Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 76232 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 381(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 254(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76232 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 381(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 254(@300wpm)
Kennedy caught the note of nervousness in her voice and smiled to reassure her. “Of course I like it. Thank you. I was actually just about to dive in to this spread.” He gestured at the carving table.
Claudia glanced over. “Right! That was Kate’s idea.”
Kate lifted her slider in silent acknowledgment, her cheeks full of the sandwich.
“You know I don’t really like red meat, but Kate said you were allergic to shellfish, and we had to feed you something, so . . . good?”
“Yeah. Really good.” As he said it, he looked at Kate, who merely watched him as she chewed.
“Okay, let’s go take a pic with Mom and Dad really quick, ’kay? Then you can dig in and eat all of the roast beef you want, promise. Do you think your parents would be in it?”
“You want a picture of . . . both our parents?” Kennedy asked, trying to ignore the faint warning bell in the back of his head.
“Are you kidding? They’d love it,” said the very last person Kennedy wanted to see right now.
“Hey, Jack,” he said as his brother draped an arm around his shoulders and clinked the neck of his beer bottle against Kennedy’s cocktail.
“Happy birthday, big bro. Did he tell you we’re all embarrassingly close in age?” Jack asked Claudia. “Kennedy is thirty-six, John’s thirty-four, I’m thirty-two, and baby Fitz will be thirty next month. Our parents were busy, am I right?”
“Can we not?” Kennedy said, his appetite fading. “Also, let’s not forget that of the four of us, you were the only accident.”
“Happy accident,” Jack said, unfazed as he took a sip of beer. “Very happy for everyone.” He glanced over, then did a double take, his smile turning flirty. “Well, well. If it isn’t Kate Winslet.”
“You’ve got till midnight,” she said, swallowing, then taking another bite of sandwich.
“Till what?”
“Till the Titanic references expire.”
“Chicks dig it, Smalls.”
“I’ll definitely take Smalls over Winslet.” She smiled at Jack, who smiled back, and Kennedy looked between the two of them, slightly aghast. Nicknames? No. Just no.
Claudia tugged his arm. “One picture, babe, I promise.”
“Yeah, babe. Don’t worry,” Jack said as Claudia started to pull Kennedy away. “I’ll keep Smalls company.”
Yeah. That’s exactly what I’m afraid of.
7
Saturday, March 30
The dress? A hit. The new hairstyle? Pretty darn good, given that it was Kate’s first time styling her hair herself without the superpowers of the salon’s blow-dryer.
The shoes? A massive failure. She was no stranger to high heels, but she usually had a two-and-a-half, maybe three-inch limit, and she’d decked out all of her work stilettos with about fifteen different cushions to prevent blisters and the agonizing pain of her current situation.
Kate rested her elbows on the cement railing perched several stories above ever-bustling 42nd Street and tried to look casual as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other, giving each foot its break in turn.
A seat would have been preferable, but since this was a cocktail party instead of a seated dinner, chairs were limited, and a woman sitting alone on a chair rubbing her feet was just a little sad. At least this way she could pretend to be looking at the view.
And there was nothing sad about her evening, thank you very much. In fact, it was the best party she’d been to in a long, long time.
Kate was never a wallflower, per se, but even when she was in the middle of things, she often felt on the periphery. She was well aware that she wasn’t the one who sparkled. She was the one who always had a bobby pin, a safety pin, a breath mint, to make sure other people sparkled.
Tonight, though, she’d felt at least a little sparkly. Whether it was the pink dress itself or the confidence she’d felt when she walked into the room, for the first time in her life, she’d felt like people saw her. And though she hadn’t been able to resist keeping an eye out to make sure everything went smoothly, she did so because she wanted to, not because she had nothing else to do and no one else to talk to.
Tonight, everyone had seemed to want to talk to her, not just her circle of friends. It was . . . nice.
Kate always enjoyed her friend circle, but she was also sensitive to the fact that she was a fifth wheel. Seventh wheel, if you counted Kennedy and Claudia, though she preferred not to. She loved spending time with Lara and Sabrina. And with Matt, Ian, and Kennedy. But with all of them together, Kate couldn’t help but feel apart somehow. And maybe just a tiny bit jealous.
Tonight, though, she’d felt like part of a unit, with Jack Dawson of all people.
Kate was no dummy. She knew Kennedy’s brother had heartbreaker written all over him. The man was so charming it should be illegal, and she’d watched as one woman after another had gone literally breathless when he’d spoken to them.