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)
Her friends were silent for a moment, and then Sabrina shook her head. “He is so lucky he’s not here right now.”
“Seriously,” Lara said in heated agreement.
“Yeah, well.” Kate shrugged. “It’s actually a good thing, because my childish infatuation with Kennedy needed to die, and that little nugget delivered a swift and fatal blow. Which is a good thing,” she repeated, in case they’d missed it the first time. “Outwardly, nothing changed. He was still all broody and hot; I was still the capable, businesslike assistant. Only, from then on, I wasn’t harboring any romantic delusions about him one day professing his love for me.”
“Don’t kill me for asking,” Sabrina said, “but are you positive you’re really, truly over him? Because sometimes you seem a little . . . aware.”
Kate took a gulp of her mimosa. “I may not be in love with him anymore, but my body hasn’t quite gotten the message that we no longer want him.”
“Ah,” Lara said. “So the physical thing is still there.”
Kate scrunched down in her chair. “Unfortunately. But it’s getting better.”
“Because of Jack?”
“Maybe? I’m not going to lie. It wasn’t like it was that first meeting with Kennedy, where I felt it tip to toe. But Jack’s the opposite of Kennedy. Kennedy’s never seemed to notice that I’m a woman, while Jack . . .”
“Is very aware that you’re a woman?” Sabrina wiggled her eyebrows.
Kate exhaled, too embarrassed to tell her friends that she and Jack hadn’t exactly gotten to the physical part of dating. She sensed that Jack was more than interested but was waiting for her to give the green light, and she just . . . wasn’t there yet.
“We’re happy for you,” Lara said, seeming to sense Kate’s discomfort and giving her an out. “We just hope . . .” She trailed off and looked to Sabrina.
“What?” Kate asked warily, glancing between the two of them.
Sabrina picked up where Lara left off. “We just hope that eventually, whether it be Jack or someone you haven’t met yet, the person you end up with gives you butterflies. That it’s something more than ‘nice.’ You deserve that.”
“I do deserve that,” Kate agreed emphatically, feeling a rush of gratitude that she’d found friends like these women. She raised her glass in a toast. “Here’s to hoping that the next time it happens, it’s for someone who feels them back. Because this unrequited-love thing is absolute garbage.”
11
Thursday, April 11
“Our first double date!” Claudia said, wrapping both her arms around Kennedy’s and squeezing. “This will be so fun. Though I have to say, I totally thought it would be with Ian and Lara or Matt and Sabrina. Still, I guess Jack and Kate make a cute couple, right?”
Kennedy grunted as the taxi crawled through traffic toward the West Village Italian restaurant where they were having dinner with his brother and his assistant. Two people he never imagined being in the same orbit, much less together as a couple.
A couple he’d have to sit across the table from for the next two hours or so.
“This is us,” Claudia said, glancing out the window and leaning forward to get the cabbie’s attention. “Right side, please, at the light.”
A moment later, Kennedy opened the front door of the restaurant for her, then followed her in to a wall of noise, trying not to wince. He hated places that were packed to the gills even at six thirty on a Thursday. There was a reason he avoided the night scene in the city. He liked to be able to hear himself speak without shouting. He liked to be able to hear himself think.
“There they are!” Claudia said, lifting her hand and waving.
Kennedy followed her to the table, wondering for the hundredth time how the hell he’d gotten himself into this. Why, when Claudia had insisted that the four of them get together, he hadn’t come up with an excuse. Any excuse.
Kennedy had opted for a normal suit, since it made up about 80 percent of his wardrobe, though he regretted it when he saw Jack, who managed to look both polished and relaxed in a light-gray sweater and dark-gray slacks. Of course he did. That was Jack’s thing, managing to look both perfectly at ease and perfectly in control, no matter where he was or what he was wearing.
Kate was wearing a dress. Not as fancy as the one she’d worn to his birthday party, but this one was also pink, with a gray belt around her small waist that perfectly coordinated with Jack’s attire.
Great. They were matching outfits now.
Claudia hugged Jack, then did the same with Kate. “You’re so little,” Claudia said, bending down to the smaller woman. “I could just scoop you up and put you in my purse!”
“Do it. I think I could be quite happy in Chanel,” Kate replied with a smile.