Page 3 of The Catch

She was even more striking up close. Her dark hair was pinned up in that way girls do it so that it looks intentionally messy, and she had a handful of freckles in the same color splashed on her face, like an artist with a paintbrush had flicked them there. He drank her in discreetly while she and Blondie argued with their eyes.

“It’s okay, babe,” Blondie said to him, leaning into his chest and wrapping him in an aggressive hug. “You’re here now. I guess we should get going. Nice to meet you, Brad.” She waved to the man and reached for her friend’s arm. “Come on, Cat.”

Cat.

Josh rolled the name around in his head while he allowed his new girlfriend to pull him away from the poor guy who was still standing there with his mouth hanging open. He’d never met a Cat before. It fit her soft, pretty face and dangerous eyes. Like an adorable kitten that you wouldn’t be able to resist picking up and cuddling, even though you knew she might leave you a bloody mess.

She pushed ahead of them, her hips swaying beneath the sarong-style skirt she wore. He was staring so hard she could probably feel his eyes on her, so he forced himself to refocus his gaze past her shoulder at nothing in particular.

When they had sufficiently blended in with the crowd, Blondie released him. “Thanks,” she said, using her palms to smooth his shirt over his chest. “You’re a doll.”

“No problem.” He looked over her shoulder at Cat. She was smiling now, causing two little dimples to poke at her cheeks.

“I’m Dani. Let me buy you a drink for playing along.”

“Josh—and it was no trouble. Besides, I already have one.” He held up his cup of rum and melted ice, tapping it against hers.

“Let her,” Cat said, surprising him with the way she met his gaze and held it hostage. “She owes you. Dani, get the man a drink.”

He swallowed hard, his muscles feeling a little watery at the sound of her voice, bubbly and sweet with just a hint of a Spanish accent. She pulled her lip between her teeth, gazing up at him, and his heart thumped.

Dani looked back and forth between them. He didn’t say anything. He really didn’t want Dani to buy him a drink, but it occurred to him that he might be left alone with Cat for a few minutes if Dani took off for the bar. He was weighing the options when a hard slap landed on his back.

“Thought we lost you, man.” Dylan slung an arm around Josh’s shoulder, forcing him to break away from the staring contest he’d started with Cat.

“You found me,” he said, his jaw tight. Dylan’s ability to appear where he wasn’t wanted should be on his resume. Josh was going to add this untimely arrival to the list of brotherly betrayals he liked to keep at the ready.

“You make some friends, Josh?” Shawn squeezed in beside Dylan, closing them all into a circle. “How’s it going, ladies?”

“Excellent, thank you.” Dani placed her hand on her hip and smiled.

The Shawn effect was undeniable. Big and burly with a crinkly-eyed grin, Shawn had a teddy-bear innocence that instantly put people at ease. Both women were already beaming at him in a way Snake Guy could only dream of.

Dylan, however, already had his prowling eyes on. Josh shrugged out of his embrace, taking a step back as they said their ‘hellos’. He pretended to scratch his forehead, peeking from under his hand to watch his best friend introduce himself to Cat. He didn’t usually engage in this kind of competition with Dylan, but something told him Cat might just be the exception to that rule.

He was pleasantly surprised, though, to find she didn’t seem all that impressed with Dylan, even though he was giving her his most charming smile, his green eyes shining with sexual confidence. Cat smiled politely at Dylan and Shawn, then flicked her eyes back to his. He knew he should stop staring, but she wasn’t looking away either.

He’d forgotten anyone else was there until Dani spoke again. “This is Emma and Sonya,” she said.

He tore his eyes away from Cat to politely introduce himself to two women who had just pushed into the circle: Emma, a tall wispy brunette, and Sonya, who was equally thin, but in a strong, lean muscle sort of way. Both of them seemed to have caught the way he was looking at Cat, and they smiled knowingly as he shook their hands.

“Nice to meet you,” he said. “Josh Rideout.”

“It’s Emma’s bachelorette party,” Dani said, bouncing her eyebrows.

Emma’s pale cheeks turned pink under the light from the bar. “It’s a pre-wedding girls trip. Bachelorette parties are silly.”

“Right,” Sonya said. She tossed her ponytail of dark braids over her shoulder and gave them an exaggerated wink. “And your fiancé is having a barbeque at his buddy’s house.”

“He is having a barbeque!” Emma exclaimed as if she’d heard this accusation before. “What about y’all? Celebrating something?”

“Celebrating being alive, ladies,” Shawn said, tipping his chin to the starry night sky and taking in a deep pull of salty air.

“Dylan and I were here for work,” Josh said. “We decided to make a vacation of it. Shawn decided to join us.”

“I don’t miss a party. Even if I have to invite myself.”

Cat laughed along with the others at Shawn’s joke, but she still hadn’t said much. She sipped the remains of a cocktail with a paper umbrella floating in the top, studying the cast of characters that had followed him into their evening. Josh wished they would all find somewhere else to be and leave him to Cat, but it didn’t look likely.

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