“What can I help you with, Matt?” she asked, skirting his question about the party.
“Just one thing, Katie, for the story we’re doing on Miss Lavigne’s book. I did my research and some of the information that’s been published isn’t accurate.”
That got Kate’s attention. What on earth could he be talking about? “What do you mean?”
“Well, for one, Nick isn’t married. A friend of mine at the Los Angeles bureau said it was kept pretty hush-hush, but I guess the fiancé lied about being pregnant and he dumped her at the altar.”
Kate gripped her phone tighter and steadied herself at her desk.
Not married? How was that possible? She would have known, wouldn’t she?
When Kate didn’t respond, Matt continued, “So, the reports of a married guy fighting over an ex-fiancé aren’t accurate, and I just wanted to let you know before we publish this story.”
Kate couldn’t speak. Her hand was shaking. How was this possible?
“Th-Thank you, Matt, I appreciate that,” she finally managed. Her voice shook.
“So, is there anything else you want to add to this story, about the fight or any update on Affleck’s team considering this?”
“No. No bid has been made on the rights yet. Thanks for calling.” Kate set her phone down and tried to steady her hands. Not married. Nick was not married. But how could that be? He certainly would have said something to her at the party, wouldn’t he? She’d asked him about the wedding and the baby, and he said nothing.
Fifteen minutes after her text, Vivienne arrived at Kate’s office with a huge bouquet of roses.
“For you,” she smiled and handed them to her. “I wanted to deliver them myself to tell you how grateful I am for everything.”
Kate blinked. She’d totally lost track of the fact that Vivienne was coming by. Something gripped Kate’s heart, and her throat felt thick. Her heart was overwhelmed with a dozen unchecked emotions. Dear, sweet Vivienne who had initially been dead set on hating her.
Kate stood up and took the flowers. “I’m blown away,” she smiled.
“Authors don’t get you flowers?”
Kate laughed, “No, not generally.” Then she looked up. “Vivienne, I need to ask you something.”
Vivienne nodded, “Sure, what’s up?”
“I just got a call from a reporter from People Magazine fact checking a story about your book.” Kate didn’t wait for her to respond, “Well, he said that your brother isn’t married and there is no baby.”
Vivienne blinked and remained silent.
Kate leaned forward on her desk. “Vivienne, is that true?”
“Kate, I’m so sorry.” Vivienne licked her lips and debated her words. Yes, she was faithful to her brother, but this was getting ridiculous. “You’ve done an incredible thing for me, Kate, and I’m sorry. I’m sorry for being kind of a bitch to you in the beginning.”
Kate blinked, “You had every right.”
Vivienne shook her head. “No, I didn’t. I judged you based on what I thought had happened, but I was wrong because it takes two to make or break something. Frankly, I don’t understand why Nick let you go.”
Kate blinked, “Vivienne, I…”
Vivienne held up her hand, “The reporter was right. Nick isn’t married. Stephanie lied about being pregnant and he found out on their wedding day. He’s pretty devastated and bitter. I mean, he didn’t love her, but he felt duty-bound to marry her and she knew he would.”
Kate took an unsteady step backward. It was true.
“W-why didn’t he say anything?”
Vivienne flung her hands up. “Who knows? He’s stubborn, humiliated, pissed. Maybe he doesn’t see the point of telling you. He doesn’t think that you and Mac are really over. I really have no idea, but it’s stupid. He’ll probably kill me for telling you this. I know on his supposed wedding day that he wished it was you up there next to him at the altar, and that the wedding actually happened. Kate, I know he still loves you, and I’m pretty sure you still love him too.”
Kate stood up, suddenly and completely certain of what to do next. “Vivienne, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go see your brother.”
Vivienne only smiled.
CHAPTER 130
On the day of Nick’s almost wedding, Grace had asked Kate about if she had another chance—if Nick had stayed in Mexico and not left, what would she have done.
“I would have never let him go. I would stand and fight as long as I needed to.”
Now here she was, presented with another chance.
Kate raced back to her apartment. When she got there, she called Grace. She was out of breath. “He’s not married,” she blurted out after Grace picked up.
“How do you know?”
“I’ll tell you later. I just wanted to let you know I have to go.”
“You’re going to California?”
“Yes.”
“Go get him, Kate. I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
. . . .
Kate packed in record time, and when she was in the cab she called Annabelle. In a curt, clipped voice that told the publicist she was on a short leash, she said, “I have to go out of town, but Vivienne has one more signing the day after tomorrow. I need you to be there and make sure it goes flawlessly.”
“Yes, Kate. I will do my best.”
“No, Annabelle, you won’t do your best. You will do better than your best. So far, I haven’t been impressed with your work; you need to step up your game or I’m going to have to let you go.”
Kate’s next call was to Ruth Ann, who she was supposed to see day after tomorrow.
“Jennifer, can I speak with Ruth Ann if she’s there, please?”
A moment later, Jennifer was connecting her.
“Ruth Ann Wilson.”
“Ruth Ann,” Kate began as the cab bounced along. She was finally getting used to calling her Ruth Ann. “I need to cancel our appointment tomorrow.”
“Is something wrong, Kate?”
Kate smiled into the phone, “No, in fact everything is right. Nick isn’t married. It never happened.”
“And you’re flying out there?”
“Yes, and I’m not leaving until I get him back.”
“That’s my girl. Good luck, Kate. Let me know how it goes.”
CHAPTER 131
Kate knew the route to Nick’s house as if she’d just been there yesterday. She wound through the streets of San Marino and smiled. It was like coming home. She hadn’t realized how much she’d missed it.
There was a chance that Nick wasn’t home. It was Sunday, and he could be checking his stores or just out to brunch with friends. But since he’d just gotten home the day before, there was a good chance he was working in his home office.
Kate had hopped a red-eye, the only flight she could get on such short notice. By the time she landed, got her rental and got on the road. It was nine a.m. west coast time.
Her heart kicked in her chest as she turned onto Nick’s street. She had written down some notes on the flight over, because she wanted to make sure she said everything she came to say. But now the words were just a tangled mess in her head. Suddenly, she felt ridiculously nervous. She stopped the car in front of his house. Her hands were shaking slightly. This was it, the moment that could change her life.
No, it would change her life. She sat for a moment in the car. There was no turning back now. Kate remembered the last time she’d left this house, in tears after breaking Nick’s heart. Something crashed into her, the emotion of loss and all the lost time they could never get back.
Kate stepped out of the car and straightened her shirt as best she could. She’d flown all night in it and was so nervous she’d forgotten to change. Thank God she’d brushed her teeth. You know, just in case.
She knocked on the front door.
Nothing happened.
She knocked again.
Still nothing. Nick’s Jeep was there, so unless
he was on a run, he was definitely home. She knew he would not be asleep, not early-riser Nick. Kate walked around the house to the backyard and there he was, working in the yard. When she swung the gate opened, he looked up and almost dropped the tool he was holding.
Nick just stood there, staring at her. At first he wasn’t sure what he was seeing, then when he realized it was really Kate, his heart lurched so hard he staggered a little.
“Hi, Nick.” Kate smiled as she walked towards him.
“What are you doing here?” His mouth was in a hard line.
Kate shoved her hands in her pockets. “I know the truth about your wedding and the baby. Nick, I’m so sorry.”
Nick turned away. God the humiliation still hurt.
“It’s fine. Better this way than to marry her and find out or have her lie about a miscarriage.” The thought seared through him.
“Nick, I’m here to tell you everything is not fine. Why did you lie to me? I mean, why did you let me believe you were married when you weren’t? I am so sorry this happened to you, but I’m so mad, too. I mean, haven’t we both spent enough time in grief, hurting, and alone? I would have been there for you, Nick, no matter what.” Kate licked her lips. All the brilliant things she’d written down on the plane vanished from her head. She had it so perfectly written, too.
She walked closer to him until they were just a few feet apart.
Then she said, “Sometimes heartbreak shakes you awake and helps you see that you are worth more than what you were settling for.”
Nick didn’t move. Kate continued, “I told you in Mexico how I felt; now I want to tell you again. I love you and it’s taken me a damned long time to figure it out. I love you more than I have ever loved another person in my life. You can believe it or not, and you may think that I’m going back with Mac, but I won’t, I can’t. I can’t settle, not again.”
Kate fell silent; she stepped closer to Nick, who looked away. Then he turned back to her, holding her gaze.
“Is that what you flew out for?”
Kate nodded, “Yes, and to say that we can take this at whatever pace you want, but I want to spend my life with you.”
“I see.” Nick’s voice was measured. Kate reached out a hand but he didn’t reach back.
“Kate, I think, I don’t know. So much time has passed. So much has happened. I feel like, I don’t know, that our chance has passed, and maybe we should just remain friends.”
He didn’t believe that, even as he said it he knew it was a load of crap.
“Nick, when we were in Mexico, the way you made love to me didn’t feel like our time had passed. It felt like it was starting over again.”
Nick turned and then shrugged, “I don’t know, Kate, maybe it was just being in Mexico or being drunk.”
Kate crossed her arms, “Nice try, but neither of us had anything to drink.”
“Listen, I know you’re scared. I know you’re hurt, but I’m here.” She walked even closer to him and took his hand. “I’m here, Nick, and I’m not going anywhere.”
Nick looked at her for a moment. Then in a move that surprised them both, he kissed her. He pulled her to him and pressed his lips to hers. It was a hard, authoritative kiss that seared through her. He pulled back slowly and said, “I love you, too, Kate. God knows I love you, but a lot has happened.” He tried to pull back, but she held his hand tight.
“I know a lot has happened, and I know that most of it is my fault. I know that I have a lot of nerve coming here, after everything, but I love you and you love me and I’m here, asking you for a second chance at what we had and can have again.”
“Kate, I—”
Kate held up a hand, “Listen, I get it. It’s a lot to throw at you and it’s been a hard month for you. So, I’m going to go check into a hotel, and tonight I’ll be at our spot on the beach. Remember that special spot where we would always watch the sunset?”
How could he forget? Whenever he went there he avoided that part of the beach. He hadn’t been back there since…well, in a while.
“I’ll be there tonight at sunset, and if you show up there, then I’ll know.” Kate’s voice was slightly tentative.
She knew now that he still loved her, although she wasn’t at all sure if he’d show.
“If you aren’t there, I’ll be on a flight out the next day, and I’ll never bother you again. Take the day. Think it over, and I hope you’ll be there this evening.”
Nick was silent and Kate turned to leave. Then she said, “I hope I see you tonight. I really do.”
As he watched Kate walk away, his first impulse was to run after her, but he didn’t. He couldn’t. Now he was the one who had been leveled by uncertainty. His once carefree fashion had been replaced with brutal reality, and he wasn’t really sure he could unsee the pain or the past.
CHAPTER 132
“You’re an idiot.” Allan Lavigne was clearly getting impatient with his nephew. Nick was sitting beside him on a bench, somewhere in New York.
“You shouldn’t let her go.”
“Uncle, it’s far more complicated than that, a lot has happened.”
“Bullshit. That’s life, my boy, just deal with it.”
“It’s hard, Uncle Allan.”
“Yes, Nicholas, it’s hard. But you love each other, and that’s all that really matters. If I have taught you anything, it’s that love deserves forgiveness. People make mistakes, and Kate has paid for hers in spades, my son.”
“Love deserves forgiveness,” Nick repeated.
Allan turned to him, “That is the very definition of love, Son. Love gives us the ability to forgive and move on, to love someone through all kinds of things. Love isn’t about holding grudges or being afraid, and by the way, this whole fear thing you’ve got going on is petty and stupid.”
Christ. Nick dropped his face into his hands. His uncle was right.
Allan put a hand on his shoulder. “There’s still time, Son. Go get her. There’s still time.”
Nick shot awake, but the image of his uncle on that bench in New York was still with him. While he’d had dreams where Uncle Allan appeared to him shortly after his death, they had always been vague and symbolic.
Nick recalled the dream again, and the whole thing was starting to creep him out.
Love deserves forgiveness.
Crap.
He let Kate sit at the beach waiting for him. He never showed up. He couldn’t. He’d paralyzed himself into thinking it was too late, that nothing between them could work.
This whole fear thing you’ve got going on is petty and stupid.
Nick threw back the covers back and checked the clock. It was six a.m. There was no way Kate was gone yet.
“If you don’t show, I’ll be out of your life forever.”
He started to yank on his jeans, and then something stopped him. Wait. What the hell was he doing? It had just been a dream, albeit a realistic one. His issues around Kate and whether they would work were totally valid.
Nick got up, grabbed his phone, and called his sister.
“Why are you calling me? Why aren’t you with Kate making plans, and hopefully making babies? I’d like a niece, and I think you should name her after a character in my book.”
Nick sighed, “Kate’s not here.”
“Didn’t she show?”
“Yes, she showed, but…” Crap, there it was again, that haunting vision of his uncle berating him on a park bench.
“But what?”
“Nothing. Look, that’s not why I called. You have a signing today, and I called to wish you—“
“Stop it, Nick! what the hell is wrong with you?”
“Viv, it’s complicated.”
“No, it really isn’t, Nick. It’s not complicated at all. Kate loves you. You love Kate. What the hell is wrong with you? Kate’s genuine, kind, and authentic. I don’t know what happened before. You know, Mac is pretty hot, so I kind of get her misstep.”
“Thanks, my confidence is growi
ng by the second.”
“No, you idiot, that’s not what I mean. You’re cute, too. It’s just, you know, you’re my brother and I’m not supposed to say that.”
“Whatever. Look, I don’t want to—”
“Nick, if there’s still a snowball’s chance in hell, you need to go to her. Find her and beg her to take you back. Forgive her, Nick. Let it go. Love deserves forgiveness.”
Whoa. What?
Love deserves forgiveness.
Hadn’t his uncle just said that in the dream? Crap, he was really losing it.
“Viv, what did you say?”
“All of it or just—”
“No, the part about love and forgiveness. Where did you hear that?”
“Hear it, what? I don’t know. I just said it. It popped into my head.”
“That’s the same thing Uncle Allan just told me.” Nick gripped the phone tighter.
“Um, what? Nick, are you okay? Do you need me to fly out there?”
“No, no, I had this dream, just now, and Uncle Allan was talking to me and said the exact same thing.”
“Eh, okay. So, Nick, are you going to become one of those people who rocks in a corner and eats his checkers?”
“I gotta go.” Nick hung up the phone.
. . . .
“I’m sorry, but Miss Mitchell has already checked out,” the hotel clerk said.
Crap, she’s gone.
“Thanks,” Nick said as he hung up the phone and steered his car towards LAX.
Of course she had checked out. There was an early flight to JFK, which she was no doubt on.
His heart pounded in his chest. He had to get to her before she left.
Nick pulled into the airport parking lot and raced inside. He checked his watch. He knew the flights to JFK and which one she always took. Her flight was leaving in an hour. He grabbed his keys and raced out the door.
. . . .
The trip to the airport had proven fruitless, too. And he’d almost gotten himself arrested. Racing up to the airline counter and demanding to get onto a flight was not the best plan. The flight was full, and even if it wasn’t, he realized that he must look like a crazy person.
Climax: The Publicist, Book Three Page 44