“I’m sure he’s heard about David,” Cassie went on. “Who hasn’t? He’s all over the papers now.”
Katy looked down at the shredded paper in her hands. Don’t remind me, Cass. I still feel bad about it.
“The girls in my psych class won’t shut up about him,” Cassie went on.
Katy looked up, her face bemused. “Really? About what?”
“You know how people can act around celebrities. David’s an attractive guy, and now he’s semi-famous, too. Girls are going to be girls.”
“Yeah, I’ve definitely seen that in action a few times now,” Katy admitted with a little grin. “But he’s so great about it. It’s nice feeling like I can totally trust him.”
“Yeah, I remember when we felt that way about Al, too.”
Katy looked over at her cousin sharply. Why would she make that comparison?
Cassie caught herself, returning a sheepish look. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to imply anything. I just meant that I never saw it coming with Al, either. He always seemed so sweet and trustworthy.”
“You didn’t know him like I did,” Katy replied, her tone slightly caustic. “He was always trying to pressure me into things or make me feel guilty. I might’ve been blinded by love, but the signs were all there from the start. I don’t get any of that from David.”
“Of course not,” Cassie said comfortingly. “And I’m sure that, even with all of these sorority-type girls fighting for his attention, he’ll prove his loyalty. Time and time again.”
Sorority-type? Fighting? Time and time again? Katy didn’t feel very comforted by Cassie’s words. Instead, she was thrust back into the bad press surrounding her breakup with Al. She could still see the headlines. Frigid Katy. Heartbroken Katy. Spurned Princess Katy. Compared to how they’d referred to Al! Playboy Alexei. Russian Lothario. Permanent Bachelor! She had felt like such a pathetic, utter fool. The press had been bad enough to practically force her into hiding. As the memories gnawed at her, Katy’s hands moved involuntarily, crumpling the torn paper, smashing it into a ball, then ripping the pieces into tinier pieces.
“David’s not interested in any of that,” Katy replied simply. But am I trying to convince Cassie . . . or myself?
“Of course, hon. David would never do that,” Cassie offered. She reached over and grabbed Katy’s hands, stopping her obsessive tearing at what was left of the letter.
Katy relaxed her fingers, noticing how damp and soft the ripped letter now felt.
“Honey, you have to let go of those bad memories,” Cassie replied in a soft, soothing tone. She squeezed Katy’s hand. “And I know it’s not easy, but you can start small. You can start now.” Cassie turned Katy’s limp hands over to expose the shredded paper. “Forget just throwing this letter away.” Her cousin’s eyes twinkled mischievously. “Let’s burn it.”
* * *
David sniffed the air as he walked in. “Did you guys burn popcorn or something?”
Cassie shot Katy a loaded glance from her spot on the couch, and Katy suppressed a laugh.
“How was your party last night?” She asked instead of answering as she closed the door behind David. It was Saturday morning, and Katy was excited for the activity she had planned. As of yet, David was none the wiser.
“Loud and distracting,” he replied. He kept his coat on, likely thinking they were about to leave again. “But I managed to get away without having to drink anything, and then I just hid in my room, barring a couple of annoying interruptions. But nothing I couldn’t handle. So are you ready?” he went on.
She’d told him that she wanted to have breakfast with him that morning, so David undoubtedly thought that they’d be leaving to go to a restaurant. But Katy had different plans for him.
“I’m ready,” she said. Then she walked toward the kitchen, cueing David to follow her.
In preparation, she had set out butter to soften, as well as an assortment of dry ingredients: sugar, cocoa powder, flour, baking powder, and salt. She also had the kitchen island stocked with mixing bowls and measuring cups.
David looked over everything with wide, intimidated eyes. Then he turned to Katy. “Guess we’re not going out,” he mused.
“I’d rather have something homecooked,” Katy replied playfully.
David grinned and took off his coat. Then, his gaze still fixed on Katy, he began to roll up his sleeves. “Prepare to be impressed, then.”
“You can start on the pancake mix,” Katy said with a smile. “The recipe book is open to the right page.”
David grabbed a large mixing bowl and the bag of flour. “Chocolate pancakes, huh? Exotic.” He winked, and Katy laughed.
“Why do people always assume that princesses are vanilla?” Katy punned.
David playfully scoffed. “If there’s anything I’ve learned in the past month, it’s that people make a lot of assumptions about princesses.”
“And the people who date them,” Katy added.
“That, too,” David confirmed, measuring out flour.
Katy retrieved the vegetables and cheese from the fridge to begin work on the breakfast tostadas. She set her gathered-up utensils and food items on the cutting board beside David and looked over at him. “Sometimes I wish we could just go back in time and keep up the disguise,” she confessed. No photographs, no asking for autographs, and no fame-hungry hangers-on coming for David.
Without missing a beat, David replied, “Not me.”
Katy looked at him intently, watching him measure out cocoa powder by the tablespoon to add to the dry mix. “Really? But then you’d still have your privacy. We could still go out on dates like normal people. And strangers wouldn’t be so concerned with your business.”
“Yeah,” David went on, still casually working on the pancakes, “that’s true. But I don’t want to pretend that you’re someone else. I want to be with you. It’s worth all the rest.” He looked up, his blue eyes coming to meet Katy’s soft, surprised, totally unprepared gaze. “Have a whisk?”
After thirty minutes of whipping, dicing, toasting, frying, and flipping (and a few minutes of kissing and laughing in between), the two of them had whipped up a massive breakfast, the undeniable highlight of which was David’s chocolate pancakes with fresh cream and berries.
He was right. I am impressed.
Katy set the breakfast spread out on the kitchen bar while David poured himself a hot cup of coffee.
“Please tell me you can’t eat all of that,” Michelle said as she walked into the room, her ordinary boundaries—or lack thereof—firmly established.
The smell must’ve wafted straight up to the rafters, because soon, Laura, Cassie, Nancy, and even Amelia—the redheaded girl who was the most introverted of all of the housemates—had wandered in.
“Help yourselves,” Katy said brightly as the girls crowded around.
Cassie walked up to Katy, glancing over her shoulder at David as he stirred a splash of milk into his coffee. “He can cook, too?”
Katy looked over at David as well, her eyes tracing over his strong arms and broad shoulders. He looked especially big and tall while delicately balancing one of Cassie’s tiny pink mugs. She grinned helplessly before she replied.
“What can’t he do?”
10
David
“Come on, come on, come on,” David said aloud to no one but himself. The browser was loading so slowly that it felt like it was causing him physical pain.
He had no idea when the email with news about the internship selection would come. But the deadline for entries had finally passed, so a decision must be imminent. And he desperately wanted to know if he had nabbed the coveted spot.
When the browser finally loaded, and his email finally popped up, he scanned his inbox and saw not one word. David sighed, his shoulders slumping with disappointment. No news on the internship front. All he had was a couple of spam emails, an online portal reminder about an upcoming exam, and . . .
David’s eyes widened, and he le
aned toward his laptop screen. He recognized that email address.
David clicked the message.
“Hey, stranger. Saw your face on a magazine and just had to reach out. You look as handsome as ever. Any plans to visit Paris?”
It was Yvette.
David stared at the email with a strange mix of confusion and disbelief. It had been more than a year since he’d heard from his ex, if you could even call her that—if you could even call what they did dating.
Even so, back then David had thought the world of her. He’d learned French for her. He’d told her all of his secrets, his fears, his dreams. He’d learned how to pleasure a woman under her tutelage. And yet she had cast him aside, just like that.
Being reminded of her still hurt, truth be told. David couldn’t help that. But it didn’t hurt as much as it used to. Because David was a totally different person now. Having his heart broken had changed him for the better; it made him more empathic and less naïve.
And most importantly, losing Yvette was such a tiny, infinitesimal price to pay for meeting Katy. Katy was so different, so full of light and joy, so comforting, easygoing, nonjudgmental. And while David had always felt judged and immature around Yvette—trying to will himself to be the man she wanted him to be—he could fully be himself around Katy. She accepted him just as he was, and she always had.
No way would he jeopardize that, not for all the lost love in the world. David deleted the email. It was an easy decision.
He checked his phone and saw that Katy had texted. He smiled at how different it felt to hear from someone who actually cared about him and made him feel good about himself. It was like night and day.
“Seen enough of me yet? If not, let’s take a walk. I need to burn off the pancakes.”
David chuckled to himself. “As if I could ever get enough of you,” he replied. “Let’s meet in the Yard.”
David stood, pocketed his phone, and walked out of the room.
This new style of dates—out in green spaces or in the privacy of their shared houses—appealed to David. For one, because he didn’t have to feel weird about Katy footing a bill. And two, because he could be alone with her.
After a brief walk, David spotted Katy approaching the Yard from her campus street. He waved and then jogged toward her, stealing a kiss when he got close enough.
“Hey, beautiful,” he said, reaching down to capture Katy’s hand for the rest of their walk.
“You’re in a good mood,” Katy mused as her slim fingers intertwined with his. They headed into the grassy Harvard Yard together. The elms and oaks were still bare for the winter, but David knew that soon they’d debut their spring buds.
“Why shouldn’t I be? I had an amazing breakfast, I finished my readings for Monday’s classes already, and now I get to see my favorite princess.”
“Isn’t that treason?” Katy joked. “The United Kingdom has princesses. I think as a Brit you’re bound to them.”
“Eh, I tried already. None of them would have me.”
Katy grinned and playfully shoved David. He bounced back to press against her again as they walked.
“I’m glad you’re in a good mood,” Katy went on. “But I think you’re about to be in an even better one.”
David cocked his head. “Oh?” he asked flirtatiously. I could think of a few things we could do to put me in an even better mood.
“Mia asked us to call.”
David stopped walking. “Mia?” he echoed dumbly.
Katy nodded, waiting beside him, her eyes cautiously optimistic, gauging his reaction. “Said she had some good news.”
David’s pulse was roaring in his ears. Mia Cantor. The Spanish private investigator. And she has good news. There was only one person she could be calling about.
Jeanine.
David tried to steady himself on his feet, worried that he would fall over.
Katy stopped looking quite so bright and began to look concerned. “Are you ready for this?”
David nodded. His heart had begun to drum wildly, beating out a chaotic rhythm in his chest. “I’m ready,” he lied.
How could anyone ever be ready to find out about their missing mother for the first time?
Katy grabbed David’s hand and led him to a wooden bench nearby. She sat and pulled him down beside her, linking one hand with his. Then she pulled out her phone.
“If you want, you can talk to her first,” she offered. “I just wanted to be here with you.”
David shook his head. “No, I want you to find out with me. I couldn’t have done this without you anyway.” His voice felt like it was shaking with nerves. Keep it together!
Katy smiled her appreciation and began to dial. Before she hit call she looked around to make sure that they were alone, then put the phone on speaker.
With every ring, David’s heart inched farther up his throat. He couldn’t recall feeling so nervous in his entire life. This is it. This is what you’ve been waiting for, since the moment you found out you were adopted. David took a deep, shuddering breath.
“Hola, Princess,” Mia’s melodic voice rang out. “Is Señor Rosen with you?”
“Hi, Mia. Yes, he’s right here.”
“Hola, Señor.”
“Hi,” David said, though a part of him wanted to squawk, Enough with the small talk!
Luckily, Mia seemed to be on the same page. “I should start by saying that I haven’t found a method of contact for you yet, but I do have a location. And a name.”
David glanced at Katy in confusion. No method of contact? Slightly disappointing. Getting a location was a good start. But why mention the name? David already had his mother’s name.
“His name is Marcos Moreno,” Mia said.
David’s head spun. Mia wasn’t calling about his mother at all. She was calling about his father.
Before he had time to process any further, Mia went on.
“Brazilian. I found a marriage certificate joining Marcos and Jeanine Schwartz, but I struggled to find a permanent address. I’ve struggled to find much of anything yet, really. But with the combination of the marriage record and your ancestry report, I’m almost certain that I’ve found your father.”
Mia went silent, obviously awaiting a response. But David could barely think. He could barely breathe. How was he supposed to respond?
Katy seemed to recognize his dilemma. “Thank you so much, Mia. Do you have any other information at the moment?”
“No, I’m afraid not. But this case is my highest priority, and right now I’m working with a friend who is stationed in Brazil. Together, we should find more soon.”
“And Jeanine?” David managed.
“A dead end, I’m afraid. I think our best option for finding Jeanine is to find your father and interview him. Otherwise, I don’t have a lead to start with.”
David nodded, though he knew Mia couldn’t see him. But his body was practically acting on its own, as his mind had wandered far away.
“Thank you again, Mia. We look forward to speaking with you again,” Katy finished.
“Buenas noches, Princess. Señor.”
And then the line went dead, leaving David adrift in sudden, thunderous silence. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see that Katy was looking softly at him, still awaiting a response. David stared straight ahead as Mia’s words echoed around in his head.
Marcos Moreno. My father.
“David?” Katy asked. She squeezed his hand, and he realized that, subconsciously, he’d been clutching her fingers with a death grip the whole time. “How are you feeling?”
David swallowed hard, relaxing his fingers a little, wanting to be sure he wasn’t hurting her. Katy didn’t seem to mind.
“I’m not sure,” he answered. So many emotions were swirling through his head. In a way, he was disappointed. It was his mother whom he’d been trying to find out more about, and it seemed like the prospect of finding her was still unknown. In another way, he felt guilty. Why had he focused so
completely on his mother and completely ignored his father’s existence for so long? He felt foolish, too, for having the ancestry report right in front of him and not immediately starting his search for his Brazilian heritage.
But he was also excited. Nervous. Confused. Glad. Hopeful. David’s biological father was Marcos Moreno, a Brazilian. It explained David’s skin tone, perhaps his angular jaw and his height, too.
Who was Marcos Moreno? And how much did David resemble him, physically and otherwise?
All of that ran through his head in a moment, then jumbled itself up again. He couldn’t describe these things to Katy . . . not yet. Instead, he looked at her and told her something that he knew for sure.
“Thank you, Katy. This is all because of you. I couldn’t have done this without you.”
David felt a deep, immense passion welling within him, pricking at the corners of his eyes and threatening to pour out of him. He couldn’t recall the last time that he had felt so full of emotion, so alive with feeling.
And it was because of Katy.
She sat there next to him, looking away and shrugging, as if to say that it wasn’t a big deal, even though he could see her cheeks were flushed and her lips curled slightly. But it was a big deal to him.
“Katy,” David said. Katy’s gaze returned to his. David knew what he was about to say. He had known it was coming for some time now. And maybe it had been there, beneath the surface, just waiting to come out, almost as soon as he met her. Regardless, he knew it now. And he didn’t want to wait any longer to tell her.
“I love you.”
Katy’s mouth dropped open slightly as she stared into David’s eyes. Her face softened, her beautiful gray eyes nearly shimmering.
Several feet away, a fat squirrel was chittering at the base of an oak. Across the yard, a group of women were playing hacky sack. But even then, David felt like it was just him and Katy there, like the whole world had been reduced to two.
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