitlyn said, shaking her head and smiling.
“You looked so beautiful in that dress. I remember seeing you in the hallway with your mom. I thought I was the luckiest guy in high school.”
Kaitlyn blushed, but it made her happy to hear him say that.
She only wished he’d said it sooner. Why had they drifted apart?
Why had they waited so long? She pushed the questions to the back of her mind, not wanting to cause an argument or make a big deal out of it.
Right now, they were together, and that was all that mattered.
“And you brought me roses. It was very sweet,” Kaitlyn said as they walked together along the street.
The route was the same that they’d taken on so many other occasions, along the tree-lined suburban streets, then passed the drive-thru with its flashing neon signs, and over the bridge that crossed the sluggish river that had first brought inhabitants to settle hundreds of years before.
Cedarhurst hadn’t changed that much in the past twelve years, and neither had the high school.
The facade was looking a little tired and worn-out, the rows of windows symmetrically arranged on either side of the entrance over two levels, above which the fluttering Stars and Stripes flew from the flagpole, just as it always had.
“Are Miss Gunter and Mr. Berloski still teaching here?” Alex asked.
“She’s Mrs. Berloski now. He’s the principal,” Kaitlyn replied, for she’d recently bumped into the two teachers in the thrift store, where they’d exchanged a few words of greeting and news.
“It was inevitable, wasn’t it?” Alex replied. “You don’t imagine teachers having real lives.”
Kaitlyn smiled. “They were the same age as we are now at that prom.”
Alex shook his head. “That’s weird. They seemed so old. I suppose anyone over twenty seems old when you’re in high school. Why don’t we get a coffee? Is Mason’s still around the corner?”
Kaitlyn nodded. Mason’s was the café where the mathletes used to celebrate their victories or commiserate over their losses.
“Let me guess. You’ll be having extra vanilla syrup, and that horrible squirty cream they put on the top of the hot chocolate?” she said, slipping her arm into his.
“Well remembered. And you’ll be having a flat white, and… a pastry, the chocolate twist,” he replied.
Kaitlyn laughed. “We obviously remember more than we thought,” she said as they made their way toward the café.