Page 42 of Fools in Love

“Wonderful,” Kate answered. “I’m hoping Tom will take me out again soon.” She gave him a wink.

Her brother, thankfully, didn’t see the move and continued to talk while he shoveled his cinnamon roll into his mouth.

Chapter Fourteen

Kate stood in the middle of the room, in front of the large windows that looked out over the main part of town, and smiled. She was home. At least, for now. She hadn’t realized how important being self-sufficient was to her until she’d spent two months living with her parents.

She loved her family. Really. But there was just something about being on her own. Something she needed.

Lifting her bad leg, she did a pirouette right in the middle of her floor, lifting her arms over her head and laughing.

When a knock sounded on her door, she smiled as she opened the door to her brother.

“This is the last of it,” he said as he carried a box through the living room and back into the bedroom. “Now, where’s that pizza your promised me?” he said when he came back.

“It’s down at Baked.” She smiled and wrapped her arm through his. “You earned it. And a beer.” She led him out of the apartment, making sure to lock the door behind her. Nick went down the stairs first, slowly, as if he wasn’t sure she could handle them on her own yet.

The funny thing was that stairs didn’t bother her. It was the odd twisting of her knee, the kind you did almost daily by changing direction or moving your leg the wrong way that caused the pain to spike.

“Are you good?” he asked once they reached the bottom.

“Perfect.” She smiled and took his hand again. Just as long as she kept her knee and leg stiff while she walked, there was no pain at all. For the first time since being injured, she had started to trust her body again.

Dr. Stevens had even suggested that she could start dancing again if she took it slow.

First thing in the morning, she was going to hit the gym and see what she could do. But for now, she was going to enjoy having some pizza and beer with her brother.

When they walked in to Baked, Riley and Lilly waved them over to a large table.

“Join us. The entire gang is going to be here any minute,” Riley said, giving Kate a hug.

“We have pizzas already ordered,” Lilly said. “It pays to be married to the owners,” she added with a laugh. “Beer?” She motioned to a couple pitchers.

Kate and Nick sat down and within five minutes, almost every chair at the tables around them was filled. Most of them by Jordans.

Sara and Parker had been first to arrive. Since she was six months pregnant, she was sipping on a glass of sweet tea instead of beer.

They were followed by Suzie, who explained that Aiden was still working and might stop by later after he got off shift. Conner and Kara arrived with George and Robin.

Kate had enjoyed working with Kara and Robin when she’d worked at Suzie’s flower shop. The sisters were now married, and their business was an even bigger success than before. Kate had heard that people came from all over the States to have a destination wedding at their venue.

Jacob and Rose arrived later. Rose sat next to Sara and sipped her own tea.

Seeing the two pregnant friends with their heads huddled together, laughing, Kate thought about her own future. She’d never really thought about having children of her own. Sure, somewhere in the back of her mind she’d always known someday she would get married and have children. But she’d been so focused on her career that nothing else was as important.

Now, however, with her career and goals shot down, she’d spent the last few weeks reevaluating her life. Especially since she had started kissing Tom. The man made her want to think of her future. No one else had ever done that for her.

When the pizzas arrived, everyone dug in as the conversations grew louder and split off in many different directions.

She ended up talking with Suzie for most of the time since Tom was still on shift as well.

They talked about her shop, how she’d hired two full-time employees since Kate had left her to go back to New York years back.

At one point, Josh and Carrie came in and sat in a couple of empty chairs next to Suzie.

“You know,” Suzie said, pushing her empty plate away, “the old hair salon next to me is still empty. Someone came and cleared it out last year in hopes of selling it. It would make an amazing dance studio.”

Kate felt her stomach do a little twist. She’d been thinking the same thing. The last time she’d walked by All in Bloom, she’d spent most of her time looking through the large glass windows next door.