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Her eyes narrow the tiniest bit, and I see that she’s figuring him out. Beginning to see the scared little boy under the grown man veneer.
There’s no reason for her to come back to us. Not really. She could take her dress and those fancy, fuck-me heels and disappear for the rest of the weekend. Hang out with her brother. Hide out here in the Hamptons. Call for a car to take her back to the city.
There’s nothing holding her to us. My stomach rolls with unease.
Me. I want her to come back to me.
“I’ll be home after lunch. You’re my ride back to the city. You’d better not head back without me.”
Her teasing tone soothes him, and his shoulders drop a fraction. The wristlet purse at the end of her arm rings and she fishes out her phone, then frowns.
I’m on instant alert.
“It’s Vic at the front desk.”
From our apartment building?
Katherine hits the speakerphone button.
“Hi, Vic. Is everything okay?”
“Good morning, Miss Montgomery.” He sounds on edge but firm. “Your mother’s here demanding to see you. I’m afraid she doesn’t believe me when I tell her I can’t just let her up to your apartment without your permission.”
With each word, Katherine becomes an ice princess right before our eyes. Her easy, fluid movements halt, her spine straightens, and her shoulders pull down and back as her chin lifts. A chill radiates around her, and her hand drops from my chest.
Last night, she was a deer caught in headlights, trembling in my lap when her mother called.
This is a very different reaction.
This is battle armor. Clinking into place one piece at a time.
Every protective instinct inside me rises, and I reach for the phone. She ducks under my arm and turns toward a window that flanks the front door. Beneath the sweater, her chest rises and falls with a deep breath. Then she licks her lips.
“Vic, would you mind putting her on the phone, please?”
“Absolutely, Miss?—”
There’s what sounds like a scuffle, and then, “Katherine!” a woman shrieks, sounding completely unhinged. “What on earth?—”
“I’m going to stop you right there, Mother. Whatever you have to say, you can forget it. You signed me up for the auction, and I went. If you’re not happy with the result, that’s no fault of mine. Now, leave, or I’ll have Vic call the police.” There’s a beat of pause, and I’m not sure who’s more surprised: her, her mother, or me.
Katherine turns her head just a fraction as if remembering she has an audience. “And Mother, don’t even think about dragging Gabriel’s name through the mud. I know where you hide your secrets.”
Her voice rings through the foyer, powerful and just this side of vicious. Then, without giving her mother a chance to reply, she jabs the disconnect button and stows her phone.
A delicious chill races up my spine. A glance over at Gabe shows he’s equally impressed by the way she threw down against her own mother. His jaw hangs open, and his gaze darts from her to me and back like he can’t quite believe his ears.
He’s not hearing things. The way she put herself between him and her mother rather gives me a warm, soft feeling around my heart.
Without looking our way, she says, “I’ll see you after lunch.”
Then she’s out the door, marching down the driveway toward Roman’s SUV. Runway models have nothing on her.
I grab my phone and hit Roman’s number, watching him connect the call.
He glances up at the house, his dark eyes hidden behind stylish sunglasses.
“Guard her with your life.”
