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If I heard about me, I’d be the first to call the cops.
“I’m sorry, Katherine.”
She turns her head to the side and stares at the flock of birds gliding above the water, skimming the surface with splashes before soaring high into the sky. When she swivels back to me, she pins me with a strange look. “You see me.”
“What?” It’s the last thing I expect to hear from her.
“You see me, Kieran.”
“Of course, Katherine. I see you. I see every inch of your perfection. How can I not? I’m not blind.”
She laughs softly, and when she lifts her gaze, her eyes glisten with unshed tears.
Fuck. Is this the last straw for her? Have I gone beyond what she can tolerate? Shit.
“I should be upset, right?” She smiles, lifts the bouquet, and runs a finger along the velvet petal. “I should call the cops to report a stalker. Tell them about the guy not just following me but breaking into my home and going through my stuff. That’s what I should do, right?”
I clench my hands into fists and swallow hard. “If that’s what you want, Katherine. I won’t stop you. I’ll even go with you to the station.”
“That’s the thing. I can’t.”
My heart stops. I don’t know where this conversation is headed, and it makes my head spin. “What do you mean?”
“For the first time in my life, someone sees me. Someone actually sees me.” She whispers the last part, as if she’s talking to herself. “Why are you obsessed with me, Kieran? What do you see in me? I’m not as beautiful?—”
“Stop right there, Katherine. When I told you you were perfect, I meant every word. Now I’m sure you don’t see yourself the way I do, but you just have to trust and believe me. At first, it was your beauty that knocked the breath out of me. Then, one day, I just woke up and felt tethered to you in a way I’ve never felt before.”
“But what if you realize I’m not all that?”
“I don’t know what you mean, cupcake. I’ve put my life on hold and been doing nothing for the past three months except following you and getting to know you inside and out … without your knowledge and consent, sure, but yeah.”
I extend a hand and cup her cheek. Instead of flinching and backing away, she leans into my touch and turns to kiss my palm. A simple gesture that makes my pulse pump madly. Jesus Christ, I have never known this kind of happiness. “You have to believe me, Katherine. I love your beautiful face and your banging body, but more than that, I realize I love the whole package.”
A single tear slides down her cheek, and I wipe it with my thumb. “I believe you now, Kieran. I still don’t know what you see in me because I’ve spent my whole life being nothing more than an afterthought.”
“Are we talking about your selfish parents or your egoistic siblings or opportunistic friends or all of the above?”
The sorrow that passed her features disappears, and one side of her mouth curls up. “All, I guess.”
“Talk to me. Tell me everything. I already know from your diary, of course, but I prefer you share them with me. Everything you’ve never told another soul. I want it all, Katherine.”
And so we spend the next hour with Katherine pouring her heart out. Like I said, I know everything. I had to physically restrain myself from tossing her diary into the fire when I first found out how her family treated her. But with her sharing it to me while her voice breaks and she’s trying to keep it together?
Well, let’s just say, I’m gonna need an extra layer of self-control the next time I see her parents.
“Kieran, can I ask you something?”
“Sure, cupcake. Anything.”
“What do you say when someone pisses you off and you’re too angry to say anything sensible?”
I lift my shoulder. “I just tell them to go fuck themselves.”
“That’s it?”
“That’s it. Why?”
“Nothing. Just curious how someone like you deals with bullshit.”
