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DREW
"You really could have beena lot nicer to Kate," I said once I'd waved goodbye to her and shut the door to the garage.
"Oh, come on." Gwen rolled her eyes. "I was just giving her my order. I shouldn't be expected to be her best friend all of a sudden. She's our handler, for goodness’ sake."
"She's also my friend.” I took in a slow breath to calm my frustration. “And besides, you shouldn't treat anyone like that anyway."
I knew Gwen had grown up very privileged coming from a wealthy family, unlike me, but how could she treat someone like that?
"Just your friend? Are you sure that's the only reason you got her that job?" She narrowed her eyes and looked me over, as if she could see what was really inside my mind with some sort of X-ray vision.
"Of course we're just friends,” I said. “Believe it or not, but I'm not the kind of guy to go after my best friend's married sister. Especially when I already have a girlfriend."
"Married? She didn't look married," Gwen spat.
I pinched the bridge of my nose, willing the headache this conversation was causing to stay at bay. I looked at Gwen, in what I hoped seemed a calm and serene manner. "She's married. I saw the wedding announcement with my own two eyes. Didn't you notice the huge diamond on her finger?"
Gwen crossed her arms. "I'm not in the habit of looking for women's rings to gauge whether they're available or not."
I stepped closer and set my arms on Gwen's shoulders. "The only girl I'm interested in dating right now is standing in front of me."
And it took a moment, but eventually Gwen's anger seemed to melt and she folded herself into my arms, going soft. "I'm sorry I overreacted so much," she sobbed. "It's just so hard being away from you so much. And when I saw how pretty Kate was, I couldn't help but get jealous."
I pulled back and took Gwen's face in my hands. "Don't be jealous. There’s absolutely nothing going on between Kate and me. Let's just enjoy this time we have together and forget about everything else for the weekend. Okay?"
She nodded, and I gave her a kiss on the forehead.
I may have noticed how beautiful Kate still was, and been just as attracted to her enigmatic personality as I’d always been.
But there was no sense in pining for a woman who’d promised herself to another man.
And even though I’d let my mind wander to the what-if’s a few times over the past weeks, it didn’t make me any less committed to making things work with Gwen.
Because even if she wasn’t perfect, she was still a good fit for me. And dwelling on the past would never get me where I needed to be in my future.
Kate droppedoff dinner twenty minutes later. Gwen greeted her much more kindly, if not totally sincerely, and when she walked back to the living room with her food, I saw a chance to apologize to Kate for my girlfriend’s attitude earlier.
When we were alone in the kitchen, Kate spoke in a hushed tone. "I left a pizza in the garage for you."
And I couldn’t keep a grin from stretching across my cheeks. "You're the best." I pulled her into a side hug.
"I figured you deserved your pizza after the hectic week you've had.” She shrugged as if it was nothing. “Nothing says good job like a pizza."
"Might it be pepperoni and tomato?"
Kate grinned proudly. "Of course!"
I felt light at the thought of her remembering that tiny detail about me all these years later.
I checked behind me to make sure Gwen was still in the living room.
She was.
So I leaned closer and whispered, "I'm sorry about Gwen. She's always a little touchy when we haven't been together for a while."
"It's okay.” Kate nodded. “Just don't let her know about the pizza thing. I'd rather not have her snitching to Alexis that I'm trying to ruin those abs of steel." She poked me in the stomach playfully, and then pinched my sides where she knew I was ticklish.
"You really are the worst.” I gripped her hands to stop her.
