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 ignored him and headed to the door.
“Hold up,” Matt said. “What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to her place to check on her.”
“That’s an HR nightmare, dude. A boss can’t go storming over to his assistant’s apartment because she’s late.”
“I’m not going as her boss,” Kennedy said. “I’m going as her friend.” He suspected they all knew that he was really going as a hell of a lot more than that.
Kennedy had been to Kate’s apartment in the Village only once, right after she’d moved in a couple of years ago and thrown a housewarming party. And even then, he’d been only on the rooftop deck.
Privately, he thought they should pay her more if the best she could do was a small studio atop a SoulCycle building, but from what he’d been able to tell, she loved the place.
And he had to admit, as he climbed the stairs to the fourth floor, it wasn’t without its charms. The hallway was tiny, there was definitely no air-conditioning, and there was a baby stroller outside one of the doors, through which he could hear baby screams. But it was clean and smelled vaguely like cookies, and almost everyone had a welcome mat.
He stopped outside door 402, and if he wasn’t so worried about her avoiding him, he might have smiled at her doormat, that said WELCOME. PRICE OF ENTRY: and then a wine bottle.
Next time. Next time, he’d bring wine. And there would be a next time. He’d make sure of it.
Kennedy lifted his hand and knocked, feeling a little nervous in a way he hadn’t since senior year when he’d asked Regina Morris to prom, even though he wasn’t entirely sure she hadn’t been interested in the far more popular Pat Delaney.
She’d said yes to Kennedy. Then spent most of the dance trying to make Pat jealous.
In hindsight, Kennedy realized it was a double win for him. He’d gotten the cute date, and he’d been right about her and Pat.
But right now, he wanted to be right about Kate. Right in thinking that they’d just barely scratched the surface of the chemistry between them.
No answer. The knot of dread that he’d been trying to ward off all morning doubled in size.
He pulled out his cell phone to call her, even as he lifted his hand to knock again—
The door opened, and Kennedy started to close his eyes in relief, only to freeze when he saw her face, red and streaked with tears.
“Kate. What’s—”
Acting on unfamiliar instinct, Kennedy stopped talking, sensing that words weren’t what she needed. He stepped into her apartment, shutting the door with one hand and reaching for her with the other. She came easily, her face pressed to his chest, her arms wrapping around his waist as she let out a sob.
His throat knotted as he slid one hand to the back of her head, the other wrapping around her, trying to absorb her shaking.
For long moments he just held her, absorbing her pain as best he could, even as he bit back demands to know what was wrong so he could fix it.
“Sorry,” she said around a hiccup. “I keep thinking I’m all out of tears, but they just keep coming.”
He bent his head lower, his lips brushing the side of her head. “What’s wrong? What can I do?”
“Nothing,” she whispered. “Just hold me a little bit longer.”
He did. He held her a lot longer, through another round of tears, until finally, all cried out, she eased back and looked up at him with heartbroken eyes. “I’ve got to go.”
He brushed a tear from her cheek. “I know better than to tell you what to do, but respectfully, you don’t seem to be in any condition to go anywhere.”
“I’m not,” she said, wiping away more tears. “But I have to get home.”
“Home? To your parents?”
Her face crumpled again, but she regained enough composure to speak through her tears. “I got a call from my sister. My dad had a heart attack.”
“Kate.” He tried to pull her in, but she resisted.
“He didn’t make it, Kennedy. My dad died this morning.”
PART TWO
19
Friday, May 10
Three-ish weeks later
“Okay, it’s decision time,” Kate said, holding up two DVD cases. “Do we go old-school with your favorite or new-school with my favorite? Because while I’ll grant you that Sleepless in Seattle gets high points for originality, the banter in You’ve Got Mail is pretty top-notch.”
Kate’s mother looked up from her reading chair, studied Kate for a moment, then slowly placed a bookmark in her novel and set it aside. She patted the ottoman. “Sweetie. Sit.”
Uh-oh. She knew that tone. Anytime her mom made Sweetie its own sentence, Kate rarely liked what followed.
Sweetie. I know you wanted a dog for Christmas, but this goldfish needed a home!
Sweetie. You could always just go to the prom with your friends.