Breaking Kate: The Acceptance Series (19 page)

“Of course I did. He could see it on my face when he walked in the door. Listen, sweetheart, I have to get back to work. I just needed to hear your voice. I’ll call you tonight after work. Maybe we can have dinner together over the phone if I’m off before you eat.
And, Kate, one more thing… I think I might love you.”

My heart flutters. Those words are almost more beautiful than hearing ‘I love you’ because there’s longing and promise in them for things yet to come.

“Daniel, I think I might love you, too. Have a great day.”

Talk about a way to start my morning off right. Who knew just talking to someone could make you so happy? I reflect over my coffee about the last few years and realize how lonely I’ve actually been. I love Jess, and she’s a great sounding board, but I love to have someone else to talk to and share my thoughts and feelings with.

I make a mental note to do something really nice for Jess and Connor; I can’t imagine how boring I’ve seemed being solely focused on school. Besides, without them there would be no me and Daniel, and that’s something I’ll be forever grateful for. I also make a mental note to call Marc. I know he’s pissed at me for avoiding him lately and I do really miss him. The sound of my phone ringing snaps me back to reality.
Shit, it’s my dad. What the hell does he want now?

“Hi, Dad.”
I hope he can hear the indifference in my voice.

“Katherine, good morning, I have a conflict and can’t make the meeting we set up.”
Of course he can’t, what’s new in the world of Joseph Moore
?

“Oh well. That’s okay, Dad.
Another time, perhaps.” I feel like I dodged a bullet. Today is going to be a good day.

“No, Katherine, I need to see you; it’s important. I have some things I need to discuss with you that really can’t wait. Can we have dinner one day this week or next week? I’ll make sure it takes priority over anything else in my schedule.” 

I really don’t want to but it sounds like it’s important. I’m hopeful Daniel will start coming over on Thursdays from now on, or I can go to him, but I guess a Wednesday would work.

“Okay, Dad. How about next Wednesday, will that work?” 

“Yes, that will work fine. Let’s say six thirty. I would prefer to talk in private, and since you won’t have time to drive up here, how about I pick up some Chinese food and come there?”

I’m so out of my element here. My dad has only been here twice in all the years I’ve lived here, and one of those times was to look at the place
before
we bought it. I really don’t want him here. This is the only place that I have that isn’t truly tarnished with some bad memory of him, but I guess I really don’t have a choice.

“Okay, that’s fine. I’ll see you then.”  I wonder what the hell it is that he needs to talk to me about so badly. Fortunately, I don’t have time to sit around and think about it because I have to get ready for school.

The day flies by. Mondays are always crazy at school and the community center is even
more
of a mad house. The kids are always so worked up over their weekends and bummed to be back at school, it’s like pulling teeth to get them to do their homework. Finally, I’m heading out to my car to go home for the day when I get a text from Daniel.

*Text me when you’re on your way home, don’t forget we have a dinner date tonight*

I wish we had a
real
date where I could cuddle up in his arms and let him take all my stress away.

*Stayed later than normal, leaving school now. Have to stop off for an errand. Be home in about 20 minutes. I’ll text you when I get there.*

*Sounds good, drive safe*

I look at the clock and it’s already ten after six. No wonder he wanted to know when I was going to be home. He’s really planning this as a date, and he must be starving after such a long day at work. I pull into my garage at about six thirty. Just as I walk in, the doorbell rings. When I open the door it’s a pizza delivery man.

“Delivery for Kate Moore.”
Boy, he is really something.
I just start laughing.

“Hang on a sec, let me get my purse.” 

“No payment or tip necessary. Everything has been prepaid by Mr. McCormick, enjoy your evening.”  I set the pizza on the table, grab a plate and a beer out of the fridge, and call Daniel. He answers on the first ring.

“Hello,
boyfriend, thanks for the pizza. It’s very sweet of you. Are you eating the same thing?”

Daniel chuckles. “I don’t think I will
ever
get tired of that greeting, and yes, girlfriend, I’m eating the exact same thing. I told you I wanted to have dinner with you, just because I can’t be there to watch you eat half of it doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy it together.” 

“Well, I’m glad you realize I probably
will
eat at least half, and with as hard as you work,
you’ll
probably eat the whole thing, so if you were here we probably would have had to order two anyway. I must say, this might be the sweetest gesture any guy has ever made. I love that we’re together even though we’re not.” 

“Me, too.
I love hearing your voice. It’s been such a long day. I hate that we’re not close enough to see each other; I would
love
to curl up in bed with you tonight. So how was your day?”

“My day was good. It started off pretty exceptional with my new boyfriend telling me he thinks he loves me, I was busy in classes, had a great day at the center, Lauren talked my ear off about the rest of her birthday and her cotton candy and peanuts. She had a smile plastered on her face all day; it was so great to see. I
did
have a rather odd call from my dad today, though.”

I hear Daniel take a deep breath. I’m sure he didn’t realize I could hear that. I love how he’s already trying to protect me from the disaster of emotions that come with my dad.

“Oh, baby, I’m sorry. What did he want this time?”
God, he’s sexy when he calls me baby.

“He can’t meet me the day we planned so he needed to bump up our meeting. He’s coming here next Wednesday so we can talk. Whatever he has to tell
me must be important; I can’t remember when he last made a conscious effort to meet with me. I just hope it isn’t about business since graduation is right around the corner. I’ve really been playing into his idea that I’ll work for him to get through, but it’s the last thing I want for myself and it’s the last thing my mom wanted for me. She made sure I would be secure financially but not until my twenty-fifth birthday which is still a year away. I have enough money in the bank to make it through a few years, so I’m not worried about that, I just really wanted to avoid the confrontation until after graduation.”

  “Well, there’s no need to stress out about it now. If he wants to talk business, just let him know you’re really overwhelmed getting ready for the end of the year and that you don’t want to talk until after graduation and put your foot down about it. I know how overbearing businessmen can be, but they can also appreciate someone who can hold their ground. If your dad really wants you to take over he should appreciate that you can be firm in your resolve. It’s a good trait to have in business, and point that out to him. Maybe he’s just reflecting on his mistakes, or maybe he’s getting married again, you never really know until you talk to him. Take a deep breath, gumdrop. Don’t think about him. Instead, think of all the ways I’m going to make you come this weekend.”

“That is a nice change of thought isn’t it? Daniel, if I start thinking of all the things we could be doing,
will
be doing, I won’t be able to think at all. Then I’ll have to come to you for a release before Thursday and that would mean missing classes and jeopardizing my future. You wouldn’t want that. would you?”

He laughs at me. “Laying it on a little thick there aren’t you, gumdrop? If I’m being honest, I don’t want to affect your school work although I definitely wouldn’t mind you being here. We could break in
my
house this time instead of Connor’s.”

“Speaking of
your
house, I assume you got my address from Connor? That’s so not fair. You need to text me your address in case I want to surprise
you
next time.” 

“Well, I wouldn’t want to have the unfair advantage, would I? I
did
get your address from Connor. I would have asked you for it, but I didn’t want to spoil the surprise.” 

“It was definitely a nice surprise, and it saved me from cooking for one tonight since Jess and Connor are out. Besides, there’s nothing better than pizza and beer, except maybe
cold
pizza and beer.” 

“I completely agree. Cold pizza is the best, especially for breakfast, but I don’t have a beer unless
it’s football Sunday since beer-thirty is acceptable anytime of the day then.” 

“I’ll have to remember to keep you well stocked in pizza and beer during football season. Speaking of which, who’s your team?”

“Definitely the Chargers. My dad used to take me to the games as a kid to see the Broncos and it killed him when I decided to root for the Chargers. There’s nothing better as a kid than going to an NFL game at the home team’s stadium to see a game. I have some really great memories. Hopefully, one day I can take my kids, but they’ll have to be Charger fans, too. How about you, Kate? Are we football rivals?”

“Nope, not at all.
I actually don’t have a team. My dad was never into sports and my boyfriend in high school was a baseball player. I went to the high school games, and have gone to some games in college, but I just never followed a team. I like football, a lot actually, but I also like just watching a game without an attachment or a vested interest in the outcome.”

Daniel laughs, he’s totally cracking up. “Sweetheart, you are absolutely adorable. By the time I’m done with you, you’ll be a Chargers fan, no doubt in my mind.”

Now
I’m
laughing, he’s too cute. I really wish he was here. I hear him yawning; he must be exhausted. We’ve been on the phone for nearly an hour.

“You’re quiet, gumdrop. What are you thinking?”

“Actually, I was thinking that by the sound of your yawn you must be really exhausted. You had such a long night with Mike and still had to be to work at six. I appreciate the dinner and the call but you should probably get some sleep. You need to get your rest for all the things I want to do with you this weekend.” 

“Damn, woman, you’re going to be the death of me way before then with all your promises of things to come. As much as I hate to admit it, though, you’re right. I’m exhausted and really need to go to sleep. Sweet dreams, sweetheart. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

“Goodnight. Daniel. Dream of me.”

The rest of the night is pretty uneventful; Jess stays over at Connor’s and I work on my homework. In the morning, Jess brings me my favorite Starbucks coffee, compliments of Daniel.

“Kate, that boy is head over heels for you. First he sends you dinner and now coffee. He was so sweet when he asked me if I could bring it to you before school. He actually sounded shy—it was really cute. Especially when he told me I had to make them write gumdrop as the name,” she says with a raised eyebrow and a questioning tone that I completely ignore.

“Seriously, Jess, I feel like the other shoe should drop soon or something. He’s gorgeous, sweet, honest, caring, hot, great in bed, and gives me gifts. Oh, and let’s not forget he’s already given me an embarrassing but cute nickname. He really is absolutely perfect. It’s too good to be true, right?” 

“Nope, you just got lucky; this one is totally worth it. He’s a keeper, and you’d better keep your eye on him, too. From what Connor says, he has girls all over him wherever he goes, like he oozes good boyfriend vibes from his pores. You need to tell those bitches to back the hell off your man. Connor said he never pays attention to any of them and that you have nothing to worry about. He said he was waiting to see how long it would take Daniel to finally pick one and now he has!”

I don’t like the idea of girls throwing themselves at him, but I shouldn’t expect any less. I would be, too, if I didn’t know him and saw him out, and now he’s all mine.

“Okay, Jess, as long as I’m not being naïve. I deserve to be happy, right?”

Jess gives me a super big hug. “Of course you do, don’t ever doubt that for a minute. I know things have been rough the past few years but they’re turning around now. I think Michael will become
a distant memory after next year. You’ll have your mom’s inheritance, your foundation, no more stress from your dad, and best of all you have me! Now hop to it or we’re going to be late for school!”

I text Daniel before hopping in the shower.

*Thanks for my favorite coffee. You’re turning into the best boyfriend ever! Xoxoxo”

On my way to the car, my phone notification light flashes.

*Good morning, gumdrop, glad you liked it. I have a really busy day and meetings into the evening. What’s your schedule like?”

Ugghhh
. I realize my schedule is packed, too; I have classes all day and a study group tonight.