Note to self: murder Chris and Mike when I get back.

I can’t believe they dragged me all the way here just so I had to face the harsh reality: Katherine’s happily married, and she has a daughter.

Oh, man, this is way beyond fucked up.

For a second there, I almost fucking kissed her.

For a second, I almost…believed.

Turning on my heels, I bolt out of her apartment and walk down the corridor in a daze. Without even bothering to say “goodbye,” I make my way toward the elevator and punch the button over-and-over again.

I just want to get out from this fucking nightmare.

“Slow down, Jesus,” I hear Kat say behind me, and I look back at her over my shoulder. She followed me all the way to the elevator, and now she has her arms folded over her chest, tapping one foot against the floor.

Fuck, she looks even more beautiful than I remember. Flawless skin, high cheekbones, and lips of a violent red. Long, straight blonde hair, almost like a sheet made of the most perfect satin.

And her eyes…still the color of a clear blue sky, just like I remember them.

And don’t even get me started on her body. With a tight black dress hugging her curves, she looks like she just walked out of a Victoria’s Secret’s magazine ad.

To say she’s perfect is almost an insult.

“You’re not gonna disappear again, are you?”

Yeah, you better bet that’s what’s going to happen, I think to myself, but I can’t bring myself to say it.

“I…I just need a drink,” I tell her, and the elevator doors swing open right when I say it.

Shaking her head, she takes one step forward and laces her arm in mine, dragging me inside the elevator.

“Let’s go to the bar downstairs.”

Not a trace of hesitation in her voice. She just tells it like it is, leaving me no room to protest.

Ah, what the fuck. I need a drink anyway. Anything to numb the disappointment.

Downstairs, I follow her all the way toward the dimly lit bar, and we take a seat at the counter. The place is deserted, except for a couple on the far-end of the counter. Chet Baker’s playing on the stereo, the mellow sound of his voice adding a final touch to the scene.

“Whiskey, straight,” I tell the bartender, “and make it double.”

“Same here,” Kat says with a quick nod.

“Your daughter’s asleep upstairs, and you’re drinking whiskey?” I ask her, more curious than anything.

Katherine was always the responsible one, and I don’t see that changing.

But you never know.

“My daughter?”

“Yeah, the little girl on your couch.”

“You’ve always been an idiot, you know that?”

She sighs, rubbing her forehead with one hand as she takes her whiskey glass with the other. Downing the whole thing at once, she turns around in her seat to look at me.

“That was Anna. She’s my niece.”

“You’re…niece?”

“My niece,” she repeats patiently. “My sister and her kid are spending the week with me.”

“So…you don’t have children?”

“No.”

“But…you’re married, right?”

“No.”

“No? But—”

“But what? You heard that Philip proposed, I bet…but so what? I said no. We broke up before I went to college, and I never married.”

Holy fucking shit.

Am I hearing this right? Have I been the King of Idiots for twelve years straight?

That has to be a fucking record.

“Say that again.”

“I don’t have any children. I’m not married. And now…” she lowers her voice, still looking straight into my eyes, and smiles seductively.

“Now I want to know why you came all the way here after all this time.”

Shit, shit, shit.

What do I say?

I can’t exactly tell her I’ve been in love with her since I was ten, can I? And that all the fucking songs I wrote were, in one way or the other, inspired by her? And that all of my fucking life has always been about her, the one fucking woman I couldn’t get out of my head?

Oh, man, what’s happening to me?

“So?” She insists. My heart’s thumping so loudly I can barely hear myself think.

Grabbing my whiskey, I do what Kat did and down the whole thing at once, throwing my head back and allowing the whisky to burn its way down my throat.

There, much better.

“I…I don’t know,” I tell her, allowing my gaze to drift from her.

Fucking coward, I think to myself. Just tell her the truth.

“You don’t know?”

“I don’t…” I say, shaking my head as I ask the bartender for another round.

We sit there in silence, my heart still kicking like a motherfucker, and I look around the bar looking for an emergency exit. I’ve never been good at this shit.

Yeah, don’t tell anyone I told you this but…I’ve never told any woman before that I loved her.

I don’t do feelings—I do whiskey shots, and I do marathon sex sessions. No more, no less.

So, you see, I’m kinda lost here.

That’s when I spot the couple at the other side of the bar. They’re talking in a hushed tone, but I can still hear fragments of their conversation.

“Evan, it’s just that…I don’t know,” the woman says, looking at Evan as if he’s made of pure fucking gold.

He has a nice posture, a tailored suit, and looks like a fucking movie star. If he isn’t made of gold, he’s probably the next best thing.

“Emilia, listen to me,” he says, cutting her short with a wave of his hand.

Reaching for her, he grabs her chin and makes her look straight into his eyes.

“I don’t give two fucks about how different we are. All I know is that I love you.”

The way he said it…it was raw.

Pure fucking intent right there. I sit there, just watching as Emilia’s little mouth opens into a smile, and she mouths these three magic words back at her date.

I don’t hear whatever the guy’s response is, but judging by the hasty way they pay their bill and leave, I’d wager it was something along the lines of “Let’s get out of here and fuck each other’s brains outs.”

Beautifully done.

And it was easy.

“Hey.”

Kat’s voice, again. She snaps her fingers in front of my face.

“Earth to Alex. Are you here?”

“I am,” I whisper, turning to her again.

I take a deep breath, allow my gaze to linger on hers, and then I lean in and kiss her.

Just like that.

Simple, easy…and raw.

“I love you,” I say, feeling that burning raw intent inside of me.

Well, shit, no wonder my intent is raw—this is the fucking truth I’m spouting.

“I’ve always loved you, Kat. Ever since I was a kid…but then I thought you were going to get married, and I simply had to go. I couldn’t stay around for that. But I think of you every day. Not a second goes by that I—”

“Hush,” she whispers, a soft smile on her lips as she places her index finger over my lips.

With that, she leans into me and presses her strawberry lips on mine.

“I think you’ve said it all.”