Page 8 of Keeping Katie

She spends the next couple of minutes pouring and mixing, and I watch every movement. After she fills a small metal pitcher and starts steaming it, she glances at me again, holding my gaze for several seconds. All of a sudden, the milk boils over onto her hand, and she jumps back with a hiss, dropping the pitcher.

“Ouch!” she cries, yanking her hand to her chest.

I race behind the counter and grab her wrist, tugging her toward the sink.

“I’m okay,” she says tightly. “It happens sometimes.”

That’s not acceptable. But I’ll deal with that later. Right now, she needs cold water. I turn on the tap and gently move her hand under the stream. When she lets out a quiet wince, I growl.

“I’m fine.” She turns her pained, cornflower-blue eyes up to me, and I want to scold her for lying to me.

Ignoring that thought, I hold her wrist firmly. Cali and Chloe appear beside us.

“Ouch. I hated when that happened,” Chloe comments.

“It happens a lot?” I demand, frowning at her.

Chloe shrinks back slightly. “Not a lot.”

Katie tries to pull her hand free. “I’m fine. It doesn’t hurt anymore. Really, I’m good.”

Reluctantly, I release her and grab a towel to dry her off. She tries to take it from me, but I don’t let her.

All three women stare at me as I gently pat her skin dry. The silence is awkward between us, but I don’t give a shit. When I’m satisfied that she’s not going to blister, I let go of her and sigh. “You need some cooling ointment for it.”

Katie peers up at me, her chest rising and falling quickly. Good. I’m having an effect on her, too. It’s not only one-sided. Thank fuck for that. I wonder if I reached between her legs if her panties would be wet. The way she keeps shifting her legs together, I’m thinking they would be.

“Um, okay? It’s really fine. I do that at least once a day. I need to get the steamer fixed. It’s blowing too hard. I just haven’t had time to schedule anything.” She smiles nervously, waving her hand like it’s no big deal.

Cali rolls her eyes. “Grady is a bit overprotective. Then again, all of our men are. You’ll get used to it.”

Yep, this was definitely a fucking set-up. Those little brats. I’m going to hug both of them for it later. After I lecture them. Then I’m going to take them to Build-A-Bear and let them getwhatever they want. And when we get home, I’m going to tell their Daddies about the sneaky shit they did.

Chloe moves over to the coffees that Katie was preparing and takes over like she still works here. “What time are you off today? Why don’t you come over for dinner? You need to meet Bash, and you can also meet Scarlet and Paisley. We could have an impromptu movie night afterward.”

My heart leaps in my chest at the thought of Katie coming to dinner. Chloe is definitely getting a reward after we leave. I’d prefer it if Katie came to my house to eat. Alone. But I’ll take what I can get. I am a complete stranger, after all. I won’t be for long. Just because I know she’s mine doesn’t mean she does.

“Oh, um, I can’t.”

Fuck. I don’t like that answer. Why can’t she? Does she have a man she has to go home to? I’ll kill him. She’d probably get over it in a few months before she’s ready to move on to me. I can wait it out.

She shifts from one foot to the other. “I’m meeting with the realtor tonight. He wants me to make some improvements to my parents’ house before I put it on the market, so we’re meeting to go over his suggestions to see what I can afford to do.”

I don’t like anything she just said. He? Who the hell is he? She’s going to be alone with this realtor? Selling her parents’ house? What she can afford? She shouldn’t be worrying about that. She should never have to worry about money or affording anything. That’s my job. The only thing she needs to be concerned about is being Daddy’s good girl.

Chloe’s shoulders drop, but she nods. “Tomorrow night?”

Katie purses her lips for a second, her eyes flicking to mine and then back to Chloe. “I might be able to do that. I’ll text you later to let you know for sure.”

Fuck. I don’t think I can wait twenty-four hours to see her again. How did I go from being completely single to thinking about what my wedding vows to this woman will be?

4

KATIE

Holy espresso beans.

I think I orgasmed a little when he touched me.

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