After six sizzling nights with hot IT consultant Layne Sto. Domingo, writer Kate Borromeo realizes she really sucks at love. She’s thirty-five, she just recently moved on from a destructive unrequited love situation with her longtime love and best friend, only to end up in bed with someone who isn’t going to give her what she wants.
So when gorgeous corporate finance wiz Rob Salcedo, Kate’s first love and best friend, turns over a new leaf and finally proposes marriage to her, promising to make up for all the hurt he caused her, Kate accepts and prepares for the wedding of her dreams.
But when Layne waltzes back into her life, seemingly ready to finally let her into his heart, it appears the universe has other plans for Kate.
Watch the live reading of this excerpt by Gio Gahol and Vanya Castor below.
The Gate
Layne
The motorbikes in Ho Chi Minh City are the kings of the road and woe to the person who stops in the middle of the street to wait for them to give way. Layne has been to Vietnam several times, mostly for work, so he is used to them by now. It is apparently not the case for the poor woman who is stranded in the middle of the road with motorbikes whizzing dangerously close to her.
Stupid girl, she’ll get herself hurt, he thinks, and against his better judgment, he walks hurriedly to save her. He brusquely takes hold of her elbow and guides her, dodging the motorbikes, until they reach the sidewalk.
“Thank you! I thought I was going to die by motorbike today!” the woman exclaims.
Layne looks at her, an admonishment ready in his mouth until he locks gazes with Kate.
“Oh . . . hey . . . it’s you . . . ,” Layne says.
Kate recognizes him and smiles. Shit, I’ve forgotten how beautiful she is, Layne thinks. It has been three months since Sydney.
“Layne? Wow, what a lovely coincidence! Thank you for saving me from a humiliating death,” Kate says with a twinkle in her eyes.
Layne has a flash of an image of Kate, naked, all sweaty, and shining while he was thrusting into her. He blushes.
“You deserve a treat from me! How about some Vietnamese coffee?”
Layne smiles. “Oh, Kate, you owe me more than just Vietnamese coffee for that act of heroism I did for you,” he drawls.
Kate smiles that smile Layne found himself thinking about constantly since they met in Sydney. She takes his arm and links hers. “Let’s start with coffee, and work our way from there, okay?”
They walk. They pass one of the most recognized buildings in Vietnam.
“Have you been there?” Layne asks. He likes the feeling of Kate’s arms in his.
“Been where?”
Layne points. “That’s the Reunification Palace, the site of the end of the Vietnam War during the Fall of Saigon in 1975. A North Vietnamese army tank crashed through the gate.”
“Oh, then I should probably go there.”
“Now?”
“No, not now. Now, I’m having coffee with you.”
And tonight? Layne wants to ask, but stops himself.
They go to one of the cafes on the street and order thick Vietnamese coffee, and talk. Layne tells Kate he is in Ho Chi Minh for a presentation. He is an IT consultant for one of the big four international consulting companies, and he is involved in a big roll-out for his current client with branches across the Asia Pacific region. Kate tells Layne she is there for research.
“Research for what?”
“I’m a writer,” Kate says. “My latest story is set in Vietnam.”
“You were writing back in Sydney too, right?”
“Yeah, I finished a novel that night. A very memorable night, if I may say so.”
Layne smiles and looks at Kate to see whether she was being coy. She smiles back.
“You know, you nearly died, so I think you deserve dinner, on me!” Layne offers. “And because I saved you from the jaws of the motorbike monster, you can’t say no.”
Kate laughs and the sound she makes reminds Layne of the sounds she made back in his hotel room in Sydney.
“Dinner it is!” Kate answers.
They walk to a nearby pho restaurant and have a healthy Vietnamese dinner. Then they go to a side street bar to have drinks.
“Shots?” Layne asks.
Kate laughs. “Not in the mood for shots tonight. A margarita will do, or two.”
She has three. Layne has four vodka tonics.
Inevitably, they spend the night together in Layne’s hotel room and this time, it is even better than the first time.
Layne stares at Kate’s face while she sleeps. Her hair is tousled. It is longer but still in the stage of in-between. She is fun to be with, she is smart, and she is great in bed. She is everything Layne likes and wants in a woman. He is going to initiate a meet-up in Manila.
He sleeps with a smile, his arms and legs entwined with Kate’s.
He wakes up and she is gone, again. And he realizes she still hadn’t given him her last name, her phone number or any contact details, whatsoever. He lurks around the hotel and streets the next couple of days but he never sees her again. At least, not in Ho Chi Minh City.
wwwww
Kate
Kate is on her last full day in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. She had visited friends and made a side trip to Hanoi to visit the underground caves. Most of the time, however, she just walked around, drank coffee, and wrote. Everything is great. There is only one issue.
Kate just can’t get the hang of navigating the streets with all the motorbikes around. She usually would cross the street with other people so she can just follow what they did. Unfortunately for her, she is alone on one side of the road and she needs to go to the other side. She is on her way back to her hotel to write and to pack, since she has an early flight the next day.
She takes a deep breath and steps off the curb. And all hell breaks loose, and she finds herself stuck in the middle of the road with motorbikes whizzing past her. She just can’t move. Some actually steer too close to her she almost feels the impact of their passing.
She is starting to panic. Then, she feels someone grab her elbow, and she has no choice but to follow, dodging the motorbikes, until they reach the sidewalk.
“Thank you! I thought I was going to die by motorbike today!” Kate exclaims.
She looks up at the serious face of her savior, who appears ready to admonish her for her stupidity, and then they lock gazes.
Oh my God, it’s him!
“Oh . . . hey . . . it’s you . . . ,” the guy says.
Kate recognizes Layne and smiles.
“Layne? Wow, what a lovely coincidence! Thank you for saving me from a humiliating death,” Kate said, her heart beating fast. Sudden images of Layne in his hotel room, with his body, his body, his body . . .
Layne seems to have read her mind because he sort of blushes. Kate wants to diffuse the obvious tension between the two of them. So she says the first thing that comes to her mind.
“You deserve a treat from me! How about some Vietnamese coffee?”
Layne smiles. “Oh, Kate, you owe me more than just Vietnamese coffee for that act of heroism I did for you,” he says, mischief in his eyes.
Oh God, this man is so sexy! Kate smiles and she sees Layne’s smile spread over his face. She takes his arms and links hers.
“Let’s start with coffee, and work our way from there, okay?”
They walk. They pass one of the most recognized buildings in Vietnam.
“Have you been there?” Layne asks.
“Been where?” Kate asks
Layne points. “That’s the Reunification Palace, the site of the end of the Vietnam War during the Fall of Saigon in 1975. A North Vietnamese army tank crashed through the gate.”
Kate knows the building, and she had been there, for research for the story she was writing. However, for some reason, the words that come out of her mouth are, “Oh, then I should probably go there.”
“Now?” Layne asks quizzically.
“No, not now. Now, I’m having coffee with you,” Kate says, but inwardly, she is thinking about what could come after coffee.
They go to a street café and order Vietnamese coffee. Layne tells her about his work, that he is in Ho Chi Minh for a presentation on the status of their Asia Pacific roll-out for a client.
She tells Layne she is there for research.
“Research for what?”
“I’m a writer,” Kate says. “My latest story is set in Vietnam.”
“You were writing back in Sydney too, right?”
“Yeah, I finished a novel that night. A very memorable night, if I may say so,” the words are out before she can think about the implications. She wants to hide in embarrassment.
But Layne smiles so she just smiles back.
“You know, you nearly died, so I think you deserve dinner, on me!” Layne offers. “And because I saved you from the jaws of the motorbike monster, you can’t say no.”
Kate laughs, knowing that the night is going to be more than just dinner. “Dinner it is!”
They walk to a restaurant, where they ordered pho. Then, they go to a side street bar to have drinks.
“Shots?” Layne asks.
Kate laughs, remembering where three shots of tequila took her the last time they met. “Not in the mood for shots tonight. A margarita will do, or two.”
She ends up having three, while Layne has four vodka tonics.
They walk arm in arm to Layne’s hotel, which is just a few buildings away from Kate’s hotel. They didn’t have to talk about it. They just know. That night, it is even better than the first time.
Kate is breathless afterward. She is also tired, so in spite of herself, she sleeps, her arms and legs entwined with Layne’s. She wakes up suddenly and her face is inches away from Layne’s. He is sleeping as if he is smiling. Those lips, Kate thinks. She can still remember the feeling of Layne’s lips on her mouth, her neck, on her entire body. She feels warm all over.
She traces her fingers along the side of Layne’s lips, and she realizes Layne could be someone she can fall in love with. It’s a good thing he is just another one-night stand.
She gently extricates herself away from Layne’s muscled limbs. She stares at Layne’s naked body on the bed, and it is almost a work of art.
She dresses slowly and lets herself out quietly.
She goes back to her hotel. Thankfully, there are no streets to cross. She packs and leaves for the airport and out of Layne’s life.
Again.
Reviews
…and then let’s talk about Kate and Layne’s chemistry. I don’t think I can accurately describe it except that they have great “onscreen chemistry” even without the actual screen. (What? I told you I can’t describe it properly!). I mean, their scenes, from the beginning up until the very end, they made me feel, you know, *FEELS*. Even without dialogue, although I adore their banter, the way they act around each other, when their skin touches…argh! *FEELS*
And what really gets me, aside from all I’ve mentioned above, is Kate’s dark awakening moment that was pivotal to everyone’s personal journey. I won’t say more, bec spoilers, but when I was done reading that scene, I just had to stop for a while and I wondered why I was so affected by it. The way it was written was simple and direct, for such a raw, complex and emotional issue, but Ms. Yeyet nailed it. There was a realness to it that I actually messaged her and told her how I felt about it. She told me it must be her HeistClub foundation, seeping through the romance. That, I think, is the ultimate je ne sais quoi of this book. 😉
4 of 5 Stars.
A+ Romantic Chemistry
A+ Character Development
A+ Plot Twists
Okay. Let me just get this out of the way and fangirl over this super awesome book!~ I love it!! Like really! Too many feels for this novel. I started reading it night time and I couldn’t put it down. So I ended up reading until morning. I was actually crying while in my room at 2 in the morning. Sigh. That’s how I love this book. Everything about it is perfect!
There’s variety with how the story was told. It started pretty fast, with Kate and Layne’s encounters in different countries; the middle parts were a bit slower and the ending was a total whirl. From the start, I noticed Kate and Layne had perfect chemistry and their personalities complemented each other. I enjoyed how fate seems to threw them together at the perfect time. It’s also worth noting that this book is sex-positive.
I also enjoyed how visual the author described the places, culture and the food. I felt like I was actually there with the characters. Speaking of characters, I also adored the minor characters, especially Layne’s and Kate’s family.
Overall, I pretty much have mixed feelings about this book. It had its ups and downs—moments that made me swoon, situations where I did not agree with the characters—but I enjoyed that this was a complex story. Add in the raw emotions and angst of the characters, Kate, Finally could easily be relatable for many romance readers.
I think my favorite part of Kate, Finally is how complicated it all turned out to be. It’s easy to think that Kate would have an easy time choosing but a lot of factors came into play, that made this book intriguing and I had conflicting feelings of who she should choose! On one hand, I have always been attracted to the love interests who had time on their side — the history, the friendship — because it meant that he and the main character have seen the worst and still have chosen to be with them. But then, there’s also that question of happiness and settling: what if choosing the friend you’ve always loved meant you’re settling, and that you deserve someone more?
