Moving On

Chapter 15 - Part 1

Tyler sat at the dining table, staring at the empty seat next to his. Kate would usually be in the kitchen by this time, but there was still no sign of her.

He glanced over his shoulder, expecting Kate to walk in any second.

"You can start eating. I'm sure she'll come down soon," Marianne said as she set the plate of waffles down.

When Kate finally strolled into the kitchen, Tyler looked up at her and smiled, pulling out a chair for her.

"Did you kids have fun last night?" Marianne asked as Kate sat.

Instead of answering Marianne's question, Tyler and Kate smiled at each other.

"You're a bad influence, Ty. She's learning to ignore questions already," Ryan said.

Kate looked up and smiled at everyone. "Good morning, everyone. I had a lot of fun," Kate replied to Marianne. Then, glancing around the table, she noticed that the usual group wasn't complete. "Where's Dan?"

"I don't know. He's been rather secretive these past few days. Always disappearing," Ryan said with a shrug.

Joseph grinned. "Probably seeing someone. And he was asking if you'd gone for your Lasik review."

Kate grimaced. "No, I forgot all about it. But I promise I'll find time, soon."

"You had time to go to dinner with Ty, but no time to get your eyes fixed?" Ryan questioned as he stared at Kate.

"Stop it," Tyler stated and shot a glare at Ryan.

Ryan's eyes widened when Marianne neared him with her knuckles raised. "Okay, okay," he said and stuffed a whole sandwich into his mouth.

"The dinner was at night. If the clinic's open at night, then I'll definitely have the time," Kate replied anyway. "Speaking of work, I've got to go—got to do some accounting and probably clear Evelyn's paperwork as well." She stood and turned to Tyler. "See you tonight."

"Bye," Ryan and Joseph echoed, then kept quiet until Kate was out of the door.

Once the door closed, Marianne shifted to where Kate had sat and smiled coyly. "How did last night go?" she asked.

Tyler continued sipping his coffee as though he didn't hear Marianne's question.

Marianne waited patiently, staring right at him to let him know she wasn't giving up. "I can wait. I'm an old lady; I have nothing else to do for the rest of the day. And if you ever intend for me to cook another meal for anyone here, you'd better start talking."

"Just tell her already," Ryan said.

Joseph laughed and shook his head. "I think your threat will work better if you say that you won't cook for Kate and will be horrible to her for the rest of her stay here."

Before Marianne could upgrade her threat, Tyler answered, "As she said, we had fun."

"Photos? I thought she loved taking photos," Marianne said.

"We didn't take any. She was busy answering questions."

He could feel Joseph watching him, so he looked up and waited for his question.

"Something's different, though. Something happened last night?"

He gave up the fight to control his smile as he thought about the night before.

Everything felt perfect. Somehow, his arms always found their way to her. And when they danced, she fitted him so perfectly. It felt as if she were made for him.

But it seemed too good to be true.

How could someone so kind be meant for a detached person like him?

"So? Did something happen?" Marianne nudged him, bringing his attention back to them.

"One year is too short."

"Then ask her to stay. I love her. She's so right for you."

She was with her ex-boyfriend for two years and couldn't bring herself to move in with him.

He'd only known her for a couple of months.

And right for him? Their personalities couldn't be more different.

"Don't let her slip away just because you're afraid," Marianne said softly and gave him a gentle pat on the shoulder before clearing the table of the empty plates.

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