“You never questioned how he knew you needed abuffer?” I ask sarcastically.
The colour drains from Kat’s face.
“I…”
She sinks onto the sofa, her head in her hands.
“After everything Sasha said, I asked Zach about your love life. He told me you had a flock of women chasing you.”
“Did you ever mention you and me? That we were together?”
Kat’s eyes clash with mine, and she inclines her head as if trying to remember. She bites her lip before shaking her head slowly.
I let out a forceful breath at the sharp tightness in my chest.
“Everything was such a mess. Elijah had just found out about Darra’s pregnancy, and my family were in turmoil. Then straight after I confronted you about Sasha, you disappeared off to the US for two weeks.”
My body temperature rises, my voice growing thick.
“I didn’t have a choice. Did you think I wanted to go after everything that had happened?” I run a hand through my hair and spin to face her. “I was in the hotel that day, because Dillon had offered to meet with me. Your father arranged the interview. For someone like me, it was the chance of a lifetime. Dillon Myers was my hero.” I sink onto the edge of the bed. “I didn’t even know Sasha was going to be there, not until I turned up and Dillon introduced Emma, his daughter, and Sasha, her close friend. They left almost immediately, and Dillon conducted my first interview. I never gave it another thought. I was as surprised as anyone when he invited me to visit their offices in the US.”
Kat frowns, “Someone like you?”
I raise an eyebrow. “Don’t be naive, Kat. I wasn’t born with a silver spoon in my mouth. I couldn’t turn down opportunitieslike the one Dillon was offering. It jump-started my career. I’d still be a nobody if I hadn’t taken that internship.”
“You’ve got it all wrong. You were never going to be a nobody, Jax. I never blamed you for taking that job.”
Her words stab me in the chest. She always had so much faith in me, even before.
“But you didn’t tell me about it. The interview,” she says.
When Robert approached me, he’d asked me not to tell anyone at Dillon’s request. I didn’t want to ruin my chances, so I kept it quiet, even from Kat. My first mistake. I should have trusted her.
“No, I didn’t,” I say, shaking my head. “And that’s on me. I was asked to keep it quiet, and when I didn’t hear back, I didn’t think anything was going to come of it. I should have told you.”
“You were my best friend.” She sighs. “When I finally found out, I knew what a big deal that interview was to you. My first thought was to ring and congratulate you, but then there was Sasha. Beautiful, gorgeous, confident Sasha and I began to question whether I’d been stupid and naïve. You were always so driven, had your life planned out. Our lives were heading in different directions. Why would you want me holding you back?”
I flinch at her words. According to her parents, Kat never allowed herself to be vulnerable, even as a little girl.
“I never in a million years thought I’d get the position. When I was offered the internship, I wanted to tell you. But then I remembered you hated my guts.”
We fall into an awkward silence.
“Do you know, you’re one of the few people who would call my brother or me out on our shit when you didn’t agree with us. Not many people do that when your last name is Frazer.”
I chuckle.
“It’s why your brothers’ like me,” I admit. “I refuse to take any of their shit.”
Kat repositions herself on the sofa and laughs quietly. “It’s a rarity. It’s also something we value, especially when it’s genuine and comes from the best place.”
My eyes find hers, and a sharp pain stabs through my chest.
“You say this, but you went from my bed straight to his?”
Kat gets up and walks towards me. She pauses before sitting down on the mattress next to me.
She turns her head her haunted gaze meeting mine.
