10. Katie
“Whoa,”Lacey gasps when I’ve finished telling her the whole story.
“So, I kind of need a place to stay,” I sniff then giggle. I may have just made some really big mistakes by quitting my job and ending my book series. But the one thing I know wasn’t a mistake was walking away from my mom.
“Crash here,” she says.
“Will Eric care?” While her offer is generous, this isn’t Lacey’s place. It’s Eric’s and he already has two roommates.
She waves a hand. “He barely stayed here before and now, he’s so happy with Atlas. You should see the two of them together.” She pauses. “Sorry. You probably don’t want to hear about that right now.”
“I’m glad that it worked out for them. And for you.” I grin at her despite my own broken heart. Apparently, Eric and Atlas weren’t the only ones who hooked up the night of the masquerade. Ryan and Lacey did too.
I’ve never seen my friends look happier. They both deserve their fairytale endings. “I promise I won’t make a peep.”
“Just write me a sexy finale to Kitty and Michael. Although I have to tell you that after Ryan, Peter will never satisfy me in quite the same way again.” She wiggles her eyebrows suggestively.
I laugh. “It’s a deal.”
Now, I just have to figure out how to give my fictional heroine the happy ending I’ve always wanted.
* * *
Michael
This is yours.
I see it again, the shy way she spread her legs for me on the hotel bed right before I licked her beautiful pussy.
I shake my head and try to refocus in the shower. It’s been three days and I haven’t heard from Katie.
When my wife died, all the color drained from my world. I wandered in a gray wilderness of grief until last month. Then I heard Katie’s throaty laugh as she was joking with a co-worker about visiting the Cayman Islands.
Suddenly, there was a rainbow explosion of color and for the first time in years, I found myself tasting my food, smiling again, and anticipating each new day instead of dreading it.
All because of that little pixie with her vintage dresses and easy laugh.
I remember the smell of her perfume at the masquerade and I reach for my cock. I think about having her on my desk, on the conference table at work. Hell, in my own kitchen.
I’d take a wand to her, just like in that scene in my favorite story of hers. Would she blush as I made her spread her legs? Would she be embarrassed when I forced her to come again and again?
The fantasies have me erupting hot and sticky, spewing faster than I did at sixteen.
When I step out of the shower, I check my phone for a message from her. But there’s nothing from her.
She hasn’t answered any of my calls in the last three days. She’s so skittish that making any sudden moves could spook her and cause me to lose her forever.
Once I’m dressed, I hurry to the kitchen to grab a cup of coffee before I leave for work. Maybe she’ll be there today. Maybe she’ll be wearing one of those cute little dresses and teasing me about misplacing the things I need.
There’s a giggle.
I pause outside the kitchen, listening. Atlas hasn’t laughed like that in ages. It fills me with warmth to hear the sound.
As I step into the kitchen, I spot her in the arms of Eric. Instantly, the warm feeling disappears.
“Dad.” Atlas starts like she’s been caught doing something wrong. She moves to step away from him.
He tightens his hold on her waist, keeping her body pinned against his.
I glare at him. I know Eric will treat her right. But I don’t appreciate the twenty-year age gap between them. Even if it is the same number of years between me and Katie.
“Michael.” He meets my stare.
“Are you going into work today?” Atlas asks me, lightly smacking at Eric’s arm.
He releases her but not before he brushes a kiss across her forehead.
I grab the coffee pot and take a deep breath. I can’t help but wonder what Nicole would think of the pairing. Atlas was her pride and joy. Would she be happy her daughter found a boyfriend after being single for so long?
“I’m traveling to see a client today. I’ll be gone tonight.” I turn toward her while sending Eric a “don’t fuck my daughter” look. “I’m trusting you’ll be alone in this big empty house tonight.”
She accepts a bite of scrambled egg from Eric’s fork before taking a sip of her orange juice.
I scowl at him.
He shrugs, and I can see it in his expression. He really is in love with her. That wasn’t just something he was saying in the hotel room.
I tip my head toward her, willing him to take care of my daughter.
He nods, accepting my wordless blessing.
Atlas misses the silent exchange, still caught up in her discussion of my work schedule. “Katie is off work. She texted me. We’re going shopping with Lacey this afternoon. I hoped you had the day off too.”
The realization that Atlas has heard from Katie leaves a sour taste in my mouth. “Is she…?” I don’t know how to finish that sentence anymore. I just know that I want Katie in my arms. In my office. In my bed.
My phone rings, and the number is from work. I answer quickly, hoping it’s her but it’s only the human resources department.
Katie sent in her resignation two hours ago.
Now, I realize my “giving her space” idea was stupid. If I want to earn her trust, I need to be showing up every day. Not giving her time to sit around, letting her doubts about us grow louder and louder.
I have to find her. I have to tell Katie that letting her walk away from me was a mistake. One I’ll never let her do again.
* * *
Katie
Lacey and Atlasare taking me out shopping later. I’m looking forward to it more than I’ve ever looked forward to shopping with my mom.
But in the meantime, I want to get some words down. It’s time to say goodbye to Michael and getting this story written is an essential part of that.
So, I settle on Eric’s couch with my laptop and I start writing the scene. Only nothing seems to come out right. I know what’s supposed to happen but it’s not working.
The scene feels forced and after a few minutes of struggling, I close my laptop. I wrote a grand total of fifty words and even then I’m pretty sure I’m going to delete them.
“Maybe the problem is Michael,” Lacey suggests. She’s busy applying makeup for our day out.
“I feel like the words are all stuck inside of me. They want to come out, but I don’t know how to say it all.”
“Maybe it’s because there’s all this unsaid stuff between you and Michael. Think about it. If you saw him one more time, what would you say?”
I whisper, “I love you.” Then I slump my shoulders. “But Lacey, he doesn’t want to hear those words from me.”
“Why not?” She sounds surprised.
I hate having to explain this. “I don’t have anything to offer him. I’m not sexy like my mom. I’m not brave like Kitty. I’m not strong like you.”
Lacey turns to me and puts her hands on my shoulders. “You’re the woman who just walked away from everything she’s known. You’re the woman who wrote a twenty-seven-part series beloved by fans all over the world. You’re the woman who just this week quit her job to chase her dream. That’s definitely sexy, brave, and strong.”
I laugh. “I have been busy lately.”
He was right. Michael was right when he labeled the problem as my insecurities.
I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding. I think again about how I left him standing in the hotel. “Do you think he’d want me back?”
“There’s only one way to know.”