I stepped forward, ready to beat him to a pulp for the shit he was saying to upset my Kate, but she grabbed my arm before I could hit him again.
“Please don’t,” she said in a small voice. I could tell she was hurting tremendously, and for that I wanted to rip Josh limb from limb.
When he realized I wasn’t going to punch him again, Josh looked triumphantly from me to Kate. “So, what do you think about that, huh?”
Kate set her lips in a thin line. “Why didn’t Rod call and tell me?”
Josh shrugged. “I guess he wanted to wait and see what your final ratings were,” he said. “Wait until the last possible minute before pulling the plug, right?”
He shrugged in mock-apology, the shit-eating grin on his face growing by the second. “That’s what we do, Katie.”
Kate covered her mouth with her hands, and I could see tears filling her eyes. Before I could say anything else to Josh, he bounded away and ducked out of the restaurant.
I turned to Kate. “I’m sorry about all of that,” I said. “I wish that hadn’t happened. Are you okay?”
Kate nodded, just once. I reached out my arms and she curled up against my chest, fitting the top of her head right below my chin. “I’ll be okay,” she said softly. “But I need to go home; I need to figure out what’s going on with my show.”
I sighed heavily. “I’ll take you back to my place and you can get a return ticket, okay? Sound good?”
Kate sniffled. I could tell she wanted to cry, but she was doing a great job holding it in and being brave. I wanted to tell her that she didn’t need to; that she could be vulnerable around me if she needed to, but we’d already made enough of a scene in the restaurant, and I was sure she didn’t want any more attention.
A small man in a turban bounced up to us. “Ah, ma’am, can I get you anything else?”
Kate looked at the table, her expression weary. “No, thank you,” she said softly. “Just the check please.”
The man frowned. “You don’t want your food? You barely touched it.”
I stepped forward. “Just the check, mate,” I said. “But thanks anyway.”
The man nodded and scurried away, and Kate lowered herself into a chair and stared at me. “I had no idea it was going to be like that,” she said softly. “I really thought he understood that things were over between us. I even made him promise that he understood our dinner wasn’t a date!”
“Yeah, I gathered that.”
She made a fist and slammed it down on her left thigh. “I mean, god, are all men that stupid?” She looked at me apologetically. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to insult you. I wasn’t talking about you. God, I don’t even know what I’m talking about. You probably think I’m a real nutter, don’t you?”
I laughed politely. “I’d never call you a nutter,” I told her, reaching out and ruffling her soft hair. “You know I think you’re very smart.”
Kate slumped down with her face in her hands. “I wish I knew what was going on,” she said softly. “It’s all up in the air now.”
When the waiter came back, I handed him my card and told him that I’d cover it. Kate barely noticed; she was slumped over the remains of her butter chicken, staring moodily at the table, but when the receipt came, she realized what had happened and thanked me.
“Come on,” I told her. “Time to go back to my place.”
She was silent in the car on the way home. My mind was occupied, too; after I’d left, the rehab center had called me and thanked me for my generous donation. I was sure that Connor would be well taken care of, but I still felt like a shitty friend. It was just like what Mary and that cop had said—if I hadn’t been so busy paying attention to my own life, I would have known that my best friend was getting into dangerous shit and needed help.
“What’s wrong?” Kate turned in the seat and looked at me. “I can tell you have something on your mind. Would it help you to talk about it?”
“It would,” I said, and I meant it. “But not right now. You’re my first priority, Kate, and we need to make sure that you’re taken care of.”
She sighed. “Normally I’d fight you on that, but it’s been a hell of a day,” she said, yawning gracefully and covering her mouth with one hand.
“Yeah, I heard about the photos. Lizzy told me.”
“Oh. I’m sorry I believed Josh for even a second,” she said, looking embarrassed. “They were convincing with the time stamps, but still…”
Her voice trailed off, and I grinned. “It’s fine. Considering my reputation, I don’t blame you for not being sure.”