Reed. I’m going to help you. But you need to look me in the eye and swear you only kissed Isabel in that garage, and nothing more.”
I look into Kat’s blazing blue eyes. “I swear on my life. On my mother’s. On my nephew’s.”
And that’s it. Kat clearly believes me now, without question. Because she knows, for all my faults, I’d never swear falsely on my beloved nephew.
“Okay,” she says decisively. “Let’s figure out how to get Georgie back.”
“Oh, thank God. Thank you, Kat. Bless you.”
Kat taps the little indentation in her chin. “Okay, first off, I think it’s important to realize the kiss is your biggest hurdle. I’m sure you were a bit rude with Alessandra, knowing you. But I have to believe Georgie will talk to her stepsister and find out what you actually said, versus what she thinks you said, and all will eventually be forgiven.”
“Good. Yes. That’s my thinking, too. Same thing with the grant.”
“I agree. I’m sure Georgina felt blindsided about the grant last night—and understandably so—and now she’s thinking worst-case scenario about you and CeeCee. But, eventually, she’ll talk to CeeCee and find out what really happened and forgive you on that score, too. Heck, she might even thank you.”
My spirit is rising and filling my chest. “CeeCee is still in Bali. But I’ll text her now...” I pull out my phone. “And tell her to call Georgina the minute she lands and tell her—”
“No, no, you stupid man!” Kat booms, snatching my phone out of my hand. “You have to let Georgina contact CeeCee, organically. And when she does, you need CeeCee to be able to say, honestly, she hasn’t spoken to you about any of this. Otherwise, Georgina will think you tampered with the witness. Look, I know you’re a control freak who’s used to pulling strings every which way. But, this time, you need to release that impulse and have faith the truth will come out, on its own, and set you free.”
“But what about the kiss? How do I convince Georgina I’m telling the truth about that? And, then, how do I make her forgive me for it?”
Kat twists her mouth. “Yeah, that’s a toughie. Even if you could convince Georgie it was only a kiss, she’s going to think you’re full of shit if you say it made you realize you only want her.”
“But nothing’s impossible, right? Come on, Kat. You think like Georgina. You’re a hotheaded psycho, just like her. A demon spawn.”
“Thank you.”
“So, use that brilliant, evil, demonic mind of yours to channel Georgie. Tell me what would work on you, in this same situation.”
“If Josh were the dumbass who’d kissed his ex in a garage?”
“Yes.”
She looks at Josh. “If Josh had kissed his ex in a garage, during Josh’s party, when our relationship was still brand new, and we were still building trust, and I’d been staying at Josh’s house for a week, falling head over heels in love with him, and I’d just told him things I’d never told anyone else...? Hmm.” She taps her chin again, deep in thought. “That’s a tall order, Reed. Not gonna lie.”
I groan in pain and crumple over. “It sounds so bad when you say it out loud like that.”
Kat shrugs. “I think, if the situation were exactly as I’ve described, then there’s only one solution. Only one thing Josh could possibly do to even have a shot at winning me back.” She pauses for dramatic effect. “Grovel. Reed, trust me on this: you need to grovel, grovel, grovel your arrogant ass off, like you’ve never groveled before. It’s the only way.”
I throw up my hands, exasperated. “I’ve already done that! Repeatedly. And it hasn’t worked.”
“What do you mean you’ve already done that? That’s impossible.”
“I groveled my ass off last night! The whole time I was following Georgina from the garage, into my house, upstairs to her room, downstairs to the front door, across my driveway, to my front gate! I groveled like a pathetic fucking idiot.”
Kat scoffs. “All of that wasn’t groveling! It was explaining. Apologizing. Maybe begging and pleading. But real groveling takes time. It takes grand gestures. It takes humbling yourself until the woman knows you’re in it to win it, for real. She needs to see you’re willing to get down on your hands and knees, over a lengthy period of time, and beg and plead for forgiveness in a way that makes it indisputable you’re willing to sacrifice your ego completely, all in the