The Hotel Room: His Broken Vows

Chapter Thirty-Six - Kate

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

Kate

Kate sat at the dining table, her hands loosely wrapped around a glass of water as James moved around the kitchen. The comforting aroma of spaghetti bolognese filled the air, a familiar favorite that always made Lily’s eyes light up and Noah roll his in mock protest—before immediately having seconds.

James reached for the ladle, scooping sauce from the pot onto Lily’s plate with practiced ease. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, and Kate’s gaze caught on the subtle flex of his forearms as he worked. The way the tendons shifted under his skin, the faint line of veins tracing a path to his hands—it was mesmerizing.

Her cheeks warmed, and she quickly looked down at her water, flustered. What is wrong with me? she thought, pressing the cool glass to her lips.

Her hormones were running wild and her body seemed to have a mind of its own lately. The flutter of attraction felt sharper, more insistent, and entirely out of place in the middle of a family dinner.

James turned to Noah, holding up the ladle like a question. “Two scoops or three?”

“Two,” Noah muttered, barely looking up from his phone.

James smirked, ladling a generous third scoop onto his plate anyway. “Growing boy,” he said lightly.

Kate bit the inside of her cheek to stifle a laugh, but her eyes drifted back to him. The way his muscles flexed again as he leaned slightly to set the plate down in front of Noah shouldn’t have been this captivating, but she couldn’t stop watching. Even his hands—strong and sure, the same hands that had painted the nursery walls, fixed Lily’s bike, and held her so gently in bed at night—were suddenly…sexy.

She cleared her throat, trying to redirect her thoughts. Get it together, Kate.

Lily giggled from her seat. “Daddy, you put too much sauce on mine!”

“There’s no such thing as too much sauce,” James said with mock seriousness, ruffling her hair before placing her plate in front of her.

Kate’s lips twitched as she watched the way Lily grinned up at him, her face glowing with the unfiltered love only kids seemed capable of showing. Noah, predictably, had already started eating without so much as a thank-you.

James glanced at Kate, catching her staring before she could look away. His brow furrowed slightly, a flicker of curiosity crossing his face.

“Everything okay?” he asked, his voice low enough not to draw the kids’ attention.

“Fine,” she said quickly, a little too quickly. She busied herself with her glass again, avoiding his gaze.

But James didn’t look convinced. He lingered for a moment, his expression softening as if he wanted to say something. Then Lily tugged on his sleeve, asking for more cheese, and the moment passed.

Kate exhaled quietly, shaking her head at herself.

As the kids dug into their dinner, Kate tried to focus on the conversation around the table—on Lily’s animated story about her day and Noah’s sarcastic commentary. But her eyes kept flickering back to James. The way he leaned slightly on the counter, the set of his shoulders, the casual strength in the simplest movements.

For a moment, she let herself enjoy it—the warm, heady feeling of being drawn to him, of wanting him.

Dinner was loud, chaotic, and entirely normal. And somehow, in the midst of it all, James had managed to completely disarm her without even trying.

Her hormones were ridiculous.