Chapter 10 Wayne
WAYNE
Ipull into a parking spot in the tiny lot that sits in front of Katie’s fourplex. Before I get a chance to pull my phone out and text her that I’m here, one of the doors swings open and she steps out.
She looks fucking stunning.
The first night I saw her, she looked hot, but at the ranch, she’s almost always in jeans and a tank top, the boots she wears almost as broken in as my dad’s. The only word for her right now is beautiful. She looks like a fucking fairy.
Her blond curls are pulled into a half updo, leaving the rest of her hair free to spill over her shoulders.
Her dress is a pearly blue that hits mid thigh and cinches tight around her trim waist. The neckline is frilly lace that flounces around her biceps, leaving her shoulders bare, and she’s got strappy tan heels to match her purse.
The sight of her makes my mouth go dry immediately.
Thank fuck I dressed up.
I fumble my way out of the car as she turns, a warm smile on her perfectly glossed lips.
“You’re right on time.”
“Can’t make a pretty girl wait, now can I?” I tease. “You look incredible.”
“Thank you.” She blushes, long lashes fluttering over bright green eyes as she looks me up and down. “You’re pretty easy on the eyes yourself.”
I can’t remember the last time I was actually flustered by a compliment, but I feel heat rise to my cheeks.
I turn my attention to the passenger door instead of focusing on the way Katie’s looking at me. She smiles sweetly when I open the door and slides into the passenger seat. I wait until she’s buckled in to close the door behind her and make my way back to the driver’s side.
“Where are we going?” she asks, as I put the car in reverse.
“I wanted to take you somewhere nice, but the options are kind of lacking out here.” I’m not wrong on that. Most of the choices for eating out around here are dive bars or fast-casual places. “I figured Mike’s was a safe bet. They’re serving steaks from the ranch these days.”
I hope Katie will take well to a reminder that I’m actually involving myself with the family business more.
“Mike’s sounds great. I haven’t been there in ages.”
I silently preen at her approval as we hit the road. It’s not far from her place, so I keep the radio on low and make casual conversation.
“Get up to anything fun today?”
“Nothing crazy,” she says with a shrug. “David Chase— the barrel racing guy on the west side of town — he’s got a horse with a fractured cannon, so I had them in for X-rays today. He’s being impatient about the healing process, but there’s not much I can do about it.”
“Cannon?” I ask. “That’s the shin, right?”
She laughs, bright and lyrical.
I listen raptly as she explains the anatomy and the placement of the injury. It’s more interesting than I thought it would be, and she really lights up when she talks about her work. It’s actually really sexy to see just how smart she is.
We pull into the parking lot just as she finishes up her explanation of why the rest period after surgery is so important, and she chuckles softly.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to gab your ear off with work.”
“Don’t be,” I tell her as I park. “I like listening to you talk. It’s interesting.”
We walk up to the restaurant side by side, and I feel giddy, genuinely excited for the first time in ages. I didn’t expect to enjoy spending time with Katie so much, but she’s really easy to get along with.
I hold the door open for her and step inside after her. The whole restaurant smells like polished oak, steaming garlic, and fresh pepper, warm yellow lights scattered on the brick walls.
“I have a reservation for Riggs,” I say to the hostess, keeping my hands in my pockets to stop myself from wrapping my arm around Katie’s waist
“Of course,” she says brightly. “Right this way.”
Katie stays a few steps behind me as we follow the hostess to our table, but she lets me pull her chair out for her. She glances around nervously before sitting down, an awkward smile on her face. It’s a big change from the chatterbox she was on the way here.
She’s gone almost completely silent.
Did she see someone she’s trying to avoid? An ex? A flare of unexpected jealousy shoots through me at the thought.
I take my seat across from her while she buries her nose in the menu. A few people are looking our way, some that I vaguely recognize. I can’t put names to any of the faces, but there are probably a few people we went to school with here.
“Are you all right?” I ask quietly.
Katie’s head snaps up, her eyes just a hair too wide to be relaxed. She’s obviously trying to convince me that she’s fine, purposefully relaxing her shoulders and smiling widely at me, but I can see anxiety fluttering in her eyes.
“I’m fine,” she says, very unconvincingly. Yeah, okay. Like I’ve never heard a woman say she’s fine when she’s clearly not. “How do you feel about wine?”
Maybe she’s just nervous.
“Wine sounds great.”
Our waiter stops by only moments later, and I order a bottle of malbec to share. I don’t know her taste in wine, but it should be a good choice. We make small talk about the menu as we wait for the wine, pointing out different things that look good.
Katie looks relieved enough to faint when the waiter brings the wine by, and she pours herself an overfull glass and starts sipping at it immediately. By the time I pour my own glass, she’s already halfway through hers.
We look over the menu as she drains her first glass and pours herself another.
She’s not getting any less tense, but at least she’s talking more again.
We decide on different things that we both want to try and agree to split them.
I place our order when our waiter stops by again, and Katie polishes off her second glass as he leaves.
“Hey, are you sure—”
“Is it just me, or are people looking at us?” she asks, a nervous lilt to her voice.
I blink at her in surprise, taking in the way her eyes are glued firmly to her glass as she pours herself more wine. A few people are tossing glances our way a bit too often to be accidental, but nobody’s being obvious about it.
“Don’t worry if they are. It doesn’t matter.” I shrug, putting on a nonchalant air to soothe her nerves. “We’re just two friends having dinner together. If people want to stare, let them.”
“You’re totally right. Sorry, people don’t usually stare when I’m out,” she says with a laugh.
It’s good to see her smile again.
“It’s okay,” I say, smiling back. “I just want you to have a good time.”
That’s really it. Usually, when I take someone out, I’m trying to figure out the quickest route back to my place. With Katie, though, I’m surprised by how much I’m actually enjoying just hanging out.
“So, tell me about the ranch,” Katie says. “I hear you’ve been spearheading all the legal stuff.”
“Jenny gossiping about me again?”
“Oh, always,” she says, joining me when I burst out laughing.
“I’ve just been looking through contracts that Mary has in the works,” I say with a shrug. “She’s making some big changes, but they seem to all be going in the right direction. Were things really that bad before she showed up?”
I haven’t been in touch with my dad in almost a decade, but Jenny never mentioned the ranch being on the brink of foreclosure. The financials don’t lie, though, and they looked bad until about a month ago.
“I don’t really know. I try to keep my nose in my own business.” Katie shrugs, but I can see the answer in her eyes. “I do think that Mary has been a saving grace, though. Once she and Jenny got over their issues, at least.”
I lean forward with a grin, sensing a good story.
“Oh?”
“A little birdie told me they went to college together,” Katie whispers theatrically. “I guess Mary was even one of Jenny’s TA’s a few years back, and so Jenny was pissed when she found out she was sleeping with your dad. Almost kicked Mary off the ranch.”
I laugh, shaking my head. I can imagine it didn’t go over well. I haven’t really paid Mary much attention, but she makes my dad happy, which is the last thing I thought I’d ever see after Mom died. She’s all good by me, for that fact alone.
“They seem like they’re doing well together, though. I guess the age gap is kind of weird,” I say.
“It shouldn’t matter,” she says with a roll of her eyes and a good natured laugh. “They’re both consenting adults, and they’re happy. That’s all that matters.”
She sounds so certain of it. And hey, I know I’ve never had the kind of happiness that my dad and Mary have. I’ll have to get to know Mary more. I should’ve already been doing that, considering how much my dad clearly cares about her.
Our food comes out and we divvy up our sides onto each other’s plates, trading garlic rosemary mashed potatoes for bacon-wrapped asparagus, and splitting our steaks.
We chat about work and hobbies and friends as we eat.
It’s different from any date I’ve ever been on, but I actually have more fun enjoying a perfectly innocent dinner with her than I’ve ever had taking any other girl back to my apartment.
After I pick up the bill and drive her back home, we keep talking — just enjoying each other’s company.
“I had a really good time,” I say, as I park in front of her apartment.
She glances over with that shy smile that’s been giving me butterflies all night, long lashes fluttering.
“I did too. Thanks for taking me out.”
I climb out of the car, and she waits for me to open her door this time. I swing it open and hold my hand out to steady her as she steps out.
“It was my pleasure. Really.”
She smiles up at me and lets me walk her up to her door. This is usually where I’d slyly invite myself in to blow her mind, but it feels cheap to even think about right now.
“Can I kiss you?” I ask. “Just a kiss?”
She grins and wraps her hand around the back of my neck instead of answering me. The kiss is slow and short, sweet in every sense of the word.
It sends warmth all the way down to my toes.
“Goodnight, Wayne.”
“Yeah.” I’m grinning like an idiot, and I don’t even care. “Goodnight, Katie. I’ll see you soon.”
I make my way back to my car as she unlocks her door and steps inside, my lips tingling.
I can taste the faint fruit flavor of her gloss and the sharpness of the wine, and it makes my whole brain go fuzzy.
I sit in my car for a few minutes after Katie closes the door to her apartment, trying to figure out what the hell is happening to me.
I’m the hit-it-and-quit-it type. I don’t do nice dinners and kisses at the door. Maybe acting like an adult is changing the way I think.
Or maybe Katie’s changing the way I think.
Either way, I have no clue how I’m supposed to feel about it.