CHAPTER TWO
Cody wasn’t proud of what he’d just done. And he wouldn’t be telling anyone about it anytime soon. But the thought of Cat on that dating app actually made his blood boil. It wasn’t logical. They hated each other. He hated her. She was loud and brash and never stopped to think before she spoke.
And really fucking beautiful.
Okay, she was hot. He could admit that. Long black hair made to wrap around his fist, silky tan skin that probably tasted just as good as it looked and those goddamn bright blue eyes. He could get lost in those eyes. But it didn’t matter. Because nothing was ever going to happen between them. He couldn’t even have a damn conversation with her without them hurling insults. Even so, the thought of her with someone else didn’t sit well.
So, you don’t want her, but you don’t want anyone else to have her, either?
That pretty much summed it up. It was also the driving force behind what he’d just done. He’d reported her dating profile. And may have also had her account suspended.
It was petty. Immature. And most likely an abuse of power. But he didn’t care. Because he wanted her off that damn app and he wanted it now.
What had she been thinking, going on there? With all those horse-riding innuendos too. Sure, he’d laughed when he’d read them, but who knew what kind of asshole she was going to attract with all those sex jokes. The wrong one, that’s what kind.
Even the right one would be wrong, though. Right?
“Dad?” Dylan called out. Good timing.
That was his cue to leave his comfy leather couch. Checking his watch as he extracted himself, he realized just how late it was. Shutting dating profiles down was more time consuming than one would think.
Making his way up the curved staircase, he paused briefly as he reached the top. The framed picture hanging on the magnolia wall stopped him in his tracks as usual, but this time for a different reason. Something like guilt churned in his stomach as his eyes roamed the old photo.
You’ve got nothing to feel guilty about. Nothing’s happened. Thinking isn’t a crime.
“Dad!”
Shaking his thoughts loose, Cody turned away and paced down the hall and straight into Dylan’s room. The star-shaped night lights he’d installed on the ceiling lit up the path to his bed.
“What’s up, little man?”
Cody waited for Dylan to budge over before climbing under the solar system sheets and pulling him into his arms.
“I had the dream again. With the crocodile. It was chasing us. And it got you, Dad.”
Cody cursed himself for the millionth time for reading him that blasted book.
“It’s okay, bubba, it’s okay.”
Dylan fell into his chest and wrapped his arms around him. Tight. All he could do was stroke his son’s back and hope it would somehow soothe him.
Not for the first time today, he felt hopeless. That niggling feeling that he had no idea what he was doing was ever present. It had been there for four years now. Ever since he’d become a single dad. And he had a feeling it wasn’t going to go away anytime soon.
“No crocodiles are gonna get me, bubba. You don’t need to worry about that. I’m not going anywhere.”
It took almost an hour to get Dylan back down. Even then, it was somewhat of a challenge to untangle himself from his son’s hold without waking him. By the time he did, he was more than ready for bed, too.
After washing up, he climbed under the covers and went about setting the alarm on his phone. Damnit. There was a message from Zach. He knew what it was going to say before he even opened it.
Zach: How did it go today? You two good now?
Cat. She was the last thing he wanted to think about right before he went to sleep. It was bad enough the smell of citrus perfume was still stuck in his throat. And the feel of her lips against his was imprinted on his mouth. Now he had to reply to his best friend and what, tell him he almost kissed her? The woman he’d spent the past two weeks fighting with? The woman his friend so desperately wanted him to get along with?
No. He couldn’t. It didn’t matter anyway. It was crystal clear that despite whatever happened in her apartment today, they still very much hated each other.
Cody: Sorry, man. Probably best to keep anything sharp out of reach next time we’re in the same room.
It was better Zach didn’t know. It would only invite questions that he didn’t know the answer to.
Zach: You said you were gonna be on your best behaviour. What happened?
Cody: I tried.
That was true. Sort of.
***
Cody’s body was on high alert. Any second now, Cat would walk into the yard. And he wasn’t ready. He wrongly assumed that by the time he’d have to see her again, he would have at least managed to work her out of his system. But no. Here he was, two days later and he was back at Zach and Libby’s house celebrating their new home. System still fully clogged.
“You okay, man? You look like you’re about to pounce on a perp.” Zach slapped him on the back.
Cody took another swig of his beer, his muscles still worryingly rigid. “I’m good, just got shit on my mind.”
Cat. How she tasted. What she felt like. The noises she might make from beneath him as he pushed inside her.
You’re fucked up, man.
His brain was battling with his body. It had been for two days. And he still had no idea who was winning.
“Oh, yeah? What’s going on?” Zach’s brow furrowed with concern.
“Nothing a little fishing won’t take care of,” he lied. “You up for a trip down to Rainbow Creek next weekend?”
“Sounds good, man. I’ll talk to Libby and let you know.”
Of course. His best friend was now part of a ‘we’.
You’re just jealous.
Talking of jealousy, in walked the feisty feline who’d brought out a whole hell of a lot in him. Denim freaking shorts and all. It was like she was designed specifically to torture him. He had to suck it up, though. Pretend nothing had changed. Control his body and the urge to push her against the nearest surface and take what he wanted. He had a reputation to uphold.
His gaze flicked back to Zach and his heart sank. Libby had joined them and was curled up against his friend as he lay never-ending kisses on top of her head. Her presence meant only one thing. Cat had no other choice but to sway those curvy hips all the way over to them. To him.
Fuck my life. I need another drink.
Why he was pissed and excited at the same time, he had no idea. This woman was seriously messing with his head.
As the she-devil approached in her flimsy vest and tiny shorts, he watched quietly as she greeted and hugged everyone apart from him. A new sting made itself known in his chest, which didn’t make sense, as he should be used to this by now. It was her signature move— pretend Cody was invisible.
He stayed invisible as she passed over a brightly colored gift bag to the happy couple, a huge, mesmerising grin on her face that was hard to look away from. It wasn’t until a chorus of laughter erupted that the spell she’d cast on him was broken. Mentally cursing himself for staring, he finally looked over at Libby to find out what all the fuss was about. She was holding a brand-new toaster.
Figures. Who else but Cat would think that was a good gift? She was trying to be funny as usual. Yes, a toaster fire was how the couple had met, but did she really have to go there?
“What ya gonna do for their anniversary, kitten ... burn the house down?”
Those sapphire blue orbs snapped toward him. “Don’t you ever work? I thought most cops were supposed to work weekends.”
“Cat,” Libby intervened. As if that would stop her.
“Says the thirty-year-old woman bumming around another country. Where exactly are you working, kitten?”
Her hands shot to her hips, the tell-tale sign she was readying to put him in his place. “I work remotely, douchecanoe. Not that it’s any of your business.”
“What, so your job is good with you pissing off to Wyoming for months on end?” This time he was genuinely curious.
Before Cat could unleash what he was pretty sure would be a string of obscenities, Libby interjected. “Actually, her company has a US office in San Francisco. It’s where Cat used to work, where we met.” She beamed. “Cat’s gonna transfer back to the US office, right?”
The question was met with silence. Cat’s battle stance even sagged. It didn’t take a genius to figure out more was at play here, which only intrigued him further.
“How come you’re here and not there, kitten? You come all this way just to play with me?”
“What part of remote working don’t you understand, McBride?” Her spine was ramrod straight again. Death stare in full force.
“Answer me this then, why the hell are you transferring to another country’s office if you can work from anywhere?” Surely remotely meant she didn’t need an office, or was he just being a dumbass?
“Again, not that it’s any of your business but every now and then I have to go into an office. San Francisco would be my nearest one if I transfer.”
This was the closest they’d had to a conversation. Ever. Most of what he knew about Cat already had come from Zach or Libby. Not that he knew much. But the point was, she had never, ever, just offered up information. He still didn’t even know what she did for a living. Which was his next question. He might as well try and squeeze a little more out of her while he was on a roll.
“Huh.” He was going for nonchalant, so as not to scare her off. “So, what is it exactly you do, kitten? Ornithologist? Exterminator?”
If looks could kill, he’d be dust.
Again, it was Libby who interjected, obviously trying to keep the peace as Cat stared him down. “She’s a book editor for a big publisher. Isn’t that a cool job? She gets to read books all day!”
It was a cool job, and not what he was expecting at all. Cat didn’t come across as a bookworm. But to be fair, when it came to him, she didn’t come across as anything other than hostile. It would seem she was hiding a lot under that rock-solid defensive shield. And for some reason, he was dying to tear it away and find out what else was under there.
“Well, you can be Lord of my Flies anytime, kitten. Just say the word.” He added the wink that almost always caused steam to come out of her ears.
“What are you ... twelve?” was her response.
It came at the same time Zach let out a sigh-laced, “Dude.”
He couldn’t help but laugh at her angry grimace. Maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad day after all. He had a whole host of book-related jokes and pick up lines up his sleeve. And he intended on using every single one of them.