Page 59 of Uncharted Desires

West just smiled as he pulled her from the crowd. “The doctors and the cops need to see us,” was all he said, maneuvering her through the room. “Don’t worry, I’ll be with you every step of the way.”

Kat wasn’t sure what on her face had given her away, but his words instantly calmed her nerves as she followed him into the conference room.

The warm water from the shower fell on her tired muscles, soothing Kat more than she knew she needed. She was beyond exhausted from all the excitement around their return.

West had been right; everyone had still been waiting for them. Kat had been convinced that they would just go to the police and that no one they knew would still be in Indonesia. How wrong she had been when they had walked into the hotel.

Besides her mother and her friends, it had all been for West, of course. The media frenzy that had exploded the moment he walked through the door had been astounding, reminding Kat of why they could never be together. She couldn’t live that life, always fighting the media when they were out. What kind of life would that be? West’s father had placated them, promising a full-on press conference later that evening, after they had had some time to see the doctor and get cleaned up. Tommy Monroe’s ability to keep the press at bay impressed her.

After they had seen the doctors, who were rather impressed at her stitching and antivenom-making abilities, they were questioned by the police, which had been exhausting.

They didn’t know where the island was. They had boated in what felt like circles, so they could only give a vague explanation of where they thought they had escaped from in relation to where they ended up, which was Sawu Island.

It wasn’t much to go on, but the Indonesian police said they would start hunting for the operation and the men responsible. It didn’t make Kat feel much better. Once the news started to show West’s face, the drug operation would figure out who he was, and they could easily retaliate or send someone to kill him. West blew off her concerns, telling her not to worry. Kat wasn’t convinced.

Clean for the first time in dyas, she stepped out of the shower. She felt like a whole new woman with all the grime and dirt finally off. She would never take a hot shower or a toilet for granted again.

She was meeting West and his father for dinner, along with her mother. Her stomach was full of butterflies. It wasn’t real. She and West weren’t dating, and this was not a meet-the-parents dinner, but it still felt significant. She worried Tommy Monroe wouldn’t like her. West had said some harsh things about him, and she was worried she wouldn’t live up to his standards.

Kat wiped the steam from the mirror, her raw, reddened skin staring back at her. She was back in civilization; she should have felt happy. Despite being alive, clean, and well-fed, all she could focus on was her purposeless life and a future that may or may not include West. Not once in all their lovemaking had he expressed any desire to continue after they returned home.

Cocaine island, as she now referred to it was looking better and better with each passing day. West’s father had booked their flights home, but when West had been busy talking with Luke and Declan, Kat had asked him to book her flight to Iowa with her mother and not tell West. He had given her a close inspection but hadn’t pried into why. Kat had been thankful for his discretion.

She needed to go home for a while, and not home as in L.A., but home to her family. She wanted to talk with her grandmother and to see what her ancestors would say to do when feeling blocked and out of sync with the universe.

Kat wrapped the towel around her body and went to her luggage, the one thing that hadn’t gotten lost on her journey. She dug through the pockets, pulling out a bracelet with a turquoise pendant.

“I should have been wearing you,” she said, slipping it around her wrist. Turquoise was meant as protection, and tonight Kat’s heart needed as much protection as it could get.

She had to tell West that this was the end of the road, that when she got on the plane in the next few days she was going to Iowa to figure things out, and that he needed to do the same. To work some things out with his father, maybe try acting if that’s what he needed to do to feel fulfilled. To make decisions about who he was, just like Kat.

Who was she kidding? Her heart was already breaking into a million little pieces just thinking about it, but she had to do it now before she became even more attached. What life did Kat have with him? She knew she would never be happy lounging around his large house living off him. She had to do something with her life, and the appeal of being her own recording artist had begun to fade away. But if she didn’t have that dream, what did she have?

She had loved writing music with West when he had allowed her to. Maybe she could partner with some other artists or be an agent, Creator knows she’d be better than Declan. She could actually help women looking to break into an unforgiving industry. Not that Kat knew the first thing about being an agent, but she wouldn’t ask West for help. She knew it was pride keeping her from asking him, but she couldn’t do it. She had always done things on her own, and she wasn’t sure she could change her ways.

A knock at the door drew her thoughts away from West and her breaking heart. A welcome reprieve. She opened the door, and Cher waltzed into the room. She looked at Kat, still wrapped in her towel, and walked over to the closet, looking through Kat’s dresses.

“I bet that shower felt good,” she said.

“I already picked out a dress.”

Cher looked at the dress laid out on the bed and frowned. “That is too subtle. You need something sexier.”

“For dinner with my mother and West’s father? I don’t want to be sexy!” Kat lifted the navy dress with the higher neckline. “It’s at least form-fitting. What’s the problem?”

“The neckline goes for ages. Come on, Kat, show off your assets.” She looked pointedly at Kat’s chest.

“I’m not trying to impress anyone. What makes you think anything happened in the first place?”

Cher pulled out a black bodycon dress with a plunging neckline that thankfully had mesh to hold her chest in. It was sexy in a not-so-obvious way and would still be appropriate enough to appease her mother’s sensibilities.

Cher scoffed. “Please, I saw the way you two reached for each other when you first showed up at the hotel. I know something happened on that island, and I get it. You didn’t want to say what it was in front of your mother, but you can’t lie to me.”

Cher knew her all too well, and that’s when Kat couldn’t hold back the tears any longer. She threw herself across the bed, the tears coming unbound. “I think . . . I . . . I think I’m in love with him.” And as she voiced it for the first time, she felt the reality of her words sink in. She was falling for him. For his charm, attentiveness, the way he now truly saw her as a legitimate musician.

Cher came to the bed, wrapping her arms around Kat, and that made her want to cry even more. Her friend held her for a while. No questions, no comments, and no recriminations because that’s just how best friends should be. Eventually, Kat felt the tears abate and sat up, wiping her eyes.

“God, I’m going to be so puffy.”