Victoria
I regarded the two women seated across from me. “I completely blew it out of proportion, didn’t I?”
“Yes.”
“No.”
Kate and Phyllis spoke at the same time, then traded a glance.
“I was trying to be nice.” Phyllis huffed before turning her attention back to me. “You did what you felt was right at the time, dear.”
My heart fell. “I screwed up.”
“Yes.”
“No.”
Again, the two women spoke in unison and contradicted one another. Kate shot Phyllis a quelling look before turning her gaze my way.
“I think you may have overreacted a bit.” Kate held up a hand, halting my protest. “Don’t get me wrong—it might be a little too soon to be talking about moving in together, but tell me this: were you happy with Blake?”
“Yes, but—”
“Just hear me out,” Kate cut me off. “You were happy with him. Happier than I’ve ever seen you. Right?”
She directed the last part of her question to Phyllis, who reluctantly nodded. “It’s true.”
Kate turned back to me. “So what changed your mind?”
“Well… Johnathan brought up a couple good points.” I lifted my gaze in time to see both women roll their eyes. “What?”
My gaze jumped back and forth between the two, and I sighed. “Go ahead, just tell me.”
Kate settled back in her chair, arms crossed, allowing Phyllis to take the lead. “Johnathan has been a good friend to you, Victoria, I know he has. But he’s a little, well… condescending.”
“Maybe,” I admitted, “but he is a doctor, and he’s very good at what he does. He assessed the situation pretty accurately,” I felt compelled to point out.
“Did he really?” Kate pressed. “Or did he tell you what he wants you to believe?”
“I don’t—”
“Do you see a future with Blake?”
“Maybe, but—”
“Yes or no?”
I huffed and crossed my arms over my chest. I shot a look at Phyllis, hoping for support, but she studiously avoided me. Apparently I was getting no help from that corner. I flicked an irritated glare at Kate. “Fine, yes.”
“Johnathan’s jealous,” she clarified. “He doesn’t want to be your friend—he wants to be your lover.”
Kate had a point, even if I didn’t like it.
“I think you let Johnathan sway your opinion more than you should have. If there’s anything I’ve learned from my marriage, it’s that your first instinct is always right. I think you should take some time to figure out what your heart wants—not what someone else tells you that you should feel.”
My heart felt as if it was breaking all over again, and it was all my fault. Blake had sat here with me just weeks ago, talking about Rachel and comforting me though he’d barely known me at the time. It was more heartfelt than anything Johnathan had ever done. Blake truly cared for me; I knew that. Shame settled heavily in my stomach and hot tears burned the backs of my eyes.
“Look, Vic, I’ve seen the way he looks at you. That man”—Kate pointed in the general vicinity of the lobby—“would do anything for you. Hell, he didn’t even know me, and he saved my life. Would Johnathan ever do something like that? Would he sacrifice himself for you? Johnathan has been your friend for a long time, but… sometimes the idea of a person is better than the reality.”
I turned away, unable to meet her gaze as the moisture in my eyes spilled over. I vaguely heard the door open and close as Phyllis quietly exited the room. Seconds later a weight settled onto the couch cushion next to me, and Kate pulled me into a hug.
“I… I think I could fall for him.” Another tear slipped free, and I swiped it away.
“I know.” Kate leaned back against the couch. “Don’t worry. Everything will work out, you’ll see.”
“What if he won’t take me back?”
“Of course he will.”
I searched Kate’s gaze. “But—”
She shook her head. “He loves you. And I promise he’s just waiting for you to come to your senses.”
Was she right? I’d hurt him by pushing him away. I hadn’t trusted him, hadn’t trusted myself, and he deserved better than that. I should have talked about it instead of shutting down—but maybe we could still make this work.
I wiped the remainder of my tears away and looked at Kate. “Thank you.”
She studied me for a second. “You okay?”
“I think so, yeah. I’ll try to talk to him before I leave tonight.”
“Good.”
“I’m sorry to drag you into this. You’ve got enough going on already.”
Kate waved away my apology. “I’ll always be here for you if you need me. Besides, Steve doesn’t warrant any more tears than I’ve already given him.”
I studied her for the first time since she’d shown up and dragged me back here for an intervention with Phyllis. Kate’s eyes were rimmed with red as if she’d been on a week-long crying jag. Stitches cut across her forehead, and her flesh was bruised a deep purple around the wound. Her normally put-together appearance was disheveled almost to the point of sloppiness, and I knew the impending divorce was weighing more heavily on her than she’d ever admit.
“How are you holding up? For real?”
Kate’s lips pressed together in a firm line before relaxing and letting out a soft exhalation. “You know what? I’m actually okay. I know I look like a mess”—Kate grinned, and I couldn’t help but return it—“but I’ve realized something over the last couple months. I’m not really mad at Steve. I’m not even mad at myself anymore. We shouldn’t have gotten married, but I learned an important lesson. I need to do something for me. So much of my time has been spent catering to others. I’m selling my portion of the practice.”
“But… Are you sure?” Kate loved it here. “I thought—”
She shook her head. “It was my decision. I want to do something that really matters, something that makes a difference. I’m applying to work for the VA.”
“I think that’s a fantastic idea. Tell me all about your plans.”
We spent the next hour catching up, talking about the past, about the future, and I realized how much I’d missed these moments.
“I really haven’t gotten to see much of you since…” I waved one hand in the air, not wanting to dampen the mood by mentioning Kate’s attack from two weeks prior. “It’s been so crazy recently.”
“I know.” She nodded. “I promise once all this is over, we’ll get back to our normal routine.”
“Deal.” I glanced out the window at the setting sun. “We better get out of here. I want to talk to Blake on the way out.”
“Good.” Kate straightened and hitched her purse over her shoulder. “Keep me posted, okay?”
“I will.”
With one last hug, Kate let herself out and I closed up, making sure everything was locked up tight. I made my way to the lobby, but Blake was nowhere to be found. With a sigh, I trudged to my car and slid inside, then dug my phone out of my purse.
Should I text him or wait? Taking a deep breath, I quickly tapped out a message and hit the send button before I could rethink my decision. I tossed my phone back into my bag and headed for home, heart practically beating out of my chest. I’d finally found the man I loved—I just hoped I wasn’t too late.