by Annie Rains
She placed her pizza on the table beside theirs and Micah slid over an inch, gesturing for her to sit beside him.
“See?” Ben pointed at the spinach pizza. “That side of the pizza is my dad’s. He likes spinach just like you.”
She nodded. “Your dad has good taste.”
Ben’s smile stretched impossibly wider. Then he peppered her with questions as they ate. What was her favorite color?—green. What was her favorite food?—chips and salsa.
“Which war is your favorite?” he asked.
“War?” Kat glanced at Micah. Until now, he’d been quiet during her interrogation by his son.
“Ben has a special interest in history. Wars specifically,” Micah told her. Sitting this close as he spoke to her felt intimate. Meeting his eyes with only a few inches between them felt too close for comfort, but not nearly close enough if she consulted her woman parts.
Kat nodded slowly, directing her gaze and thoughts forward as she searched for an answer. “I guess I prefer peace over war.”
Ben awkwardly angled his head to bite from his pizza. When he was done chewing, he smiled at her. “That was a slack answer, Principal Chandler.”
“Ben,” Micah reprimanded. “That wasn’t nice.”
“But that’s what you always yell at the TV when someone dodges the question on CNN, Dad.”
Kat couldn’t help laughing. It felt good to laugh. That’s why she’d wanted to meet Val here tonight. “It’s okay. Ben’s right. It was a slack answer. Hmm.” She tore off a piece of her pizza and popped it into her mouth. War had stolen her fiancé. She swallowed the thickening lump rising in her throat. She couldn’t think about the past, at least not now. “I’ll have to get back to you on that, Ben. Is that a better answer?”
With a shrug, he immediately asked her another question, as if he had a Rolodex in his little mind.
“So, let me guess. You’re going to be a reporter when you grow up?” she teased, sharing another look with Micah. The momentary meeting of their eyes sent fiery embers through her blood. He reached for the Parmesan cheese on the table and his arm brushed against hers. It should’ve been awkward, but she found herself mentally willing him to reach for something else just so that she could feel his skin on hers. Squirming, she looked at Ben, whose characteristic smile had faded.
“Reporters don’t have wheelchairs, Principal Chandler,” he said.
The lump in her throat was back. She set her pizza down and leaned in closer to him, making sure he paid attention. “Reporters come in all shapes and sizes. I’m sure there are some with wheelchairs.”
He shook his head, his hair falling in his face. “I’ve looked. There aren’t.”
“Well, let me tell you something. At one time, women didn’t become principals, either. There’s a first for everything. If you have a dream, you follow it.”
A little spark lit in Ben’s eyes. “That’s what Dad says, too. Right, Dad?”
“That’s right, buddy.”
Kat turned to look at him, surprised at the small smile that quirked on his usually straight lips. If possible, he was even sexier when he smiled.
“His favorite color is green, too. Fatigue green,” Ben said.
“Fatigue green?” she asked, looking across the table.
“Like the Marines wear,” Ben said.
“Ah.” She reached for her glass of water, enjoying Ben’s quick, excited speech. It wasn’t often she got to sit with one of her students and really get to know them.
“And his favorite food is Mexican, so you guys are pretty close on that one, too.”
Raising a brow, she looked at Micah.
He massaged his hands over his face, then glanced at her. “Ben thinks we’d make good, uh, friends.”
She straightened, looking between them. “Oh.”
“More than friends, Dad.” Ben turned to Kat. “His last girlfriend dumped him because of me.”
Micah shot Ben another look that seemed to go unnoticed as he rattled on.
“Nicole didn’t like my disability,” he continued.
Kat frowned. “Well, that’s not very nice.”
“So my dad’s lonely because of me.”
“I’m not lonely. I have you, buddy, and that’s all I need. Besides, Principal Chandler has a ring.” He pointed at her finger. “See that, Ben? It means some lucky guy got to her before you did.”
Ben focused on the diamond, his lips puckered in obvious disapproval. Finally, his dark eyes met hers. “That’s fake.”
“Ben!” Micah leaned across the table and poked his son gently. “Apologize to Principal Chandler right now. That’s a very nice, very real ring.”
She felt like the kid who’d been caught in a lie, standing at the principal’s desk with a million and one excuses running through her head. To tell the truth or keep holding on to the lie? Only she hadn’t lied. She’d never said she was engaged. Her only guilt was the fact that the man who’d given her the ring could no longer make good on his promise. “What makes you say my ring is fake, Ben?”
He shrugged one shoulder. “ ’Cause you look lonely like my dad. If the ring was real, you wouldn’t look that way.”
She rolled her lips together. Her friends telling her so was one thing, but when a kid could see through her, that was a problem.
“Change the subject, buddy,” Micah warned. “And quit calling your old man lonely. Your principal is going to get the wrong idea about me and start trying to fix me up with one of her lady friends.” He turned to her. “I hate being fixed up, by the way. Especially by my own son. It’s embarrassing.”
Her shoulders relaxed a notch. “Good intentions,” she said quietly, latching onto the escape door in the conversation, and melting into the solid beat that Micah held her gaze. Then she refocused on Ben, who was still frowning at the half-carat antique diamond on her left hand.
—
Micah was trying not to get turned on every time his skin brushed against Kat’s. Trying and failing.
The waitress placed the bill on the table. “Have a good night, guys,” she called cheerfully, heading to another table.
He reached for the paper at the same time that Kat did, and their hands brushed against each other lightly. He really hoped that Ben hadn’t just seen that. For some reason, his son thought it’d be a good idea for him to hook up with his engaged principal. A taken woman was off-limits. He shouldn’t have even been looking at her the way he was. Or having the thoughts he’d entertained over the last forty-five minutes.
“No, no, no. You don’t have to pay for me,” Kat argued.
Micah didn’t listen. The bill was in his hand and there was no way a woman was sitting at his table and paying for her own meal. His late mother had taught him better than that. He laid some cash on the table and stood. “We’ll walk you to your car and make sure you get in all right.”
Ben giggled. “I’ll wheel you to your car, Principal Chandler.”
She hesitated, still focused on the bill. “Are you sure about picking up the check?”
“Unless you think that fiancé of yours will mind your student treating you to dinner,” Micah joked, but something flashed behind her eyes. Sadness?
She stood and they exited the restaurant together, stepping out into the cool night. She headed toward a black Mazda in the parking lot.
“This is me,” she said.
“We’ll wait until you get inside.” Micah looked down at Ben. “Are you taking notes? This is how you treat a lady.” And you don’t ever go after another man’s woman.
Ben’s grin made his gut twist a little. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt his son. Telling him about Jessica’s deployment would definitely hurt, but it needed to be done before bed tonight. The sooner, the better.
He looked over at Kat, who was now shaking her purse frantically. She crouched down and began dumping it out on the pavement beside the car. “Something wrong?” he asked, stepping forward and leaving Ben parked on the curb.
She blew out a breath. “I can’t find my keys. They’ve got to be in here somewhere.” She shook the bag again. “No jingle. I’ll just walk inside and see if I left them in there.” She stuffed the strewn contents back in her bag and stood up.
“We’ll wait,” Micah said, watching as she headed back toward the entrance to Kirk’s Pizza House. His gaze ran down her backside as she walked away. He liked this view more than the starry sky that was occupying Ben’s attention right now. A few minutes later, she reappeared and shook her head.
“Looks like you’ll be riding home with us then.”
Her eyes widened. “Home with you?”
“No.” He chuckled, shoving his hands in his pockets. “I mean, yes, if you wanted to, but I definitely don’t think your fiancé would approve of you coming back to my place.” He said it on purpose this time, waiting to see the sadness flicker in her eyes again. What was that? And where was this guy of hers? Why was she eating alone? “I meant that we’d take you to your home, and then we’d go to our own.”
“Right.” She hugged her purse close to her body, laughing nervously. “I’m so sorry. I’m ruining your father-son night.”
“You’re not. Trust me.” He unlocked his Jeep and opened the door for her. Then he went through the ritual of picking up Ben and placing him in the backseat, folding up his wheelchair and placing it in the trunk. Five minutes later, he was seated in the driver’s seat and pulling onto the main road with Kat seated beside him.
“I sometimes ride in the front with Dad, but a man always gives up his seat for a lady,” Ben announced proudly.
“That’s right, buddy.” He turned to Kat. “Where to?”
“Three-eleven Sage Ridge Drive.”
Micah stiffened at the address. He and Ben had only lived in Seaside for a few months, but they knew that road well. He glanced in the rearview mirror, surprised that Ben wasn’t piping up about the fact that Nicole, the last woman he’d gone out with, lived on that road, too. Ben was too busy staring at Kat, though.
His son’s questions started again.
“Do you know what an Osprey is?” Ben asked.
She fidgeted with the ring on her finger as she glanced over her shoulder. “A bird,” she said, offering Ben a playful wink. “But it’s also a helicopter.”
Micah knew his son. Although he’d be impressed she knew that much, the vague helicopter answer wouldn’t suffice. And seeing that Micah had been flying an Osprey for the last seven years, Ben knew more about Ospreys than the typical eight-year-old.
“It’s a tilt-rotor aircraft actually,” Ben said.
“Oh.” Kat glanced over at Micah. “Your son is a very smart little guy, isn’t he?”
“They can fly vertical and horizontal,” Ben continued, “which is different from a regular helicopter.”
Kat nodded while he continued to rattle off facts about the military’s V-22 Osprey.
Ben had been begging him to take him up in one for over a year now, which was impossible even if Micah’s father was the commanding officer of Camp Leon—a CO who’d be very disappointed when he learned that his only son wasn’t reenlisting at the end of this contract. Ben needed stability, though. From one parent at least.
Kat pointed to a small one-story house on their left. “That’s me.”
Micah parked and glanced across the seat at her. She didn’t move. Maybe she was waiting for him to get out and open her door, he thought, unbuckling his seatbelt.
“Problem,” she said, looking sheepish and sexy as hell in the shadowed Jeep.
He lifted his eyebrows in question.
“I didn’t even think about it, but my house key is hooked to my car key somewhere.”
“You don’t have a spare hidden under a mat or something?” he asked.
“I did. But my friend Val took it last week and hasn’t been over to put it back. I can call her, though.” Kat grabbed her cellphone and began dialing. A few seconds later, she frowned as she stuffed her phone back inside her purse. “She didn’t answer.”
“I gathered that,” he said.
She chewed her bottom lip in a way that made him want to lean over and nibble at her himself. “Anyone else you can call?” Like your fiancé?
“I’m really sorry. You can just leave me here and I’ll call a locksmith.”
With a laugh, Micah shook his head. “I don’t think so.” He stepped out of his Jeep and began shuffling through the credit cards in his wallet. Finding one that suited him, he walked toward the door. “Be back in a minute, Ben.” His son looked half asleep by now, and Micah was willing to bet he’d be drooling before they even left the parking lot. That meant the bad news would have to wait until tomorrow. He hated letting bad news wait. The sooner he told Ben, the sooner he could start healing.
“What are you going to do?” she asked, following him to her front door.
“I’m going to break into your home.” He grinned as she pulled back in surprise.
“I don’t think that’s possible. I have really sturdy—”
Click. The door opened.
She stared at him with her lips slightly parted and her eyes wide with surprise. “It’s that easy to get inside my house?”
He nodded, wishing he didn’t feel compelled to lean in and kiss her. His gaze flicked back toward his Jeep where, yep, Ben was already asleep. Micah smiled, and then cursed under his breath as he noticed a familiar redhead walking down the neighborhood’s sidewalk.
He hoped to hell she didn’t see them.
“Damn,” he muttered, angling his body closer to Kat’s, as if that would hide his large six-foot frame.
“What?” Kat followed his gaze.
“I used to date her…kind of.” They’d only dated a handful of times in what he could probably chalk up to temporary insanity and his buddy Lawson’s insistence that he needed to “get back out there.” Of course, he’d ended things with her as soon as she’d tossed the C-word at his son. His son had cerebral palsy, but he wasn’t crippled.
Kat inspected the woman. “Pretty,” she said quietly.
“Pretty is as pretty does. Nicole couldn’t deal with Ben’s disability. You get me, you get my son. We’re a package deal.” His entire body tensed just remembering the situation.
Kat’s warm hand reached for his, making his tension melt away. How the hell did she do that?
“How about I repay your favor in rescuing me tonight, and we have some fun with her?” she asked, as Nicole approached.
He wasn’t sure what Kat had in mind, but looking at the beautiful principal now, he’d be willing to plead temporary insanity with her, too. “Deal,” he said.
—
What was she thinking volunteering to pretend she was Micah’s new girlfriend?
She wasn’t thinking. She’d simply seen that look cross his face when he saw the redhead, and she’d reacted.
Kat looked down at their interlocked fingers, and then met the woman’s narrowed catlike eyes. The redhead wore a tight smile.
“Hi, Micah,” she purred.
“Nicole.” He turned toward Kat. “Kat, this is Nicole. She lives just down the street from you.”
Releasing his hand, Kat reached out to shake Nicole’s. “So, we’re neighbors. Nice to meet you, Nicky.” She’d gotten the name wrong on purpose. What’s gotten into me?
Nicole didn’t take her hand. Instead, she stroked the back of the white Persian cat in her arms and gave Kat an assessing stare-down.
Kat tried not to breathe; she was allergic to cats.
“Kitty needed a walk. Helps her sleep,” Nicole said, kind of looking like a cat herself with her narrow face and large, green eyes.
Micah stepped in closer to Kat. The woman standing in front of them had hurt him, which spiked Kat’s protective nature. Except she usually protected little children. Not muscular groundskeepers, who looked very capable of taking care of themselves.
Leaning into him, she looked up and met his intoxicating eyes. “Honey, you be
tter get Ben home. It’s been a long night.” All eyes went to Ben, who was fast asleep in the back of the Jeep.
“You’re right. Long, but fun.” He winked, which did funny things to her stomach. Then he turned with a tight smile. “Nicole, it was nice to see you again.”
The beautiful redhead hesitated.
He wrapped an arm around Kat’s shoulders and squeezed. Even though she knew it was only for show, it felt good—too good—and she nestled into his hold. She liked her pillows soft, but resting her head against his hard pecs was nice, too. Only they didn’t invite fantasies of sleep, but something much more stimulating.
“Okay,” Nicole finally said. “Nice to meet you, Kate.”
Kat would’ve corrected her, but just as her mouth opened to speak, Micah’s other arm reached across her body, brushing against her breasts to open her front door. He hadn’t meant to touch her there, she was sure of it, but she shuddered with undeniable attraction. The attraction only intensified as she caught a whiff of his cologne, or maybe that was just him. He smelled like man—hot, sexy man.
Catching her eye, he smiled as his hand still rested on the doorknob. “Is she walking away?” he whispered, the sound of his voice gruff like the unshaven edge of his cheek. Kat suddenly wanted to feel that cheek brushing against hers.
She glanced over her shoulder and nodded. “Um, yes. Slowly…Oh, wait. She’s looking back—”
Before she could complete her sentence, Micah’s lips touched hers. She gave a little gasp, and then melted into the kiss, forgetting for a moment that they were pretending. That she was only repaying Micah’s favor and pissing off the redhead. That this had all been her idea, and the moment was fake.
Warm tingles ran through her body as his hand traveled up her arm and gently caressed her cheek. Her lips parted, inviting the kiss to rocket from sweet to sinful. Micah pulled back and stared long and deep into her eyes.
But holy Godiva. The kiss hadn’t felt fake.
“Is she still watching?” he asked in a low whisper.