Page 64 of Keeping Kaitlyn

“Yes.”

Now she frowns. “And the two of you have just been lying?—”

“No.” Giving her an emphatic head shake, I brush away more tears. “We only realized we were both here in Boston a few months ago,” I tell her, dropping my hand on a sigh. “We’ve been doing our best to avoid each other but then Henley asked me to be a bridesmaid and I couldn’t tell her no because she’s been so nice to me and then Tess decided to throw her a bachelorette party in Went’s shop and Itriedto get out of it but?—”

“Stop.” Reaching for me, Grace drops her hands on my shoulders and gives me a single, firm shake that stops me mid-ramble. “Take a deep breath,” she tells me, giving my shoulders an encouraging squeeze. “And start at the beginning.”

THIRTY-SIX

KAITLYN

SIX MONTHS AGO

Staring at my phone,i feel myself start to relent.

Jill: come on, Kaitlyn—it’s New Year’s Eve.

I know. And I had every intention of spending it, curled up on the couch with a glass of contraband wine, a big bowl of buttered popcorn and my dog while we watched the ball drop in Time Square and I pretended not to be scanning the crowd for Went while Ryan Seacrest smiled his way through an interview with Nick Jonas.

Don’t be stupid, Kaity. It’s been years. Like you’re going to randomly see your ex-husband in a television crowd shot after running away while he wasn’t looking.

I know it’s a longshot and that if I did actually see Went again, even on television, I’d probably have a mental breakdown, I look for him anyway. Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Street scenes from Law & Order. The Today Show and Good Morning America. I look for him on tabloid covers at the grocery store. Watch TMZ and Hollywood Buzz, even though I couldn’t give two shits about celebrity gossip.

I never see him. Not in a crowd shot. Not on a magazine cover. The only Hawthorne I see is Delilah. As far as the rest of the world is concerned, Wentworth Fiorella has ceased to exist because I’m sure that’s exactly the way he wants it.

Before I can beg off with some lame excuse, Jill sends another text.

Jill: We haven’t seen you since you quit us for your cushy private gig. Meet us for ONE drink. Just one.

Me: It’s after ten.

Jill is one of the physical therapists I worked with at Sojourn andweis the group of work friends she hangs out with—other PTs and nurses who work at Sojourn with her. Before I can make up an excuse like I normally do, she sends another text.

Jill:So?

Jill: We won’t ask you what happened with sexy mechanic guy

Sexy mechanic guyis Conner. When I left Sojourn, six months ago, we’d already stopped seeing each other. We stopped seeing each other the second Henley came home to see her brother but I never told any of the women I worked with that. I let them keep believing that we were… doing whatever it was that Conner and I were doing. It wasn’t dating. It was mostly just the two of us keeping each other company. It was never sexual or even remotely romantic. It was just two people trying to figure out how to move on. But I let my work friends think it was more because it kept them from trying to set me up and because letting them try to set me up is how I ended up meeting Conner in the first place.

You need to get laid, Kaitlyn—and we know just the guy to get the job done.

I still don’t know what possessed me to approach Conner that night. I’m just glad he shot me down. If he hadn’t it would’ve made taking Henley’s offer to be Ryan’s nurse impossible.

Jill: We won’t ask about O’Connell either

That one’s easier to believe. Every nurse in Sojourn was terrified of Ryan while he was a resident—he worked overtime to make sure of it. I’ll admit that I was one of them but my friendship with Conner changed that. My friendship with Conner changed a lot of things.

Jill: ONE DRINK

Sighing, I finally type out an answer.

Me: okay. Fine… where?

Jill: Where do you think?

Gilroy’s.

Of course.

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