He moved and I realized that his thigh was against mine. I felt tingles shoot through my body with that small intimate touch.
My eyes dropped to his gorgeous mouth. It was a mouth that teased the imagination with possibilities. Soft or hard kisses, it didn’t matter. Somewhere in the back of my mind I knew it would probably be phenomenal. I wanted him to be different, to like me enough to kiss me, but this small moment wasn’t going to last and I knew it.
Sometimes when I had a great moment happen, I would memorize it and tuck it away in the back of my head. The smell, the feel, the surroundings, and the way it made me feel. I tucked this one back to remember later. I knew it would never happen again.
My mouth opened a fraction and I took a small breath.
He looked up at me and my eyes raised from his mouth.
There was a moment where I thought I saw some unnamed flare of interest in his eyes. It was like a burning flame that sputtered to life, then was suddenly quenched. His eyes bore into mine and dropped down to my lips again. This time though, it felt like he was doing it as a man and not as a physician.
I blinked up at him under his intense stare.
He leaned a fraction closer then stopped.
Clearing his throat, he sighed. “Let’s look at your hand. Hold this to your lip.”
I reached up and took the ice from his fingers, holding it to my lip as he stepped back and lifted my other hand.
My eyes shifted to Andi, who was studying a gynecology poster with such keen enthusiasm, that I suspected she was trying not to look at us. She even started pointing at it and frowning like she was studying for an exam.
Logan turned my hand over a couple of times, then gently turned me to the faucet that was still running and held my hand in the cold stream.
“You should be more careful Kaitlyn,” he said.
I was pressed a little to his side. Enough that my breasts were brushing against his solidly muscled arm.
Ignore it. Ignore it, Kate.
I squeezed my eyes shut and let out a long breath. He was the only person that called me Kaitlyn on a regular basis. He used Kate sometimes, but mostly Kaitlyn. Which I thought was very formal and just another way he seemed to be keeping me away.
Professional distance, with a good portion of indifference, and sprinkled with annoyance. I could make a heartbreak cake out of it and call it “Logan”.
“Sorry, Dr. Matthews. I guess I heated it up too much.”
He growled. “Or you were avoiding the question. Why would you want to leave?”
I shrugged, which was a bad idea because it rubbed my breast against his arm. My hormones were going crazy as it was. Now my stupid breast was tingling.
My eyes drifted to his mouth again and wondered what it could do to my tingling breasts. It made me involuntarily shiver. Another bad idea because I could feel my nipple peak.
“I was just thinking about a change,” I lied. “People need that every once in a while.”
He held my palm up out of the water. “Looks okay but it might sting a bit over the next couple of days. I have some cream in my office you can put on it.”
“It’s okay, I’ll just buy an over the counter thing at the pharmacy if it feels bad.”
He looked at me and frowned. The man was perpetually disagreeable around me.
“Kate, I have cream that will help it feel better a lot quicker. All you’ll need to do is just put it on once before bed. Or after you take a shower,” he paused. “I mean, just once a day. Or someone can help you.”
I smirked and pulled my hand away from his. “Who? Bells?”
He shook his head and looked down for a moment at my chest before stepping back. “Just stop by and get it later.”
“Will do,” I said, with absolutely no intention of doing so.
“LOGAN,” came a screeching sound from the hallway. It was a woman’s voice that sounded annoyed.
He gave me one last look, starting at my hair and sliding slowly down my face. He opened his mouth to say something, then frowned, and stalked toward the door.
I let out a deep sigh. I had to find a different job.
Chapter Two
When I got home I put an ice cube on my lip again. Luckily it hadn’t formed a blister because of the attention Logan had given it earlier in the day. It was still sore though.
That encounter in the breakroom had once again proven my theory that he was bad luck. It also cemented in my mind that I needed to stay away from him. My feelings were too strong, whereas his seemed nonexistent. Not to mention that the woman he was hanging out with today had been around for a while. I had seen her a few times.
Andi had left from the breakroom looking highly amused. I wasn’t sure why my troubles were a source of humor for everyone.
I showered and looked at myself in the mirror. I had a slim body, it wasn’t perfect by any means in my opinion. I was happy with it though. Sometimes you had to find the good amongst the bad in things and I tried to remember that on a daily basis. I found something to appreciate and it made things easier. Today I appreciated that I had a roof over my head, an awesome cat and good friends.
Even when they laughed at my troubles with Logan.
I wanted to choke them right now, but I appreciated them.
I ran a hand over my stomach and looked at my birthmark. It was definitely not something I liked. It was called a café-au-lait birthmark. Which was a strange name but it basically looked like someone had spilled dark coffee on my skin. It was oval in shape and ran from the bottom of my left breast all the way down to my hip.
When I was younger, my grandmother had told me that it was a big kiss from an angel. It hadn’t felt like that growing up. Where other kids were wearing bikinis or half shirts, I was left with one piece swimsuits and full shirts. It was embarrassing in a way. I might not have felt so bad about it eventually, but it only took one guy in high school catching sight of it to make me feel awful.
I hadn’t let anyone see it since then.
Dating was sporadic for me. I did have them, but they were just few in number because I didn’t feel comfortable enough to have sex with anyone. What if they thought it was weird?
I was twenty-four years old and still a virgin, which by some standards would seem strange but I felt like it was okay for me. Why lose something to someone you only felt lukewarm about?
The guys I had been out with had been fun and even attentive, but they hadn’t quite interested me enough to get to that point. Kissing, no problem. Anything past that made me apprehensive.
Shrugging, I looked at my reflection. Make that, a nearly twenty-five year old virgin. My birthday was Saturday. Oh well, things could be worse. I had some great hair, a nice butt, and nice medium sized boobs.
I smiled at myself. I was luckier than some.
Doing my thing, I put on light makeup, changed into my black dress, and took off in my semi-functioning car.
When I got to Muse, I headed over to our regular table. You could always tell there was someone of significance sitting there because of all the burly looking body guards standing around the roped off area.
The girls were already there with their fancy drinks and waving. Except for Liv, who was sipping on water, very pregnant, and looked like she was having a decent time but not exactly great.
The bar was packed and very loud. It had been a pretty popular bar for a few years, then a few months ago it had received some notoriety when Julia had been shot one night. She was really very famous for her music. The fact that Liv and her husband Aiden were billionaires, that not only owned the bar, but were present during the shooting, was even bigger news.
Julia was wearing jeans, a racy open back shirt, and a ballcap, but I still recognized her from her platinum blonde hair.
She grabbed me for a hug as soon as I reached the table. “Hey girl! How’s it going? Oh, nice dress!”
I smiled. “Oh, you know, winning the lotto, living large, and eating expensive chocolates every day.”<
br />
She laughed. It was kind of our joke to make things up from time to time. One thing I discovered about both Julia and Liv was that they could appreciate a bit of sarcasm.
Liv piped up. “Good to see you’re still alive and that cat of yours hasn’t murdered you in your sleep.”
I rolled my eyes.
Liv had one encounter with Bells and was convinced she was out to kill everyone. It really wasn’t my cat’s fault. Liv had startled her going into the kitchen once. Bells had puffed up, hissed, swiped at her, and had accidentally knocked a knife off the counter. The knife had landed point down into the laminate floor with a thud, right beside Liv’s foot. Ever since then, they had given each other a wide berth.
“I’m not dead yet and Bells is still in good health. I’ll let her know you inquired.”
She huffed and gave me a non-comital look.
Andi giggled. “Take a seat Kate. Oh! Wait. What are you drinking? Water, tea?”
I thought about that one. Normally I didn’t drink that much. Not counting the last time we were out together. Maybe a few at home from time to time. Which naturally made me the designated driver most nights, but tonight I was feeling like alcohol.
“Uhm, margarita on the rocks. Not the crap stuff.”
Screw it.
They all looked at me surprised.
Liv grinned deviously. “Yes! I’ll finally get to see you shitfaced.”
I laughed nervously. “Well maybe not that much, I did drive here. I just feel like a drink would be good tonight.”
Andi hopped out of the booth and made a beeline to the bar. I’m not sure how she got around in the ridiculously high heels she was wearing. They were black and laced up her calf. Paired with her tight black dress and red hair she was really smoking hot tonight.
Julia eyed me. “So how was work?”
Sliding into the booth, I tried to make sure my dress didn’t creep up too much on the side. It was a little shorter than what I was used to and hugged everything I had.
Totally Andi’s fault, since she had picked it out.
“Uhm, it was great! I had some clients that were really nice and had a good lunch in the courtyard.”
“Uh-huh. How was your tea time today?”
I looked around, trying not to make too much eye contact. I didn’t lie well and they all knew it. My fingers started tapping on the table.
“All good. Someone was giving away books in the breakroom. A lot of literary novels. I was looking through a few and Andi came by for a bit.”
Liv and Julia gave each other a look.
“Run into anyone we know?” Julia asked.
Ahh gawd.
Andi had spilled the beans on my Logan encounter. Time to divert.
“Not that I know of. Oh! I think I see someone from work. Be right back!” I said and faked a big smile.
I slid out of the booth quickly, trying not to trip over my high heels and threw myself into the crowd around the bar.
Everyone was chattering about a baseball game on one of the muted televisions behind the counter. I wasn’t particularly interested in baseball. I did like an occasional football game though.
My grandmother had thought it was funny when I had gravitated to that sport rather than others. I didn’t understand half the rules, but the fans were what attracted me to begin with. They were so passionate. Most of them were happy and it was infectious to be among them when they were winning. Then football grew on me. It was fun to watch and cheer whether they won or lost in my opinion. It didn’t hurt that the football players were totally gorgeous either.
From the feel of the small crowd I could tell someone was winning.
Bumping into several people, I weaved my way through the crowd. Most of them just smiled at me and a few even said hello.
I made it to the bathroom and started washing my hands as an excuse to be there. In reality, I was just escaping the inquisition. I didn’t want to think about Logan because this was my girl time.
He drove me nuts and there didn’t seem to be an end in sight to resolving my idiotic feelings for him. Feelings I really couldn’t define. Was I just being stupid?
I stared at myself. Get over it. Move on. Join a dating website and find someone nice. Tall with short black hair. With blue eyes and a great smile, who’s perfect.
Grr.
My eyes closed and I tried to erase today. No need to linger on things that weren’t going to happen or would put me in a funk. I was tired of the five month funk I had already been in.
I shook my head and walked out of the bathroom with a new attitude. I wasn’t going to think about him. Nope. I wasn’t.
I plastered a smile to my face.
Weaving through the crowd again, I unintentionally stepped on someone’s foot as I was passing and felt an arm at my back.
“Ouch! Pretty shoes there, but they look deadly,” a deep voice said.
I looked up to see Brock staring back at me.
He was a friend of Logan’s and worked at Aiden’s tech company. I hadn’t seen him around all summer since Olivia’s wedding. He texted occasionally, though.
Liv and Julia seemed to think he kept tabs on everything they did. He seemed goofy to me and very friendly. He flirted a lot but I just took it as a joke. I wished I could be so brazen! I didn’t understand why Liv kept calling him the dungeon keeper either. Something about where he worked.
I gave him a genuine smile. “Oh! Hey, Brock. Sorry, I’m not used to these heels.”
“Kate! My favorite girl.” He took my hand and kissed it dramatically. “Mm, vanilla. How are things?”
“Uhm, good,” I laughed nervously. “Just here with Julia and Liv.”
He threw his arm around my shoulders. “A lovely gathering of the world’s most beautiful women and I didn’t know it? Lead the way.”
I rolled my eyes at him.
We veered away from the crowd and over to the table.
“Ladies!” He smiled at everyone as I took a seat. Andi was still missing with my drink.
“Oh fuck,” Liv said.
Julia narrowed her eyes at him. “Brock.”
If I didn’t know any better I would think they were all sworn enemies, but it seemed like this weird playful game they all played. The game was called “harass Brock” and he in turn harassed them back.
He put a hand over his heart. “Where is the love? Every time I spend a little time away from work you know I like to hang out. I wasn’t even invited! I’m heartbroken.”
Julia snorted. “The day you’re heartbroken will be the day hell freezes over Brock. So, when did you find out we were coming out?”
He bat his eyes at her. “Do you really want to know?”
“Probably not,” she grimaced. “Aiden and Holden are back in the office if you want to see them. Did you catch the wedding on satellite?”
I scrunched up my face and looked questioningly at Julia.
She looked over at me. “He has access to a satellite that points to Holden’s dad’s cabin in the mountains where we got married. Didn’t you know Brock is a voyeur?”
Brock cleared his throat. “All in the name of security Julia.”
Julia eyed him. “Looks like the gang is all here. Where is Logan?”
I blinked a few times and took a deep breath. Not this again.
Must have patience.
I kept smiling and didn’t let my true feelings show.
Brock looked between me and Julia. “Sooo, the good doctor is still beating around the bush? Well, as I’m off work currently, I don’t know but I could find out if you’d like.”
“No!” I said a little too loudly.
Everyone looked at me. I kept smiling. “I think he’s with his girlfriend today. He’s probably busy.”
Liv grumbled. “Girlfriend, my ass. His loss.”
Brock gave her a stern look but didn’t say anything.
Liv shrugged. “Well it is.”
An uncomfortable silence fell on the table. I knew
they were referring to me. I loved each and every one of them. Even Brock a little as a friend. They seemed to be trying to support me and my feelings, but they were doing more harm than good at this point.
This sucked.
Andi came out of the crowd behind Brock bearing two drinks in her hands. She eyed Brock’s ass and mouthed “wow” before she got to the table.
She gave Brock a sideways glance and set my drink in front of me. “Here ya go Kate. Drink up!”
Brock casually turned to her and did a double take. His eyes seemed to be doing an ex-ray exam of her from head to toe. His mouth hung open and I wondered if he was about to start drooling. He seemed to stand up a little straighter and puffed out his chest.
It was interesting to watch a male when he saw an attractive female. Even in nature among the animal kingdom the ritual was still somewhat the same. The male of the species would make themselves look better than the competition and dive in for the prize if she accepted him. Unfortunately, with humans, we concentrated far too much on what we saw rather than what was real. Our inability to get past that weakness was the source of many a broken heart.
Andi turned toward him and smiled. “Hey, I’m Andi. Nice to meet you.”
Brock smirked. “I’m captivated, nice to meet you.”
Liv snorted. Julia groaned. I giggled.
Andi looked at him like he was a moron. “Does that actually work? That line?”
He got closer to her and wrapped his arms around her waist. This was turning into quite a show at the table. Andi looked horrified. He grabbed her ass.
Uh-oh.
Andi’s face turned furious. She pulled back and slapped him. Hard!
She stepped back again. “What the fuck?! Don’t touch me. I don’t even know you.”
Brock eyed her with, what looked like, renewed interest but also stepped back to give her space.
I cleared my throat. “This is Brock, Andi.”
He nodded and gave her a devious smirk. “And still captivated.”
Andi grimaced at him and made some hand gestures. “I don’t care. Shoo, go away.”
Break (Lakefield Book 3) Page 2