Compass (Second Chances 1)

Gage: Shrimp scampi works for you?

Her response is quick and expected.

Kate: It works.

Gage: I’ll see you at 7.

I punch out a text to Zeke telling him that he’s got tonight to himself because tomorrow I need him.

I don’t care if he can’t make the switch. I’ll close the bar down if I have to. I’m not missing a chance to cook Katie dinner.

Chapter 35

Kate

Silence is a mother’s worst nightmare.

My mom would say that to me when I was a teenager hiding in my bedroom while I daydreamed about the captain of my high school’s football team.

She started repeating the phrase right after I moved to Manhattan when I’d go days without calling her.

She left me a voicemail today. She only said those six words before she hung up.

I’m on the phone with her now.

“Is it a boy, Kate? Is that what’s got your attention?”

I look through the dresses in my closet trying to decide which one to wear to Gage’s apartment.

Maybe a dress is too formal and I should keep it casual in jeans and a blouse.

I sigh. “I date men, Mom, not boys.”

“Of course.” She laughs. “They’re boys to me, Kate. If they’re young enough to be my son, I consider them a boy.”

Gage is not a boy.

“Are you busy at the store?” She effortlessly shifts the topic of discussion. “You’re still selling enough dresses to keep the doors open, aren’t you?”

“More than enough.” I smile as I answer.

My parents doubted whether I could run the store on my own after I bought it.

They gifted both Eldred and me with a generous amount of money after my mom’s dad passed away. I used the bulk of mine to fund my business.

I purchased the store’s inventory from my former boss, signed a new lease deal with the building’s landlord, and hired a contractor to handle the remodeling.

I’ve kept my head above water since.

“We’re very proud of you,” she says quietly. “Is anything else going on that I should know about?”

If I bring up Gage, she’ll launch a defensive attack about why she never told me that he reached out to her and my dad after our broken engagement.

I don’t have the time or the inclination to get into that with her tonight.

Gage is expecting me to be at his place in less than an hour.

“I need to run, mom,” I chirp back, trying to keep my tone light to mask the nerves racing through me. “I’ll talk to you in a day or two.”