Page 4 of Imperfections Seduced
“I’m sure you can, but you’ve been waiting for this for years. I thought you would be shouting it from the rooftops the day it happened.”
Kate smiles and rolls her eyes, but I think her cheeks turn a little pink. “Be quiet, you guys are making me sound desperate, which I am not.”
“You know I love you; I’m only joking. Like I told Nick, I’m happy for you two. Hopefully your marriage will last longer than mine. I’m going to get a drink to toast the happy couple.”
I need a damn drink myself. I turn to get one, and I see Cat move toward us. She doesn’t look at me, and she has a smile on her face, but it doesn’t reach her eyes. Her eyes, they always give her emotions away.
She asks Kate when the wedding is. I wish I could take her out of here and explain everything, but I can’t leave my fiancée to find a private place to talk to her sister. Her mother is talking about how Kate liked to pretend she was getting married when she was a little girl, white dress andall. I never realized how much Kate wanted to get married. There are a lot of things I don’t know about Kate, but I’m sure going to find out. I know her, obviously, but not like I know Cat. Sometimes she was around when I came over but we never really hung out.
We ran into each other about three months ago at a friend’s house. I wasn’t going to go, but she was having a dinner party, and she wanted me to come because she hadn’t seen me in a while. When I got there I saw Kate. I hadn’t seen her in a long time. She looked good in a black pencil skirt that fit just right, a white sleeveless button-down shirt, and red-bottomed heels that added several inches to her height. She had brown highlights in her hair, pulled back in a loose ponytail with a bang that reminded me of Cat.
I was going to say hi to her, but an old friend of mine started talking to me. Fifteen minutes later she walked up to me as my friend was leaving.
“Hi, Nick. You weren’t going to come over and say hello?”
“Actually I was; you beat me to it.” She tilted her head, looking up at me.
“I’m glad you weren’t trying to avoid me.”
“Why would I do that?”
“I don’t know, but I’m glad that wasn’t the case. I haven’t seen you with Chris in a long time.”
“Yeah, I’ve been busy and a little preoccupied with other things. I’m actually supposed to meet up with him and a couple of the guys tomorrow after work.”
“Speaking of my brother and people you haven’t seen, have you spoken to my sister lately?”
“No, not in a while. I have to call her.”
“She’s doing great. She really likes it over there.”
“Does she?”
“Yeah, when we talked, she said it’s starting to feel like home. Now that she’s finished with school, she’s been dating a lot, and it sounds like she’s finally found a winner.”
“She has a boyfriend? A serious boyfriend?”
“I believe so. I don’t think she’s coming back.”
“Huh. Well, that’s good. I’m happy she’s doing well. I guess she’s moved on.” I give her a sad smile. “You don’t think there’s a chance she’ll change her mind and come back?”
“No. She sounds happy, and as long as she’s happy that’s all that matters. Isn’t it?”
“You’re right; as long as she’s happy, that’s all that matters.”
“Well, despite whatever it is that has you so preoccupied these days, Nick, you look good. Not that you didn’t look good before, but something’s different about you now.”
I raise an eyebrow. Is she flirting with me? She is. I didn’t see this coming. My eyebrows draw together. I give her a half grin, half smile. This is new for us. What the hell, a little flirting never hurt anyone. She’s looking cuter by the minute. “Thank you, I think.” I take a sip of my drink, looking at her a little more leisurely. “You look good yourself. Tell me your secret for looking so good and I’ll tell you mine.”
“Since you asked so nicely, I guess I can tell you. Michael and I broke up. All the excess baggage must have been weighing me down. What you’re seeing is the glow of a newly single woman, new highlights, and a shopping spree.”
Now I know why she’s over here flirting with me. “Sorry to hear that. I thought you and Michael would be married by now.”
“So did everyone else after five years. We ended up wanting different things in life, but I’m fine, and we’re still friends.” She takes a sip of her drink and cups the base of the wine glass with the stem between her right ring and middle fingers. “I told you my secret for looking good— now you have to tell me yours.”
“Coincidentally, it happens to be the same as yours. I recently got out of a relationship. It wasn’t nearly as long as yours, but we wanted different things.”
She smirks at me. “‘We wanted different things?’ I hope you let her down easy.” I realize I’ve never noticed how attractive she is.
