Coming Attractions (29 page)

Rick’s mom looked stunned. She turned to Katie.

Katie quickly moved over next to Marti and said, “We won’t be making any special announcements. Rick and I aren’t together
anymore.”

“What!” Marti’s exclamation shut down several nearby conversations, as half a dozen guests looked to see what was going on.
“You and Rick broke up? When? Why wasn’t I told?”

Katie was aware that a number of people were listening for her answer. She tried to choose her words carefully and kept her
voice low. “We broke up a couple of months ago.”

Marti looked enraged. “And you’re telling me now? Do you have any idea what I went through to secure the Newport Beach Yacht
Club for you? I have them holding three separate weekends for you. Two in November and one in October.”

“The Yacht Club? For me? Why in the world did you reserve the Yacht Club for me?”

Marti pointed her finger at Katie. “When you were a guest in my home, you distinctly said you and Rick were waiting until
after graduation to make your announcement. You said six months was a good length of time for an engagement. That means a
fall wedding. I was right there when you said it.”

“I never said that!” Now Katie was the one whose voice was elevated. “You were the one who said that. All of it. All those
plans and dates were something you came up with in your own little mind. Rick and I never said anything more than that we
were going to wait until after the café opened and I graduated before we made any decisions about what was next.”

“That is not what you said.”

“Marti, no one asked you to make reservations at any yacht clubs for any reason!”

Rick had appeared at Katie’s side and slipped his arm through hers. In his smooth, authoritative voice, Rick said, “We both
would like to apologize for not communicating with you, Marti. We had no idea you were working on any arrangements for us.
We’re very sorry for the inconvenience we’ve caused you. Isn’t that right, Katie?”

She felt his arm tighten as he flexed his muscle.

“Yes, very sorry.”

Other partygoers had shuffled into the dining room area to find out what all the ruckus was. Rick kept his arm linked through
Katie’s, as he turned to the extended crowd. “I guess this is my oversight. I apologize. Apparently, I have an announcement
I should have made earlier. Since Katie is right here and since she and I are in agreement on this, we have an announcement
to make.”

Katie looked up at Rick with a skeptical expression and extracted her arm from his. Either he was finding a way to graciously
take the focus off of Marti, or he was in league with her, and the two of them had come up with a plan to trap Katie into
getting back together with him.

She knew the second option was highly unlikely so she stood back and let Rick speak for both of them.

He glanced at her, and she gave him a “go ahead, I trust you” look.

“Katie and I have been friends for a long time. As a matter of fact, both of us have been friends with many of you in this
room for a long time. We appreciate your friendships more than we can say. This is a time to celebrate a milestone for Katie,
Nicki, and Eli.”

Katie spotted Nicole and Eli in opposite corners, both looking at Rick, waiting to see what was going to happen next.

“Nicki? Eli? Could the two of you join Katie and me over here?”

Nicole and Eli made their way over to the table.

Rick had the crowd under control. At least fifty people were filling up the large dining room area and spilling into the living
room. All were turned to Rick with rapt attention. Even Marti.

“As many of you know, our family’s tradition is to offer a toast at celebrations, and this is definitely a celebration for
my three friends. If you have a glass nearby, would you raise it with me in a toast?”

Nearly everyone had a glass to lift.

“Here’s to Eli Lorenzo, my excellent roommate, and to Nicki Sanders, my mother’s excellent design assistant, and to Katie
Weldon, my once-girlfriend and now my excellent forever friend.”

His gaze encompassed the gathered crowd. “Toast with me, will you? Congratulations to the graduates!”

The guests cheered and took a sip of lemonade, iced tea, or whatever was in their glass, and the near spectacle between Katie
and Marti dissolved. Conversations started up again. Some of the guests shuffled back into the other room. Eli was receiving
lots of attention from a few older people, who were obviously friends of the Doyles.

Rick, however, wasn’t done. He turned to Katie and said, “Will you go upstairs and wait for me in the room over the garage?
I need to talk to you.”

He then leaned closer to Marti where she stood with a glass of something sparkling in her hand. She was looking up at Rick,
as if she weren’t sure exactly what had just happened. Katie watched as he tilted his chin and in his suave way took responsibility
for not notifying Marti about the status of his relationship with Katie. Katie heard him offer to pay for any room deposits
Marti had put down at the Yacht Club.

Once again, Rick, there you go, being the perfect gentleman.

Katie exited the dining room with her plate of finger foods in hand. She felt like she was doing something naughty, taking
food out of the designated eating area and waiting for Rick upstairs.

She went back to where she had left her purse and took it with her. This may not be the way she had hoped to set up a private
time when she could give back the brooch, but with Rick, she had to take whatever time she could get with him.

The room over the garage was a combination of a workout room with a treadmill and of a den with an old television and a loveseat.

Katie didn’t have to wait long before she heard Rick coming up the stairs. When he appeared, he nearly filled the doorway.

“Good save, Doyle. Has anyone told you your skills are being wasted in the field of sliced deli ham and mocha lattes? You
should be an international negotiator. Or at the very least, a divorce lawyer.”

By the look on his face, she couldn’t tell if he was going to scold her or take her compliments and wear them like a medal
of honor.

Katie decided to try her own attempt at redirecting the topic. “Hey, before you say whatever you’re going to say, I want to
give this back. It’s your grandmother’s brooch. I’m sorry I didn’t get it to you sooner.”

Rick took the box from her. “It’s okay. Thanks.”

He seemed preoccupied with something. Katie guessed it was what had just happened with Aunt Marti.

He crossed his arms. “Katie, I thought you and I should talk. I’m trying to do what’s right here for all of us. That’s what
I’ve aimed for in our relationship all along, and I’m still aiming for that.”

“I know, and I appreciate it, Rick. What you did downstairs in smoothing out what could have been a huge disaster with Marti
was really great. Thanks. I’m sure Eli and Nicole appreciated being honored too.”

“I hope so.” He looked nervous. “Listen, I have to tell you something. I’m not sure how to say this, so I’ll just say it.
I’m having a difficult time being around her now that things aren’t the way they used to be between you and me.”

Katie realized she was the one who had pressed Bob and Marti to come to her graduation. If she hadn’t done that, the confrontation
in the dining room wouldn’t have happened. “Do you wish she hadn’t come?”

“No,” Rick said quickly. “I want her here. She’s a big part of your life. That’s what makes it so complicated. When you and
I were together, it wasn’t that hard to… I don’t know if this is the right word, but it wasn’t that hard to ignore her. Now
whenever I’m around her, I go out of my way to avoid her because she…”

“She drives you a little crazy, right?”

“Exactly.” He looked relieved. “Katie, I hope you don’t mind my talking about this with you.”

“No. Are you kidding? You can talk with me like this anytime you want. You said it yourself in the toast — you and I are forever
friends.”

He offered her a grin. “Thanks. I don’t know why I feel this way, but whenever I’m around her, I just…” Rick put out his hands
as if at a loss for words.

Katie filled in for him, transferring all her feelings about Aunt Marti to him. “You want to stuff an egg roll in her mouth
and show her to the door. Believe me, I feel the same way.”

Rick’s jaw went slack.

“Why? What do you want to do when you see her?”

“To be honest, I want to ask her out.”

Katie nearly jumped off the loveseat. “You want to go out with Christy’s aunt? That’s twisted, Rick!”

Rick took a step back. “Marti! You thought I was talking about Marti?”

“Yes, of course. You said she drives you a little crazy; you try to ignore her when you’re in the same room. Who else would
you be… Oh. Oh!”

“Not Marti,” Rick said slowly.

“No, not Marti,” Katie quickly agreed. She covered her mouth with her hand so she wouldn’t let out a small shriek.

“I was talking about Nicki,” Rick said.

“Right. I knew that. I was just trying to make a dumb joke about Marti. Scratch that joke off my list of stand-up material.
It obviously bombed. Sorry. Bad choice. Bad, bad choice of comedy material. Won’t happen again.”

Rick lowered himself into the old recliner in the corner of the room across from Katie. He looked irritated now, as if he
really did believe Katie had been making a bad joke.

“So, yeah.” Katie hoped they could keep talking about this. “Nicole. Or Nicki, as you call her. She’s great. But then, you
know that. I think you should ask her out. I mean, it seems like you said, you’ve done a good job of ignoring her whenever
she’s in the same room. So now maybe you should talk to her and see what happens.”

“I want to do what’s right, Katie.”

“This is right, Rick. Really, I’m sure this is quite right.”

“I thought it would be wise to wait.”

“Wait until what? Until she moves back to Santa Barbara and you have to drive five hours in traffic to see her?”

“Is that what she’s doing? Did she decide? My mom said she hadn’t decided yet.”

“She’s thinking about moving to Santa Barbara. She has this week to figure it out and then… who knows?”

Rick rubbed the back of his neck. He always did that when he was stressed. Katie wished she could just spill the truth about
how Nicole felt about him so he wouldn’t be so uptight about asking her out, or at the very least, talking to her about something
other than the paint color in the men’s bathroom.

“You know, I thought six months in between relationships would be a good space. Especially since you and I went together for
so long. But now I’m thinking — ”

“That’s your problem, right there, Rick Doyle. I mean, if you don’t mind my being blunt, you think too much. It’s time for
you to go with your gut. Your heart, Rick. Go with your heart. I know your heart is steadfast. Listen to it. Love is a mystery.
It can’t be planned. It comes on its own schedule. It’s inconvenient and organic, but that’s what makes it real. Really good
relationships are the ones that come naturally and are unforced. Like waves.”

Katie realized the words she used had all come from Eli.

Rick looked surprised.

Katie leaned forward. As long as she had Rick’s attention, she might as well tell him everything she was thinking. “Listen,
Rick, I know that your goal in our relationship was to do everything right. And you did. You accomplished that goal. You were
a wonderful boyfriend, and you did everything according to your head. Your plan. Your logic. It worked.”

“Thank you, Katie. Thank you for saying that.”

“Now I’m telling you to move forward without a plan. Go, find Nicole, look into her eyes, and see what your gut tells you.
What do you already know in your heart? Start from there and then go and do everything right from the heart out. Don’t do
this one from your head.”

Katie felt herself choking up as she added, “You two are already more knit together at the heart than you even realize. You’re
just being too logical to see it. Don’t blow it, Doyle.”

Rick looked stunned. He went over to where Katie was sitting. Offering her his hand, like a true gentlemen, he pulled her
to her feet. Katie heard the sound of people coming up the stairs. If she and Rick had any last words to say to each other,
this was their chance.

Looking at her and gently smoothing down the side of her hair, Rick seemed to search her eyes for something.

His touch felt foreign to her now. Tender, but not especially romantic. Katie didn’t feel an urge to kiss him, nor did she
hope he would initiate a kiss with her. The close friendship remained. The romantic feelings had played themselves out.

Whatever it was Rick seemed to be looking for in her eyes, he apparently didn’t find it. He nodded slowly, and in a nice,
friendly soccer coach sort of move, he put both hands on Katie’s upper arms.

“No, Rick, don’t!” Katie shrieked as Rick gave her upper arms a friendly squeeze.

Todd, Christy, and Eli all stepped into the room as Katie crumbled back onto the loveseat in response to the pain in the tender
flesh around her immunizations.

Eli rushed over to her. He looked at Rick and then at Katie. “You okay?” Eli’s hand was on her shoulder, ready to comfort
her.

Katie lifted her babied left arm a few inches. “Yeah. It’s my arm. It’s still really sore. I had some shots yesterday, Rick.
You didn’t know.”

Rick gave Eli an eyebrow-raised look and said, “Anything else I don’t know?”

“No,” Katie answered. “That’s all. Just a sore arm.”

Rick was still looking at Eli. He dipped his chin. As if no one else were in the room, Rick said to his roommate, “You knew
last summer, didn’t you?”

Eli stared at Rick for a moment before responding with the slightest of nods.

The two of them continued to size each other up. Katie wasn’t sure what was going on.

Then Rick’s expression relaxed into one of his wry grins. “Well, it looks like we’re in agreement then, aren’t we, Katie?
Both of us are ready to move on.”

“I think we should move on downstairs,” Christy suggested. She had a little bit of her aunt Marti’s organizational nudge in
her voice, only in a much more gracious way.