Page 96 of Give Me Love

I shake my head. “I don’t know. He doesn’t even know I found her.”

Lou sighs and sits up. Placing her elbows on the table, she links her fingers and rests the side of her head against them as she looks over at me. “Bryson, Jace is a grown man. You don’t need to protect him anymore. You’re free of that now. Your past is behind you.”

I direct my eyes in front of me, gazing mindlessly at nothing. “I’m afraid you’re wrong on that, Lou.” I grab my glass and toss the rest of my drink down before skating it back across the table. I stand and slide my phone out of my pocket. “My past is up there in that room.” I point before I walk over to the counter to grab my keys. “I’ve got to fix something with Kat.” I lean down and kiss Lou on top of her hair. “Just leave her be for tonight.”

Chapter Twenty

Bryce

I lightly knock on the door to the girl’s apartment and stand with my hands in my pockets as I wait for someone to answer. My mind races with thoughts of Mom and how Aunt Lou feels about me not telling Jace. She’s right. He is grown, and I need to be upfront with him. Watching out for him is a hard habit to break. I’ve done it for so long now.

The door swings open, vanishing my thoughts, and I see a chipper Claire.

“You sure do like to come late,” she says with her hair thrown up and what looks to be little spots of cream on her face.

“Kathrine here?”

“Yep,” she says, opening the door wider so I can come in. She walks toward the kitchen, and I instantly smell cake. Music sounds loud from the living room.

“That smells good,” I say as she whisks the bowl in front of her. “Thanks. I’m making it for Austin’s birthday.”

“You’ve got a little on your face,” I say, touching my chin.

She laughs. “That’s not cake. It’s pimple cream.”

“Oh,” I reply.

She grins and shakes her head. “Kat’s in the shower. You can wait for her in her room or chill with me. Your choice.” She continues her work. “Down the hall on the right.”

I don’t tell her I’ve already been here before. The door is slightly open, so I take a peek, seeing the room is empty. I hear water running, and I notice a closed door directly across the room.

My eyes scan over the moderate space. I was pretty drunk the first time I came in here, so I didn’t really look at the room she sleeps in. A queen-sized bed with no frame but several colorful pillows and a bohemian style bedspread. A rustic white chest of drawers rests directly across with a few clothes sticking out the tops, preventing the drawers to close all the way.

There’s a vanity to my left with girly shit on it and two windows, one with a small A/C unit and the other with opened blinds. I walk to the other side of the bed closer to the bathroom and take a seat, slightly feeling out of place.

This room screams Kathrine. I even smell her in here. As I look down at the pillows, I get a sense of jealousy that they get to sleep here beside her every night. I grab the back of my neck and roll it, trying to ease some of the stress from the past few weeks.

Karen told me how badly Kathrine tried to get a loan for Mugs & Books, and it only confirmed that’s where she was coming from the day I picked her up in the rain and she seemed so bummed. I just couldn’t let it go to a stranger. Plus, it’s a great little investment.

I know we don’t know everything about each other just yet, but I do know I feel something strong for this girl. I’m going to have to play my cards right with this one and make her see this is a good thing.

The water shuts off, and moments later the door opens.

She sucks in a harsh breath of air. “Jesus, shit. You scared the hell out of me!” She holds her hand over the towel that’s covering her heart and hardly anything else.

“What are you doing in here?”

A small smile tugs on my lips. I’ve never seen her like this. No makeup, soaked hair, and barely any clothes on.

Fuck. She’s gorgeous.

“Claire let me in. Told me I could wait for you in here.”

“Well, that was nice of her,” she says, slightly annoyed.

I chuckle. “I thought so.”

She darts her eyes to me as she walks to her dresser. “You look tired. Where did you disappear to this afternoon?”

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