“I wrote him a letter.”
“You fell in love with the boy who tortured you?”
She laughed through tears. “Unfortunately.”
“Is there a shortage of available men?”
“Piper!”
“Sorry. Continue.”
“Unfortunately.”
Kat explained that her feelings had changed after a school dance.
A boy she’d liked had mocked her dress.
Killian had noticed she was upset.
Instead of making a joke, he’d driven her home and bought her ice cream.
“He told me the boy had terrible taste,” Kat said. “Then he said I looked beautiful.”
I blinked.
Her feelings had changed.
My brother?
Kat smiled. “Then he told me not to get used to compliments because I’d become unbearable.”
“That sounds more like him!”
She’d written the letter that night.
But she’d never given it to him.
“I’d become unbearable.”
She was afraid he’d laugh.
When nothing changed, she convinced herself he didn’t feel the same.
“Then what happened three years ago?” I asked.
Kat picked up the envelope. “Killian found it.”
She was afraid.
While searching the storage boxes for a charger, my brother had opened the envelope because he recognized her handwriting.
He’d read the first few lines before realizing it was personal.
Then he’d put it back.
A week later, he invited Kat to coffee.
He recognized her handwriting.
My friend thought he wanted their usual banter.
Instead, he asked whether she’d ever considered them being more than friends.
Kat laughed in his face. “I thought he was joking,” she admitted.
I stared. “So he asked you out, and you laughed?”
“I thought he was joking.”
“He spent years telling me I was annoying!”
“You kept telling him he had the emotional range of a potato!”
“Exactly!”
I covered my face.
Eventually, Killian admitted he’d read part of her letter.
Kat was furious because he’d read something she’d never meant to share.
I covered my face.
He apologized.
Then he told her he’d liked her for years too!
They quietly started dating.
Their first attempt lasted three months before Kat got scared.
My friend worried she’d lose our friendship if the relationship failed.
He apologized.
They separated, then found their way back to each other the following year.
They’d been together ever since.
***
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked.
Kat looked ashamed. “At first, I was afraid you’d be upset. Then, the longer we waited, the harder it became.”
They separated.
“And you kept pretending to hate each other?”
She smiled. “We weren’t always pretending. Killian still gets on my nerves.”
I laughed despite myself.
Then I asked, “Why tell me now?”
Her smile disappeared.
“Why tell me now?”
“Because when Killian got sick, I realized we might run out of time. I didn’t want you finding out everything after he was gone.”
I reached for her hand.
Then she whispered, “There’s one thing he never told me.”
“What?”
“Whether he loved me before finding the letter.”
I reached for her hand.
***
That evening, I returned to Killian’s house.
“Kat told me everything,” I announced.
“What?”
“I know you’re the least romantic man in history.”
“That’s harsh, but what did I do now?”
“Kat told me everything.”
“You discovered my best friend‘s love letter and responded by inviting her for coffee?”
“It seemed reasonable!”
“Killian, people have started wars with more emotional intelligence.”
He laughed.
Then I grew serious. “She thinks you only noticed her because you read that letter.”
His smile faded. “That’s not true.”
“It seemed reasonable!”
“Then tell her!”
“I have!”
“Clearly, you’re terrible at it.”
He looked down.
After a moment, he reached toward the coffee table and opened a drawer.
Inside was a brown envelope.
“I wrote something years ago,” he said.
My heart started racing.
“I have!”
“A letter. For Kat.”
I stared. “You’re joking?”
He shook his head. “I never gave it to her.”
“Why?”
“Because I thought she’d reject me.”
I slowly sat down. “You two are unbelievable!”
He smiled. “I know.”
“You’re joking?”
I asked whether Kat could see it.
My brother hesitated, then handed it to me. “Don’t read it. Just give it to her.”
I took the envelope.
But then I had a better idea.
My brother hesitated.
