Lucy nodded. “Yes, but he’s not in love with me. How could he be? I betrayed him and with his best friend too. I wasn’t under a spell, Katie. I chose Josh and… well, we all know how that turned out.”
“But you still care about Josh too, otherwise why would you tell him about me?”
“I wanted to help him. He deserves a second chance, Katie. We all do. None of us is perfect.”
“Including me,” Katie offered.
“Katie, I don’t know if we’ll ever truly be friends, but I really think we can be a great team. All I’m asking is that you give me a chance. I’m not out to sabotage you or this group.”
Katie contemplated what Lucy had just revealed. She was right. Each of them, including herself, deserved a chance to start over. She exhaled. “I’m willing to give it a try, Lucy, but I can’t promise anything beyond professional courtesy.”
Lucy smiled. “That would be infinitely better than what we’ve had until now.”
Katie nodded. At least Alec will be separated from Lucy by thousands of miles and one large ocean.
R
Chapter Thirty-One
Katie grabbed her purse, ready to head out to the café for lunch with Laura. She walked towards Laura’s work space but hesitated outside Alec’s office. Should I just ask him about Lucy or wait for him to tell me? She gently bit her lip. What do I always say? Be direct. About time I follow my own advice. She turned and entered, pausing briefly at the door to catch his attention.
He looked up and smiled. “Hi.”
“Hi,” she replied as she walked toward his desk.
She leaned her weight on the desk. He rose and pulled a chair over for her and waited for her to sit. He stayed next to her, sliding his hip onto the desk, his long leg planted firmly on the floor beside her. She inhaled softly, as his scent settled in the air. He crossed his arms.
“Is there something you want to say, Katie? Because you look like you’re about to up and run out of here.”
She straightened at the challenge in his voice. “I know about Lucy.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I knew you and she lived together for almost two years—”
He shook his head. “It wasn’t quite a year and a half.”
Katie waved her hand. “Well, whatever. Why didn’t you tell me about her… and you?”
He grinned. “In all honesty, Katie, when did I have a chance? Plus it was a lifetime ago.” He stood and pulled a chair over and sat next to her. “How much did she tell you? Did she tell you about Josh?”
She nodded. “I’m sorry she did that to you. You didn’t deserve to be treated like that.”
He shrugged. “Josh, at least back then, was a real ladies’ man. He never seemed to go out with the same woman twice, not that he had too. He was surrounded by celebrity whores.”
“Celebrity whores?” Katie repeated.
“Yes, women who want notoriety, their name in print, their faces in the paper.”
“Oh, I don’t think I’ve ever heard that term.” She laughed. “But I get it.”
“I wasn’t destined for the limelight and celebrity, but looking back now I can see that Lucy was bored. Not sure if it was just me or her career, but she was rather isolated. I was working on planning an excavation so I didn’t have a lot of spare time to spend with her. It got to the point where we saw each other only at night when I fell into bed exhausted. Our sex life went to hell—”
“Whoa! TMI, I don’t need the details,” she said.
He shrugged. “You did ask.”
“Did you love her?”
“I thought I did at the time but looking back on it… no.” He leaned over, turning her head gently to face him. He slanted his mouth against hers, capturing her breath in his mouth, literally sharing the air that they breathed. She braced her hand on his thigh and slowly traced his lips with her tongue.
“Seriously, you two need to get a room,” Laura chided.
Katie pulled back, as the heat flooded into her cheeks. “Sorry.”
“I’m heading down to the café. Are you coming or do you want to continue playing tongue twist?”
Katie stood. Alec moved her chair out of the way and handed her cane to her. “Enjoy your lunch.” He leaned over and whispered into her ear, “Don’t forget, I’m taking you out for dinner tonight.”
Katie smiled. “How could I forget that?” She shook her head. “I actually have a date, an honest-to-goodness date.”
“Just be ready at seven, KitKat.”
Shortly after five, Katie headed through the lobby, on her way home. Alec had said be ready, and for some reason, she didn’t want to keep him waiting. This date was important to her, to them. It would give them both a chance to start fresh.
As she passed by the reception desk, she glanced toward the corridor that led to the north wing. Standing in the entry way was a tall well-dressed man. He had a head of beautiful white hair, not the yellow-white color commonly seen. This man’s hair was brilliant white. He had broad shoulders that tapered down to narrow hips. His arms hung straight by his side. The way his suit molded to him, she could only assume it was custom-made. Something like that didn’t come off the rack.
Her eyes returned to his face. She gasped at the intensity and the ice-blue color of his eyes as he focused only on her. She swallowed hard. She had no idea who the man was, but he emanated power… and danger. Katie stepped quickly toward the exit door, conscious of his eyes following her. She felt like prey.
She hobbled as fast as she could to her car, quickly turning the ignition and throwing it into reverse. Whoever that man was, he’d had an unsettling effect on her. She hoped distance would lessen the feeling. Just who the hell was that guy? Part of her wanted to know, but deep inside, something frightened her about him. For some unknown reason, she feared that she’d see that man again.
****
Katie glanced at the clock. One minute and he’ll be here. She drummed her fingers against the cane handle. I’m going to make this work. I just have to stop and think before I react. We both deserve a second chance and I’m not going to blow it.
She grabbed her purse off the sofa just as the doorbell chimed. “Coming,” she called out.
“Take your time, Katie,” Alec answered.
She ran her hand down her thigh, wiping the dampness from her skin. You’d think it was prom night. She opened the door. For a moment, she thought her heart stopped. He was dressed in a dark grey suit that intensified the color of his eyes. One hand was tucked behind his back.
She stepped back. “Would you like to come in?”
“Only to put these,” he said as he pulled a bouquet of roses from behind his back, “in a vase.”
She reached out and took the flowers from him. “They’re beautiful and… lilac-colored.” She headed to the kitchen and put the flowers in the vase, handing it to him. “Would you please put these on the coffee table?”
She followed him. “Thank you. They are absolutely gorgeous and,” she inhaled, “so fragrant. But whatever possessed you to get such an unusual color?”
He stood in front of her and gently tucked a wayward curl behind her ear. “I seemed to notice your penchant for lilac-colored lingerie. You wore it the first night we spent together and then again when we were at Willowton.”
She could feel the heat flood her face. “Oh…”
He kissed her forehead and offered her his arm. “Shall we start our new adventure?”
She smiled and slipped her arm in his. “It all starts here!”
**** The End****
fv
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The Katie Walsh Mysteries
http://www.kjmontgomery.com
Join Katie and Alec as the adventure continues in:
Harbinger (The Katie Walsh Mysteries Book 2)
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapte
r Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Trove (The Katie Walsh Mysteries) Page 31