CHAPTER 289
KATYA POV
The phone vibrated again in my hand. Michael.
For a second, I just stared at his name on the screen. Then I exhaled quietly and answered.
"Hello?" There was a brief pause. Then his voice came through, a little surprised.
"Oh—hey. I didn't actually expect you to pick up." Guilt pressed lightly against my chest.
"Hi, Michael," I said, adjusting the phone against my ear as I leaned slightly against the side of the car. "Sorry. I'm just getting my phone back."
"That's a relief," he said, the tension in his voice easing immediately. "I thought you were ignoring me again."
Again.
The word sat there. "I wasn't," I said quickly. "I left my phone in Chiara's car that night." Behind me, the driver's door opened.
Chiara slipped into her seat, but the moment she saw the phone against my ear, her eyes widened dramatically.
She leaned toward me immediately, lowering her voice into an exaggerated whisper. "Who's that?" she mouthed.
