Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
Whatever Charli had given her for pain had worked.
Kat certainly didn’t notice the throbbing in her wrist. In fact, she didn’t feel much of anything anymore. It was getting harder and harder to keep her eyes open, and she’d already periodically nodded off a few times. But when she heard Charli and Andy talking in the other room, her eyes flew open.
“Trust me.” She heard Charli say. “She’s perfect for you. Her name is Jess. She’s brunette, super cute and fun. She’s really involved in a beach volleyball league, too. I think you’ll really like her.”
Perfect for him?
Kat knew Jess. She was super cute and fun. And there was no doubt that Andy would really like her. But it didn’t mean Charli should be setting him up with anyone. He didn’t even live in Trickle Creek.
And if he did …
Kat strained to hear what they were saying. Charli was known for her history of playing matchmaker, so it probably wasn’t too far-fetched that she should try setting Andy up, too. As far as Charli knew, he didn’t have any other opportunities.
Not that Kat was an opportunity.
Besides, it’s not as though Andy would actually take Charli up on her offer.
“She sounds great.” Andy’s voice was muffled, but Kat heard what she’d heard.
She tried to sit up, but her one good arm couldn’t hold her.
“Promise me you’ll call her?”
Kat held her breath at Charli’s question, and a moment later exhaled with a deflated sigh when Andy said, “I will.”
So that’s how it was?
Not that she should have expected any different. He didn’t owe her anything. It’s not like they were a couple or anything.
If he wanted to date other people, that was none of her business. Besides, it was probably for the best , she thought as her eyes drifted closed again. Nothing was ever going to happen between them. Not in any kind of real way. Not beyond a secret rendezvous here and there. She’d always known it. And now she knew for sure that he felt the same way, too.
Kat was sleeping when Andy finally made his way back to the living room. Her red hair was spread over the pillow, her mouth open just a little, and a soft snore escaped her lips.
She looked incredibly cute.
Something in his chest tightened.
Andy watched her for a moment before shaking away the dangerous thoughts that threatened to take hold.
He moved carefully, using special caution with her sore wrist as he scooped her up in his arms. Kat shifted and cuddled into his chest. Her face nuzzled against him, and she murmured something he couldn’t quite make out.
“Ssh,” he murmured as he made his way slowly up the stairs and into her room.
Andy shifted her into one arm as he pulled her comforter back and, as carefully as he could, set her down on the sheets. He tucked her in and brushed a strand of hair off her cheek.
It wasn’t at all the way he’d thought the evening would end. And if he was being honest, it wouldn’t have been his first choice. But, in the long run, it was probably the best ending for everyone involved.
Still…walking away from her was turning out to be harder than he’d expected.
He pressed two fingers to his mouth before lightly touching them to Kat’s lips.
“Andy?” Her eyelids fluttered a little. “Is that you?”
“It’s me.” He reached for her good hand and squeezed a little. A dopey, drugged smile crossed her lips as she finally opened her eyes to look at him. Whatever Charli had given her was strong. “I’m here.”
“Thank you,” she said.
“You don’t need to thank me.” He spoke softly. “Go to sleep, and you’ll feel a lot better in the morning.”
“Will you be here when I wake up?”
He didn’t want to lie to her, because the truth was that it would be better for both of them if he left and found somewhere else to spend the night.
“Don’t think about me, Kat,” he said instead. “Just get some sleep now.” She closed her eyes, so he slid his hand out from under hers and took a step back. But her voice stopped him.
“I do think about you, Andy.”
His gaze searched her face, but her eyes were still closed.
“I think about you a lot.” Her words were slurred, only barely comprehensible. “A lot, a lot.”
“Ssh, Kat. You’re just?—”
“I love you, Andy.”
He froze.
She’s medicated , he reminded himself.
“I love Charli, too,” Kat continued. “And Craig and Asher, even though he can be…” She lifted her hand a little and dropped it again. “And Chase,” she added after a moment. “And you.”
Right.
“You’re on some pretty good drugs.” He grinned. “Go to sleep, Kat. I’ll see you…I’ll see you soon.”
He waited a few more minutes until her breathing evened out, signaling she was asleep, before he slipped from her room. He was in the guest room, packing up his overnight bag, still unsure where he should go, when the text from Charli came in with her friend’s number.
Charli: Call her!
It felt like a sign, and not just because he needed a place to stay. Maybe it was time he grew up and moved on. He was too old to play these happy for now games. Especially with Kat, when there could never be a future with her.
He finished packing up his bag and was about to slip out the front door when another text message from Charli came through.
Charli: I’m glad you’re there with her, Andy. It’s good that she has family to take care of her.
Family.
Right.
It was another reminder that Charli and the rest of the Carlson clan—with the very notable exception of Kat— thought of him as family. And that was important. Really important.
He locked up and shut the lights off in the kitchen and the living room before once more heading up the steps to the guest room. He glanced at Kat’s bedroom door but resisted the urge to poke his head inside, lest he be unable to walk away again.
Instead, he dropped his bag on the floor, flopped down on the guest bed, and picked up his phone to call Charli’s friend.
She answered on the first ring.