Girl Gone Viral (Modern Love #2)(85)

He puffed out his cheeks. “If you say so.”

“I do.” She moved closer to him. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

Her grimace was deep. “For making everything about me again.”

He snorted. “Last night, everything was about me.”

“So we’re trading?”

Trading sounded good. It sounded awfully close to sharing. He wrapped his arms around her.

She rested her head on his chest. Around the corner, the hay bales were still piled high. “I’ll be sad to leave this place. Us being alone together.”

“You hate me being around you when you’re working.”

“It’s because you make noises.” She pressed a kiss on his chin to soften the blow.

“How much time will you need to pack?”

“Not long, but I have to write my statement, talk to my lawyer, put some things into motion on the publicity side.”

Another few hours with her, alone? Yes. “Right. Let’s do it.”

“Actually, never mind. You’d have to drive late into the night if we did that.” She worried her fingers. “Times like this, I wish I felt confident enough to drive. But . . .”

But she didn’t want to risk a panic attack at the wheel, and neither did he. “I’ll drive you all night. Don’t worry.”

If anything, that brought more worry to her expression. “Are you only saying that—”

“Katrina.” He shook his head, trying not to let his exasperation creep through. “I am a grown man. Trust that when I say I’m fine with something, I’m fine with it.”

She nodded, and he bent down to kiss her nose. “Let’s clean up and we can take the leftover food to the big house and say goodbye.”

“Don’t forget the hay.”

“I could never.”





Chapter Twenty-Six


“GOD, I’M EXHAUSTED.” Rhiannon lay on her back, her sweatpants and hoodie travel-worn and stained. She’d rolled off her international flight two hours prior. Gerald had picked her up.

“You and me both, sister.” Jia slumped on the couch, her head resting in her hand. In deference to Jas’s presence in the room, she wore a simple scarf over her hair.

Katrina shifted from her position on the other side of the couch and stroked Zeus, who was curled up into a tight ball in her lap. Doodle had easily gone off with Gerald to explore her new home, but Zeus had been clingy since they’d gotten home. Understandable. Anyone who said cats didn’t feel affection for their owners had never had a sweet little cat like Zeus.

She glanced at Jas. He should have been the most tired, having stayed up late to drive them down, but no one would have known it after his quick shower and change of clothes. His shirt collar was crisp, his eyes alert but unreadable. He leaned against the wall next to the door, his sharp gaze on the television. The energy in the room was expectant and tense.

“Does anyone want any breakfast? Coffee?” Katrina asked. It was early still, barely eight.

Rhiannon yawned. “Nah. You said she’ll be on soon, right?”

“Yes.” This had been the only time slot Good Morning Live had been willing to give, but it was a good one. Late enough to catch the parents whose kids had headed off to school, early enough so people might see it before they left for work. Media spurred media, too, so she was sure clips of this would shortly be aired by other outlets and on social media.

She drummed her fingers on her knee until Zeus batted at them. She was nervous about this part of her plan, more so than the errand she had to run after this.

One thing at a time.

Jia stirred. “I think this was a smart move. I’m sure whatever statement you gave to Mona was wonderful and from the heart.”

Jia’s confidence soothed Katrina’s doubts and second-guessing. “I hope so.”

“Smart, picking Mona to read your statement,” Rhiannon remarked. “She’s far removed from you, and clearly trustworthy, or she would have given you up long ago.”

Katrina nodded, feeling a rush of affection for the older café owner. It was true—Mona could have revealed a lot about Katrina, and she’d kept mum. So had the other owners of the mom-and-pops Katrina frequented in the area. She had multiple little teams in her corner.

Jia straightened. “Unmute. It’s on.”

Knots in her belly, Katrina hit the mute button and reached into her pocket to clutch her rock tightly. With her other hand, she continued smoothing Zeus’s fur. Double the coping behaviors.

The perky newscaster, the same one who had interviewed Becca, came on the screen. “We have a new development in the CafeBae story we brought you earlier in the week. For those who don’t know, this was the meet-cute heard around the world.” He paused. “Or was it? A growing backlash has started on social media against the original poster of this possible rom-com in the making, with some saying that this was a gross invasion of privacy.”

It was a bit rich for users on the same platforms that had helped invade her privacy to now wonder over whether that should be okay, but such was life.

“Please welcome Mona Rodriguez, the owner of French Coast, the café where CafeBae started.”

The split screen showed Mona, standing behind her counter, beaming. Katrina had told her to make sure she wore branded gear. If nothing else, the woman should get free advertising out of this. Mona had informed her traffic had already gone up significantly in the last week. “Hello.” Mona waved at the camera, and then cleared her throat. “I have a prepared statement from the young woman in this clusterf—ah, the woman who was unfairly targeted during this phenomenon.”