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It’s been months since I’ve mentioned him to her or Olivia and just as long since I deleted the last picture I had of him on my phone. It was our engagement photo and when I showed it to Tilly soon after we met, I could see pity in her eyes.
“Don’t waste your time.” I start toward my kitchen. “The past has no place in the present.”
“Let me guess.” Tilly jumps to her feet to follow me. “Your mom said that to you.”
“I came up with that jewel myself.”
“Here’s a jewel of my own.” Tilly steps in place next to me at my sink. “Your past is part of your present and he knows where you work.”
I turn to look at her. “You think Gage is going to come back to the boutique?”
“I guarantee it.” She rinses her plate under the tap water. “Tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?” I take the plate from her and put it in the dishwasher.
“Mark my words.” She leans her hip against the counter. “Today he realized what he lost. He’ll do everything he can to find your heart again.”
I look down at my chest. “My heart is smarter than that.”
“Your head is.” She taps my forehead with her finger. “Hearts are another matter and from what you’ve told me, Gage Burke still owns a piece of yours.”
“He doesn’t.” I laugh off her words.
“You can lie to me if you want, Kate.” She smiles. “You can’t lie to your heart.”
She’s right.
Gage still owns a piece of my heart, but the time has come for me to take it back, once and for all.
Chapter 6
Gage
I rest one foot on the bench and stare out over the East River.
This is the reward for my daily pre-dawn pilgrimage since I moved to Manhattan.
The sunrise from this spot is fucking amazing even when low fog blankets the city as it is now.
Some days, I make the trek on foot, like I did today. Other mornings, I bike here to enjoy the peace that this spot offers before the city wakes and grinds up to full speed.
New York City is as far from the serenity of open water as a man can get, but I’m learning its charm is unique.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”
I turn at the sound of a familiar voice behind me.
“Gus,” I flash him a smile. “You made it today.”
Gray-haired Gus was sitting on this bench the first day I wandered down here. He didn’t offer a last name. I didn’t ask.
All I know about him is that he’s a native New Yorker with a tarnished band on his ring finger and a thousand stories about the woman he loved.
“Lois favored days like this.” He waves his wooden cane in the air. “Fog is for the fearless she’d tell me.”
Lois, his late wife, was fearless, just as Katie is.
I tossed and turned the night away thinking about her.
