Chapter 21 - Katie

I yawned and stretched out my back. I had just woken up an hour ago but was still dragging. It had been another whirlwind month of wedded bliss, and I'd been busier than usual with the added work I'd taken on to help out the Hiring Hopefuls charity. I thought it was a great association, helping out everyone who needed to learn new skills to stay up to date in the rapidly changing world, or retrain people whose current expertise was becoming redundant.

Since I had two delivery men, loads of new people had learned about my lunch boxes, and they'd been selling out every day, no matter how many extras I sent with them. A trendy bakery had contacted me, wanting to order several dozen boxes to sell in her place a few times a week as a special, since they became so popular in that part of town.

It was so popular, in fact, that one of my original regular customers wanted to branch out from his law firm and invest in a restaurant with me as a partner and head chef. The offer had knocked me for a loop. It had always been my most desperate wish to have my little restaurant, but my plate was so full already…

It felt like I was on a countdown with Aleks. Every day was precious with him, and even if it meant putting my biggest dream on hold, or losing it altogether, I couldn't see myself giving up more time with him by accepting the offer.

I yawned again as I packed up the last lunch box and put my special sticker on it. I had to remember to get more printed and looked around for my phone to make a note. I caught Aleks at the breakfast table; his gaze honed in on me, and blushed. It was rare to get to spend the mornings with him. He usually kissed me goodbye just as I was heading into the kitchen, so it was a nice deviation to have him to chat with while I prepared the meals.

"What are you looking for?" he asked as I started turning over dish towels and the bread box in search of my phone.

"I need to put a note on my phone," I told him, wondering if I left it upstairs.

"It's in your pocket," he chuckled.

I patted the front of my apron and sighed. "I'd lose my head if it wasn't attached," I said, mimicking one of Aunt Marjorie's favorite sayings.

"No, you wouldn't," he countered. "You're spreading yourself too thin. You need a break."

There was no arguing when he got that tone, which was how I found myself in a luxurious spa near the house. My feet were up, a cooling mask on my face, and a deep conditioning treatment on my hair. My guard was somewhere in the lobby, ever patient. I didn't remember ever being so relaxed, and it was kind of disconcerting after being so used to being busy all the time.

I called my sister, and Jenna instantly got on me for falling off the face of the earth and barely answering her text messages. I let her ramble on about school, and then she asked what was up with the ski trip.

"You don't want to go?" I asked.

"It's not that, and I'm grateful, but what happened to being together at Christmas?"

I tried to play it off as nothing. I was so busy with all the orders, which was the truth now, and Aunt Marjorie wanted to stay in Florida since she wasn't in her best condition from the treatments.

Jenna wasn't buying it and kept pressing me until I finally admitted I was seeing someone. She shrieked loud enough for another spa guest across the room to jerk out of her nap. I nodded an apology and tried to explain so Jenna wouldn't have a heart attack.

"It's just a fling," I said, curling my hand around the necklace Aleks gave me and silently begging his forgiveness. "It's probably not going anywhere, but it's taking up all my time for now."

"Well, you deserve it," Jenna said. "And since I don't have to worry about you pining away all alone on Christmas day, I can't wait for the ski trip."

We continued chatting while I got a pedicure and only hung up when it was time to rinse out my hair treatment. My skin was glowing, all my muscles were relaxed from the massage, and my toenails were neon pink. My guard Sergei nodded discreetly at me and fell into step as I left, completely relaxed and without a care in the world.

Until I got a video call, and it was like the four hours at the spa never happened.

It was from Nataliye. I hadn't seen her in ages, and had been dodging her messages with excuses of being swamped. A quick calculation of the time difference to Italy put her almost in the middle of the night. It must have been important, so with a deep breath, I accepted the call.

Her vibrant face filled the screen, looking so much more like her father than I ever realized.

"I'm in LA," she said, grinning and turning the camera so I could see traffic whizzing by at LAX.

I nearly doubled over with a wave of nausea, but she quickly told me it was only a layover.

"I want to spend these hours with you," she said. "So drop everything."

We figured out a place to meet so she wouldn't have to go too far from the airport, and Sergei headed in that direction while I fretted in the backseat. I was actually shaking by the time I entered the restaurant we agreed on, a bustling deli that had hot specials. The smell of French onion soup gave me another burst of nausea, and I considered running for the bathroom, until I saw Nat waving at me from her table.

She jumped up to hug me, and I relaxed somewhat. Of course, she didn't expect anything. Why would she? It wasn't like her best friend marrying her father would even be a spot on her bingo card of bizarre things that might ruin her life. But for some reason, it still felt like it was written all over my face, and as soon as we sat down, she noticed something. I tried to play it off and blame the spa.

"No, that glow isn't just from a facial peel," she said. "Are you in love?"

I shouldn't have been shocked that she knew me so well, but my jaw dropped as she grinned expectantly at me. Okay, I'd just made up the story about my fling, so I went with that, forcing my hand not to rise to the diamond heart necklace that seemed to scream Aleks's name as if it had been engraved on the gold. After she was appeased by the few details I would spare, I got Nat to talk about her studies in Milan, then asked if she was also meeting with her father. My heart pounded out of my chest, and I twisted to look at the door as if he might already be striding in.

"Not enough time," Nat said. "I had to choose one person, and I chose you."

This never would have made me feel guilty in the past, but it did now. Coupled with the tension that she was somehow going to find out about her father and me, I had to make a break for the bathroom. I heaved a few times but didn't get sick, and calmed down enough to go back to the table before she came looking for me.

Nat had ordered a salad and big turkey sandwich that should have had me drooling since I hadn't eaten since breakfast, but my stomach was still in knots. I ordered something light so she wouldn't worry and forced myself to take a few bites while we caught up. I wanted to enjoy this rare time with my oldest and best friend, but the giant lie looming over my head made it impossible. I was nearly in tears when we hugged goodbye, but so was she. Her tears were honest, though, because she was going to miss me. I felt awful, eager for her to go and not come back for a long time.

On the way home, I tried to swear Sergei to secrecy, but he shook his head at me in the rearview mirror.

"No secrets from the boss," he said, at least somewhat apologetically.

That meant it was up to me to confess. I wasn't even sure what I'd done wrong anymore, but I was still riddled with guilt about it.

Thankfully, Aleks had also taken a lazy day and was still home when I returned. I found him in his office and threw myself into his arms, needing the comfort of his embrace.

"What's wrong?" he asked as I clung to him with all my might.

"Nothing," I said miserably. "Nat had a layover, so I just spent a few hours with her."

"Oh?" he asked, his arms tightening.

I pressed my face against his chest, listening to his steady heartbeat and breathing in his masculine scent. Already, I began to feel the weight lightening. "I don't want to talk about it, though. Okay?"

"Whatever you want," he assured me, tugging on my freshly conditioned, super silky hair.

I tipped my chin back, thinking he might try to argue, but he only lowered his head to kiss my troubles away. He could always make everything better. At least for the moment.