Page 49 of Fake Engaged to the Enemy

Even that information is overshadowed in my mind, though.

Because I know what this interview and new job means.

It won’t be long before Catherine leaves again.

She won’t stay.

She never stays. Sandburrow is too small and simple for her. She’s made that clear; this place is a cage, and she needs space to stretch her wings.

I can’t ask her to give up her life and dreams in the big city to stay for me, either.

Can I live in the city?

I shudder. The thought feels too claustrophobic.

Which means we’re going to have to have a breakup soon. My heart sinks.

My resolve hardens.

Maybe I can’t ask her to stay. But before she leaves, I will tell her how I feel.

Chapter fourteen

Catherine

Sunday is the only day that Lynn sleeps in.

“It’s a day of rest for a reason,” she would always tell me growing up. “Some days it’s important to give yourself no responsibilities.”

I tiptoe from her room, enjoying the peaceful stillness of the early morning.

My version of rest isn’t lying in bed. It’s to get up and enjoy activities that I don’t have time for during the week.

Somehow, George’s plan to let Donny take our picture has worked.

The media is off my back and the vast majority of people agree that I’m not Crimson’s mysterious woman. They’re leaving me alone.

I don’t even care if Crimson and June make their relationship public now. They can do what they like.

Everything has gotten better these last few days, and that’s all that matters. I’m more rested and at peace than I’ve been for a while.

I make a cup of coffee in a travel mug, then grab my notebook. The tide is high right now, and, with the sun not having quite woken up, everything is in shades of pink.

It’s the perfect morning to sit on the beach and ponder the beauty of life.

A floorboard creaks and I turn.

Katherina, her expression guilty, stands at the base of the stairs. Her eyes grow wide, and she chews her lip.

“Did I wake you up?” she asks.

Her anxiety is clear.

“No. I always wake up at this time. I hope I didn’t wake you up,” I add.

Katherina shakes her head. “I’m an early bird. I always try to be quiet so I don’t wake up Mom, but I’m not used to this house yet.”

My heart breaks a little for her. Teenagers should be loud and boisterous. Is Katherina just naturally timid or…

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