Thirteen years ago, some mischievous freshman housing elves at the University of Miami must have thought it would be fun to pair up Katharine Elizabeth Giles-Armitage, better known as Kate, a fourth-generation trust fund baby, with the pragmatic middle-class girl from the Tampa suburbs. But as unlikely as the pairing might have seemed on paper, in real life, it totally worked.
Jenna had been the first to arrive at the dorm. Her parents quickly helped her put away her things—a small closet composed of mostly shorts and T-shirts, sneakers, sandals, some work-out clothes and a few dresses (to wear to Mass, her mother had said with a raised eyebrow). Marsha Pantini’s theory being that just because Jenna was away at college didn’t mean she should turn into a heathen.
Jenna had just finished making her bed with the new sheets and comforter they’d bought at the local Target store when Kate had whirled into the room. Medium height with brown hair and green eyes that looked as if she was always smiling, Kate was like something out of a south Florida prep school catalog with her pink and green Lily Pulitzer sundress and pearl earrings.
“Hello! I’m Katherine, but like I said in our emails, you can call me Kate.” She hugged Jenna, then dazzled Mom and Dad with a smile that could have melted the polar ice caps. “I have to ask you,” she said, reaching out to touch one of Jenna’s crazy curls, “if this gorgeous hair of yours is for real. The second I saw your picture on Myspace I was like, oh my God, I’m rooming with Nicole Kidman’s gorgeous younger twin!” From anyone else, it would have seemed like disingenuous flattery, but there was something instantly likable about Kate, despite the fact that she was the gorgeous one.
Although it appeared as if they had nothing in common, and that Kate was rushing a sorority while Jenna spent the week before classes holed up in their room reviewing her AP math and science notes, they developed a lasting friendship, one that extended to Jenna’s family. Kate was practically a second daughter to Marsha and Bill Pantini, to the point that sometimes Jenna thought Kate talked more to Mom than she did her own mother.
This phone call from Kate was no coincidence.
She clicked on the answer button. “Hey, Kate.”
“So I was thinking,” her best friend began, “It’s been way too long since you came down to visit me. Plus, I have a new guy to fix you up with. Or, wait…is there something you should have called to tell me?”
Marsha. Marsha. Marsha. Jenna bit back a moan. “I take it you’ve been talking to my mother again?”
“Yes, but that’s neither here nor there. Marsha says you ran into an old college boyfriend and that his name was Ben, but I think she must have gotten the name wrong because—”
“Ben Harrison is here in town.”
There was a dramatic pause. “You’ve got to be kidding me. Ben Harrison is in Whispering Bay?”
“Yep.”
“Wow. Talk about karma.”
“We’re getting together for a drink tomorrow night.”
Jenna would bet her last dollar that right about now her friend was picking her jaw up off the floor. Kate, being Kate however, quickly recovered to ask the all-important question.
“What are you wearing?”
“Exactly what I plan to wear for work,” Jenna said, glancing at the outfit she’d hung on her closet door. “A black skirt and a blue shirt with—”
“No, no, no,” Kate said firmly. “You’re going home before you meet him and changing into the sexiest thing you own. Then you’re sending me a picture of the outfit ahead of time so I can approve it. Wear your white jeans. Your ass looks amazing in those. And you have to wear heels. Any pair in your closet will do.”
“Believe it or not, I know how to dress myself.”
“Hello? I taught you, remember?”
“This is strictly a business drink.” She went on to tell Kate the events of the past few days.
“He has a daughter? Are you sure about that?”
“I saw her with my own two eyes.”
“I follow Ben on Twitter and he’s never mentioned a daughter.”
“You what? Why would you do that?”
“Only because of the Tiffany McAdams thing,” Kate rushed. “You have to admit it’s all kind of fascinating. Oh! Is he still dating her? Because—”
“I have absolutely no interest in who Ben is or isn’t dating. As for the daughter, he’s probably been hiding her. Or maybe he’s just found out about her. The poor thing looked confused when I saw her. And you should see the nanny. She’s Heidi Klum minus about twenty years. He’s probably doing her behind Tiffany’s back.” Jenna shuddered. “I can’t imagine a worse father than Ben Harrison.”
“You have to call me the second this date is over and tell me all about it. And as for no interest in Ben, of course you’re not interested in him! But, you have to admit, it would be sweet revenge to see the look on his face when you go walking into that bar looking all gorgeous.”
“Don’t you have your own life to worry about? How’s Tim?” she asked referring to Kate’s husband.