The KISS Principle Part 13

My heart was heavy, looking at his sweet, puppy dog eyes. If only I could just tell him the reason why I kept guys in one of two categories--friends and the one-nighters. There was no being a member of both groups. Nothing ruined a friends.h.i.+p faster than s.e.x. So where did that leave Peter? He was saying everything I wanted to hear, precisely the reason to keep him where he was--a friend. Nice guys deserved better.

I picked up my phone. "Give me your number. We'll stay in touch. Maybe I'll come see you guys play some time."

He fished his own out of his back pocket. "That would be great."

As soon as I finished entering Peter's info, I had a text from my best friend, Gwen.

Ice cream.

I clamped my eyes shut. Talk about horrible timing. Ice cream was what Gwen and I had devised as shorthand for, "this is really f.u.c.king important so drop whatever you're doing and call me right now". Gwen generally used it when she had a fight with her boyfriend, Ted. I'd used it countless times during the events that eventually led to me selling my engagement ring.

"I'll be over in a few minutes so we can finish the shoot," I said. "I just need to make a quick phone call."

Peter nodded. "Of course." His voice was decidedly less enthusiastic now. I was probably insane for turning down a dinner date with him.

"Hey, honey. What's up?" I whispered, jamming a finger in my other ear and wandering off to a corner of the studio.

"I didn't want to have to tell you this over the phone, but I start my s.h.i.+ft at the hospital in less than an hour. There's no time for me to come over and tell you in person."

"Tell me what? Did somebody die?" My stomach rolled with unease.

"Brad got married."

I heard the words. Brad. Got. Married. They didn't add up.

"To, you know, her," Gwen continued.

The steps I'd taken to distance myself from what happened with Brad were erased with a sentence from my best friend. With a rush, I was face-to-face with my nightmare all over again. "Married. To her." I choked on that last word, fighting images of him in a tux, the girl he'd cheated on me with in a wedding dress. I was supposed to be the girl in the wedding dress. I was supposed to have the happily ever after.

"Katie, if you need me now, I'll see if I can get somebody to cover for me. We'll talk about it and drink beer and eat ice cream."

"No. No. I'm okay." I glanced across the room. Peter smiled at me. For some reason, that only made me want to cry more. But there was no time for tears and work always distracted me from the bad things. "I'm actually in the middle of a photo shoot right now."

"Okay, good. Go take pictures. I know it helps."

"It does. It helps a lot."

"You're stronger than this. Remember that."

I nodded, sucking in a deep breath. Was I stronger than this? At that moment, I wasn't sure I was strong enough to make it through the next five minutes.

But I had to get through this, just like I'd gotten through every other miserable moment since Brad left that f.u.c.king note on the kitchen counter. I had to get through it because there was no other way. I just needed to keep myself on the path that had helped me through it, the path where I kept men at arms' length and focused on work. "I got it. I'm good. I promise."

"Okay, well, whatever you do, don't go on Facebook. You're still friends with his sister, right? She posted a zillion pictures."

"Yeah, I'm still friends with his sister. It's not her fault she has an a.s.shole for a brother."

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