“All right, there we go. That’s what I’m talking about. Ladies and gents, introduce yourself to the newest member of MeetMyMate.com.” She waved a flourishing hand toward Shane. “And don’t worry, I’ll make sure we clean him up before we put up his video. This is going to be fun.”
He sure thought so, which was odd, because if someone had asked him an hour ago if he’d rather swim with sharks or join an online dating site, Jaws would have won, hands down. Now that he’d gotten a second taste of Cat, nothing was going to stop him from getting more.
The women were chattering about his hair and what kinds of things he should say in his introduction video when he noticed Galen standing in the kitchen doorway, giving him the hairy eyeball. He jerked his head to the side, a clear invitation to join him on the down low.
“I’m going to get a sandwich,” he announced, but neither of them paid him any mind.
When he stepped through the doorway, Galen was leaning against the counter, arms akimbo. “So what’s the deal, man? Got something you want to tell me?”
Shane weighed his options and decided to shoot from the hip. “Yeah, I guess I do. I’m into Cat. Have been for years, but never felt like the time was right or that she was ready to hear it. I want to be closer to friends and family, but I’m not going to lie. Part of the reason I decided to come back was to see if she was ready.”
The tension in Galen’s jaw dissipated and he nodded slowly. “Okay. So what’s the plan?”
“She definitely has some feelings for me. I think she’s going to need a little convincing to see things my way, but only because she’s Cat.” Shane crossed his arms over his chest. “Is this all going to be a problem for you?”
Galen rubbed at his chin and then shook his head. “Not when you put it like that, I guess. But why didn’t you tell me before?”
“You mean like when you asked me to take care of her while you went to college, and open a can of whoop-ass on any guy who touched her? Or do you mean during those long heart-to-hearts we used to have at sleepovers right before we did our nails and had a pillow fight? Come on, buddy. We’ve gone out drinking, took a couple trips, kayaked, played racquetball, hell, even sparred together, but we don’t do a whole lot of deep-feeling swaps. Do you remember how you told me that you and Lacey were together?”
Galen shrugged a beefy shoulder. “Not exactly.”
“You called me up and said, ‘Hey, me and Lacey are getting married but we haven’t nailed down the date yet.’ Before that, I hadn’t heard shit about you two. I didn’t say anything about Cat because there was nothing to tell. Now there is.”
His friend snorted and grinned. “I guess. Okay, so what now? Why the dating site? Now she’s going to be focused on hooking you up with other chicks. Seems ass-backward.”
“I’ll get to spend a lot of alone time with her. Not to mention, she’s going to be shining me up some, putting my best foot forward, so to speak. Maybe she’ll find she doesn’t much like the idea of having to send me out into the world of adoring females.”
Galen cracked out a laugh and pushed off the counter. “Good luck with that, man. You’re going to need it. If she’s got her mind made up, it’ll take hell freezing over to change it.” He clapped Shane on the shoulder as he passed on his way back to the living room. “On the real, though? There’s no one I’d rather see her with. You’re my brother already, but it’d be nice to make it legit.”
Shane stayed in the kitchen a minute longer, sawing off a hunk of sandwich he didn’t want and slapping it on a paper plate. Galen’s blessing had lifted that last bit of weight off his chest, leaving him free to do whatever he had to do to get Cat to wake the fuck up and see what was right in front of her. His friend had been dead-on in one respect, though. The thing with a bullheaded woman like Cat was to make her think it was her idea. Best way to do that? Stick with the plan, and let her do the chasing.
He scooped up his plate and a bottled water and was about to join the group when Cat came barreling in, coat in hand.
“If you’re going to drive me then let’s go.” She tapped an exasperated toe on the tile floor.
“What are you talking about?”
“Lacey and I went shopping earlier and came straight back here, so I don’t have my car. Galen was going to take me home, but he said he’s had too much to drink and that you were taking me.”
“Ah, okay. Let me just say my goodbyes and stick this in a to-go bag.”
The toe percussion slowed to a waltz tempo and her annoyed expression faltered. “Did he not even ask you?”
“He didn’t mention it, no, but it’s not a problem. I go right by your place.”
Her eyes narrowed. “I thought you put him up to it.”
“Nope. I would have liked to give it a shot between us, but you clearly have your mind made up, so why waste my time? Come on, I’ll drop you home and we can talk about when we should get together to do this dating site thing. I’m hot to get started.”
He was hot all right. Probably from his pants being on fire after that laundry list of lies he’d just fed her. He refused to feel guilty, though. He was going to wring every last drop out of their time together and hope that deep down she wanted him enough to find she hated the idea of him with someone else.
She seemed to accept what he said at face value and waited by the door while he said his good-byes. A few minutes later, they were in his rental truck and pulling out of the driveway.
“It’s supposed to snow day after tomorrow,” she said, tracing the icy condensation on the passenger window with a gloved fingertip.
“Yeah, I heard that. Glad I bought my parents that snowblower last year. I’ll be able to clear it out quick. Being stuck inside makes me feel caged.”
“Me, too. That’s the worst. Especially on vacation days. I’ve got some things planned that I have to cross off my list, but I may have to fit in a skiing day, too, if it’s looking good out there.”
“Still working off that list, huh?”
The question hung heavy between them, and he wondered if she remembered the night she’d told him about her bucket list as vividly as he did.
It was a Saturday in September. The Indian summer had gifted them with a balmy night, and everyone was hanging by the bonfire in the backyard of Bobby Boyd’s lake house.
Everyone except for Cat.
One minute she was there, the next she was gone. He’d searched the yard for her, then the house, but no luck. He had just started getting worried when he saw Lacey peering toward the lake while chewing her bottom lip.
“Spill it, munchkin,” he demanded.
She looked up in his general direction but wouldn’t meet his gaze. “Spill what?”
He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, looking down toward the lake. “Is she with a guy or alone?” He wasn’t sure which answer he wanted to hear at that moment. Both sucked.
Lacey swallowed hard and leaned in to whisper. “Alone. But she told me not to tell you where she was. It’s just, she’s been gone a while and I’m getting nervous.”
Nervousness was an almost perpetual state for Lacey, so that in itself wasn’t cause for concern, but a young woman in the lake at night was. She could swim out too far and get a cramp, or some asshole could take her solitude as an invitation. “I’m going to check on her. And don’t worry. I won’t tell her you said anything.”
When he’d finally made his way to the spit of beach down the path, it was to find her standing ankle-deep in the water, wearing only her bra and underwear. He’d nearly swallowed his tongue.
“Figures. Lacey Drawers couldn’t keep her trap shut, huh?” She didn’t sound mad. More teasing than anything. “I told her if she was so worried, she should come with me, but that didn’t work. She said we could skinny-dip next time we go to our lake cottage, but really, when are we ever left alone long enough to do that?” She turned to face him, full on in the buttery moonlight, and the breath stuck in his chest. “Still, the water looks almost black, and my imagination started running away with me.”
He finally peeled the tongue from the roof of his mouth to speak. “You shouldn’t be here by yourself, Mary Catherine. It’s dangerous.”
“Well, it would seem I’m not by myself after all, wouldn’t it now, Decker?” She gave him the smile that never ceased to make his gut ache and started forward into the water.
He stepped in after her without hesitation, warm water lapping at his ankles and filling his sneakers.
“Don’t.”
“I’ve got to.” She shrugged her bare, white shoulders. “It’s on my bucket list.”
“What bucket list?” He asked, tearing his gaze from her satin-covered breasts. “That’s for old people.”
“It’s for people who have things they want to make sure to experience before they die, and I’ve got a long one.”
She hadn’t stopped moving and was ten feet out now, up to her hips. He bit back a curse. “And let me guess, annoying the shit out of your brother’s best friend is number one?”
Even then, she’d seen it. Known that annoyance was the least of the things he felt for her, at least that night. Her slow smile sent hormones screeching through his veins like a crazed banshee.
A low cough from the passenger’s seat jarred him back to the present. He snuck a look to his right to see Cat toying with the belt of her coat. “Uh, yeah. Still working my way through the bucket list, albeit with some adjustments. I crossed out ‘marry Justin Timberlake’ and changed it to ‘Ryan Gosling.’ And erased ‘move to Turkey and buy a monkey’ altogether. You know, stuff like that.”
Her voice was strained, so he opted to go along and play it light.
“Good call. I think he’s married now anyway, and I hear monkeys are a pain in the ass. I hate to take up too much of your vacation, though, if you had plans. Are you sure you’ll have time to do this dating site thing for me?”
“No, no. I want to!” Her rushed reassurance might have bruised his ego if it didn’t seem so over the top. “And most of my plans are later in the week. Tomorrow and the next day are unwinding days. I just finished designing a collection and need to decompress before I start the next one. You free late tomorrow afternoon? I can come by your parents’ house.”
His lips quirked at the words she didn’t say, but he heard loud and clear. You know, your parents’ house. Where your parents are and we won’t have to be alone.
Good. Making her nervous was very, very good.
“Sure, sounds perfect. Don’t eat. You know my mom loves to feed people.”
She adjusted her seat and seemed to settle in more comfortably. “Score. I love a free, mom-cooked meal.”
The hum of the heater was the only noise for the rest of the five-minute drive, but the silence was more companionable. He imagined she was pleased with how things were shaping up and was busy mentally dressing him for tomorrow’s photo shoot. Which was sort of ironic, since he was pretty fucking satisfied with the way things were going, too, and mentally undressing her.
The short leather coat she wore belted at the waist accentuated the fact that she was stacked both in the front and in the back, and he allowed himself to imagine that she wore nothing but the coat and those boots for him. That if he leaned over and tugged that leather bow, she would be unwrapped. An early birthday present. The sides of her coat would fall open—along with those creamy white thighs—and he’d have an unobstructed view of the sweet, round tits that he’d gotten to touch but not see. He’d—
“Slow down, my turn’s next, remember?” she said, giving his arm a tap and jarring him back to reality. “Jeez, you’ve been away so long you don’t remember where I live?”