Page 78 of Eye of the Hurricane
“I heard you tell Sebastian you’re going to be shadowing with The Sea Dragons come Monday. I’m really proud of you.”
“Thank you,” she murmurs.
“You’ve been avoiding me,” I state.
She doesn’t bother to deny it. She just apologizes. “I know, I’m sorry.”
“I just want to know why,” I huff. “I spent the last week wondering if I did something wrong, something to upset you. Just for Audra to squeal and tell me I didn’t. Why does she know, Kat?” I ask.
She doesn’t stop walking or look me in the eye. Her face falls with what looks to be guilt.
“I didn’t think you’d mind. You don’t exactly catch me as a guy who’s private about your business. I’ve never had friends to tell my secrets to,” she explains. She misunderstands why my feelings are hurt.
“I don’t care that they know, Kat. You can tell the world what we did. I find myself quite proud of falling into bed with someone as beautiful and driven as you. I want to know why she knew and I didn’t.”
“I don’t understand how I’m feeling, I don’t expect you to.”
“Try me.”
“I wouldn’t know where to start.” She shrugs.
“From the beginning. We’ll figure the rest out as we go,” I assure her. The bright smile I’ve been missing makes a return to her face. It’s small, but it’s there.
“My first day back to work after camping and being sick, Jacob told me that he had sent me an email letting me know that we would be meeting with the PR manager for The Sea Dragons first thing that morning. An email that I would’ve seen if I hadn’t been so caught up in all of this.” She motions her hand between us. “But I didn’t see it and I wasn’t prepared,” she explains.
“And that was when you told me you needed space?”
She nods. “Then you showed up, all knight in shining armor to board up my house and help me with sandbags,” she groans, like it’s the worst thing anyone’s ever done.
“Is this about me helping you?” I ask, trying to make sense of it all.
“No. It’s about you being everywhere all of the time,” she exclaims, raising her voice. “Twenty-four years, Ares. twenty-four years I’ve never had a problem with staying focused and on task. Until I met you.”
“I’m not trying to distract you from your goals, Katherine. I know their importance to you. You can’t really think I’d do that,” I counter.
“That’s the problem! You don’t even have to try!” she shouts.
I had been sick for days thinking she must not feel how I feel. That I must have done something to make her hate me. It’s clear as day now, though, that it’s the opposite.
“Keep going,” I instruct.
Kat looks at me like I’ve got a second head attached to my neck.
“I just yelled at you and you’re asking me to keep telling you what’s going on in my head?” She huffs a dry laugh.
“I told you we’d figure it out.” I shrug.
She groans loudly, raking fingers through her hair.
“God, why are you so…” She pinches her eyebrows in an attempt to relieve the tension between them. “Perfect,” she says with a defeated sigh.
“All part of the charm,” I say with a wink. She shoves my arm, teasingly.
“I hate you.”
“Walk me through the rest,” I say, reaching down and interlocking her fingers with mine. She grips my hand tight and we begin walking again, this time back toward the house.
“Then you showed up and sat with me through the storm and we had sex. Like really mind blowing sex. And if that’s not bad enough, you took perfect care of me after. Then did it all again all night.”
