CHAPTER FIVE

Keira was filled with excitement as she hurried into Bryn’s apartment after work that evening. Her sister wasn’t yet home, so there was no one to tell her news to. Instead, she rummaged beneath Bryn’s bed for her trusty suitcase, surprised that she was so pleased to be packing it once again. She’d been utterly convinced she never wanted to do this again, and yet here she was, thrilled to be traveling abroad for work once more.

Her phone pinged a message then, and she looked to see it was from her mom.

What’s the difference between a cortado and a flat-white?

Keira laughed and called Mallory’s number. As soon as Mallory answered, she began talking about coffee, clearly assuming that to be the purpose of her daughter’s call.

“I mean is it just the cup size? It has to be more than that, doesn’t it?” she mused aloud.

“Mom, I’m going abroad again,” Keira said, paying no attention to the coffee conversation.

“You are?” Mallory said, sounding surprised. “But I thought you were putting your foot down about the Romance Guru articles.”

“I was,” Keira said, sitting on the edge of Bryn’s bed with a light sigh. “But this one is different.”

“In what way?”

“The whole point is to not rebound this time. I mean, it’s exactly what I need, don’t you think? A chance to work on myself. To be alone. I’ve jumped from one guy to the next for too long now.”

“When do you leave?”

“Tomorrow. Typical Viatorum can’t give me more than a day’s notice of anything.”

There was a slight pause. “Well, I’m happy for you, darling,” Mallory finally said.

Keira distinctly caught the edge in her voice. “What is it?”

“Nothing,” Mallory protested. “I just said I was happy for you.”

“There’s a but coming…” Keira said.

“No, there isn’t.”

“Yes, there is. Mom, I’ve been your daughter for twenty-eight years. I know when there’s a but coming.”

Mallory sighed. “Fine. I was going to say, ‘But what about Christmas?’”

“Ohh,” Keira said, relieved. She’d thought Mallory was going to make some comment about how Keira would fail her assignment, how she was always destined to fall for the wrong man, never marry, never make her a grandma, all that stuff. With a chuckle, Keira assured her, “I’ll be back for Christmas.”

“So it’s only a short trip this time?”

“Just over two weeks. You have nothing to worry about. I’ll be there dutifully on Christmas Eve like always.”

“Good,” Mallory replied. “So back to my question. What is the difference between a cortado and a flat-white?”

Keira laughed. “Bye, Mom. I love you.”

She ended the call and went about packing her case. She piled inside of it all her warmest clothing, sweaters and scarves, extra-thick socks and thermal-lined leggings. Then she added her makeup bag, toiletries, some waterproof boots, and a fresh supply of notebooks and pens.

The door opened then, and she heard Bryn call out, “I’m home!”

Keira jumped up and ran to meet her sister.

“Guess what?” she exclaimed, as Bryn flung her keys into the bowl by the door and kicked off her shoes.

Her sister looked up. “What?”

“I’m going to Scandinavia! On a cruise ship!”

Bryn’s eyes widened. “Really? Wow! That’s awesome.”

“And I don’t have to fall in love with anyone either.”

“Oh good. That’s exactly what you need.”

She seemed genuinely thrilled for Keira, and again Keira saw a more mature side to her sister, as if the edges of her competitiveness had begun to soften.

“But what about your apartment?” Bryn asked. “Won’t there be a lease to sign before you leave?”

“Good point,” Keira said, feeling reality bring her back down from her fantasy land. “I’ll have to call the real estate agent now and arrange it.”

She went into the bedroom and fetched her cell phone, then called the number. The real estate agent answered in her raspy smoker’s voice and Keira instantly recalled her fuchsia-pink suit.

“Kid, I was about to call you,” she said. “I need you to make an appointment to come in and sign the lease.”

Keira laughed. “That’s exactly what I was calling for. I’ve got to go abroad for work, for fifteen days. So I’ll have to get the paperwork signed before I go, or it will have to wait until I get back.”

The agent sighed loudly. “Kid, you’re killing me. You’re telling me I’ve got to drop everything so I can get it sorted out for you? I usually need a week to get the paperwork arranged.”

Keira felt her heart sink. She felt terrible for being an imposition, but at the same time the real estate agent was being pretty rude, making it seem like her simple request was completely unacceptable. “Maybe it would be easier to wait until I’m back, in that case?” she suggested. Then she added, slightly sarcastically, “I’d hate to put you out.”

“I can speak to the landlord,” the woman replied with a huge sigh. “See what he thinks. But I know he wanted to move fast with this and if you’re dragging your heels…”

Keira grew even more frustrated. “I can come in now and sign the paperwork. But you said it would take a week to prepare. But fifteen days is too slow? Seems like you have a pretty inflexible schedule.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Keira felt shocked with herself. It wasn’t often that she was so outspoken. But if it all fell through, what were the chances of her finding another apartment like that one? The only reason she’d been able to afford the rent in the first place was because of the small bedroom. But there must be other short people out there who’d snap it up while she was away! To lose it now would be too cruel a twist of fate.

“Fine,” the agent said. “I’ll bust my balls to get everything ready in time for your trip abroad.” Her voice dripped with disdain.

Through gritted teeth, Keira muttered, “Thank you.”

She ended the call, stressed by the conversation. Then she became acutely aware of voices coming from the living area of Bryn’s apartment. Someone was there. She peered out the bedroom door.

Keira’s mouth dropped open. There, standing in Bryn’s kitchen, was Zach. His nose was still bandaged from when Cristiano had broken it, and faded bruises were still visible beneath his eyes.

Bryn, with folded arms, was glaring at him with her fiercest overprotective-sister expression.

“She’s not going to want to see you,” Keira heard her say.

The bedroom door creaked then, and Zach and Bryn looked over at her. Sheepishly, Keira came into the living room.

“Zach,” she said, meekly. “What are you doing here?”

He smiled at the sight of her, though his features were mostly obscured by the bandages. “What, no hug?”

Keira stood still. There would definitely be no hug for her ex-boyfriend, especially after the tricks he’d played in France and how rude he’d been with withholding her money. Bryn rolled her eyes in disdain.

Zachary let his arms drop. “Right,” he said stiffly. “Look, I won’t take up too much of your time. I just wanted to give you this.”

Keira watched him produce something from his pocket. A slip of paper, the same size and shape as a check. She wouldn’t let herself believe that it was one, though. He handed it to her.

“What is it?” she said, still not believing.

“Your half of the deposit,” he explained. Then he sighed, sounding a little strained. “Look, I spoke to my cousin, told him it wasn’t fair to take that money off you. So he agreed to give your portion back.”

“Really?” Keira said, her eyebrows rising. Finally, she took the paper and turned it in her hands so that it was the right way up. It was, indeed, the full portion of her contribution to the deposit. She looked up again at Zach. “Wow. Thank you. I really appreciate this.”

Bryn scoffed. She clearly thought Keira was being too soft on Zach. Keira herself admitted she probably was. But it was just her way. She wasn’t one to hold grudges. Once a wrong had been righted, there didn’t seem much point in doing so. Just a whole lot of wasted energy. Like Bryn and Maxine; no one had any clue how that animosity had started but neither was ever going to let it go.

“I also wanted to say sorry,” Zach continued. “I know what happened in France was crazy. I spoke to my mom and Ruth and my cousin and Shelby and David and my therapist, and there’s unanimous agreement that I was acting like a lunatic.” He smiled shyly. “I’m really sorry if I creeped you out.”

“Okay,” Keira replied. “I appreciate you saying that. And the nose. I’m really sorry about that.”

“God, I deserved it!” Zach laughed. “If some guy had done that while you were my girlfriend I’d have reacted the same way. I just hope it heals well. Gives me character.”

“I’m sure it will,” Keira admitted, smiling shyly.

Bryn let another noise of disgust come from the back of her throat. Her arms crossed even tighter against her chest.

“Are we done now?” she asked, coldly. “We have things to be getting on with.”

Zach flicked his gaze from Keira to Bryn. “Almost,” he told her. “Can we have a bit of privacy though? Then I’ll get out of your hair.”

Bryn looked at Keira. One of her eyebrows was raised. Her lips were pursed. Everything in her stance screamed don’t fall for his tricks. But she finally relented, heading into her bedroom and closing the door.

Keira looked at Zach. “So?”

“So…” Zach began. He drummed his fingers on the kitchen counter. Whatever he had to say clearly wasn’t coming easy. “Keira, I know I’ve been a jerk.”

Keira held her tongue, though she really wanted to scream out, “Finally you admit it!”

“And… the thing is… I’ve been acting that way because I care for you so deeply.” He gazed up at her, his eyes like big pools of sorrow. “When I gave you that ultimatum I really, really didn’t think you’d choose your job.”

Keira recalled, painfully, the complete misunderstanding that had resulted in her and Zach’s relationship ending. She’d never thought he’d follow through with his threat to end it with her, but sleeping with his sister’s maid of honor had really been the nail in the coffin of their relationship.

“I didn’t think you’d sleep with the first woman who’d agree to it,” Keira replied tersely.

“I know, I know,” Zach said, looking away and letting out a painful sigh. “I was hurting. That’s all I can say. I was so sad that you put something else before me that I wanted to put myself before you, put my needs first. It was… well, it was a shitty way to treat you.”

Keira just mumbled in agreement. In a few days’ time, once the dust had settled, she’d be grateful for Zach apologizing, but right now it was just stirring up a ton of feelings Keira didn’t have time to process.

“Okay, well thanks, I guess,” she finally said. “But, like Bryn said, we’ve got stuff to do.”

“Sure,” Zach said, looking over at the bedroom door that was now standing ajar. Bryn was evidently spying on them. He cast his gaze back at Keira and suddenly blurted, “Can you give me another chance?”

Keira’s eyebrows shot up her forehead. “What?”

“Please,” Zach said. “I don’t want to beg but I will. I know I don’t deserve you, especially after how I’ve behaved. But you drive me crazy because I love you. I can see that now.”

Keira was stunned. In the two years she and Zach had been together, love had never come into the equation. They’d been friends, partners, and equals, sure, but actually in love? She couldn’t be certain. They’d never said it, had never felt the need to speak those words. To hear him say them now touched her.

“Zach…” Keira began. “That’s sweet of you to say. But… I can’t. I’m sorry.”

She watched his chest deflate like a balloon, the hope sucked out of him with her words.

“I really blew it, huh?” he said, sounding depressed.

She shook her head. “It’s not that. I’ve been through a lot over the last few months. I’ve grown and learned and changed. I know what I want now.”

“And it’s not me,” he finished for her.

Keira nodded sadly. “I’m sorry. But no, it’s not you.”

“So no amount of begging for forgiveness will work?” Zach asked.

“No,” Keira told him, soft but firm. “It’s not about that. I’m not waiting to forgive you. I just don’t… I don’t want you like that. But we can be friends.”

“Sure,” Zach said, gazing at his feet. “We can be friends.”

Keira led a dejected Zachary from Bryn’s house. Self-pity certainly wasn’t going to help his case. She hoped he’d bounce back soon enough, and learn that he hadn’t really blown it with her, they just weren’t right, and that there’d be some other woman out there who was right for him.

As soon as she closed the door, Bryn hurried out of the bedroom.

“Sis!” she exclaimed, raising a hand for a high five. “That was awesome!”

Keira felt the edges of her lips twitch up. She clapped Bryn’s hand. “It was?”

“Yes! You totally held your own.” Bryn slung an arm around Keira’s shoulder. “You’re going to be just fine on this assignment, I know you are.”

Keira smiled, feeling filled with strength and resolve. Bryn was right. She was going to smash this assignment.