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And watching her squirm is almost as satisfying as witnessing those rare glimpses of her vulnerability. Every hint of it makes me fall a little more. Makes me want to fix things for her, to be better for her, to just betherefor her.
Feelings I’ve never experienced before.
But when she’s uncomfortable like she is now, when I know she’s okay, that nothing will hurt her, it’s fun to poke at her. To watch her come undone just a little. To see beneath her finely tuned mask.
And Catherine Bouvier is currently coming undone.
“Hi, guys,” she says as she settles into the booth, taking the only seat left, right next to me. I got here before her, leaving while she was still showering, so I could meet up with Carter first. “You’re never here on time,” she says to her older brother, ignoring me still.
I smirk at the way her brothers study her. They all see what I see. Her posture—how she’s perched on the edge of the booth as far from me as possible, her back ramrod straight. Her blatant disregard for my presence. I take a sip of my coffee to hide my amusement.
“Uh, Cat, aren’t you going to say hello to Jay?” Carter asks, his eyes darting from her to me. “Jay, this is my sister, Cat. And we weren’t on time; you’re just exceptionally late,” he says, scrutinizing her.
Cash and Frank are watching her too. With every set of eyes on her, she turns to face me, her cheeks going pink and then crimson. “Oh, h-hi,” she stutters, thrusting her hand toward me awkwardly.
Seeing her like this leaves me licking my lips. I put my coffee cup down and take her hand in mine, squeezing it when she tries to pull away. “Pleasure’s all mine,” I say with a wink.
Carter scoffs, “You don’t have to work your charm on her, Jay.”
Cat pulls her hand back and picks up her menu, failing at affecting the nonchalant tone she’s going for. “How was everyone’s weekend?”
Cash replies first. “Good. We won our game. Pretty sure we’ll be going to state.”
She beams at him. “Promise I’ll be at next weekend’s game.”
“Don’t you have to work?” Carter asks, quirking his brow.
Her eyes bounce toward me and then she scans her menu before replying. “I, uh, I actually quit,” she says.
Carter straightens. “You need money?”
She scoffs and finally looks his way. “No.”
Her brother props his elbows on the table and leans forward. “Why did you quit?”
I bring my coffee to my lips again, enjoying the show.
“My boss was an ass—wouldn’t take no for an answer,” she replies without breaking a sweat.
I cough into my cup and spit out my coffee.
“Jesus—” Carter says, focusing on me for half a second before looking at her again. “What’s the cocksucker’s name? Jay and I will pay him a visit.”
I clear my throat, trying to catch my breath. So much for her being uncomfortable. Fucking minx is cool as a cucumber over there.
“Oh stop. All I mean is that he wouldn’t take no for an answer when I said I couldn’t work Sundays and during the week. I have more responsibilities with the magazine now, so I’m up here more often.” She hands me a napkin and gives me a demure smile. “You okay?”
I wipe my mouth with the proffered cloth and then stretch my arm out along the top of the seat so my hand rests just above her shoulder and my body is angled toward hers when I reply. “I’m fine, sweetheart. Thank you. Which magazine do you work for?”
She nibbles her lip, a tell that she’s nervous.
I bite back a smile at her reaction. Back on solid ground.
“Jolie,” she murmurs before turning back to her brothers.
“How’s that going?” Cash asks before I can respond to her. Before I can mention the shared project. Bring up the excuse we have to get to know one another. Fucking A.
Cat brightens. It’s clear she and Cash are close. “It’s going really well. I was asked to work on a ball they’re throwing at the end of the month,” she says, keeping her attention trained on Cash and ignoring my pointed stare.
