Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 95816 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 479(@200wpm)___ 383(@250wpm)___ 319(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95816 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 479(@200wpm)___ 383(@250wpm)___ 319(@300wpm)
“Power of suggestion,” I argued, although my words sounded feeble. “That’s what I do. I craft a campaign that makes you think you need something, want something. If she hadn’t said anything, put that idea in your head, you wouldn’t have even been looking.”
“But I was,” he replied softly. “And I saw it.” Then he stood, shaking his head. “I’m sure I’ll be seeing you soon.”
And he walked out.
I left the Hub, my steps heavy, my body suddenly feeling older than its years. Katy wasn’t in the house, and I walked to the beach, spying her sitting on the rocks. She loved the water and found the waves and movement soothing. She often sat close to it to think or reflect. The fact that she was reflecting on my past and our future didn’t sit well with me. I walked closer, pausing a few feet away. She tilted her head, shading her eyes and studying me.
“This feels like déjà vu,” she said quietly. “The day you found me on the beach at the cottage.”
“You’d run from me,” I replied. “Are you running now, Katy?”
“No, I’m thinking.”
“I suppose I don’t have to ask about what.”
“Last night, yes. But other things as well. Heather looked so happy yesterday. It was a lovely day.”
I walked over and sat across from her. “Yeah, it was. She and Reed are good together. He’ll look after her.”
“Gavin looks well. Happy.”
I sighed. “All our kids are. Even your baby, Matthew, looks just fine, despite his lack of wife or life outside the hospital. He’s content with his place right now, although you worry about him.”
She nodded. “I know. But it’s my right to worry about them. I want them all to be happy, to have—” she swallowed “—to have what we’ve had.”
“Had?” I repeated. “Our good life is in the past now?”
“No. We’ll get through this, Richard. But I’m saying I want them settled and content.” She sighed. “It’s a mother thing, I think.”
“I want that for them too. And they are. All of them. Everyone has to live their own life, Katy. Matthew is happy. When he’s ready to settle down, he will.”
She met my eyes, her blue gaze cloudy with emotion. “What about Ashley, Richard?”
I scrubbed my face. “I’ll get a DNA test done. Halton will arrange it.” I looked over the water, the breeze kicking up the waves. “Then I’ll meet with her.”
It was silent for a moment. “Reid did some digging. He found pictures of Juliet and me together.”
“Do you remember her now?” she asked quietly.
“Vaguely.” I turned to her, bravely taking her hands in mine. They were cold, and I chafed them gently. “Katy, no one registered with me for long. You know that. She was just another woman I slept with and moved on from. Ashley is under the impression that I knew her mother was pregnant and I abandoned them. But I didn’t know. I swear to God, I didn’t know.”
“I know.”
“I barely remember her, even with pictures. It was so long ago and—” I swallowed, the truth hard to admit “—she didn’t mean anything to me.”
“She was beautiful. Very glamorous,” Katy mused. “Tall and graceful. More intelligent than some of the women you dated.”
I frowned. “You remember her?”
“I spoke with her a few times. She came to the office to meet you once, and you were late. She was friendlier than most of your, ah, women.”
“I didn’t exactly date them for their personalities.”
She pursed her lips. “No, you didn’t.”
“That was the man I used to be, Katy. I’m not proud of it. But I changed.”
“What would you have done if she’d told you, Richard? Would you have cared?”
“I don’t know,” I said honestly. “The man I was back then? I don’t know. I was selfish.”
“I didn’t think so,” Katy said. She sighed and looked at the water for a moment. When she spoke again, her voice was so low, I almost didn’t catch it. It was as if she’d inadvertently spoken her thoughts out loud.
“I told her to get on with her own life. Not to waste time hoping for something that would never happen.”
Something in her tone made me frown.
“What do you mean, ‘you told her’?”
She hesitated.
“What aren’t you telling me?” I stood as a sudden thought occurred to me, and I stared at her in shock. “Jesus, Katy. Did you know? Have you known about this all these years and never told me?” I was aghast simply thinking she would have done that.
She ran a hand over her head, pushing her heavy hair back from her face. “No. Nothing concrete.”
Something akin to anger bubbled in my chest. “Nothing concrete,” I repeated slowly. “What does that mean exactly?”
“You had left for your conference, and she showed up at the office. She said she had to see you. I did my usual spiel of comforting her and assuring her it was you and not her.” Katy rolled her eyes. “I had a whole speech down pat for them.”