Page 43 of The Catch

“So,” Minnie said, glancing at Mattie and seeing him occupied, “since you told me how sweet my husband was when he was off on vacation with the boys, I’ll tell you a secret too. Josh has been on cloud nine since he met you.”

Cat’s mouth dropped into a little O, her eyelashes fluttering. She wasn’t expecting a friend of Josh’s, even a female one, to be so forthcoming.

“Don’t tell me you couldn’t tell.” Minnie laughed, taking a sip of her drink and stretching her legs out beneath the table. “He’s been smiling like a lunatic since the day they all got back from that beach.”

“He seems like a pretty happy guy in general,” Cat said. It was a nice thought, but she didn’t want to cling to any wishful thinking from a happily married woman for her single friend.

“Oh, he is. Don’t get me wrong. He’s what you would call well-adjusted, given his past. He’s just… cautious since Sarah. But it’s clear he’s enchanted by you.” Cat paled, guilt over the games she’d been playing sucking the color from her cheeks. She stuttered for a response, and Minnie didn’t miss it. “Maybe I’m speaking out of turn,” Minnie said quickly, her lips pressing into a tight line.

“No, please,” Cat said. “I’m just surprised. I really like him too.” The confession tumbled from her mouth without her permission, and she nearly slapped her hand over her mouth.

It wasn’t a lie. Being in a yard full of people who loved him had her realizing maybe she wasn’t imagining things to be as good as they were. Maybe Josh really was worthy of all of the feelings she’d been battling with since the beach. He was so attentive, so genuine in his affection. Maybe this was real.

Minnie quirked an eyebrow at her, her mouth twitching with the need to smile. “You really couldn’t tell?” Cat turned her head to see Josh watching her over the cup he was sipping from. He smiled, then turned back to his friends. “I feel like he’s being a little obvious,” Minnie said. “But Josh is the kind of person who doesn’t argue with his heart. It’s gotten him in trouble before.”

Cat’s eyes snapped back to Minnie to find her expression had hardened. Was she the one being tested now? She hadn’t anticipated that. “I know how that is,” she said, suddenly overcome with the need to convince Minnie that she wasn’t looking to break Josh’s heart. What a flip.Well played, Minnie.Emma would like this girl.

“Well, I think I’ve said enough. Except… Cat?”

“Yes?”

“You’re being a little obvious too.” Minnie laughed, then made a motion like zipping her lips together.

Josh had appeared beside Cat. He pressed his thumb and fingers into her shoulder in an affectionate squeeze, looking none-the-wiser about Minnie’s breach of confidentiality.

“Can I steal her back?” he asked Minnie.

“Of course, Joshy.” Minnie patted her hand. “Cat, find me later if you get sucked into a vortex of sports talk and testosterone. I’ll be around.”

“Thanks, Minnie,” Cat said as Josh tugged her away.

“Sorry about that,” he said as he led her to the edge of the pool and away from the larger group, most of whom had dried off and changed into regular clothes once the sun had set. “Off the clock is relative when we all get together.”

“It’s fine. I’m enjoying meeting your friends.”

He smiled in response. A lazy, slow-building grin that indicated a deeper thought was stirring in his brain.

The backyard flickered under a row of lawn torches and music drifted from speakers set up in each corner of the fenced-in rectangle. She had a sudden vision of the balcony bar where Josh had pulled her away for that second drink. A cozy warmth spread through her chest at the memory.

“This feels familiar,” Josh said, reading her mind. He wrapped his arms around her waist and buried his face in her neck. A few people were watching them curiously, but Josh didn’t seem to notice or care. First, Minnie had pulled an Emma on Josh’s behalf, and now he was beating her at her own game, already acting like they were a couple. This night was full of twists.

She could faintly smell tequila on his otherwise minty breath, and when he pulled back, his eyes were hooded, and he was openly gazing at her. She couldn’t help the smile pulling at the corners of her mouth—Josh was drunk. He hadn’t been either night they spent on the beach; she was sure of it now. She pressed a hand to her own cheeks, finding them on fire, and she swayed a little when he let her go. She was buzzed too.

“Let’s sit.” Cat plopped down to the ground and swung her legs over the edge of the pool into the water.

Josh followed, sitting with his legs crisscrossed. “Are you having a good time?”

“I am.”

He leaned over, brushing the shell of her ear with his lips. “I told you we could have nights like this anytime we wanted. We’re just missing the lightning.”

“That’s probably a good thing considering where we’re sitting.”

He huffed out a laugh, then turned serious. “That day in the water,” he said, twirling a tendril of hair that had fallen from her ponytail between his fingers. “You mentioned your ex.”

“Did I?” she asked, cheekily.

“Tell me about him.”

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