by Lori King
Rick paused on his way toward her, saying something to the stranger and then the two of them started walking in her direction. Damn, there was no easy or graceful way she could escape.
“Cat, there you are. I want you to meet Scott Weston, an old friend of mine. Scott, this is Maggie’s twin sister Catherine, better known as Cat. Cat, Scott an old friend from college. He’s a CPA and just joined my firm. But being the nice guy he is, he has also offered to help out with the bookkeeping at the restaurant for a while, until things slow down at work and I can spend more time here.”
* * *
Scott looked at the woman watching him with the wary eyes of her namesake. She looked at her soon-to-be brother-in-law with something like shock, then got control of her emotions and smiled. Luckily, Rick didn’t seem to have noticed that flicker of emotion because he was looking around the room for Maggie, but Scott could see the unease and questions in Cat’s eyes. Rick only had eyes for his beautiful fiancée. He gave Cat a quick hug, then walked to the other end of the table where her sister stood up to greet him, leaving Cat with Scott.
Scott watched as Cat struggled to process Rick’s words. She looked more perplexed by Rick’s announcement than anything, but he could see irritation too, which made sense. She was the co-owner of the restaurant. It would stand to reason that Rick’s hiring someone to deal with the finances without asking her would piss her off. Hell. What was Rick thinking, announcing it like that and basically running away and leaving him to deal with the fallout? Thanks a lot, buddy.
On the other hand, Rick didn’t know about Scott’s history with Cat. He should have told him, but he had put off the conversation, and now it was too late.
He could see the anger in her face, but she was too polite to disrupt her sister’s gathering. He had to hope she could contain her anger until they were alone. Then she could curse him out and ask him all the questions she wanted to, but for now, he needed her to stay quiet.
He held out his hand. “Miss Conroy.”
With seeming reluctance, she placed her hand in his. She tried to pull it away, but he held onto it. He could feel her pulse speed up and he could see something besides anger in her eyes. There was also… sexual arousal. Her nipples were hard and poking against the thin material of her top. His cock was hard, too. Luckily, his jacket was buttoned so his arousal wasn’t as obvious.
“Mr. Weston, was it?” She spoke through gritted teeth as they tried to pull her hand from his.
“Call me Scott.”
“I’d rather call you…”
“Cat…”
“My name is Catherine. Only my friends call me Cat.”
He leaned down so that only she could hear. “I can explain.”
“It had better be good. I don’t want to ruin my sister’s party.”
“Thank you. I know it’s been a long time since Seattle…”
“I don’t plan on talking about that! Seattle is ancient history. I want to know why you were skulking around with Rick and using a phony name. Now, let go of me. I have guests to take care of right now. We’ll talk later.”
Reluctantly, he did as she asked, and then he stared at her ass as she hurried away from him. Damn, how had he convinced himself that he had gotten over her? Every single feeling he had ever had for her came rushing back, no matter how he tried to suppress them. He had to protect his heart because there was no way she was ever going to forgive him for what he did, so he had to make sure he didn’t get his hopes of a reconciliation up.
4
Scott watched Cat bustle around the dining room, fussing with details that didn’t need to be fussed with. He leaned against the wall, letting the conversation swirl around him as he watched Cat working hard to avoid him.
Ever since he had taken this assignment, he had known this day would come. He had prepared for it. Or rather, he had thought he had prepared for it. He had convinced himself that after four years, he was over her. And she would be over him. She would have moved on. He just wanted to check on her and make sure she was okay.
Lies, all lies. He had tried to play it so cool in the alley, but it had felt like he was punched in the gut as the years all fell away. She was the reason why, for the past four years, he had gone from one-night stand to one-night stand, until he just stopped trying and settled for his right hand in the shower.
She clearly had strong feelings too. She was still attracted to him, but did she still love him, or had that love turned to hate?
Fuck! He had wanted to approach her in the alley and tell her everything, but then that other man had approached. Onyschuk, Tomas, chef. From the moment they’d met, he’d pinged Scott’s radar as an untrustworthy son of a bitch, but there was nothing he could do about it. For now. He didn’t know who all the players were, but once he had his scorecard filled out, he’d be coming after Tomas, one way or another. He’d seen the distaste on Cat’s face when the man had touched her. He’d itched to punch him, but he had to stay in character and let her down. Story of his life, of their relationship. If she never forgave him, he’d understand, but he wasn’t going to quit trying.
First things first, though. He had to make sure she wasn’t going to spill the beans that Scott Weston used to be known as Scott Easton and had been arrested in Seattle.
If she did, Rick would call his boss and have him taken off this case, and he couldn’t have that. If he disappeared from her life again without a word, Cat would never forgive him. Hell, she probably wouldn’t forgive him now, but he wasn’t about to let anything make the situation worse.
He watched Cat studiously avoid him, even as she greeted and chatted with everyone one else in the room, including the bus boy who was filling up the water glasses.
He had wanted so badly to explain four years ago, but there had been too much at stake. The look of hurt and betrayal on her face when she’d seen him in handcuffs had cut him like a knife. And when he’d watched through the two-way mirror as his colleagues had interrogated her at police headquarters. He’d wanted to rush in there and tell them that she had no idea what was going on, but he couldn’t blow his cover. He’d spent a year developing it, and with this arrest, he was finally on the verge of being accepted into the inner circle. The people they had arrested in Seattle were small fry. They were going after the big wigs, and he had a central role to play.
He never should have gotten involved with her. At first, he’d used her to get close to her boss. It had been a despicable but necessary thing to do. They hadn’t known at the time that she’d been an innocent dupe. When he realized that she didn’t know anything, he should have broken up with her and moved on, but by then he was in love.
It had taken two more years to wrap everything up. He’d even gotten a commendation, but that meant nothing without Cat. When it was all over, he’d gone back to Seattle to find her and explain, but she was gone and hadn’t left a forwarding address. With his contacts, he could have found her, but, instead, he’d taken another undercover assignment.
And then the job in Chicago had come up. When he’d first seen the photo of Rick and Maggie, he’d thought that she was Cat. He nearly turned down the assignment when someone had passed him a photo of the two sisters. Twins. It was Maggie who was engaged. Cat was still single. He took that as a sign and accepted the assignment in Chicago.
* * *
Scott couldn’t stop watching Cat work the room. He felt a surge of love and pride at how she interacted with everyone and the way they all seemed so happy to be talking with her. She was pretty special, his Cat. No, not his Cat, not now. But he would fix that. He’d thought he’d resigned himself to never seeing her again. Luckily, Scott had managed to keep just how involved he and Cat had been out of his official reports, so no one knew or he might not have been able to take this assignment.
A prudent man would walk away. A prudent man would stick to working at Rick’s CPA firm and let someone else get involved in the restaurant side of the sting Rick was helping them with. Clearly, Scott w
asn’t a prudent man. He was going to close this case and then he was going to close the deal with Cat.
He just had to convince her to take him back and not blow his cover while he did it. Hell, how hard could that be?
He watched her some more. Sexual attraction was a funny thing. He had met her sister a couple of days earlier, her twin sister. Rick had introduced them. Both Maggie and Cat had brown hair and blue eyes and were just over average height with similar builds, but even though they were twins and looked so much alike, there was something about Cat that called to him.
He liked Maggie, but even if she wasn’t Rick’s, he wouldn’t be attracted to her. Cat, on the other hand, called to him on a visceral level that was more than just sex. He liked her, her mind, as well as her body. They had talked and laughed, and when he was with her, he could forget for a while what a dangerous game he was playing. He had never intended for things to go as far as they did.
She was talking to a redhead now, who stood in front of a tall black-haired man who had one muscular arm wrapped around her waist. The man caught him staring and glared until Scott made it clear that it was Cat he was watching.
The man grinned and leaned down to say something to Cat, who glared. The redhead giggled and said something, and Cat glared at her. Then the redhead gave her a push in his direction.
He’d have to send the redhead flowers, although, taking a look at the black-haired man, maybe a sincere thank you shouted across the room would be more prudent.
He smiled as Cat walked toward him.
“Hey, Cat.”
“Yes, Mr. Weston.” Her tone was glacial.
“I was wondering if you would do me the honor of sitting beside me. I don’t know anyone here but you and Rick and Maggie, and I think they will be… occupied.”
* * *
Scott could see the struggle on her face even though she tried to hide it. She was trying to hide her attraction to him as well, but nipples didn’t lie, and hers were so hard they looked like they were close to cutting through the material of her tight white t-shirt. He felt a surge of triumph. She wasn’t indifferent to him. Maybe she hated him, but there was, if not love, lust. He could use that as a base to work his way back into her heart or die trying.
He met her eyes and held her gaze until he saw the capitulation on her face. It took all of his self-control not to do a fist pump of triumph.
“So, Scott, um, why don’t you tell me a bit about yourself? Have you been in Chicago long?”
“Only a few weeks. Not much to tell. I’m a CPA. We’re generally a boring bunch. You know, debits and credits. All very boring and legal.”
She looked at him. He could see she wanted to say something, but she was holding back. He leaned forward and spoke softly so that only she could hear. “Please, Cat. I can explain everything. Just give me a chance.”
He held his breath as the emotions flickered across her face.
Finally, she nodded. She looked up at him and his heart melted. He could see anger and love and fear flicker across her face before she settled on a neutral expression, although the heat remained in her eyes. Smiling, she reached up and tugged on his tie until he leaned down so she could whisper into his ear. “You hurt Maggie or Rick, and I’ll hunt you down and make you pay, do you understand? I’ll broadcast your secrets from the rooftops, and I won’t stop until you are locked up again. Are we clear?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Her eyes suddenly lit up. For a second he thought it was because of him and he felt a happiness he hadn’t felt in four years. But then he realized that it was because she saw her sister passing by, carrying a platter of food, and he was plunged into despair again.
“I’m sorry; you’ll have to excuse me while I go help Maggie with that tray.”
“I’ll take care of that,” Rick interjected as he walked by. “I’m glad to see you two are hitting it off.” He lowered his voice. “I should tell you that you two are the only two vanillas besides the wait staff. I’ve saved you two seats down by me and Maggie, so you can chat and get to know each other.”
And then he was gone, and they were alone again. Cat looked up at him, her big blue eyes luminous. And worried. She was worried and maybe a bit afraid, and it was his fault. He reached out and pushed a loose strand of hair out of her face.
“So, you come here often?” he asked.
Her lips curved upward . It wasn’t much of a smile, but it was a start.
“Yes, almost every day. I can’t say I’ve seen you in here before. Unless you come in during the day? I’m here from around five PM to closing.”
“I have visited a couple of times during the day.” He reached out and laid his hand on hers. “Must be hard on the social life, working those hours. I’ll be your boyfriend hates it.”
She shrugged. “I’ve wanted to own my own restaurant ever since I can remember. Any man who wants to be in my life will have to learn to deal with my hours, or he won’t be in my life. So far, I haven’t met anyone who passed the test.”
“A man would have to be an idiot not to want to be with you because of that.” He looked into her eyes. “I’m not an idiot, Cat. Not anymore.”
He could see the skepticism in her eyes as well as the anger.
“Catherine, my name is Catherine. Only my friends get to call me Cat.”
“I’m hoping to soon have that privilege. Please, Cat, Catherine, please just trust me for a few hours longer and I’ll explain everything.”
“And if I don’t accept your explanation?”
“Then I’ll leave you alone. Forever.”
He watched her eyes darting around as she tried to figure out how to handle him. She clearly didn’t have much of a poker face.
“So, Rick said earlier that the two of you have known each other a long time… since college?”
It was a blatant attempt to change the subject. He’d allow it. This time. Although it did present him with some landmines.
“The truth?”
“That would be nice.”
“We only met a few weeks ago. Rick has a problem and I’m here to help.”
“What? Maggie never said anything to me.”
“Maggie doesn’t know.”
“I don’t like the sound of that, not one bit. What is Rick keeping from her?”
He squeezed her hand, trying to be reassuring. Judging from her expression, it didn’t seem to be working. Luckily persistence was one of his strong suits. When he set his sights on a goal, he didn’t stop until he achieved it, and what he wanted now was for Cat to let him back into her life.
5
Cat looked down and saw her hand swallowed up by his larger hand. Again. What the hell was going on? What had Rick gotten himself into, and just who was Scott Weston or Easton or whatever the hell his real name was?
And now her sister was caught up in whatever was happening. If he had gotten Maggie into something illegal, she’d make use of some of those torture implements Maggie had shown her. Hell, she’d use them on Rick too if he hurt her sister. Maybe on Scott, too.
Cat took a deep breath and looked up to see Scott staring down at her with an intense expression. Cat blushed as she realized she’d been staring unseeing at their joined hands while she had been fretting about what Rick was involved in and how Scott fit into it all.
It would be a lot easier if her old feelings for him hadn’t come rushing back the moment she realized that it really was him. And now that he was touching her hand, she was having trouble thinking of anything but jumping his bones. All she wanted was to throw herself into his arms and wrap her body around his and have him hold her tight and tell her that everything would be all right. She wanted him to tell her that it was all a mistake, and he wasn’t a criminal, and he didn’t have any nefarious plans here in Chicago.
Hell, if she was thinking with her brain and not her girly bits, she’d grab Maggie and Rick and tell them all about Mr. Scott Easton Weston, and demand answers from her soon-to-be brother-in-law.
But then she looked down the table at her sister. Maggie was so happy, and Rick was the picture of a man in love. And they were surrounded by all their friends. She would wait and listen to what Scott had to say before she decided what to do.
“Penny for your thoughts!”
“Just trying to remember if I moved the laundry from the washer to the dryer,” she lied.
“Want to go home to check? I’d be glad to drive you. I wouldn’t want anything to happen to your delicates.”
“Never mind about my delicates!”
Cat tried to tug her hand free, but he had it captured in both of his now, and he was tracing her palm with his thumb. Her pulse was racing again and she could feel her respiration speeding up. He was the sexiest man she’d ever met. It was like there were pheromones or something coming off him in waves.
What was wrong with her? The last time she saw Scott, he was being led away in handcuffs. And now he was skulking in alleys with Rick, and she’d seen them with her own eyes furtively exchanging something.
And he was carrying a gun. A gun! And that lie about being an accountant… How stupid did he think she was? What accountant carried a weapon, especially to a dinner party? The man wasn’t to be trusted. He might have cleaned up nicely, but he was still a thug.
So what was wrong with her? Why did she want to jump his bones? She wasn’t interested in bad boys, not anymore. Like many women, she’d gone through that phase, but now she was a responsible business owner. She couldn’t, she wouldn’t, get involved with him again.
She tugged again and this time he released her hand. A sharp stab of disappointment shot through her at the loss of his touch.
She looked up and saw him gazing down at her with a small smirk as if he was reading her thoughts. When he caught her gaze, he lowered his face so he could whisper into her ear.