Free Kiss Me Kate (The English Brothers Book 6) by Katy Regnery Page B

away. “Nope. As hot as ever, I’m afraid.”
    “I gotta say…this is interesting , KK.”
    “It’s not interesting. It was a disaster. He was rude and jerky, and smiley and he said he always loved my curves and I could barely speak and he asked me about Tony, and I told him Amy was smart for dumping him and he told me my letters sucked.” Kate shook her head, sighing deeply. “Dis. Ass. Ter.”
    “Totally lost. Start at the beginning.”
    Kate told Lib all about Barrett’s deal with J.C. on Saturday night, and how Kate was actually the one who insisted on following through with the merger.
    “Stop there,” said Lib. “How come?”
    “Because it’s good for business. It’s a solid opportunity and I’m not going to let—”
    “Errrrh,” interrupted Lib, making the sound of a game show buzzer. “I’m calling bullshit.”
    “Lib, you know I’m serious about business.”
    “Yeah, I know. But, this guy trampled your heart. I can understand you grudgingly agreeing to do the deal to be professional, but you just told me that you insisted on doing the deal, which means”—she hummed thoughtfully—“you wanted to see him.”
    Kate drew her bottom lip into her mouth.
    “Stop chewing your lip,” said Lib. “Why do you want to see him?”
    No sense in lying to Lib. She’d know.
    “I thought it would help me get over him.”
    “I sort of thought you were over him.”
    “I was ,” said Kate glumly. “But moving back here stirred up all these old memories and I don’t know…I can’t stop thinking about him and then I became friends with his sister on Facebook and—”
    “Kathryn Grey English! You’re cyber-stalking him, aren’t you?”
    Oh God. Libitz just knew her too well!
    “Um…a little?”
    “It’s all coming into focus now,” said Lib dryly. “Where does ‘Prince Tony, the Charming but Asexual’ fit into all of this?”
    “That’s not fair. He’s not—”
    “Yeah, yeah, yeah. Fine. Just answer the question.”
    Kate grimaced. She’d been talking to Lib about Tony for weeks now and Lib, who was apt to have sex against the wall of her apartment if a first date went well, couldn’t get her head around Kate and Tony’s chaste courtship.
    “I mean, I sort of wanted to see Étienne. Yes. But just to verify that he’s a total asshole and convince myself I was over him so my runway would be free for Tony.”
    “But does Tony want to land his plane on your runway?”
    “Libitz!”
    “Well? It’s a valid question. But here’s a better one…Do you want Étienne to land his plane on your runway instead?”
    “Lib…” She wasn’t sure her face could get any redder.
    “Press your always-abnormally-cold palms against your cheeks, Ice Cube. You’ll feel better in a sec.”
    “It’s crazy freaky when you do that,” said Kate, laughing as she wedged the phone between her ear and shoulder and pressed her cool palms against her hot cheeks.
    “I think I know you better than you know yourself sometimes,” said Libitz thoughtfully.
    “Wouldn’t surprise me,” answered Kate, a surge of homesickness making her eyes prickle. “ Please tell me what to do.”
    “Wish I could,” she answered gently. “But you’ve got to figure this out.”
    “Okay, don’t tell me what to do…tell me what you see .”
    “Hmm. Let’s see.” She could see Libitz nodding sagely as she took a deep breath. “You never got over Étienne. Possibly because he was your first, maybe because he disappeared, maybe because you loved him and just never stopped. Tony? He’s nice, Kate. But he’s a bookmark. He’s just a place saver until the real story continues.”
    “I’ve dated other—”
    “You’ve dated other guys? Yeah. You have. Where are they now?”
    “Well, they didn’t work out. You don’t necessarily meet ‘the one’ while you’re in college, Lib.”
    “Nor does it stand to reason that it’s impossible to meet him when you’re fifteen.”
    “Étienne Rousseau was not ‘the