After a while Kate sighed. “Do you remember what I said that night at the club?”
“You said a lot of things. Which one, exactly?”
“I said I was sick of being the well-meaning idiot everyone feels sorry for. I said I was sick of thinking about everyone but myself.”
“And?”
“And here I am again. I guess character really is destiny.”
Simone folded her arms. “Okay, let’s get one thing straight. It’s not a character flaw to be a decent, loving, forgiving person. It’s only a flaw if you let people walk all over you, and you haven’t done that. In fact, it sounds to me like you scorched Ian Hart pretty damn thoroughly.”
Kate thought about it. “I guess I did.”
“Hell, yes, you did. So don’t beat yourself up for your feelings. We can’t control the way we feel; we can only control the way we act. And you’ve done that.”
“Maybe you’re right.”
“I’m always right.”
Kate grinned suddenly. “Yeah? That reminds me—speaking of feelings we can’t control, how is it working with Zach Hammond?”
She’d never seen her friend blush like that before.
“Wow. You’ve got it bad, huh?”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” Simone muttered.
“I’m telling you, that man could be a movie star.”
“Very funny.”
“But of course, if he doesn’t do it for you, he doesn’t. Not everyone reacts to—”
“Will you please shut up?”
Kate shook her head but let the subject drop. Simone wouldn’t be able to keep a lid on her feelings for long. Eventually there’d be a late-night phone call and Kate would hear everything. They’d taken turns supporting each other for ten years now, and she hoped they’d keep doing it for the next fifty.
That was the nice thing about best friends: unlike men, you could always count on them.
As though her last thought had been a cue, her phone rang. When she saw Chris’s name, she sighed.
“This’ll just take a sec,” she told Simone, before getting up and walking a few paces away.
“Hi, Chris. What’s up?”
“Hi, Kate.” A short pause. “I just . . . I need to apologize. For Anastasia, for that day at your apartment . . . for everything.”
“It’s okay.” And as she said it, she realized it was true. She didn’t want Chris back in her life, but she forgave him.
The split between them had been for the best. They’d been together because it was easy, not because it was right. They both deserved better than that.
“Thanks. I was hoping maybe we could have a drink or something. Not because I want to get back together,” he added quickly. “The truth is, I think I should spend some time alone. But I’d like a chance to say goodbye to you. Goodbye and thank you.”
They’d been together for eight months. Getting closure would be good for both of them.
“Sure. We can do that. Why don’t you come by my place tomorrow night? We can have a drink at the bar on the corner.”
“That sounds great. Seven o’clock?”
“I’ll see you then.”
As she sat back down at the table, she reflected on the turn her life had taken. It had been less than a month since Chris had slept with another woman and broken their engagement, and she’d come to terms with her feelings and moved on.
Now she just had to come to terms with her feelings for Ian . . . and move on.
It was raining cats and dogs and Ian didn’t have an umbrella, but he didn’t care. He had to apologize to Kate, and if that meant waiting in the rain until he grew gills, then that was what he’d do.
He’d been in the doorway of the building across the street for the last twenty minutes. She hadn’t answered any of his calls—no surprise there—and when he went to her apartment, Andreas told him that she’d gone out about an hour before.
So he’d wait for her to come back. No matter how long it took.
She’d been right about everything.
As soon as he’d gotten home the day before, he’d talked to Jacob, and his nephew had told him the whole story.
“Kate wanted to tell you right away, but I wouldn’t let her. I know you think comics and superheroes are stupid. I wanted to wait until everything was settled before I told you. That way you wouldn’t be able to laugh at me or tell me to go play football or something.”
Jacob’s expression had been angry and miserable. It was obvious that Kate had been right the night of Mick’s wedding, when she’d accused him of trying to turn Jacob into someone he wasn’t.