Page 27 of The Christmas Fix
“So, can I meet her? I mean, will you introduce me?”
Noah’s mind launched into overdrive. Was Cat the kind of celebrity who would be nice to kids? Did he really want Sara meeting a reality TV idol? And on the other hand, he’d be his kid’s biggest hero for probably the entire holiday season if he could provide an introduction.
“Ohmygod! There she is,” Sara hissed, half hiding behind him as Cat strode out of the building, staring at her phone in one hand and unlocking a vehicle with the other.
Shit.
He had to decide and fast.
“Uh, Cat? Do you have a second?” Noah called out.
She stopped and looked up with a frown. But when she spotted Sara literally clinging to Noah’s arm, she broke into a smile.A genuine one from the looks of it. Or she was a brilliant actress and wasting her time in reality television, Noah thought with sharp realization. He put stock in judging people by the way they interacted with kids, his in particular.
“Sure,” she said, crossing to them, her stride as impressive as if she was strutting down the catwalk instead of clomping across a parking lot in work boots.
“This is my daughter, Sara,” Noah said, putting his hands on her shoulders and giving his daughter a little shove toward the star. “She appears to be a fan of yours.”
“Hey, Sara,” Cat said, offering her hand.
Sara shook it, eyes wide. Her mouth opened and closed several times before the words found their way out. And when they did, it was a tidal wave.
“Oh my God. I can’t believe I’m meeting Catalina King. You are just the best! Your show is so great! I can’t believe you’re going to rebuild April’s house again. Dad and I were on vacation last time when you were in town, so I didn’t get to meet you. But April and I, we’re BFFs, and that’s just the coolest that you decided you’d drop what you’re doing with your clothing line and stuff so you could come help her again.”
Cat laughed, and Noah felt an uncomfortable warmth in his gut. He wasn’t prepared to like the woman. He could grow to learn to maybe tolerate her, but liking her was impossible… even if she was looking at Sara like his daughter was the most interesting person on the planet.
“Wow. Well, thank you,” Cat said, her hand still wrapped in Sara’s death grip. “Your Dad was pretty instrumental in all of us being here.”
Sara’s eyebrows winged up. “Seriously?” She looked back and forth between Cat and Noah, and Noah felt like a giant asshole.
“Sure. We wouldn’t be able to be here fixing anything if it weren’t for your dad.”
Sara stared up at him with a look he hadn’t seen in those brown eyes since she was seven or eight. Hero worship. At this point, he didn’t even care if Cat was doing it to goad him. He’d take every second of adulation he could get knowing full well that the next time he questioned Sara on homework or eating vegetables it would be gone in a wink.
“That is really cool, Dad,” Sara said. “So, Cat. Do you want to come over for dinner sometime?”
Noah blinked and cleared his throat.
Cat looked up at him and grinned diabolically knowing the last place Noah would want her is front and center in his dining room. “I would love to.”
“Oh, my God? Really? Because we have a lot of people staying with us who were displaced by the storm, and we do these really big meals every night, and it’s fun. Like having a really big family!”
“You opened your home to your neighbors?” Cat asked Noah, raising a skeptical eyebrow.
“Yeah,” Sara answered for him. “We have eight guests now—we call them guests so they don’t feel bad that they can’t stay in their own houses. We had twelve, but some of them went to stay with family. April and her mom and dad are staying with us, so you’ll get to hang out with them if you come see me. We tried to get Mrs. Pringle to stay with us after Dad rescued her. But she’s in a wheelchair, and she can’t get around the house ‘cause of all the stairs.”
Noah was watching Cat’s face and saw when the look of genuine surprise crossed it. “Mrs. Pringle?” Cat asked. “Wheelchair and cookies, right?”
“That’s her,” Sara grinned.
Cat looked up at Noah again, her expression unreadable.
“Unbelievable,” she murmured, shaking her head.
Noah was about to ask her what she found to be so unbelievable when Sara launched into a recitation of everything she knew about Cat.
“You’re two whole minutes younger than your brother, right?” Sara asked.
Cat, back to being amused, nodded.
