Page 17 of Herding Cat

She was going to help this child. She was going to change her life...for the better.

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Garrett was speechless as he watched Catherine with little Lui. He didn’t know what it was about the sight of her lifting the toddler out of her crib and holding her and cooing to her that made him choke up.

He wasn’t an emotional guy. Nothing really affected him. Certainly not like this. There had never been room for any sentimentality in his life. He’d been able to eradicate it...until now. So he stood there, silent, as Catherine talked to Mrs. Parsons about the possibility of working with the home to arrange a surgery for Lui. He watched as she held the baby close and kissed her brow, drew in her scent. He watched as she did the same with Mae.

He could tell it was difficult for her to leave the orphanage, but she did so with Mrs. Parsons’ card in hand and a list of references and patrons of the home, which she had requested. She also gave Mrs. Parsons her contact information and the name of her hotel in Hong Kong.

She was quiet as they made their way back to the market and caught a cab for their hotel. While Garrett was relieved they were heading for safer ground, Catherine’s reserve concerned him.

“Are you okay?” he asked in an undertone. Luke was in the front seat chatting with the cab driver, so he felt safe asking. He also felt safe covering her hand with his. He was gratified that she didn’t pull away.

“Fine.” A sigh. “It’s just so...overwhelming.”

“Overwhelming?”

She shrugged. “There’s so much need in the world.”

He nodded. “There is.”

“I can’t save them all.”

“No. You can’t. Maybe you’re not meant to. Maybe you’re meant to save the ones you can.”

She turned to him then. Her gaze was warm and intent. “That is a very wise thing to say,” she murmured. “Thank you.”

And then, to his delight, she leaned closer, and kissed him.

Oh, not a real kiss by any means. Not what he might have wanted—something wild and savage involving the exchange of bodily fluids. It was a quick, sweet, sincere kiss. Lip to lip.

The need for more should not have swamped him.

But it did.

It took everything in him to push down that rising lust.

She’d made her opinion about him, and his interest, very clear.

Damn it, he wished he were older.

They weren’t far apart in age, but he knew some women liked older men and apparently she was one of them.

Damn it all anyway.

The cab pulled up to the hotel and Garrett rushed to open her door. He was too late. She was already on the pavement by the time he got around the car. He and Luke exchanged a glower and they both hurried to catch up and flank her as they entered the hotel.

The lobby was busy, as usual. And, as usual, everyone lounging there could have been a potential threat—with the possible exception of a middle-aged woman who’d had a trifle too much to drink and was flirting with a disgruntled doorman.

It occurred to Garrett that he had become, perhaps, a little too cynical over the years. But his instincts were usually right, so he hurried Catherine to the elevators. Though his shift was over, Luke escorted them to the suite and waited while Garrett cleared each room. It was an SOP they were both so used to, it was practically second nature, but still, as he worked, a tiny voice in his head kept whispering, You’re going to be alone with her tonight. All night.

He tried to ignore it, but doubted he succeeded.

Even so, when the door closed on Luke as he made his way back to the room he shared with Tate, a thrill shot through Garrett’s veins.

He gusted a breath and turned to Catherine. “Well—”

“I’m tired,” she said and his inappropriate anticipation deflated like a farting balloon.