Chapter 14
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Leo knew he shouldn’t have left Kat the way he had at the wedding. He should have shoved his cousin aside and told him to go looking for someone else to dance with. That fact had been made even more clear when he’d taken Kat home in complete and utter silence.
She’d seemed mad the entire ride and he had a feeling it had nothing to do with the dress she’d worn.
Scrubbing at his jaw, Leo shook himself out of his reverie.
The building was coming together. There was a large auditorium with access to the outside.
It’d be filled with dirt for the horses that would be brought inside.
The rest of the building would house offices and therapy spaces for those who needed sessions with a therapist one-on-one.
Jane’s architect certainly knew what he was doing when he’d proposed the setup. And that fact couldn’t have been made clearer than when Mr. Jerris gave his stamp of approval.
Folding his arms across his chest, Leo allowed himself to scan the crews working. There was more he could have been doing right about now. Heaven knew that Bo would give him a talking to if he caught Leo spending too much time waiting around for—
Leo swallowed hard and glanced toward the entrance of the building for what felt like the hundredth time. He didn’t know what he’d been expecting when he’d chosen to come to the construction site over taking care of his usual list of chores.
Okay, that was a lie.
He knew exactly what he’d been thinking.
He’d been hoping to see Kat and maybe gauge how she was feeling after their little not-date.
Dragging a hand down his face, Leo grimaced.
As much as he’d wanted to pretend it wasn’t a date, he knew better.
He’d been so close to kissing her that his heart still thrummed with that nervous energy from the night before.
All he wanted was one glimpse of her. That’s what he told himself, anyway. He wanted to make sure she was okay, then he’d leave. He could do that.
The sound of the men’s chatter filled the space as they continued working. It mingled with the sound of power tools and boisterous laughter. Leo watched them for a few more minutes, taking note of their progress and how they were using their time so he had something he could report to Kat.
Then, with a heavy sigh, he headed for the front entrance.
He made it halfway there when the door opened and the woman he couldn’t get out of his head entered.
Kat scraped her muddy boots across a mat just as her attention snagged on his. From this distance, her expression wasn’t readable at all. He didn’t know if she was mad or if she could possibly be happy to see him.
Probably the former based on the cold shoulder she’d given him on the ride home.
He rubbed at the back of his neck and continued his stride in her direction. She was utterly, devastatingly beautiful and all she was dressed in was a sweater, jeans, and those old, hand-me-down cowboy boots.
Kat was starting to look like she fit in.
Gone was the stiff businesswoman he’d met earlier that summer.
Her hair was pulled back into a French braid and it hung down her back with whisps escaping around her face.
She didn’t wear a cowboy hat, but if he were honest with himself, it’d make it more difficult to see those pretty eyes of hers.
“Leo,” she mused softly, “I didn’t expect you to be here.”
He cocked a brow. “Sorry to disappoint.”
“I didn’t say it was a disappointment.” Kat maintained their stare as if she didn’t want to be the first one to break the hold one had over the other. There was the cutthroat woman he was falling for.
Wait a dag-gone minute.
Falling for?
He couldn’t be falling for her.
And yet there was no other way to put it.
She’d gotten under his skin, sure. But to develop feelings for someone who had been so utterly annoying in the beginning? He had to be losing his mind.
Leo chuckled. “I’m just doing my job. You know, the one where I keep tabs on this place and give you my input.”
She’d been holding a clipboard with one hand, and she reached for it with the other so she held it with both hands in front of her. Kat tilted her head slightly, studying him for a moment before she asked, “Okay, so what do you have to report?”
He jerked his chin toward the men who were at work framing the office spaces. Currently the whole space was wide open. “They appear to be on track with their schedule. Supplies are at expected levels. There’s been little waste. And the men seem to be more than capable of staying on task.”
Was it possible that the corner of her lip twitched? Kat Jerris was amused. Leo bit back his own smile. Apparently that quiet ride home last night wasn’t as bad as he’d originally thought. She was okay. He hadn’t ruined everything.
Leo couldn’t tell if it was the fact that she was looking more and more like she belonged here, or if it was something else entirely. All he knew was that he couldn’t get her out of his head and he wasn’t completely averse to getting to know her a little better.
“Who knew that the grumpy cowboy could be tamed.”
“Tamed?” he scoffed. Then he took another step toward her, his whole body burning with something he wasn’t sure he was ready to investigate. “I assure you, Princess, I’m far from tamed.”
She didn’t bat an eye as she simply shrugged and stepped past him.
“I seem to recall a few meetings where all you wanted to do was glower at me and bark out that you wanted nothing to do with this project.” Kat tossed him a teasing look over her shoulder.
It was so different from the other ways she’d looked at him that it nearly had him stumbling over his own feet.
“Or did I read you wrong? Maybe the handsome brooding cowboy just needed someone to pull him from the shadows.”
Kat had read him perfectly. And unfortunately for him, something had changed within him.
He no longer viewed her as the enemy. On that note, he couldn’t seem to find the right words to argue with her.
The old him would have had a snappy comeback that could set her cheeks flaming.
But now? He was the one looking like a fool with his mouth hanging open.
When he didn’t respond right away, she tossed back her head and let out a warm laugh. It had the edges of his own mouth tilting upward. That laugh was magical. It wasn’t something she did often. Heck, he couldn’t recall the last time he’d heard her laugh at all.
For someone who wanted to point out his brooding nature, she sure had one of her own.
Leo rolled his eyes. “Well, now that you have your update, I’ll get going. Don’t need you pointing out all my mistakes in one day.”
She laughed again and he turned to the door but then her voice stopped him. “Leo?”
He glanced over his shoulder to look at her.
“I’m actually glad I caught you.”
He arched a brow. “I know I’m handsome and all that, but you’re taking this attraction too far.”
Kat snorted. “No, it’s got nothing to do about that. I need to head to town for something. Do you think you could drive?”
Without thinking it through, he nodded. “Sure. What time?”
She pulled out her phone. “In about an hour? I need to check in with the crew and then we can go.”
He nodded again. “Sure. I’ll be ready.”
Leo glanced at Kat out of the corner of his eye. She seemed relaxed today—so different from the night before. She lifted her face to the sky and inhaled deeply. Then when she brought her head down again, she cut him a look and frowned.
“What?” she demanded. “Am I not allowed to enjoy the fall air?”
The old Leo would have most definitely teased her about taking pleasure in such a thing—mostly because he thought her incapable of it.
But the more time he spent observing her, the more he realized just how genuine she was.
“On the contrary,” he murmured as they walked down the moderately busy streets of town.
“I think you should take as much time as you can appreciating the things that bring you joy.”
She stared at him then. Was that surprise written on her face? Her scrutiny unnerved him to the point he had to finally look away. It was the first time he could remember feeling so—vulnerable.
What was wrong with him?
The silence between them weighed heavy on his chest as they continued to head to the next location.
Kat had dragged him to three places already.
First, they’d hit up the antique store. She hadn’t purchased anything which made him wonder why they’d gone in there in the first place.
If she had errands to run, then there should have been a purpose.
Unless the purpose was to spend time with him.
No. Not yet. Kat wouldn’t do something like that without making her intentions known.
Would she?
The second stop was at the Zero Degree Desserts. She’d insisted on getting them each an ice cream despite the cold temperatures outside. And now they both seemed unable to stave off the chill. Now, they were walking into Cliff’s Market.
Leo frowned as he shot her a concerned look. To be fair, he hadn’t been eating with his mother and Kat for the last couple of days, so he didn’t know if she was in fact eating with his mother. He couldn’t imagine that would go over very well considering who his mother was.
“Are you not eating?”
The surprise on her face would have been comical if he wasn’t so concerned. “What? Of course I’m eating.”
He gestured toward her shopping cart. “But you’re buying food.”
She shifted her focus to the items she’d put in her cart. “That’s because I wanted to give your mom the night off.”
Something about her words hit him hard—like knock him off his feet, hard. “You… want to… you cook?”
Kat snorted at him. “Yes, Leo,” she drawled, “I cook. I’m not completely useless.”
“I never said you were useless,” he snapped. Then he immediately flinched at his tone when her look of incredulity made it clear he’d gone too far with his tone. He scrubbed at his jaw and relaxed. “What I meant to say was that… well, don’t you come from money?”
For a moment she just stared at him. Then she laughed and, dang it, that sound could melt ice in the North Pole. “Yes, Leo. My family comes from money. We do very well for ourselves.”
“So don’t you have a chef or something?”
She turned down an aisle, not meeting his gaze then. “My father does. And when I’m too busy to make something of my own,” she paused and cut him an embarrassed look, “sometimes I have someone fix me something.”
What did she have to be embarrassed over?
He got the distinct impression that she didn’t like him thinking she couldn’t take care of herself.
Or maybe it was something else. He wanted to tell her there was nothing to be ashamed of, but then he thought better of it.
The way he’d reacted already was putting him in hot water as it was.
He didn’t need to put his foot in his mouth more than he already had.
He eyed the food in the cart with curiosity. “What are you making?”
She lifted a shoulder. “It’s nothing much. Just spaghetti.”
Leo’s eyes snagged on the bowtie pasta and he smirked. “I’m pretty sure you need spaghetti noodles for that kind of dish.”
A pretty flush spilled across her cheeks and she looked away.
“This is how my mom made it.” There was a twinge of sadness in her voice, but it was clear this meal held happy memories for her.
She peered up at the cans of tomato sauce high up on the shelf to her side and came to a stop.
When she stood on her toes, he immediately jumped into action and reached for the jar she’d been reaching for.
Their bodies brushed against each other. His fingers grazed hers.
Sparks.
Fireworks.
Electrical energy just like before flowed between them. The smallest gasp of surprise slipped past her lips and he gave her a cocky grin as he handed over the jar before grabbing another. “Don’t ever say I didn’t come to your rescue.”
He could tell there was a rebuttal just waiting to be thrown in his direction so with that statement, he backed away.
“Where are you going?” she demanded.
“Can’t have spaghetti without garlic bread.”