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Her friend took one look at her and rushed across the room. “What happened? Did Simon?—”
“Simon didn’t do anything.” Katrina glanced sideways at her. “He’s perfect.”
“Then why isn’t he here making you feel better? What happened?”
Katrina grimaced. “I don’t know.”
“You don’t know what happened? Do you need to see a doctor?”
“No,” she muttered. “I know what happened, I just don’t know how I got here.”
Her friend gave her a confused look and Katrina sighed.
“I got a job offer.”
Brianne’s face broke into a wide smile. “That’s amazing! Which one? Are they going to pay you what you’re worth? Please tell me it’s close.”
Her side-eyed stare was all it took for Brianne to understand everything.
“Oh.”
“Yeah,” Katrina muttered, rubbing her temples. “And now Simon is mad.”
“Of course he is.”
“You don’t have to rub it in.”
Brianne scooted closer. She folded her legs beneath her and let out a heavy breath. “I was afraid something like this might happen.”
“What are you talking about? You couldn’t have possibly?—”
Her friend gave her a flat look. “I know you. And Simon knows you, too. The problem is, I’m a realist and he’s an optimist. He probably thought all he had to do was get you to fall in love with him and then you wouldn’t want to leave. But I knew better.”
Katrina’s focus was glued to her friend. How was it that Brianne knew her better than she knew herself? Better than Simon knew her? They were close, but she hadn’t thought Brianne was capable of such clear thinking.
She sighed again, and nudged Katrina with her knee. “Look, I knew eventually you’d want to leave again. I figured it would happen, and that was one of the reasons I didn’t think Simon was a good fit. That guy was born and bred to live here and run his farm. You just want different things.”
“And you didn’t ever think there was a chance that something might change? That I could change?”
Brianne shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess I think everyone can change if they really want to. But this isn’t a character flaw or a weakness. You wanted something, so you went out to get it. You’re doing everything you can to keep it. The way I see it, we fight for the things that are most important to us.”
That didn’t make Katrina feel any better. In fact, it almost made her sound selfish. What did it say about her that she wasn’t willing to take a different job in order to maintain the relationship she had with Simon?
Another knock sounded at the door and both of them glanced up to see Simon standing there.
Katrina’s heart flipped on its side.
“Can we talk?” he murmured.
Brianne patted Katrina’s knee. “I’ll be downstairs if you need me.” She climbed off the bed and gave Simon a pointed look before she brushed past him and disappeared down the hall.
CHAPTEREIGHTEEN
Simon waiteduntil he could no longer hear Brianne’s footsteps. There was no telling what Katrina had said to her, but it was more than likely Brianne was officially Team Katrina.
She fidgeted on her bed, wringing her comforter in her hands and avoiding looking at him directly. Her eyes were red-rimmed and somewhat puffy, and her hair was disheveled.
If he didn’t know any better, he might have thought she’d had a worse night than he had.
