“Why haven’t you camped? You like camping.”
Dean shrugged and placed a large dollop of butter on Katie’s potato before doing the same to his. “No time.”
Katie cocked her head to the side.
He picked up his fork and knife and started to dig into his steak. Katie sat motionless, poised as if waiting for him to say something.
“What?”
She shook her head. “Nothing.”
She didn’t buy his “no time” excuse but he didn’t want to make her privy to his thoughts.
He waited until she filled her mouth with the first chunk of pure Angus beef before he asked. “So, who is Ben?”
Her jaw hesitated midchew but she continued and swallowed before she picked up another bite on her fork.
“A friend.”
She didn’t meet his eyes. Her left eye twitched.
“A lover?” Dammit! Why had those words escaped his tongue? He shouldn’t care, and wished he didn’t.
Her cheeks grew red. Dean wasn’t sure if it was embarrassment or anger that fueled her reaction.
Instead of answering, Katie played with the butter on the edge of her fork before popping a bite of potato into her mouth.
“What makes you think I owe you any explanation about who you find in my suite?”
Now it was his time to squirm. He bit into his food, barely tasting the smoky flavor of the beef. She didn’t owe him anything. Not anymore. But damn, it killed him thinking of her with anyone other than him.
“I’d like to think we’re still friends,” Dean said.
Which was true.
“Friends?” she asked. The question was innocent enough.
“Yeah. We’ve known each other since we were both kids. Regardless of what has happened between us, we should be friends.”
A corner of her mouth lifted as she chewed on another bite of her steak.
A fine film of heat pearled into small beads of sweat on the back of Dean’s neck.
“Girlfriends like details, Dean. Do you want details about Ben? Private details?” She drew out the word private and made him regret he’d asked.
He dropped his fork and pulled hard from his beer.
“Do you want to give me details about Maggie?”
He lifted the beer again and finished it. The hell he would give her anything about Maggie. Maggie had called off their wedding and Dean thought at the time he wouldn’t survive. Now he knew their union would have been a disaster. He’d met Maggie shortly after he and Katie had gone their separate ways. His emotions at the time were a jumbled, hot mess. He had been ready to move to the next phase in his life. A wife, children…a house with a white f**king picket fence.
But then Katie called it off…wait, no, Maggie had called it off.
Dean shook his head and opened the second beer.
Although not knowing who Ben was to Katie burned a hole in his gut, Dean steered the conversation into safer waters. “I have your budget.”
Katie sucked in her lower lip and dropped her gaze. “Which is?”
He told her a number, knowing it was probably lower than what she expected. In reality, he knew budgets had a ten percent margin of error, usually ending up higher than expected. Considering she hadn’t done this type of work before, she would probably push that percentage close to twenty.
Dean lifted his eyes to hers, expecting to see her temper.
“Fine.”
“No argument?”
“I agreed not to argue.”
“That never stopped you before.”
“What can I say? It’s the new me.” She finished the last of her steak and placed her napkin on the table.
Dean sat there and stared. New me? He supposed there was something new about her. The desire to work, which God knew was cutting edge in Katelyn’s world. He attributed her casual clothes to a product of their time together…their intimate time together. Knowing she felt at ease enough to dress down for him brought on a swell of warm comfort. The pretense of being perfectly polished all the time was what she did for others. Yet she hadn’t dressed down for Ben.
He smiled. Working out in his mind that even if she and Ben were close, they weren’t as comfortable with each other as the two of them were.
Dean finished his second beer and pushed his chair back. “I’m having the walls redone tomorrow morning. You might want to be around to consult with if you want it done your way.”
“What time should I be there?”
“Eight.”
She rolled her head on her shoulders and tried to hide a yawn.
“I guess that’s my cue to leave,” he said.
“I don’t remember asking you to stay,” she quipped.
He chuckled. “You didn’t insist I leave either, darlin’.” He wondered why that was.
“In case you haven’t noticed, I’m tired. Fighting with you would have taken more energy than I have to spend. Now that you know I’m fed and obviously ready for bed.” She glanced at her outfit and tossed her hands to her sides. “You can leave.”
He passed her en route to the front door. She didn’t see him out. “G’night, Katie. See you in the morning.”
She waved him off. “Yeah, yeah…eight o’clock.”
Chapter Nine
Katelyn jolted out of bed at just after two thirty in the morning. Her heart pounded in her chest like that of a marathon runner on the twenty-second mile.
Something was wrong.
She’d slept too long.