Chapter Twenty-Five

Kate

"Where's the missing button?" I blurt out, interrupting my mom talking to Carol.

They both give me a confused look.

I point to Carol's blouse. "You said there's a missing button. It looks like they're all there."

"The ones along the front are. The missing one is here." She holds her arm out and shows me the sleeve. Around her wrist, there should be two buttons but one is missing. "Why do you ask?"

"I just wondered because I didn't see any missing. So, um, do you know where you lost it?"

She laughs. "No. If I did, I'd get it and sew it back on."

"Kate, why are you so concerned about a button?" my mom asks.

"Because it's a nice blouse. It'd be a shame if Carol had to get rid of it because of a lost button."

"I'll probably keep it," Carol says. "So far, nobody's noticed the missing button and I paid a fortune for the blouse. It's one of the few acceptable clothing items I have for work." She looks at my mom. "You wouldn't believe how strict my clients have become regarding the dress code. Now even my employees have to wear designer clothes, which of course, I have to pay for."

"That's ridiculous," my mom says. "If they're going to make rules like that, then they should have to—"

"Will you excuse me?" I say, getting up. "I have to use the restroom."

"Go ahead," my mom says.

I hurry off to the restroom but remain just outside it and call Gavin. I have to tell him about Carol. Why he wants to know this, I'm not sure, but he's been desperate to find out who the mystery woman is so I feel I have to tell him. And now that I know, I'm kind of freaking out. Carol was having an affair with Niles Bishop? How long did this go on? Did she know what he was involved in? When did the affair end? Maybe it didn't end. Maybe it was going on until he died.

Gavin answers on the first ring. "Kate?"

"Yeah. It's me."

He sighs. "God, I've missed hearing your voice. How have you been?"

"I'm fine." I smile. "You see me every night in the parking lot."

"But you don't talk to me." He sounds so sad.

 Swallowing past the lump in my throat, I say, "You don't have to do that, you know."

"Do what?"

"Watch me walk to my car at night."

"I don't have a choice. I have to protect you."

I squeeze my eyes shut, holding back the tears. I didn't call to talk about us. This is about Carol.

"I have to tell you something," I say.

"Go ahead."

"The woman, the one your dad was seeing? We were right. It was Carol."

"What?" he asks, an urgency in his voice. "How do you know this?"

"The button. I recognized the button. It came from one of her blouses. She's wearing it today and she showed me where she lost a button."

"You saw Carol today?"

"She's here having lunch with my mom and me. We're at a cafe by my mom's apartment."

"Are you sure it's the same button?"

"Positive. It's an unusual button so it has to be it."

"Maybe, but what if it's not? I have to know for sure. Is there any way you could get a handwriting sample so we can confirm that it's really her?"

"I don't know. Maybe. But Gavin, I'm sure it's her. So what are you going to do?"

"I haven't decided. I thought I'd confront her about it but now I'm wondering if I should. What good would it do? Like you said, my dad is gone so do I really want to find stuff out about him that I probably don't want to know?"

"That's up to you, but if I were you, I'd leave it alone. Your dad obviously had secrets and he kept them a secret for a reason. He didn't want you to know."

"Yeah," he says with a sigh.

"I'm sorry, Gavin. Maybe I shouldn't have told you about Carol."

"No. I'm glad you did. Even if I don't confront her, it's good to know who it was he was seeing. I'm not happy about it but at least it wasn't some hooker or one of my mom's friends. He always liked Carol. I'm not that surprised it's her. And honestly, looking back, I'm not that surprised he had an affair. My parents have been growing apart for years. I just didn't want to admit it."

"Do you want to maybe get together and talk about it?"

"I thought you weren't ready to talk."

"I'm not ready to talk about us, but if you want to talk about other stuff, like your dad, I'm here for you."

"There's not much more to say. I'd rather talk about us, so I guess I'll just keep waiting until you're ready."

But when will I be ready? I feel like I keep putting it off but don't know why. Am I just afraid? Afraid talking about it will lead to us breaking up? I don't want that to happen but I can't be in a relationship with a man I don't trust, and given all the lies he's told me, I don't know if I can trust Gavin.

"Kate? You still there?"

"Yeah. So um, how have you been?"

"Not great." He pauses. "How about you?"

"I've been busy. Tired. This is the first time I've been away from the restaurant all week."

"I've been working a lot too. Not because I have to, but because..." His voice trails off but I know he was going to say he's working to keep his mind off me, just like I'm working to keep my mind off him.

"I have to stop by the apartment later and get some stuff. Is that okay?"

"Kate, of course it's okay. It's your apartment, too. And I'm not," he pauses, "I'm not even living there."

"You're not? Then where are you living?"

"In the city. I'm staying at my dad's apartment. I figured I have a key and nobody's living there so I might as well use it."

"But you said it's empty."

"I got a sleeping bag. I'm really only there to sleep so I don't need furniture. And I eat out for all my meals so I don't need kitchen stuff."

"You're sleeping on the floor in an empty apartment? Gavin, why are you doing this? You should be staying at our apartment."

"I can't. It's too hard when you're not there. I haven't stayed there since you left. You should move back in. I promise I won't stop over without telling you. Actually, forget that. Apparently, I suck at making promises, but I'll do my best to tell you before I come over."

"Gavin, this is crazy. Move back into the apartment. I'm not having you sleep on the floor in a cold, empty apartment."

"It's not cold. It's actually kind of hot. The air conditioning doesn't work that well."

"That's not what I meant. It's cold because there's nothing there except the constant reminder that your dad had an affair. You need to get out of that place. Are you there now?"

"No. I'm at the office."

"It's Saturday. Why are you at the office?"

"Because work keeps my mind off..." He sighs. "I just have a lot to do. So how's the restaurant?"

"Good. Better than good. The place has been busy since it opened. I'm sure it's because Walcott got his friends to promote it."

"It's because of you, Kate. Because you have a great concept and great food. That's why people are showing up there. It's not because of Walcott."

When he says stuff like that, it makes me want to forget what happened and take him back. He's so supportive of me, and I want to support him too, but I don't know if I can if he wants to spend his life in politics. Given what I know and what I've seen, I can't be part of that life.

"I should probably let you go," he says.

"Yeah. I'm sure my mom's wondering what's taking so long."

"I love you, Kate. I love you so much."

"I love you too."

"Goodbye."

"Bye." As I end the call I see a text coming in from Tom that reads, Line out the door. Can't keep up. Can you help?

Yes! I'll be there soon, I text back.

There's a line out the door? We've been busy all week but haven't had people waiting outside for a table. Maybe Tom was exaggerating. It's probably just a few people.

When I return to the table, our food is there.

"I have to go," I say. "Tom said there's a line out the door at the restaurant. He needs help."

"A line out the door?" Even my mom is surprised. "That's great, honey."

"Yeah, but it means I can't have lunch." I point to my sandwich. "Could you take this home for me?"

"Why don't I come with you? It sounds like you could use the help."

"I don't want you missing lunch. I'll just see if one of my workers can come in."

"If you need more employees," Carol says, "I could give you the names of a few people."

"That'd be great." I dig through my purse for a piece of paper. I don't really need more employees but I need her handwriting. I find a scrap of paper and a pen and hand it to her. "Just jot down their names and numbers and I'll give them a call."

As she writes the first name, I immediately know it was her handwriting on that menu. She's definitely Niles' mistress.

"There you go." She smiles as she hands it to me.

"Thanks! I'll see you guys later."

Back at the restaurant, I find that Tom wasn't exaggerating. There's a line down the street and around the corner of people waiting to get a table. How did this happen?

"Thank God you're here," Tom says as I race into the kitchen. He's frantically putting pie slices onto dessert plates. "We're almost out of pie. Think you can make more?"

"Yeah, what kind do we need?"

"All of them. I think people are here for the pie more than anything else. Everyone's ordering it and people were asking if they could take home whole pies so I let them but then we started running out."

"Okay, well, no more whole pies. Tell people just slices for now. I'll get to work."

"Before you start, you might want to check this out." He reaches across the counter and picks up a newspaper and hands it to me. "I think this is why we have a line out the door."

On the front of the lifestyle section is a picture of the restaurant along with the headline, Young Entrepreneur Opens Trendy New Diner.

"They wrote an article about me?" I smile. "Why didn't someone from the paper call and tell me?"

"Beats me," Tom says, continuing to dish up pies. "But whoever wrote it loves this place, especially your pies. I have a feeling we're going to be even busier. We're going to need more help."

As he's talking, I'm quickly reading the article, pausing on phrases like 'best meatballs I ever had' and 'pies like Mom made, only better!'

"I can't believe this!" I squeal, jumping up and down. It's totally unprofessional behavior but I can't help it. I'm so excited! A food writer for the paper actually came in here and loved the place and wrote about it. And it's on the front page!

I put on my apron and get to work. Luckily, I had pie dough chilling in the cooler so all I have to do is roll it out and make the fillings.

We sell out of pie again during the dinner rush and I end up making more dough and more pies. By the time we close, I'm exhausted and so is my staff. I'll have to give them all a bonus for their hard work. If we keep having lines out the door, I'm definitely going to need to hire more help.

I limp out to my car, head down, shoulders sagging, feet aching. I'm so out of it, I don't even notice Gavin until I go to unlock my car door. He's standing in front of it and I accidentally jab him in the stomach.

"Oh!" I look up. "Sorry."

He chuckles. "No one's ever tried to unlock me before." He takes the key from me and hands me a bouquet of roses. "These are for you."

"Why?"

"One, because I love you. Two, to congratulate you on being such a huge success. I saw the article."

"You did?"

"I saw it online." He slips my car key in his pocket. "I told you people would love it. I'm so proud of you, Kate. It's only your first week open and you've got people lining up to get in."

I smile, weakly. "Yeah, it's great, but I can barely keep up. I have to hire more people. Today was exhausting. I'm so tired."

He puts his arm around my shoulder. "C'mon." He starts walking, taking me with him as he goes to his car.

"What are you doing?"

"Taking you home. I don't want you driving when you're this tired."

"Gavin, I'm fine. I'm not making you drive an hour to my mom's place."

"I'm not taking you to your mom's place. I'm taking you home. OUR home."

I stop walking. "But Gavin, I'm not—"

"Not what? Not ready to talk? I don't care. I'm done waiting. This is stupid, Kate. We both love each other and being apart to think about whatever it is we need to work on isn't helping. We need to figure that out together, not apart." He takes my hand and leads me to the passenger side of his car. "I'm taking you home and putting you in bed. OUR bed. And I'm going to be right beside you."

"But—"

"But you don't want me there?" He smiles. "Tough shit. You're too tired to fight me. And besides, is it really that bad? Being beside me?"

I shake my head. "No."

He laughs a little as he opens the door and helps me into the car. I don't protest this time because I'm where I want to be. Back with Gavin.

How did this happen? We were fighting, barely talking to each other, and now we're back together? We still have so much to talk about and so much to figure out, but I'm tired of being apart from him. I thought I could do it. I thought it'd be good for us, but it's only made me sad and made me miss him more than I've ever missed anyone.

He gets in the car and starts the engine.

I gaze down at the roses I'm holding. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"I mean..." I look at him. "For more than the flowers."

He reaches over and smiles at me, then takes my hand and kisses it.

I love how he knows me so well that I don't have to come out and say what I mean. I love that he knew I wanted to be back with him but was too stubborn to make the first move. I admit I'm stubborn and can be a real pain sometimes, but Gavin still loves me no matter what.

When we get to our apartment he walks me to the bedroom, then takes my shoes off and my clothes and slips one of his t-shirts over my head, the soft, comfy one that I like to sleep in. He tucks me in bed, changes his clothes, and gets under the covers. I'm on my side, my back to him. He wraps his arms around me and pulls me against his chest.

"I love you," he says quietly.

"I love you too."

This is where I should be, in Gavin's arms, in our bed. It feels right, and always has. A part of me knew the first day I met him that Gavin was the guy for me. I don't know how I knew or why I felt that way so soon after meeting him, but I did, which tells me we were meant to be.

As I drift off to sleep, I wake suddenly, remembering I didn't call my mom. I try to sit up, but Gavin holds me back.

"Where are you going?" he asks.

"I need my phone. I forgot to call my mom to tell her I wouldn't be there tonight."

"She knows. I texted her."

"When did you text her?"

"As soon as we got home." He tugs my body closer to his. "Now go to sleep."

"What about my flowers?"

"I put them in water."

"I didn't see you do that."

"Because you were sleeping. Now would you stop talking and go back to sleep?"

"Okay," I say, laughing. "Goodnight."

 The next morning, Gavin drops me off at the restaurant, then goes to work. His job is something we still need to talk about but we didn't want to do it this morning. Instead, we woke up early and had sex, then ate breakfast together. He says that's how our mornings will be from now on but I'll believe it when I see it. I don't want to get my hopes up, only to be disappointed.

Sitting down at my desk, I see the piece of paper Carol wrote those names on. I forgot to tell Gavin about her handwriting. He's on the train now and won't be able to hear me with all the noise so I text instead of calling.

Forgot to tell you. Got Carol's handwriting. It matches the menu.

Gavin texts right back. You sure?

Yes, it's definitely her. I still can't believe it. I don't know how she even had time for an affair.

My dad didn't have time either, he texts. but somehow they made it work.

Ever figure out who's paying for the apartment they were using?

Yeah. I called the rental company. My dad prepaid it for the year. Lease runs out in October.

I hear a noise coming from the kitchen. Someone just got here. I gotta go.

Okay. Call you later.

Setting my phone down, I get up from my desk. "John?" I call out.

John's my morning cook. He usually comes in early because he likes to have a cup of coffee and read the paper before his shift.

"It's Tad." He appears at my door, wearing his usual black tailored suit. He smiles. "I wanted to stop by and congratulate you. You had an excellent week, better than any of us could've predicted. You definitely exceeded our expectations, but I knew you would."

"Whose expectations? The investors?"

He chuckles. "Yes. The investors."

Why is he laughing? I don't know why that's funny.

"How do you like being a business owner?"

"I love it, but it's a lot of work. I don't think I'll have time to take that class at Moorhurst this semester."

"It's just one class. I'm sure you can handle it."

"I'd rather take it next semester, if that's okay. I have too much going on right now."

"Fine," he says, sounding angry. "But if you'll remember, that was part of our deal. You need to learn about business in the classroom in addition to what you learn here at the restaurant."

I nod, even though taking a class was not part of our agreement.

My phone dings with a text from Gavin, saying he loves me.

"Kate?"

"Sorry." I set my phone on the desk and look up at Mr. Walcott. "Could you wait here a moment? I have to get the ovens preheating for the pies. I prepped them last night but still have to bake them."

"Go ahead."

I was hoping he'd take that as a cue to leave but instead he waits in my office while I get the ovens going. When I get back, he's looking at his phone, texting someone.

"So how's Gavin?" he asks as he continues to text.

"Gavin?" I sound surprised because we almost never talk about Gavin. "He's fine. Why do you ask?"

"It's almost the anniversary of his father's death. I was just wondering how he's doing."

It's not really 'almost' the anniversary of Niles' death. It's still a few months away, but I go along with it. "He's doing okay."

"What happened to Niles..." He shakes his head. "It was such a shame."

"Yeah, it was," I say, trying to figure out why he's bringing this up.

"We'd been out for lunch only a week before it happened."

"Really? I didn't realize you knew him that well."

"He was one of my clients, but I also knew him personally. We'd have lunch every now and then and we'd go golfing a few times in the summer."

"Oh." I don't know what else to say. I don't like talking about Niles, or even thinking about him. When I think about him, I remember seeing him shoot that man, killing him. I remember him threatening me to keep quiet. I remember how panicked I felt when I thought my dad was in the house when it exploded. And how devastated I was when I saw Gavin having to watch as his dad died right before his eyes.

"He was spending a lot of time in New York back then," Walcott says. "I could never figure out why. Perhaps he was seeking out supporters for his campaign."

"He had an office there," I say.

"Yes. He did, didn't he? Odd that he would have an office in New York, but I'm sure he had his reasons." He stands up. "Well, I should be getting to my own office. I have a lot of work to catch up on."

"Thanks for stopping by." I give him a smile as I walk him to the door. "Have a good day!"

"You too."

When he's gone I get back to work but feel anxious and uptight after that unexpected visit. Being around Walcott always leaves me feeling this way, probably because he's rich and powerful and could put me out of business if he wanted to. He paid for most everything in here and paid for the lease so at this point, I'm more of his employee than his partner, just like my mom warned me about when she told me she didn't want me involved with Walcott.

But too late now. I'm in business with him and will be for a long time. I appreciate all the help he's given me. I just wish I could trust him.