3. Katie
KATIE
Kyle is blowing up my phone. I’m about to either block him or turn it off.
They started off nice. Apologies and all that stuff. But when I didn’t respond, they very quickly took another turn.
Fine, fuck you bitch. You don’t deserve me. Prude little nun. No wonder you’re a virgin. What guy would ever want you?
I really don’t want to care—at all—but it’s hard to just let a guy talk to you like that and not have a reaction. Part of me wants to text him back. Call him all kinds of names or at least send him some middle-finger emojis. But then I feel like I’d be giving in. Playing his game.
Maybe I should just call him. Then I could cuss him out, instantly block him, and never have to hear from him again.
My phone buzzes in my hand again. Not again. Sighing, I glance at the screen.
I apologize. I shouldn’t have done what I did. We are still getting married. It’s happening.
Okay, what in the world is going on? First, he cheats on me, then he insults me, and now he insists that we’re still getting married? Why? Did Clarice realize what a pathetic little worm he is and dump him and now he wants to get back with me?
Maybe it’s an image thing. A guy as rich and awesome and handsome as Kyle couldn’t possibly be single…right? End of sarcasm.
I can’t take any more of this right now.
Tossing my phone aside, I sit up and look around the room.
Everything is so nice I feel like I’ve been let into a five-star hotel.
All white, light hardwood, pristine sheets, modern furniture, and plate glass windows that look out over the city.
Definitely the nicest room I’ve ever been in.
It’s hard to believe I’m actually going to be living here.
I guess theoretically I could go back to my parents’ house, but seeing as how they were happy to marry me off to further my father’s business interests, that’s not exactly an enticing option for me.
My body is still shaking. What a night it’s been. Kyle is tall, but I didn’t expect his father to be even taller. He’s like a hunk straight out of a comic book. Charming, muscled, and so handsome.
My skin is blazing. I’m hot all over. It’s been about twenty minutes since Robert led me in here and left me to myself, but I still can’t stop thinking about him.
I guess I expected him to be more like my father, but Robert is in fantastic shape—no beer belly like my father has. He also clearly has an eye for fashion, but at the same time is rugged like a man who just got back from war or at least a few rounds in the ring.
His business is something involved in international shipping from what I remember, but that’s all I know. Robert looks like he could run the world without breaking a sweat.
I should probably just go to bed. But between Kyle blowing up my phone and Robert being just a few feet away on the other side of a wall, I doubt I could get a wink of sleep. So I make up an excuse.
I just needed a glass of water. That’s what I’ll tell him.
The hinges don’t even squeak as I open the door into the hall. Neither does the wood floor as I make my way to the kitchen. I’m just starting to calm down when my heart leaps as I round the corner and bump straight into Robert, who is pouring himself a coffee. It spills everywhere.
“Oh God! I’m so sorry!” I blurt out, scrambling for paper towels. “I just…I needed a glass of water.”
Bumping into him was like bumping into a wall of muscle. How can a man who spends so much time running a company find time to build up such an incredible physique? I can’t imagine how the girls would react if we studied his body in anatomy class.
“Don’t worry about it. Mistakes happen.” Even his voice is charming. Captivating, like steel ropes wrapping around me. I’m so embarrassed, but at the same time, he makes me want to hurl myself into his arms.
My whole body buzzes as I look up at him.
He towers over me like a giant. My thighs are hot and tingling.
I’ve never felt lust like this before. I’ve always been shy.
Restrained. The opposite of Deena, who has no problem being the center of attention—she actually loves it.
But right now, an urge is sweeping through me that’s more foreign than an alien language.
I want to wriggle out of my shorts, toss my shirt aside, and show every inch of my body to this marvelous man.
What is happening to me?
Gasping, I grab a bunch of paper towels and lean down to mop up the mess I made.
As I bend over, I get that sensation that all girls get when we know someone is checking us out.
I can feel Robert’s eyes on me, tracing the lines of my body, pausing on my ass, maybe even looking up my shirt as it pulls away from me.
And you know what? I don’t even care.
In fact, I like it. I like it a lot. So much so that I take an extra long time cleaning up. So long in fact, that Robert offers to help.
“Let me get that for you—”
“No, it’s fine,” I say quickly, finally standing. “Just wanted to make sure I got it all.”
I’m a bad liar, and it shows in my face. He sees it but keeps his mouth shut like the gentleman he is.
Although I have a feeling he knows how to not be a gentleman. He’s just restraining himself. And there’s something extremely sexy about that.
His eyes are fixed on me, and if he looks at me like that any longer, I’m gonna melt like butter under a heat lamp. Thankfully, he turns and grabs a glass from the cabinet.
“Let’s get you that water, dear.”
Dear? Did he just call me dear?
It’s overly familiar but also chivalrous at the same time. I can barely even react as he hands it to me.
Speechless, I take a huge drink and swallow hard. Think of something to say, you idiot! “You know your son has been texting me like crazy.”
Wrong. That was the wrong thing to say.
Robert lets out a heavy sigh. “I’m sorry. For whatever he’s said.”
My eyes move on their own, tracing the lines of his bulging pecs. His shirt looks like if he were to flex, even the tiniest amount, it would tear at the seams.
I feel wetness against my inner thigh. Oh my God, really? My cheeks go hot, and I take another sip of water, letting my hair fall over my face.
This can’t be happening. Robert is Kyle’s father. Not only that, he’s twenty years older than I am. What would people think? What would they say?
“He did say some really mean things,” I reply. “But then he…”
My voice trails off. Robert stretches a hand out and brushes some of my hair aside. A rush of heat sweeps through me, causing me to gasp for air. I pretend to choke on my water just so he won’t pick up on what’s happening.
“Oh, Katie, are you all right?”
The concern in his voice…it’s heavenly.
I nod, taking another sip. “He insisted that we’re still going to get married. Can you believe that? After cheating on me with…” I lick my lips. Probably shouldn’t go there. The wound must still be fresh for him.
Robert shakes his head, scratching the scruff of chest hair emerging from his shirt. “Ah, of course.”
Twisting my lips, I frown. “Sorry, I’m confused.”
Robert’s eyes focus on me, highlighting the flawlessness in his cheekbones, the strong lines of his jaw. How is it possible for a man to be so perfect? And why isn’t he a movie star? “Just when I thought my son couldn’t sink any lower.”
“Lower than…cheating?”
Robert nods. “There’s a clause in my father’s will that requires Kyle be married before his twenty-first birthday. If not, no money.” And then it clicks, and I nod slowly too. “So he figures if he marries you—”
“Then he’ll be rich.”
Robert shrugs with disgust. “Well, richer.”
Right now is when I should keep my mouth shut, but I just can’t help myself. “I’m so sorry, Robert, but your son? He’s a douchebag.”
Robert pauses, then lets out a hearty laugh that makes me smile too.
Normally, a man this gorgeous, this rich, with this incredible sense of style would have me trembling with anxiety. But I’m actually starting to do okay now. I’m feeling more comfortable around him. Not completely relaxed; that would be crazy. But better than I was when he first brought me here.
Looking at him now—he feels like a partner. Someone I could confess anything to. I can’t say what it is about him that has me feeling this way. I just do.
And I like it.
“I want him to lose it, Robert,” I say through gritted teeth. A devilish smile. “That money.”
Again, I may have overstepped. But Robert looks back at me, then slowly smiles.
“Good. Then we’ll take it from him.”