“Shouldn’t I want to do it? Most people would be thrilled with a big money offer like this.”
“Do you need the money? What most people want doesn’t mean a hill of beans if it’s not something you truly want.”
“Money is always nice, but I would be okay without it. I can’t go crazy and run up a bunch of credit cards, but I’ll be fine. I’m just not sure I want to get back on that merry-go-round again.But then I wonder if maybe I should do it, because I’m not doing anything else.”
“What do you want to do?”
“I don’t know,” Cat replied. “I do want to do something. Being a lady of leisure isn’t my style. I want to work, and I want to have purpose in my life. If I’m not a model, then what am I?”
“Cat, the world is your oyster. The possibilities are endless. As for what and who you are, you get to decide that. And frankly, it’s far past time to figure it out. Think about what truly brings out happiness and joy. What do you see yourself doing in ten or twenty years from now? What will you be proud of at the end of your life? I know what I’m proud of. You’re one of those things, in case you didn’t know.”
“I want to make a difference,” Cat finally said. “I’m not sure how.”
“Just take it a step at a time. If you want to go back to New York and be a model, that’s fine. I’ll support you in all that you do, although I’ll miss you terribly. Having you back in my day-to-day life has been such a gift. But it also gives me a reason to visit you and do some shopping a few times a year.”
It was time for Cat to decide what she wanted to be when she grew up. She was sure of one thing, however, this time she couldn’t simply turn her back on Tate and walk away.
Whatever she decided, she wanted him to be a part of it.
Chapter
Seventeen
“I heardyou were looking for me.”
What an incredible understatement of the century.
“You could say that,” Tate replied, sliding onto a barstool next to his uncle. “I wasn’t sure if you were alive or dead.”
“I probably could have called more.”
“More? How about at all? Shit, where in the hell have you been? Seriously, we weren’t sure if you were even looking at the green side of the grass anymore. You left after Mom disappeared and fell off the planet.”
“I sent a text from Copenhagen.”
“Nine and a half years ago,” Tate reminded him. “Did you break your phone and not have AppleCare?”
“I don’t suppose you’d believe I’ve been busy and lost track of time?”
“If that’s your story, and you’re sticking to it, I guess I don’t have any other options. But I’d still think it was shitty. Mark, where in the hell have you been? A Turkish prison?”
“I heard Joel and Kim got married,” Mark said instead of answering the question. “Can I have a refill on this soda?”
His anger simmering, Tate levered up from his barstool and refilled the glass, pouring himself one while he was at it.
“You’re deflecting,” he said. “How did you know about Dad and Kim?”
This time, Mark finally smiled, chuckling a bit to himself.
“Let’s just say that I’ve kept tabs on all of you. From a safe distance, of course. But I wanted to make sure that you all had everything you needed and were happy. From what I’ve seen, all of you are doing well, although I was sad to hear about Frankie’s retirement from tennis. Is she taking it hard?”
Mark had been watching them from afar? And what dida safe distancemean?
Joel Winslow. It had to be. In Tate’s experience, his dad was always in the mix fucking up anything good.
“She’s actually doing better than I thought she would. Now talk to me about keeping a safe distance. Are we talking about Dad? We are, aren’t we? What did he threaten you with?”
Mark didn’t answer for a long minute, his gaze intent on his glass.
