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I chatted up the boss’s dad, earning myself as many points as I could. My real reward though, was Kate. When the Stirling’s left, she stayed behind. “Do you follow him everywhere now?”
“Just until he stops ruffling every set of feathers he finds.”
It was good to see her up close. Catching her eye before the game felt necessary, helped me focus, but it wasn’t enough. “Are we still pretending we’re just colleagues?”
She made a show of looking around the locker room. “I don’t see anyone here besides us.”
I had her in my arms in a flash. The relief that came from feeling her tense and then melt was almost as addictive as the game. Scratch that, even more addictive. Making Kate melt was my new favorite adrenaline rush.
“Congratulations, Captain. You’ve survived your first game at the helm.”
“Could’ve gone better.” I kissed her again.
“Could’ve gone much worse.” She pulled out of my embrace.
I made it difficult but not impossible to escape. “It was a solid first showing considering the rollercoaster of an off season. Overall, I feel really good.” The hard part was over. Now we had to play our game. “Grab a drink with me.”
“What about your daughter?”
“Rosie? She’s with my mom. Probably fast asleep by now.”
Kate hesitated, but then nodded and a small smile curved her lips. “Red Tourist?”
“Works for me.” I snagged her fingers with mine and held on as I returned to my office for my backpack. She kicked the door closed and kissed me again.
If I had any doubts left about whether she was as attracted to me as I was to her, they vanished when her body slammed against mine. It caught me by surprise and I froze as one hand cupped my cheek and her other arm wrapped around my neck. Hot electricity shot through me, jolting me into action. I dropped my bag and grabbed her hips. When that wasn’t enough I slid my hands up her back and kissed her deeper. She tasted new and exciting. Different and somehow familiar.
“Sorry,” she gasped. “Got a little carried away.”
“Don’t ever be sorry for that.” Kate cared a lot more than I did about romance around the office. I respected her wishes and acted accordingly, but I didn’t give a rat’s ass if someone opened the door and found us kissing.
She bit her lip like she was trying to keep herself from saying something. I cocked my head, deliberately not picking my bag back up. “You got something on your mind?”
Her eyes locked with mine. “Eli has mentioned, more than once, hiring me on permanently.”
A little shot of adrenaline hit my system. “Well I, for one, am a big fan of that idea.”
“What if six months from now we decide we actually hate each other?”
I snagged her fingers again. I kind of wanted to keep them between mine forever. I just liked the way it felt—the way it made me feel. “I won’t hate you in six months. I don’t even hate Everett and he’s done every terrible thing in the book. Hell, we live together.”
“I suppose I could just quit. I’ve never quit a job before.” She was cute when she was confused.
“Take the job, don’t take the job, quit if you need to, as long as it means you’ll be around all the time, I’m a big fan.”
“Yeah?”
I pulled her against me. “Oh yeah.” And then I kissed her until she stopped thinking.
16
Isaac
“Does this count as a second date?” I teased her because it was my whole goal in life to make her smile.
She shoved a bite of blackened grouper in her mouth and waggled her eyebrows. “Why does it matter? Are you trying to get to the third date or something?”
“Nah. I don’t believe in number-of-dates equaling something. Kissing and such should always be done based on comfort. It’s weird though, isn’t? Like a transaction. If the guy buys three dinners the girl is supposed to reward him with sex? No. That’s…no.” I shuddered even thinking about it. Are you into each other? Cool. Have sex on the first date. Or the tenth. Or after marriage. Whatever made people feel good.
