Chapter 22
Chapter Twenty-Two
Aiden
S he was out. I considered putting the rest of the pizza in the fridge, along with the wine, and then taking off, but I couldn’t make myself leave. I brushed her hair back from her face. She sighed.
“I like kissing you, too,” I whispered.
“Thank goodness. That would have been awkward.”
I leaned forward and watched her. She was sound asleep and talking. I wished I were a better person. “What do you think of me?”
“Grumpy. Hot. Great ass…Ma’am.”
I chuckled. “Great ass, huh?”
“Mmm-hmm.”
Shaking my head, I tried another one. “Why did you really wreck your husband’s car?” Her brow furrowed in her sleep and I instantly regretted the question. It was wrong, prying into her subconscious this way. “Never mind. Go back to sleep.”
“He stole Gran.” She curled tighter. “Didn’t love…Cheated.” Her fingers twitched. “Never smart enough. Pretty enough. Thin enough...Never enough.”
She was breaking my heart.
“It’s okay now. You’re safe. You can sleep.”
“Gran hates me.”
I leaned over her and kissed her forehead. “No. Nellie loves you and always will.”
Her brow cleared and her breathing slowed.
“Sweet dreams. Think about my hot ass.”
“’Kay.”
Lying down on the blanket next to her, I grinned. As I drifted off, Chaucer settled at our feet.
I awoke early the next morning. Katie was sound asleep, still cocooned in blankets.
I took a moment to watch her sleep, to marvel at her soft, radiant skin, the light dusting of tiny freckles over her nose and cheeks.
I’d forgotten she had freckles. Her hair was curling again, not as tightly as when she was younger, but she was looking more like herself now.
Her dark lashes fluttered sleepily, and then I was staring into her glassy green eyes. I watched emotions flit across her face, cataloging them. Confusion, fear, memory, confusion again, and, finally, exasperation.
“Why are you staring at me?” Her voice was early morning creaky.
“Because I can.”
“Stalker.” She closed her eyes and went back to sleep.
Checking my watch, I groaned and got up, my body stiff from the floor.
Chaucer got up with me. I walked him to the back door.
Opening it, I waved him out. “Go ahead.” Extraordinarily, he didn’t run right out the door.
He stared at me, looked back toward the living room where Katie was sleeping, and then stared at me again.
He didn’t want to leave me alone with her.
“Okay, I’ll step out, too.” I stood on the porch, in easy view, as he trotted out to a nearby bush and watered it.
“Chaucer, baby, where are you?”
We both heard Katie’s voice from inside. Chaucer finished, hopped up onto the porch and tried to push the door open with the top of his head. I reached over him and turned the knob.
“Chaucer?” Katie’s voice took on a hint of panic.
The dog hurtled through the kitchen and out of sight.
“Oh, there you are. You scared me.” Her voice was coming closer. “Were you trying to figure out how to open the pantry door again? It’s not going to happen, dude. No opposable thumbs. Make your peace with it.”
I was leaning against the sink, laughing, when they walked in.
Katie’s face went white at the sight of me, her eyes huge. She reached for Chaucer as she stepped back.
“It’s just me. I was going to make some coffee, if that’s okay.”
“Aiden?” She took a deep breath and let it out.
“Holy crap. Knock before you come in!” Shaking her head, she continued, “I finally rid the house of varmints hell-bent on eating my face, and I get human intruders. Doorbells. They exist for a reason.” She checked the clock. “And why are you here so early?”
“I didn’t mean to scare you. Like I said, looking for coffee.” I watched her open the pantry door to fill Chaucer’s bowls. Perhaps it was better if she didn’t realize I’d stayed the night. She was so sleepy, I hadn’t asked. I’d just stayed.
“No coffee. Sorry. I have some lovely tap water I can offer you, though.” She reached up for a glass from a cupboard and handed it to me.
I accepted it, but then replaced it on the shelf where she’d taken it. “Actually, you do have coffee. I brought it last night.”
Her brow furrowed. “Last—oh! I have food! Holy crap, how did I forget that?” She opened the fridge and clapped in delight.
“So long, peanut butter! I’m dumping your ass.
” She took out a bottle of orange juice and placed it on the counter before retrieving that same glass again.
She looked me up and down, the fear gone.
“Can I interest you in the delicious and refreshing juice of an orange?”
“As I don’t see a coffeemaker in your kitchen, I’ll gladly settle for juice.”
She filled the glass in her hand and passed it to me before reaching for another. Once she’d poured herself one, she stared at it for a moment, took a sip, and closed her eyes in appreciation.
“Why do I feel like you’ve been in solitary confinement for ten years? Orange juice shouldn’t be this big of a deal.” I watched her slowly savor her drink, a corner of her mouth quirking up.
When she finished, she went to the sink and bodychecked me out of her way. I smiled, pleased she felt comfortable pushing me aside. She rinsed out her glass and then reached for mine.
“Solitary confinement.” She smiled. “I like that description.”
“It’s just orange juice.”
“Nothing is ever just . Yesterday, I didn’t have orange juice. Today, I do. I’m grateful.”
She smiled up at me and my chest hurt.
“Wait a minute. Why did you bring me groceries?”
I fought the urge to kiss her furrowed brow. “There’s leftover pizza, too. And cereal in the pantry. There’s also bacon and eggs in the fridge. What would you like for breakfast?”
She studied me for a moment and then grinned. “I’m choosing to be thankful and not suspicious. Bacon and eggs sound amazing.” She waved me away. “You sit. I’ll cook.”
“Deal.” I sat at her table and watched her work. I should have been driving home to shower and change, but I stayed. Being with her settled something inside me.
Her phone rang. She looked at it warily, let it ring again and then straightened, walked across the kitchen and picked it up. “Hello?”
Her body relaxed. She leaned on the counter and chatted, answering questions. Whoever she was talking to, it wasn’t the caller she was worried about.
“Um, he never told—oh! Try Tesla . See if that works. His passwords used to always be cars. I remember him saying that when we were dating. He’s green with envy that another broker recently purchased a new Tesla.
” She rolled her eyes at whatever was said.
“Yeah, he said his preliminary estimate is one and a half million.” She paused.
“What about our house there? Is there an estimate on it?” Her face hardened as she listened.
“When did he do it? Conveniently timed, the rat bastard. Oh, check his mom’s accounts.
He’s hidden money there before. He has power of attorney for her.
Can they do that, follow the money?” She laughed.
“Finally, being an asshole will bite him in the butt. Yeah, let me know. Okay. Thanks.” She hung up.
“What was that?”
She hopped up on the counter. “Justin, my ex, is claiming that he mortgaged the house and lost all the money in a bad investment. Of course, he didn’t take out that loan until the day I left him.
I don’t know. My lawyer has auditors working on it.
She says there’s an account in my name that I have no knowledge of.
I gave her a possible password to access it.
He never told me any of this stuff directly, but I’ve picked up bits and pieces over the years.
His mom is in a retirement community, and I know he’s shuffled funds into her account in the past to avoid taxes or penalties or whatever. He’s probably doing it again.”
She hopped down and went back to making breakfast. “This is his area of expertise, money management. I hope her auditors are good.”
Tapping the table, I tried to talk myself out of getting involved. “I know a guy. Reformed computer hacker. I worked with him a few times. Good guy. I can call him to see if he’d help.”
“Why would he? For that matter, why would you?” She genuinely seemed befuddled by my kindness.
“Why wouldn’t I?” Watching the play of emotion on her face, I realized that I could get used to this. Very easily and very happily.
She went back to cooking but kept glancing at me over her shoulder. “Last time I checked,” she said to the frying pan, “you didn’t like me. You keep kissing me, so you must at least be attracted, but you don’t like me. So, why the food and the help?”
“I like you just fine. Quite a bit, actually.”
She turned back to me. “Yeah?”
Nodding, I watched her lips part and her cheeks blaze.
She spun back around. “Oh.”
Before I left Katie’s place a little while later, my stomach full, I copied down her lawyer’s number.
I called Brian, the reformed hacker, as I drove home to shower and get ready for work.
Brian’s dad had screwed over his mom when he was little.
I was sure he’d be more than happy to catch another man trying to cheat his wife.
These kinds of cases rarely took him more than a couple of hours.
It’s funny. We think our financial information is so secure, but all it takes is a computer genius like Brian and our lives are open for dissection.
After a quick chat, Brian promised to contact Katie’s lawyer with what he found.
Feeling as though I was finally doing something positive, after a year of being a grumpy bastard, I got ready for work. Maybe I’d get a hot dog for lunch today.
Kate