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“How is he still sane?” she muses, wrapping her arms around her waist. There’s so much emotion in that one question. Confusion, concern, mirth, and maybe I’m imagining it, but admiration? Could she be impressed by the man who’s enjoyed picking at her these last few years?
I shrug and take a sip from my mug. “He says he’ll sleep when he’s dead.”
She huffs a little laugh and stares out the window.
That sound reaches deep inside me, warming me to the depths of my soul. It was the first thing I ever noticed about her.
I attend a lot of events, and most of them are terribly dull. Filled with pompous assholes and cocky douchecanoes. That night had started like so many of the others—tepid food, too much cheap champagne, and fake smiles.
Out of nowhere, I heard this joyful and completely genuine laugh. It reached across space and time to snag my attention. Hold it. It delighted me and left me painfully curious.
I’d immediately severed a conversation and turned.
And that’s when I saw Katie Bird. Enchanting the crowd around her in a glittering black dress. Head tossed back. All those dark gold curls curving around naked shoulders. She’d grabbed her friend’s arm to hold herself steady. Together, they were stunning, but more than that, their good humor was infectious.
That was the moment I realized I’d been letting work take over everything. My world had become black-and-white monotony. And Katherine Montgomery was a crayon box full of color.
I’ve got it bad for a girl I have no business wanting. She should be with some young It guy closer to her own age. Not a grumpy old bodyguard turned CEO.
But that’s the thing. She makes me forget all the darkness in my life. No, that’s not right. I haven’t forgotten it. It’s still lurking, but she brightens every space she enters.
Gabe calls her an ice queen. But to me, she’s a phoenix.
“That’s what Ford says.”
“Your brother?” Let’s be honest, I’ve memorized a lot of her family tree after what happened with Gabe and her grandfather, Henry Chanler.
She shoots me a pleased look over her shoulder. Damn, if I don’t want to see that again and again. Earn her smiles. Another laugh from my Katie Bird might split me wide open.
Whoa. My Katie Bird?—
“Yeah.” Her lips curve up further, and my heart stumbles. “He’s all about living life in the fast lane. Talks about wanting to skid into his grave sideways, thinking, ‘Man, what a ride.’”
I knew I liked Ford. How those two turned out so well with such an overbearing, viper of a mother is beyond me.
Outside, the rain has refreshed everything. The colors are brighter, beckoning. I can see why Gabe likes this property. There’s an inlet to the east and a nice distance to the neighboring property on the west. Plenty of lawn for a game of touch football and terracing for a party. But the ocean view is the real draw.
I could stand here sunrise-to-sunset with this woman, watching the waves, the clouds, the seagulls. Would she like that? Or is she antsy to get back to the city?
“This place is incredible. I understand why he bought it,” she says.
I grunt. “I was just thinking the same thing.”
She grins up at me before leaning closer to the window.
I’m used to being on the same wavelength as Gabe. We’ve known each other for almost twenty years. But this is new. Feeling so connected to someone other than my best friend.
Unguarded, casual Katherine Montgomery is potent AF. And she’s sexy as pure sin in my t-shirt. I’m dying to know what’s beneath. Aching to slide my hands up those lush thighs, pushing the material higher and higher until?—
“Thank you. For last night.” She turns, light blue-green eyes boring into mine, the view forgotten.
In the light of day, she seems much more confident than the woman who was knocked off her axis last night. Her features are almost delicate, and there’s the lightest dusting of freckles across her nose. Rosey lips, even without makeup, and damn, if they don’t make me want to sweep her into my arms and kiss them.
“You’re welcome.”
She presses a palm over her heart. Is it my imagination or does she lean closer?
“I promise I’m not usually that much of a mess.”
