Page 25 of Promise Me, Katie (Bennett Sisters #1)

“So, is no one in a talking mood tonight?” Peter asked at Grief Group to break the silence. “Because I know you can’t go an entire week without a thing to say.”

Katherine glanced at Matthew, who didn’t look up from the thousand-piece jigsaw puzzle spread out across the counter. Instead, he made himself look busy by continuing to separate pieces by color, even though Katherine suspected he was concentrating on staying silent about their relationship.

“How can there be nothing new going on?” Peter persisted. “Did you two hide out at home all week?”

“Why does there have to be anything new?” Katherine asked, raising her mug and taking a long sip of chamomile tea to hide the giddy smile that threatened to give them away.

“Come on, you guys. What’s the four-one-one?” Peter insisted. “What’s the tea?”

Since Peter started meeting women through a dating app and striking out in a particularly speedy fashion, Katherine had asked Matthew if they could hold off sharing the news of their relationship until Peter had found someone he liked.

Though Matthew didn’t care one way, he respected the fact that Katherine was sensitive to Peter’s feelings. Especially since it was Peter, who had announced he wanted to date again, and Katherine, who had been adamantly against it.

“Don’t you think we should wait a little while?” she’d asked him after the first night they spent together. “I don’t want him to get discouraged because he hasn’t found anyone yet. And I want him to be happy for us.”

“He will be,” Matthew had said. “And for the record, I don’t think waiting will make that much of a difference.”

After a few persuasive kisses, Matthew finally agreed to keep their relationship a secret until Peter found someone who might become the new Mrs. Humble.

“Alright, fine…” Peter finally conceded. “Neither of you wanna talk about what’s new with you. But does anyone wanna hear about what’s new with me?”

“No!” they answered in unison.

“Hey!” Peter said. “That’s not cool.”

Hearing the genuine disappointment in the pastor’s voice, both Katherine and Matthew looked up from the puzzle.

“What if we agree to listen, as long as you agree to give us some kind of disclaimer before each story.”

“A disclaimer?”

“Yeah, like the rating system at the movies. You tell us if the story is PG or rated R. That way, we can prepare ourselves for what’s coming.”

“Oh yeah, that’s a good idea,” Matthew said. “A rating would protect us from listening to any more incredibly unsettling stories none of us need ever bring up again. And I think we all know which one I’m talking about.”

“Uh, yeah…” Katherine agreed. “There’s not enough bleach in the world to scrub the story that shall not be named from my memory.”

“I can do that,” Peter said eagerly. “But in all fairness, how was I to know that a first-grade teacher would be into riding her dates like a pony and hitting them with a crop? She certainly didn’t put that in her dating profile.”

“Peter! Cut it out! Do you think I want that image in my head when she comes by The Copperwall with my sister?”

“No,” Peter sighed. “But in my defense, it’s not like I went along with it. I left the minute she brought out the tiny saddle.”

“Oh, dear Lord.” Katherine flinched, sticking her fingers in her ears. “Tell me when it’s over!” she shouted to Matthew.

“Alright, alright!” Peter shouted back, raising his hand to make a solemn vow. “May I be struck down by lightning if I ever tell that story again!”

“Promise?” Katherine asked, removing her fingers from her ears.

“I promise.”

“You know, it’s not that I don’t wanna see you happy. I really do.”

“I know,” Peter said. “I just thought you’d find a few of my stories interesting.”

“Is interesting really the right word for it?” Katherine asked.

“Okay, I guess I thought you’d find them entertaining.”

“And some of them were,” Matthew said. “Trust me, I’ve seen enough crazy stuff on the job to understand that sometimes it’s better to laugh than get freaked out.

But for me, there’s this imaginary line I’d like to stay behind.

Because, no offense, but there’s something about a pastor telling a story like that that makes it feel… well…”

“Wrong?”

“Yes!” Katherine and Matthew answered.

“I get it,” Peter sighed with a shrug. “I really do. But I don’t know who else I can tell my crazy stories to if I can’t tell you guys. You’re my homies. Mi compadres . Besides, I think you’ll really like this latest one. She’s pretty great.”

“How great?”

“So great that I can’t wait for you guys to meet her.” Peter practically blushed as he pushed around the puzzle pieces in front of him before he added, “So great, I can’t imagine wanting to meet anyone else.”

“Are you serious?” Katherine brightened with surprise. “No, wait, don’t answer that. I can see it on your face. You’re really happy.”

“I am. She’s the coolest, smartest, sweetest girl I’ve ever met,” Peter said with a wide smile. “Can I tell you about her now?”

“Is it G-rated?”

“No one’s that sweet,” Matthew laughed.“What about PG-13?”

“Well, she’s definitely sweet,” Peter began. “And our story is practically G-rated. But I don’t think it’ll stay that way for long. I haven’t wanted to kiss someone this badly since high school.”

“Really?” Katherine squealed, realizing she needed to rein it in. She was starting to sound like Beth Ann. “Okay, tell us about her.”

“Well, there’s not much to tell because it’s only been a few weeks, and we haven’t met in person yet because we agreed to take things slow.

But I really like her. She’s a nice person.

She’s got her head on straight. And she accepts everything about me.

My job. The divorce. Everything,” Peter explained, his tone filled with admiration.

“Last week, we went from messaging through the dating app to exchanging numbers. Now, we can’t seem to get off the phone at night. It’s like we’re kids again.”

“What’s her name?”

“Shrinky Dink,” Peter chuckled. “At least that’s her profile name.”

“You don’t know her real name?” Katherine frowned. “Haven’t you asked?”

“Sure, lots of times.”

“You have her number,” Matthew pointed out. “Try searching it on the internet and see if anything comes up.”

“Oh yeah, that’s a great idea,” Katherine added. “You can’t go on calling her Shrinky Dink forever.”

“I know, but the more I talk to her, the less of a rush I’m in to find out. I wanna give her the time she needs to be comfortable with me.” Peter’s eyes twinkled from a memory. “Besides, I kinda like it. It’s cute. Maybe one day it’ll be a private joke between us.”

“What does she call you?” Matthew asked.

“Humble Pie.”

“Humble Pie and Shrinky Dink?”

“Pretty cute, huh?”

When Peter smiled, Katherine couldn’t help but smile back.

“And get this, we agreed to have our first date at The Copperwall.”

“Really?” Katherine’s eyes welled up. “I feel so honored.”

“Whoa! Wait a minute… what’s happening right now?” Peter asked, looking at Matthew then back at Katherine. “Are you gonna cry?”

“No…”

Then Peter threw back his head and shouted, “It’s a miracle, Lord!”

“Cut it out.” Katherine reached across the counter and smacked him on the arm. “You’ve seen me cry before.”

“Not at the drop of a hat,” Peter said. “Not even when I told you your pumpkin pie could use more cinnamon. Or that time I said my former mother-in-law made better turkey gravy than you did.”

“Well, because that’s just not true,” Katherine said. “Nobody makes better turkey gravy than I do.”

“In fact, you didn’t even cry when I beat you at Connect Four,” Peter said, ignoring her gravy comment as he shook his head in amazement at the memory.

“Dang, that was such a good day. Come to think of it, I never got to show Matthew the winning board. Wanna see it?” he asked, rising from his seat.

“I can go get it. Or better yet, let’s go to my office.

I don’t trust this one near it. Even now, she’d probably try to sabotage my moment of glory.

And it took me a long time to earn that victory, but believe me, it was worth the wait. ”

Peter was halfway to the door when he turned back to see whether Matthew was behind him, but instead, he saw that Katherine had moved closer to Matthew, and they were holding hands.

“Wait a second,” he said, pointing from Katherine to Matthew and then back again. “Is this what I think it is?”

“Come and sit down,” Katherine told him. “You can share your triumphant moment with Matthew later. For now, we have something to tell you.”

“You mean that you’re a couple and you’re finally admitting it?”

Katherine and Matthew looked at each other.

“You promised you wouldn’t tell him.”

“And I kept my promise,” Matthew said. “Did you?”

“You think I would just go around sharing our secret?”

“Hold on there, kids! Stop your squabbling,” Peter said. “No one had to tell me anything. I figured it out all on my own.”

Katherine shook her head in disbelief.

“Was it me?” she asked, not waiting for an answer. “Oh no, it was me,” she worried, turning to Matthew. “Have I been acting like a sap all this time?”

Matthew shrugged as Peter chuckled.

“It wasn’t you, Katherine. Truth be told, it was Matthew.”

“What?!” they said together.

“Yep. It was all you, Matthew,” Peter said, returning to where they were seated. “Did you know your eyes get an even brighter shade of blue when Katherine walks into the room?”

“Seriously?”

“Oh, yeah, man. You got it bad for this one.” Peter pointed his thumb at Katherine, whose face was turning a lovely pink. “I’d say if anyone was really paying attention and around the two of you long enough, they’d see right through that act you’ve been trying to pull off.”

“And how long have you been observing us?”

“Pretty much, from day one. And whew, let me tell you, that little back and forth between the two of you about whether we should sit in a sharing circle or at the counter made for quite the baseline. Everything after that confirmed my suspicion that something more was going on.”

“Dear God,” Katherine said, turning to Matthew. “If Peterknows about us, who else does?”

“Relax, Katie. I’m sure no one else suspects a thing.”

“Oh, and that’s another one.” Peter pointed at Matthew. “I about fell off my chair the first time you called her Katie, and she didn’t punch you in the arm or glare a hole through your forehead.”

Then Peter turned to Katherine. “I thought you hated that name.”

“I do,” Katherine insisted, then glanced sheepishly at Matthew. “I mean, I did. But I only like it when Matthew says it.”

“Wow.” Peter shook his head. “You really are a sap, aren’t you?”

“She is turning into a softy, isn’t she?” Matthew smiled, wrapping an arm around Katherine’s shoulder. “You should’ve seen her the first time we met. She about ripped my head off.”

“I bet. You shoulda seen me beat her at Connect Four.”

Laughing, Peter extended his arm for a fist bump.

“Excuse me…” Katherine snapped. “I’m sitting right here.”

Matthew smirked as Peter pretended to zip his lips together.

“ Anyway ,” Katherine said. “What do you think?”

“I think it’s great.” Peter smiled as he glanced back and forth between the two of them. “You’re both good people who could potentially have a great life together. But the real question is how do you guysfeel about it? Are you at all concerned what your families might think?”

Matthew answered with an emphatic “no” as Katherine said a slightly worried “sometimes.”

“That’s what I thought,” Peter said, studying their faces.

“If you really wanna know what I think, I’d say take your time and share your relationship only when you feel you have a strong enough foundation.

Because pressure from the outside can be catastrophic to any relationship.

But a strong foundation based on the decision to love and stand by one another will get you through it.

Everyone, and I mean everyone ,will have something to say about you two, and you better prepare yourselves for when it comes.

Whether it comes from a good place, a gossipy, meddlesome place, or even a mean-spirited place, it will come.

Especially considering the circumstances that brought you two together. ”

Katherine swallowed as more tears sprang to her eyes.

“Come on, Katie, don’t cry,” Matthew said. “We’ve talked about this. Don’t you remember what we promised each other?”

“Of course, I remember. But—”

“No buts about it. All we have to do is work on our foundation and keep our relationship to ourselves for now.”

“Okay… I agree, we keep it a secret.”

“Don’t call it a secret, Katherine,” Peter interrupted, his face uncharacteristically stern.

“This isn’t a secret. It’s just you and Matthew setting boundaries, not only for yourselves but for the rest of the world.

And trust me, you will need them. But please don’t think of what you guys have as a secret because I know you, and if you haven’t done it already, you’ll have yourself associating the word secret with something shameful. ”

“That is true,” Matthew said. “I think we’ve both felt that kind of conviction. But I know it’s been hardest on Katie.”

“Katie!” Peter chuckled. “I do like hearing you call her that. And I do like you guys together. From what I’ve seen so far, I think you could go the distance.”

“You do?” Katherine’s watery eyes filled with hope as she turned to Matthew and touched his cheek.

“I do,” Peter said. “But the more important question is, do you?”

Katherine nodded, smiling at Matthew. “I do.”

“Even though we may be tested?” Matthew asked. “Even when it feels like the world is against us?”

“I can’t imagine a test that could tear us apart,” Katherine said. “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, right?”

“Sure, but will you be stronger together ?” Peter asked. “By all means, go into this hopeful, happy, and ready to take on the world. But don’t think for a second that there isn’t something or someone that can’t tear it apart.”

“Geez.” Katherine scowled. “Nice pep talk. Especially after you got me all sappy and teary-eyed.”

“Come on, Katie. Don’t dismiss what he’s trying to say,” Matthew warned. “I know you’re scared, and at times, this is gonna be scary for both of us, but he’s right. Not only do we need a strong foundation, but we need to go into this with our eyes wide open.”