Emerald Cove

Chapter 17

Katherine's POV

After graduating from military school and taking the summer off, I went to college at my father's alma mater. I even pledge with my mother's sorority. I finished law school at the top of my class and I moved back home with my parents. That didn't last long. I saved up and bought a house on the other side town from them.

When I first came home Colin would barely acknowledge me. After a while we regained some sort of friendship. Victoria married Mark and since he hated me it made having a friendship hard.

I settled into the law firm easily. Being a young lawyer I was eager to take any case or any client on. Because of this I stayed busy.

Because I've always been busy, I have never made the time to date. I have had a few hookups and one night stands, but I never committed to anything more.

Or at least that was the case up until a few months ago. I met a woman, Gina, in a town a few hours from my home town. I was there on business. Her father was my client. He is a wealthy businessman. He was often impossible to get ahold of so he assigned his daughter, the vice president of his company, to help answer any questions that I had. The whole interaction was professional. I refused to acknowledge her advancements while I was working for her father. Once the proceedings were complete she all, but demanded I go on a date with her.

We hit it off. I loved being around her and spending time with her. It was easy to forget everything else when I was with her. We connected in a way that I have not come close to since Charlotte. She wasn't Charlotte though, not even close.

I was still very private about my sexuality. This was something that Gina had a hard time accepting. Her family was very open to her and her lifestyle. She didn't understand that my parents would essentially excommunicate me if I ever disgraced them like I had 14 years ago.

The only person who knew about me now a days was Colin. During a night of heavy drinking I had confessed to him what happened between Charlotte and me so many years ago. He wasn't shocked at all and told me that he has always known I was into girls. "What straight woman could resist me?" he had asked while flexing his muscles.

Collin came to me a few weeks ago and told me he had a real close friend who was looking into renting a house. I thought he'd lost his mind when he suggested that I help his friend out by letting that person rent a room in my house. I'm a very private person and having someone else living with me did not seem like an idea I was too fond of. However, there was something about his face when he talked about this friend. Something lit up in his eyes.

I pulled my suitcase out of the car. I needed sleep. I've been on the road for two weeks now and is all I want is to fall asleep in my bed. I literally have nothing to do until the day after tomorrow when Gina is coming over for supper and a sleepover. Until then I intend on being in my pajamas and eating junk food. It has been a rough few weeks.

I saw my new roommate's car in the garage. I entered the house fully intending on avoiding that person until after I had a nap and good shower.

Today was not my day. I heard bare feet padding down the hallway. I braced myself for an introduction, not wanting to make a bad first impression. As I turned I heard an all too familiar voice, "Katherine?"

My heart stopped and my head exploded. It had been so long since I've seen her. Part of me wanted to rush to her and pull her into a hug. The other part of me wanted to yell at her for not writing me back all those years ago. Instead I just stared at her in pure shock.