Page 38 of Not Your Shoe Size

“It does.”

Kate rubbed Kiwi’s ears, staring out at the street without seeing. “It’s just hard. In the least self-pitying way possible, itismy fault that Rapunzel and Deidre couldn’t make it work. Telling her what happened with Mr. Peter—Kane—screwed up her and Dede’s relationship before it had a chance to start.”

Ty’s mouth thinned at the mention of Mr. Peterson, but he didn’t say anything, just laid a gentle hand on her shoulder.

“What do you think I should do?” Kate pressed.

“Nothing you can do, baby. You can’t take Rapunzel’s breakup on. The paths that led to that were laid down a decade ago. By him.”

“I know.”

“Rapunzel’s a bright, attractive woman. She’ll meet someone else. Someone who’s dad didn’t groom her best friend.”

Kate made a face. She still wasn’t comfortable with the language around her childhood experience. It was difficult to parse the good things from the complex. The fact of Mr. Peterson’s gross betrayal and that he’d never touched her sexually or made her feel uncomfortable when she was a teenager. That hehadbeen her friend—or at least made her life easier to bear. It was all tangled up in her mind, but being in Paris and attending regular therapy was helping. She and Dr Esther Kolbe had been seeing each other for almost nine months, picking through not only the Mr. Peterson thing, but a lot of painful emotional patterns that had sprung up from her childhood. It was hard work, but Kate felt stronger than she ever had before.

“Are you okay?” Ty asked. “About Rapunzel and the rest?”

“Yeah. Being in Paris helps—knowing I won’t run into Mr. Peterson when I go home or see him randomly in Melbourne. And that there’s new things to see and do.”

She and Ty looked around, taking in the cityscape. Kate felt Kiwi brush against her leg, and it was like her heart was pouring golden light. It was cheesy, but the nicest thingswerecheesy. Kate turned to Ty and kissed him. He kissed her back, light and sweet, a hand rising up to cup her cheek.

“You’re right,” Kate said.

Ty tucked a hand behind his ear. “I’m sorry, what?”

She rolled her eyes. “You’re right.”

“Ah, but I’m so frequently right. You’ll have to be more specific.”

Kate swatted him. “You’re right about Rapunzel. She is amazing, she’ll meet someone else. And even if she doesn’t, she’ll be fine.”

“Exactly.” Ty bent down and petted Kiwi. She gave an excited yip.

“We should get going,” Kate said. “I promised her snacks when you got here.”

“Of course. She’s going to be the fattest little kiwi in the world, isn’t she? Where do you want to go for dinner?”

Kate closed her eyes, breathed deep. “To the steakhouse over on Perielle Street.”

“Done.” Ty smiled as though he knew how far she’d come. And maybe he did. There were few secrets between them these days. Few places they hid from each other or pretended they couldn’t see. They stood and joined the fast, fashionable people striding along the pavement. As they walked, Ty kissed the side of her head. “When they called to let me know we’re in at Belladonna, the guy asked if we were married.”

Kate smiled up at the sky. “What did you say?”

“That we’ve been a committed relationship for almost six years and our marital status isn’t anyone’s business but our own,” Ty said, sounding like the middle manager he was. “Why, what did you want me to tell him?”

“I don’t know, isn’t it our secret?”

“It certainly is.”

“And is it something you want to change?”

Ty shrugged. “Not really. I couldn’t give a fuck.”

“Could you ever?”

Ty pulled her closer, tucking her into his side. “Of course. But people grow up, Middleton. Get mature. Start to act their age.”

She laughed, turning her face up to the sun once more. “I’m glad to hear it. It’s been a long time coming, Mr. Henderson.”

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