Kat’s heart fluttered. She knew exactly where she’d go. And it wasn’t anyplace exotic. “Colorado Springs.” Her voice cracked, and in the next instant, her face crumpled. She couldn’t help it. The tears spilled over again.
Mia gaped at her. “Katlyn Jane Andrews, I have never seen you this emotional about anything.” She moved to Kat’s side of the booth and linked arms. “You, my friend, just might be in love.” She handed Kat a napkin.
Kat dabbed her eyes and choked out a laugh. “With a cyber man, unfortunately.”
“We’ve got to fix that.”
Their confused server hovered at the table with two plates. “Umm…”
Mia laughed. “You can set mine over there.” She gave Kat’s arm another squeeze then resumed her place across the booth. “Seriously. We need a plan.”
For the first time today, Kat smiled. But she shook her head. “I can’t go. I already looked into it. We need a plan for opening weekend, though.”
“He’ll be here, right?”
Kat held up crossed fingers. “He has plane tickets.” She pulled her phone from her purse to make some notes. “While we eat, you can help me with some ideas. Which restaurants should we go to? Everything has to be easy for Nana.”
Mia grinned. “I can’t wait to see how all this goes down.”
* * *
Kat sent Nick a text message to open his video chat, and a moment later, his image filled the screen on her laptop. Her heart somersaulted, and she swallowed hard. “Hi.”
“Hey–” The grin on his face quickly changed to a frown. “You okay? Another crazy day in the world of modern art?”
Obviously, she didn’t have much of a poker face. So she didn’t bother with a fake smile. “It sure was.” There was no way she could hide the disgusted edge to her voice, either.
He leaned in. “Uh-oh. What’s up?”
“I didn’t get the promotion.”
Nick’s face went blank, and he stared at her. After an eternity, he shook his head. “Oh, Kat.”
His green eyes clouded, but the warmth, the silent empathy in that deep gaze touched her soul. She sucked in a shaky breath.
“I’m sorry, babe.”
He asked all the same questions Mia did. Was indignant on her behalf.
“Did she give you any other feedback or reason?”
Kat pushed back the hair from her face. “Made it sound like timing. I’m such a great team member, my time will come. I guess this Blake guy was pretty desperate for a job right now.” Sarcasm dripped from her voice. “Can’t wait to find out the real scoop behind all this.”
“Don’t worry, the story will come out eventually. But by then, you won’t care. You’ll be on to bigger and better things.”
She attempted a smile. “Hello, Mister Optimism.”
He hitched his shoulders. “It sucks now, but you never know where a twist in the road will lead. I wish I was there.”
Kat brushed away the tears that stubbornly kept leaking out. “I wish you were, too.”
“You know I would be if I could, right? I’ve looked at my calendar every which way. I thought about finishing up these scripts at the HB offices or even a coffee shop there, but something else keeps getting in the way.”
“Nick, it’s okay.” She gave a “cut” motion with her hands. “Enough about my sad little story. How was your day?”
“Nothing more important than yours. I want you in my arms so badly.”
The emotion in his voice warmed her all over. “That’s a lovely place to be.”
