Reunited(6)

Brett took a seat and smiled. Though she didn’t want it to, her gaze gravitated to his full red lips, his perfect white teeth, that cute dimple on his left cheek. The heavens had wasted so much charm and good looks on this boy. If only he had a kind heart to go with it all.

“You are a fox, you know,” he said.

She rolled her eyes. “If you say so. Now, tell me what you’re working on in class.”





Chapter Three


“They seem to get along well,” Brett said, as he handed Kathryn her vanilla milkshake.

Zoe and Maya had already clamored to the tot lot. Brett carried the girls’ and his own shakes to a table. He waited for Kathryn to sit before he sat down across from her. Always the gentleman, Brett Falcone. That had surprised Kathryn when she first found out.

“So how is Michelle?” she asked, taking a sip of the thick shake.

“She’s good.”

“I’m glad to hear it.”

“We’re not together anymore.”

Kathryn swallowed quickly to avoid choking on the creamy, smooth shake. “Oh. I’m sorry.”

He nodded. “Thanks. But it’s okay. We drifted apart over the years. Our two older girls are nineteen and seventeen. We thought having Zoe would save our marriage.” He shook his head. “It didn’t.”

Kathryn didn’t know what to say, so she took another sip of shake.

“Not that I regret having Zoe. She’s been great for both of us, and for Candy and Evelyn.”

“Those are your older girls?”

“Yeah. They adore her. And Michelle has a new lease on life. We were both so young when we had Candy and Evelyn. We’re definitely better parents now, even if we aren’t together.”

“You never remarried?”

“The divorce was only final about a year ago. I haven’t really dated. Haven’t really wanted to. It’s weird when you’ve really only dated one person your whole life.”

That comment sliced into her gut. Then again, he was right. She and Brett had never actually dated. “I see.” Another sip. Her hands seemed conspicuous. What could she do with them?

“How about you? How long have you been married?”

“I’m not,” she said. “Maya’s father and I separated last year. When the divorce came through, I relocated back here.”

Was that a smile trying to escape his beautiful lips? She wasn’t sure. Wasn’t sure she wanted to know.

“What do you do, Kathryn? I always imagined you’d do something absolutely great with your life.”

“I’m a pediatrician.”

“Wow. I bet you’re fantastic at that.”

She let out a chuckle. “I try. It’s very rewarding most of the time. Heartbreaking sometimes, though.”

“I can imagine.”

“How about you? What are you doing?”

“Construction, like my dad did.”

“Did you end up going on that baseball scholarship?”

“Only for a year. I couldn’t stay in school. Michelle got pregnant, and there were other circumstances.”

“I’m sorry.” Her heart plummeted to her stomach. All she’d hoped for him had never happened. “I wish you could have finished.”

“Me, too. Believe it or not, I actually liked college, Kath. I think I have you to thank for that.”

Her skin tingled as warmth crept to her cheeks. “You don’t owe me any thanks. You were always intelligent. You just didn’t know it.”

“You told me I was and I believed it.”

“If I hadn’t told you, someone else would have.”

“You did. No one else did.”

Again, Kathryn had no idea what to say. She took a long loud sip of her shake and turned her head to watch the girls playing. They were laughing as though they’d known each other for ages. But that was the way of it with little girls. They could become best friends in an instant.

“There’s something I’ve always wondered, Kath.”

She turned to face Brett’s dark, burning gaze. “What’s that?”

“Why did you leave?”

She swallowed the lump that formed in her throat. “I had a scholarship to Stanford. You know that.”

“Yeah, I knew that. But you didn’t go to Stanford.”

“Of course I went to Stanford.”

“Not right after high school.”

Embarrassment burned up her neck, her face. How did he know? “I took a year off.”

“Why? No one knew where you’d gone. I tried to get in touch with you. Your mother wouldn’t tell anyone where you were.”

“I asked her not to.”

“Why?”

“Why did it matter? You were all set to marry Michelle.”

“I almost didn’t.”

She jolted. “What do you mean?”

“I tried for months to find you. And the night before my wedding, I went to your house. I begged your mom to tell me where you were.”

“Why would you want to find me? You’d been pseudo-engaged to Michelle throughout all of high school.”

He pulled his wallet out of his back pocket, opened it, and took out a yellowed piece of paper. He handed it to her. “I wasn’t in love with Michelle, Kath. I was in love with you.”