Page 25 of The Catch

Cat opened her mouth to answer, but she hadn’t quite figured out what her reply would be yet. She admitted that it didn’t feel like she’d never see him again, but she thought she’d have time to go home and dissect this encounter—analyze every word, touch, and look they’d shared in true Catia fashion before she would have to decide what to do about it.

Josh leaned in closer, his eyes doing that little shimmy across her face that she was beginning to find familiar. It was an offer; his lips lingered just out of reach, his nose brushed hers, and the pull was too strong to resist. She closed the distance, and his hand came to the back of her neck, holding them together. This time there was no teasing to the pressure. It wasn’t the heady tongue-battle they’d engaged in on the beach, but there was no denying the intent. If her friends weren’t waiting for her downstairs to drive her away from this little dreamworld, they both knew what would happen next.

“This is crazy,” she whispered when he released her lips with a shaky breath.

His brow pinched, and the corner of his mouth twitched amusedly. “Why?”

“It’s just… I feel like I know you in ways I shouldn’t after only two days.”

There. She admitted it. Let her pride begin its death march.

Josh pulled in a deep breath, blowing it upward. “Yeah,” he said. “I feel like that too, and that part might be crazy, but if anything, it’s a sign we should spend more time together, figure out what it means.”

“It’s going to be hard to make that work. With the distance, our jobs, real-world stuff.”

“Everything’s harder than being on vacation,” he said, “but we do it anyway. I’m not afraid of a little work, Catia.” His fingers slid down her arm, lacing with hers.

“Ca-tee-ah,” she chided him playfully.

“And I wanna keep working on that name. Next weekend?”

She sighed, taking in his puppy dog eyes that she was sure he’d wielded successfully in the past. How did she go fromleave it alone, Cat, to this moment here? Her memory splashed her back into the water with him, running her fingers through his hair while he held her so carefully, kissed her so gently. “You’re very convincing,” she said. It wasn’t exactly a yes. She needed more time. Some distance from this place to think.

“Good,” he said. “I was trying to be. Come on.” He stood from the couch with his pajamas still tucked under his arm, then grabbed her hand and pulled her up with him. “I’ll walk you to your car.”

Cat gathered her keys and her bag from the table, and something caught her eye. “Wait!” His sweatshirt was still hanging on the back of the bathroom door. She hurried to get it, handing it over.

Josh took it and placed it over her shoulders. “Bring it to me next time.”

Nine

Cat gazed out the passengerside window of Sonya’s Pathfinder, the raindrops bringing a secret smile to her face. She hadn’t been thrilled about the storm the night before, but looking back it was sort of romantic getting caught on the beach in the rain—the electricity of the storm, and the way Josh had tried to cover her head with his hands as if he could keep her from getting wet. Okay, he was pretty cute, but the fact that she was wearing his sweatshirt right now and blaming it on Sonya’s affinity for air conditioning was just embarrassing. She’d been telling herself this whole time that they would part ways at the end of this trip, and he would be a fun memory. The way she was feeling right now was not part of the plan.

“Somebody is happy today,” Sonya said, sharing a look in the rearview mirror with Dani and Emma that was clearly at Cat’s expense.

“Come on, Kit Cat,” Dani whined from the back seat. “We’ve got a five-hour drive and we need to talk about something, so entertain us. Tell us what you were doing all night.”

“You know what I was doing. I told you the truth this morning. I fell asleep there. That’s it.”

“You conveniently left a few things out,” she said. “How did you end up there, and why were you wearing his clothes?”

Cat leaned back in her seat and shrugged her shoulders, but she couldn’t help the grin that was threatening to betray her as she replayed the answers to Dani’s questions in her head.

“You’ve got it bad!” Sonya exclaimed, slapping a hand to her thigh and doing a little jump in her seat. “Look at your face right now. Y’all see her face right now?”

“Mm-hmm,” Emma agreed. “I see it.”

“Eyes on the road, Sonya,” Cat said.

“You totally slept with him,” Dani yelled, kicking the back of her seat like a pouting toddler. “You’re a liar. Tell us right now!”

“I did not!” Cat exclaimed, but she knew her defense lacked luster since she was omitting the very important fact that she’d intended to do just that. “Look, I don’t know what would have happened if we were alone, but we went back to his room because of the storm, and Dylan and Shawn were already there. We just played cards.”

“I bet Josh was pissed to see them,” Dani said with an evil chuckle.

“He was fine. It was fine.”

Sonya glanced in her direction, her eyes narrowed. “So, you didn’t want to sleep with him?”

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