She didn’t slow down. Shit, she didn’t even look back. I took off after her in earnest then, shoving through the crowd, dodging tourists, strollers, and a guy with a hot dog cart. The whole world seemed like it wanted to slow me down and keep me from getting to Kate.
My heart pounded so hard, it felt like it might crack a rib. My thoughts were a mess, anger, disbelief, humiliation, and something else tangled in there too. She darted down a path and I lost her for a second.
Holy fuck, I didn’t know she was this fast.
“Kate!” I picked up speed, rounding the corner just in time to see her sprinting toward the street. I followed, gaining on her at times, but she knew this city way better than I did.
She didn’t stop until she reached the hotel, shoving through the revolving doors like the building itself might save her. I went after her, my pulse roaring in my ears and my muscles burning.
She was halfway across the lobby by the time I got inside. “Kate!”
She glanced back that time, her eyes wide and wild. Then she bolted for the elevators. I was ten steps behind her when she stabbed the button. Five at most when the doors opened, but they slid shut right in my face when I finally reached the car she was in.
For half a second after, I just stood there, staring at my own reflection in the polished brass doors like an idiot. Then I jabbed the button hard enough to hurt my finger.
“Come on,” I muttered. “Comeon.”
The elevator took forever. Or maybe it just felt like forever because my brain had decided now was a great time to replay the last five years of my life like some kind of cruel highlight reel.
Her emails. Her voice on the phone. The way she teased me. How she always pushed back just hard enough. How well she knows me.
Kate.Fuck, of course it’s Kate. Of course, it’s been her all along.
The woman got under my skin like it was her full-time job. She argued with me for sport and I’d been half in love with her while being fully in love with someone else who turned out to be?—
Also Kate.
The elevator dinged. I stepped in, hit the button for our floor, and tried not to lose my mind during the ride up. By the time I reached the suite, my hands were shaking. I pushed the door open so hard, I nearly took it off its hinges.
Kate was already there, pacing like a caged animal while running her hands through her hair so aggressively, it stuck out in every direction. She spun as soon as I’d kicked the door shut behind me, my chest heaving and my head spinning.
“We need to talk about this!” she shouted, her voice cracking on the last word.
“We do,” I said, somehow sounding calmer than I felt.
I also stepped toward her slowly, scared she might bolt again if I moved too fast. Approaching her like a wild animal seemed prudent in this moment.
She started talking so fast, it was almost like she wasn’t even aware I was moving toward her. Her words tumbled over eachother and her cheeks were completely pale. “I didn’t know it was you. I mean, obviously, I didn’t know it was you because why would it be you? Five years, Nate, five?—”
A few strides later, I’d closed the distance between us, but I wasn’t really sure what to feel right then. Kate stopped rambling the second I reached for her, instead just staring up at me with those whiskey-colored eyes so wide, it looked painful.
Still moving so, so fucking slowly, I took her face in my hands and just looked at her. I looked into her eyes and at her mouth, at the planes of her jaw, and the hammering of her pulse underneath it. This was my Emma. My Kate. The same person.
God, I feel dumb. Actually, no.Astronomically dumb is more accurate.
Five years.
Five fucking years in love with my enemy.
“In my defense, you never sent me a picture,” I said quietly.
Her mouth fell open. “Inyourdefense?”
I didn’t bother responding or trying to explain. Instead, I just kissed her. I didn’t plan to. I didn’t even think about it and I definitely didn’t weigh the pros and cons like a sane person might’ve in this situation.
But me? I had no sanity left. I just leaned in and did it, pressing my mouth to hers and crushing her to me like I would never let go. Her lips were warm, familiar, and suddenly so fucking new all at once, but as they sealed against mine, something in my chest finally snapped into place like a piece that had been floating loose for years.
I pulled back, stared at her for another moment, and then kissed her again. Because apparently, that was the only logical response to discovering the love of your life, your former sworn enemy, and the woman you were engaged to were the same person.
