“Have you ever seen him in a tuxedo?” A light danced in Nana’s eyes.
And Kat rolled hers. “No, never have.”
“Would you like a picture?”
“You took his picture?”
“Took a few of the whole line-up. They aren’t very good because the lights were dim, but I think you’ll get the idea.”
Kat couldn’t help laughing. “Nana, you’re incorrigible.” She fumbled with the phone a moment to receive the photo without dropping the call. Then her heart bounced. She zoomed in on the primary subject. He looked amazing. That smile…
“He seems like a nice young man,” Nana said softly. “Is it definitely over?”
Her gaze slipped past Nana. How to answer that? “I don’t know. We had some good times. In some ways, I miss him, but then I look at all the issues and differences, the long distance, and I think it just isn’t meant to be.”
“I understand he’ll be spending more time in New York City.”
Kat’s eyes snapped back to the screen. “What do you mean?”
“When they introduced him last night, the announcer said he’d signed a contract with HBTV. You thought he’d become a celebrity, and it sounds as if that’s happening.”
Mixed feelings churned inside Kat. Wow. Nick’s career was taking off while hers stalled. She could be happy for him…shewashappy for him. But it felt as if a knife was twisting inside—she should be celebrating with him.
ChapterTwenty-Six
“Hey, Kat!”
Kat whirled on the sidewalk in front of Sunrise Arts where she’d been walking the neighborhood checking out several galleries. She shaded her eyes and was surprised to see Matt Jones from Loft Images waving at her. He’d always been decent to her regardless of what his boss had done, so she pasted on a smile and took a few steps toward him.
“Hey, Matt.”
“This is funny, cuz I’ve been thinking about you.”
Kat frowned. “Really? What’s up?”
“New job.” He jerked a thumb toward the building behind him. “I’m working here now.” With a shake of his head, he crossed his arms. “After your friend confronted Pete and confirmed what I suspected, I got out of there.”
Her friend confronted Pete?What was that supposed to mean? Had Mia done something? Kat narrowed her gaze. “I’m glad you got out, but I don’t know what you’re talking about. What friend?”
Matt’s eyes widened, and he let out a chuckle. “You don’t know? Man, it was great. The guy really had Pete going. Said he wanted a bunch of stuff for a new place in Scarborough.”
Kat’s mouth dropped open, her heart pounding.Nick?Bits of a previous conversation with Nick ran through her head. Surely, he didn’t…
“Guess he didn’t tell you. Sorry. Didn’t know it was a secret. Anyway, he told Pete he knew everything, and that he better not ever say anything against you. You should’ve seen Pete’s face. It was epic.”
“Um, wow. No, I…I didn’t know he’d done that.” Kat’s thoughts and words stumbled over each other. She’d need some time to debrief over this one. The other part of Matt’s comments also had her thoughts turning. Maybe an in with a new gallery?
She shook her head to help clear it. “So you know the owner of Sunrise?”
“Sure. Jessica’s great. I can introduce you sometime. She’s out to lunch now.”
A woman-owned gallery. That sounded good already. “Thanks, that’d be great.” But a follow-up visit would have to wait until Kat returned from Denver. She was taking a chunk of vacation time to explore manufacturing and sourcing leads she’d get from the art museum purchasing folks.
Kat said goodbye to Matt then plopped into a seat at the nearest outdoor cafe. The noise and hustle, the fast pace of the city that she used to love, annoyed her now. She needed to think. Kat toyed with the menu on the table. Her feelings for the city had changed so much. Nothing felt right anymore.
She ordered an iced chai and a brownie from the server who interrupted her thoughts. When the items arrived, she thanked the woman and took a long sip of the tea. Maybe a little caffeine would help. What in the world did Nick say to Pete? First her mom and now Pete. Why would he bother at this point? What if she’d never found out? It was just chance that she’d run into Matt today.
She swallowed hard. More importantly, would there be any consequences from Nick’s interference? Was Pete angry? Could he cause trouble? Matt had called the scene between Nick and Peteepic. Kat blew out a chuckle, imagining the encounter. Oh, man. The testosterone must’ve been at epic levels.
