Chapter 3
Chapter Three
Just over two years earlier…
The pasta was overcooked, the sauce far too salty, and the garlic bread a shade too dark. But as far as Kat Carlson was concerned, it was the best meal she’d ever had. She helped herself to another piece of garlic bread, choosing one that wasn’t quite as crispy as the others.
“Sorry about dinner,” Andy said as she dipped the bread in the salty marinara. “I’m really not much of a cook.” He shrugged. “Maybe I should have ordered something in, but it didn’t seem right to treat you to takeout when you came all this way.”
“It’s perfect,” Kat said with a full mouthful before reaching for the glass of wine she’d hardly touched since they’d sat down. “Honestly, Andy. It’s been such a crazy week of going nonstop, I’ve hardly even had a chance to sit down and eat a meal. Let alone a home-cooked one.”
She’d been in Vancouver for four days at an advanced hairstyling workshop she’d managed to wangle an invitation to. The entire workshop was totally out of her comfort zone, but that’s exactly why she’d wanted to attend. The only way to get better at her craft was to push herself. And she’d done just that. Kat was completely exhausted. But not too exhausted to accept the invitation for dinner from her childhood crush.
She’d never be that tired.
“I’m just so happy to see you, Andy, and?—”
Kat bit the inside of her cheek and silently cursed herself for being so eager. Truthfully, she was surprised it had taken her so long to say something stupid.
Sure, she might no longer be the awkward, flat-chested seventeen-year-old with braces, acne, and an unfortunately short haircut that made her orange curls frizz up around her head like a combination between an overgrown Orphan Annie and a clown straight from the circus. But even now, as an adult, with straight teeth, clear skin, and a generous C-cup, she was no less awkward. At least not when it came to Andy Fisher.
“I’m happy to see you, too, Kitty Kat.” Andy flashed his signature smile.
The same one she used to pray he’d flash in her direction whenever he’d come over to her house to hang out with Craig, her older brother. And the nickname he’d given her…no one ever called her that. Only Andy. Kat could still re member with almost perfect accuracy the first time he’d said it. She’d been fifteen. It was the first time her brother had brought Andy home from school with him. He was new to their small town of Trickle Creek and had been assigned the locker next to Craig, the brother she was closest to growing up because they were only two years apart. All the other siblings, a mixture of step siblings and full siblings, were all quite a bit older than her, and to say they were a close family…well, it’s not that they weren’t close. But at any given time, there was a lot going on with the Carlson clan. It could be hard to keep up. Even for Kat.
“What’s your name?” Andy had asked when she’d walked into the kitchen to find an after-school snack. The boys were sitting at the table, a plate of leftover fried chicken between them.
She hadn’t been expecting to see anyone but Craig, let alone the most beautiful boy she’d ever seen in real life. His jet-black hair and sparkling blue eyes made him look like a movie star. And when he smiled…she was completely dumbstruck.
“Her name is Kat,” Craig answered for her when no sound came out of her open mouth. “Kat the brat. She’s my little sister. Ignore her.”
Kat’s face bloomed in embarrassed heat, but Andy only smiled in her direction. It was the first time she’d felt important. Seen.
And a moment later, when he said, “Hi, Kitty Kat. I’m Andy. It’s nice to meet you,” she fell head over heels in love.
Just like that .
“No one really calls me that anymore,” she said, in an attempt to remind him that she was no longer a kid. Maybe the curves in all the right places, the dress that she knew showed them off to their fullest potential, and the hair that she’d carefully styled in long, luscious waves over her shoulder wasn’t enough to get that particular point across. She might have to up her game. Not that she had any. Kat had always been completely hopeless when it came to men. She reached for the glass of wine again.
“Right.” He dragged out the word while he twirled his fork in his pasta. “But did anyone else ever call you that besides me?”
Ha. He caught her.
She ducked her head, but not in time to hide the small smile that crossed her face.
“I really am happy to see you, Kitty Kat,” Andy said again.
This time he spoke slowly, his voice deepening. Or maybe it was her wishful thinking. Could it be, that after all these years, and the distance between them, that Andy might finally think of her as something more than Craig’s little sister? It was probably too much to ask for that he might even think of her as a woman. Still, it wasn’t going to stop her. She had nothing if not hope. Not when it came to her love life.
It had recently come to her attention from her best friend, Annie, that the entire reason Kat was still single was because on some level she was still comparing every man who crossed her path to Andy. At first, Kat had blown it off, but then when she really let herself think about it, she’d realized Annie was right. And there was only one way to move past it: she needed to get Andy out of her system one way or another. Which was exactly what she was going to do.
Kat let the wine swirl around her mouth a moment longer than absolutely necessary before she looked him in the eyes and said, “I missed you. A lot.”
He sat back in his chair and his mouth fell open.
Shit. It was too much.
She never should have said that. She never did know how to be subtle. She really should have taken Annie up on her offer for flirting lessons.
“I meant, it just hasn’t been the same in Trickle Creek since you moved out to the coast.” She shrugged as casually as she could. “I know Craig misses you, too. He even mentioned how maybe he could convince you to move back and scoop ice cream in the Sugar Shack instead of finishing your degree.”
Craig hadn’t mentioned anything of the sort. In fact, her big brother was ridiculously proud of how smart his best friend was and how Andy was putting all those smarts to good use by getting his master’s degree in physical therapy. No doubt, if Andy even mentioned quitting in favor of working in Craig’s candy and ice cream shop, her brother would drag him back to Vancouver himself and tie him to his desk if necessary.
But if Andy knew any of that, he didn’t say so. Instead, he smiled slowly, his lips curling up in a way that made her stomach flip. “I sure do miss Trickle Creek,” he said. “And everyone there.”
He reached across the table and took her hand in his, surprising Kat. She caught herself before jerking away from the touch.
Her mind raced. He was holding her hand. Her hand. He was looking into her eyes and holding her hand.
What. Was. Happening?
Certainly, she was dreaming. She had to be dreaming. But if she were, Kat had absolutely no interest in waking up anytime soon.
“How’s the family?”
The last thing Kat wanted to talk about was her family. It’s not that she didn’t love all her siblings. She did. Mostly. But there was always something going on. Most recently, her father hadn’t looked well. He insisted he was fine, but between Kat and her siblings, trying to get him to go to the doctor was exhausting.
“I don’t really want to talk about it right now,” she said with a small shake of her head. Kat wasn’t going to let anything cloud her mood. Not when she was with Andy. Finally.
Andy nodded and moved on. “I’m really glad that Craig told me you were coming to Vancouver,” Andy said, her hand still wrapped in his. “I think the last time I saw you was?—”
“At the Sugar Shack grand opening.”
His eyes twinkled, looking bluer than they already did, which was some sort of miracle of nature. “You’re right. I had a break in semesters that worked out. I wouldn’t have wanted to miss that. I’m so proud of what Craig has done.”
Kat also didn’t want to talk about her brother. Not when his best friend was holding her hand, and now… now his thumb had started to stroke small circles on her skin. She swallowed hard and willed herself to stay calm. It was a herculean task. She’d dreamed about him touching her. Fantasized about the way his lips would feel on hers. And gone over and over in her mind in vivid detail exactly what it would feel like to finally have him take her to bed.
Damn. Annie was right. No man stood a chance until she worked Andy out of her system. And considering there was no way a relationship between them would ever happen in a million years, there was only one way to do that.
There were a million reasons why Andy shouldn’t be doing what he was doing. What he should be doing was yanking his hand away from Kat’s smooth, silky skin, tucking it into a pocket or running it through his hair or doing pretty much anything with it besides touching her in any way. More importantly, what he wanted to be doing—which was running his hands down her body so he could explore all those brand-new curves properly before pulling her in for the kiss he’d been wanting to take since he’d seen her the last time he’d been in town—could never happen.
It was only when he’d walked into the Sugar Shack for the first time that there, beside the display case full of fresh fudge, he’d laid eyes on Kitty Kat, all grown up—her red, silky hair cascading over her shoulders when she tipped her head back, laughing the throaty laugh that made every single thing in Andy’s body come alive.
And that’s when he knew with a hundred percent certainty that the feelings of warmth and affection he’d always had for his best friend’s little sister—the one he could never make sense of since they’d been kids and he’d helped her with her science project and defended her from Danny Paulson, who’d snapped her bra and pulled her hair one too many times—had been more than just brotherly protection. A lot more.
But just because he had those feelings didn’t mean he should act on them. Hell, it probably meant the exact opposite.
No. He knew it meant the exact opposite.
But this woman had curves that would not stop, and the dress hugged each and every one of them, leaving just enough to his imagination that, from the moment she’d set foot in his apartment, he could not stop picturing what it would be like to run his hands down her body and pull her in close until she was pressed up against him.
Damn.
He needed to stop thinking about Kat that way. She was his best friend’s little sister. Which meant, in no uncertain terms, Kitty Kat was off-limits. Always had been. Always would be.
Not a problem while she was safely in Trickle Creek, building her hairstylist business, and he was hours away in Vancouver, going to school. The distance might not make him forget about her, but it sure as hell helped when it came to behaving. But now…she was here. In his apartment, looking at him with those heavily lidded eyes, licking her lips to make them moist and so very kissable, and?—
No.
He never should have invited her to his apartment. When Andy heard that Kat was in the city taking a course, there was no way he could let the opportunity pass to see her. In hindsight, he should have taken her to a restaurant. Somewhere they could have a drink, an easy, delicious—and public—meal, and not be tempted to scoop her up in his arms and take her to his bed to do all kinds of unspeakable things to her.
“Andy?”
He blinked and pulled his hand away, unsure of how long he’d been lost in his thoughts and fantasies.
“Sorry, I didn’t?—”
“I was just asking you how your classes were going and if you liked it here.”
He tried to cover by taking a deep sip of wine. “Classes are good,” he responded reflexively because, classes were good, if not a little mundane. “I’m ready to be done,” he added more truthfully. “It’s been a long haul. Only one semester, a practicum, and a few major exams left, and I’ll be a fully licensed physical therapist.”
“Oh.” She grinned. “Is that it? Seems easy enough.”
They both laughed and once again, Andy was brought into the moment with Kat .
“And you like it in Vancouver…” She held her glass of wine up, but didn’t take a sip. “Do you have a lot of friends? Someone to keep you company in between all your studying?”
“Someone? Like a?—”
“Girlfriend,” she finished for him. “Are you seeing someone?”
He needed to tread carefully. Of course there was no girlfriend in his life. Even if he had time in his busy schedule to date someone, he hadn’t met anyone who was worth the effort. Not for a very long time. And the one woman he had found was completely off-limits, even if she was currently sitting in his one-bedroom apartment, looking very much like she would be worth every bit of the effort to strip her out of that tight dress and?—
“No,” he said quickly. “I’m not.”
Her eyes widened with renewed interest. She set her wine glass down and looked him straight in the eye. “I think you probably know I’ve always had a crush on you, Andy.”
Holy. Shit.
Obviously, he wasn’t stupid. He’d known. Sure. But that was when they were kids and…
“I think when we were in school, I must have known, but you’re Craig’s little?—”
“I don’t know if we need to talk about my brother right now.” She reached across the table and this time, she took his hand in hers.
Her long, slender fingers laced with his until he was completely unable to pull away. Not that he wanted to. Quite the opposite, really.
“No,” he agreed. “But I think it’s fair to tell you that when I saw you last time I was in town to visit, I may have also developed my own crush on you.”
“But that was at least two years ago.”
He nodded. “To be fair, it probably started long before that.”
“A crush, huh?” Her eyelids fluttered and her tongue slipped from her mouth, just enough to moisten her lips in a way that had Andy’s entire body responding.
“Oh yes.” He nodded slowly. “A crush that completely consumed me with thoughts of kissing you until you were begging me for more.”
It was not what he’d planned to say. Hell, it was the exact opposite of what he should have said. And it was only going to lead to the kind of trouble he might not ever be able to come back from. What he really should have done was lied and told her how he always had and always would think of her as a little sister. But that would have been a lie because the thoughts racing through his mind at that moment were decidedly not familial.
Kat’s breath caught in her throat, and her chest strained against her dress as she struggled to keep her composure. “And now?” She’d asked the question on a throaty breath. Her hand tightened in his. “How’s that crush now?”
He could still stop this from happening. He could pull away, tell her he didn’t think of her that way anymore, and save them both from the moment .
“Kitty Kat, I think there’s only one way to answer that question.” Andy stepped up from the table, and with his hand still in hers, he pulled her up to follow suit until she stood in front of him. Before he could talk himself out of what he very much wanted to do, he ran one hand down the side of her curves until it rested on the delicious swell of her hip. It was only then that he released her hand to slide it through her silky red hair, cup the back of her head, and pull her into his lips for the kiss he’d been dreaming of every night as he’d fallen asleep for the last few years.