CHAPTER 30
Cate
That Sunday evening, less than a week before Peter and Genevieve’s wedding, I made the final, painful decision to follow my head over my heart. As much as I loved Joe, we didn’t belong together. It wasn’t going to work. Breaking up with him was the only way—and I needed to do it before the press got wind of the story about my father. It was only a matter of time, and I couldn’t wait for that bomb to go off in Joe’s life.
So I picked up the phone and called him. It rang a few times before he answered.
“Hi,” I said, my heart racing. “It’s me.”
“Hi, Cate,” he said, sounding so tired and sad.
“Do you think I could come over? To talk?”
“Of course,” he said. “I’m dying to talk to you.”
“Can I come now?”
He hesitated, then said, “Well, Berry’s here right now, actually.”
Feeling relieved that I could put the conversation off another night, I said, “Okay. What about sometime tomorrow?”
“Wait,” he said. “Can you hold on one second?”
I said yes, then listened to the muffled sounds of voices. When he came back on, he said, “Now’s good, actually. Berry’s about to leave.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah,” he said. “I’ll see you soon.”
—
Five minutes later, I was in a cab, headed downtown. The traffic was light—standard for a Sunday night—and I arrived in SoHo in record time. As I slid out of the taxi, I spotted Berry sitting on the steps of Joe’s building, wearing a long, puffy black coat and red Hunter rain boots.
“Hi,” she said when I got close to her. Her expression was inscrutable, but I could somehow tell she wasn’t happy with me. That she’d been waiting for me.
“Hi,” I said, now standing right in front of her, my hand on the railing.
“Are you going to break his heart?” she said, still seated.
I stared at her, speechless.
“Wow…You’re really going to end it…. Aren’t you?”
I couldn’t make myself answer the yes-no question, so I stammered my way through an explanation. “I—I just don’t think we’re right for each other—” I said.
Berry’s expression darkened even more. “Then why did you accept the ring in the first place?” she asked in a steely voice.
“I don’t know…. It was a mistake,” I said, feeling so flustered and guilty. “I shouldn’t have.”
She nodded, her jaw clenched, and I braced myself for her to tell me off. Instead, her voice came back quiet and even. “That’s correct. You shouldn’t have. It’s not right to play with someone’s heart like that.”
“I wasn’t doing that, Berry. I loved him—I still love him…. I just don’t think we are right—”
“Okay, whatever, Cate. I don’t need to hear all of this…. I just wanted to say that he has a family wedding this weekend. And it’s a really big deal. And he needs you to go with him. He needs the support.”
I stared at her, taking this in, thinking that I needed to just rip off the Band-Aid. For his sake and mine.
Berry continued. “If you don’t go…you’re going to ruin the weekend for him.”
“It won’t ruin the weekend,” I said.
“For Joe it will. It absolutely will. He’ll be too sad to fake being happy for his own cousin. And he’s the best man, Cate. Everyone will be looking at him, feeling sorry for him, asking him questions about where you are. Including the bride and groom.”
I nodded noncommittally, thinking it over. The possibility of my absence negatively affecting Peter and Genevieve’s wedding had never occurred to me. If anything, I thought everyone would be better off just getting the show on the road with their regularly scheduled Kingsley programming. “But…I don’t want to be a distraction,” I said.
“You’ll be more of a distraction if you aren’t there,” she said. “Besides, it’s rude. He RSVPed for two.”
“I’m sure he can find another date,” I said, instantly regretting the snide way I sounded. It wasn’t fair.
Berry made a scoffing sound. “He’s Joe Kingsley. He can’t just bring some random date to his cousin’s wedding. That’s worse than going alone. Oh my God. You really have no idea the pressure he’s under, do you? Do you even care?”
I suddenly wanted to explain that that was exactly why I was breaking up with him. But it wasn’t worth it—she wouldn’t get it. How could she possibly? Instead, I took a deep breath and said, “I’ll talk to him. I’ll give him the option. But I’m not going to lie about my decision. My mind is made up.”
Berry shook her head and mumbled something under her breath that sounded like I knew you were trouble.
“Excuse me?” I said, staring her down, suddenly so angry—and even more sure I couldn’t be part of Joe’s world. Their world.
She looked me dead in the eye. “I said…I. Knew. You. Were. Trouble.”
“Yeah,” I replied, my heart shutting down a little bit more. “I’m quite sure you did. So that should make you very happy, Berry. You get to be right about me. Congrats.”
Berry opened her mouth to answer, but I stepped around her, determined to have the last word. Then I used my key to unlock the front door of Joe’s building for what was sure to be the last time.