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Katie was a gorgeous woman, who had no difficulty attracting men. Sure, once I counted myself among those men, but it never felt as deep as I thought it should. Our relationship remained surface level at best. At the core of it, Katie cared about appearances and herself more than she cared about anything or anybody else.
And that just wasn’t enough for me.
“Next,” the bespectacled barista called. I stepped up to the counter, Katie hot on my heels.
“I’ll buy his drink,” she said, winking at the young man behind the counter who turned beet red at the attention.
“Your usual, miss?” he asked Katie enthusiastically.
“Yes, please, darling.” She winked at him as she handed over her credit card.
“Thank you,” I said begrudgingly, moving towards the counter where the drinks were served.
With any luck my Americano would be done well before Katie’s fancy skinny latte with sugar free vanilla she liked to order.
“How’s the gala planning going?” Katie asked, a glint in her eye. As one of the major sponsors of the gala, and through her connections in town, Katie tended to know everything happening in Haver’s Creek.
“Ahh, I see what’s going on here.” She’d found out that I was working with Whitney.
Katie’s eyes widened innocently. Bambi had nothing on her. “What do you mean?”
I didn’t have time for bullshit. Especially if I didn’t want to miss touring the brewery with Whitney.
“Yes, I’m on the gala planning committee this year, and yes, I am working with Whitney Rose.”
Katie peppered me with questions over the years about the photos in my office of me and Whitney. While Katie pretended that Whitney didn’t exist back in high school, she certainly became more interested in her in the years since.
Leaning against the counter Katie asked, “And how’s that going? Your little blast from the past?”
“Medium Americano at the bar,” a voice called out.
“That’s me. Thanks for the drink, Katie.” I saluted her with the cup before turning away.
“I’m helping her buy a house, you know,” she called after me.
That stopped me in my tracks. That explained why I saw them sitting together in this very coffee shop. I was too distracted by Whitney’s presence and wanting to stay away from Katie to bother putting two and two together.
Whitney mentioned wanting to buy a house. It made me uneasy thinking about them spending time together.
Some cop I was.
I didn’t acknowledge Katie any further as I made my way out of the shop.
Turning up the radio in my car, I tried to stop thinking about what Katie could have possibly told Whitney while they were together.
I wondered if they had a chance to visit any homes yet. It drove me crazy to think that Whitney thought she needed to buy a house in Haver’s Creek. Between me and her sister, she’d always have a safe place to stay.
Fifteen minutes later I pulled into the brewery’s parking lot, right beside Whitney’s rental car. Empty.
I immediately found her waiting inside near the hostess stand.
“Hey there, Sprinkles. Something you forgot to tell me?”
Whitney groaned as she turned around to find me standing there, hands in my pockets. “How did you find me?”
“I have my sources.” I smiled at her before closing the short distance between us to kiss her on the cheek in greeting. We’d never done that as teens, but as adults it seemed like the friendly kind of hello I wanted to start giving my friends. Whitney stiffened under my touch, sucking in a breath. “So, where do we start?”
“Well, since you are here, I guess it couldn’t hurt to get a second opinion.” She looked me up and down, once again taking in the uniform. “Are you always wearing that thing?”
