Page 32 of Rowdy & Kat

“My dad’s a great guy,” I said, making Kat frown. “But he wasn’t a guy any woman would want to marry. I bet a lot of people thought my mom only settled for the rude asshole because she was a struggling, single mom. But Bebe gave Pax a real chance. More than one, because there was magic between them. No other woman could have convinced him to settle down. No other man could have made her forgive so many fuckups. They were willing to risk everything because they were special together.”

Kat smiled at my words, but she clearly didn’t get it. She hadn’t grown up observing magic. Pax and Bebe hadn’t, either. Being together felt right while not making sense. I was sure they struggled.

But I saw tons of relationships with the same kind of magic. My friends and family hadn’t understood why I kept thinking about a chick that ghosted me. I looked like a fucking chump. But in my heart, I knew Kat would return to me. Now that she had, I planned to keep her.

But to Kat, I was spewing crazy talk.

“I’m glad we’re going on our first date now when you can’t ride my dick for a while,” I said, making her frown again. “I feel like otherwise you’d skip the small talk and focus on seducing me into bed.”

“Wait, you think I did the seducing?”

Smirking, I reminded her, “You knew who I was. You already admitted you came to the clubhouse to ride my dick.”

“No, I came to prove to myself that you weren’t worth obsessing over.”

Wiggling my eyebrows at her, I asked, “And how did that work out for you?”

A grinning Kat lowered her head and shrugged. “Well, I’ve admitted you’re addictive. I don’t think we need to harp on that.”

“No, I insist we harp on it,” I said, enjoying her sheepish expression. “What do you love most about my hot body?”

“Your dick,” she whispered and glanced at the boys as if they might overhear. “It’s purely sexual.”

“Oh, don’t do that,” I said and wagged a finger at her. “I sense you extend your claws whenever you believe someone’s a threat. Like in high school, when you called me a beast. That was hurtful.”

“Was it really?”

“I thought you meant ‘beast’ like I smelled or something.”

Narrowing her gaze, Kat didn’t buy my bullshit. “You knew you didn’t stink.”

“How would I know what you meant? You ran away,” I said and sighed deeply. “You always run away, Katarina Darville. That’s why I knocked you up with twins. I knew they'd slow you down long enough for me to catch you.”

A perfect smile warmed her face. “It was all part of your plan, huh?”

“Totally. That’s why I’ve been so chill about it.”

Kat studied me, seeming sad. “In my head, I’ve told you a million times about the boys. I saw you reacting with surprise. Other times, you were chill like you are now. But there were times when I was sure you’d be angry. Or dismissive. I just couldn’t trust you were the way I saw you. After all, I’ve been infatuated by you for a decade. It made sense that I wasn’t seeing you clearly.”

“And if I got angry, you thought I’d steal the boys.”

Kat’s gaze flashed with concern. “Maybe.”

“Is this date your way to appease a crazy guy?”

“No, I also wanted a free meal,” Kat said, making me snicker.

“I could love you,” I said, and her smile faded. “Is that something you’d want? No, I guess the real question is if you’d ever be able to trust my love? Or will I always be the scary guy with the dangerous family?”

Kat’s expression was a mix of longing and fear. “I don’t know.”

“Because no one except Maria has ever really loved you?”

Kat leaned back and sighed. “Our mom loved us. She wrote in her diary how we were her life. There were times when she wanted to run away from our father and start over. She even considered returning to Estonia, but she knew those choices would be wrong for Maria and me.”

“She sacrificed for you. Maria does, too. That’s what you need from me, isn’t it?” I said and dug a large bite of pot pie out of the container. “I can do that.”

“You’ve already proven yourself.”