Page 6 of Imperfections Seduced
I think I’ll wear my dark blue jeans today with my pumpkin orange tank and the matching button-down cardigan. “What shoes am I going to wear?” My riding boots. Comfortable, but still sexy in my fitted, two percent spandex jeans. Thank God for the person who decided to put spandex in jeans—best idea ever.
After I showerand brush my teeth, I put my clothes on and pull my hair back in a ponytail, leaving soft tendrils out at the sides to frame my face. On my way out the door I decide to look in my jewelry box. The first thing that catches my eye is a solid gold panther pendant with aquamarine eyes covered in little diamonds. I lightly run my fingertips over it.
I remember this. It was a gift from Nick on my sixteenth birthday. I haven’t worn it in years. When he gave it to me, he said it reminded him of me. “A beautiful sleek cat, for a beautiful girl. Both can be very dangerous.” He took me by the hand and led me to the mirror, turned me around, and placed it around my neck, hooking the clasp at the back. No one had ever given me anything so beautiful in my life. I almost cried. He placed his hands on my bare shoulders, looked into my eyes in the mirror, placed a kiss on the side of my face near my temple, and in a low sultry voice said, “Happy birthday, Kit Cat.”
It was kind of his way of apologizing for not spending as much time with me since he was in college and was spending a lot of his time with his new girlfriend, Lisa…or whatever her name was. I pick up the chain and pendant and put it on, along with my gold and silver Tiffany watch.
As I make my way down the stairs into the living roomthat leads to the dining room, the smell of eggs, bacon, and coffee hits me in the face. I’m reminded of how hungry I am, but I slow down to take in the scene in front of me. My parents, sister, and brothers, along with my niece, are all sitting at the table talking and laughing at something Sasha is doing with her food. I really do love my family; this is one of the reasons I came home. I missed them. We’re not perfect, but this is as close to perfect as we’re going to get.
“Good morning!”
My father gets up and gives me a hug. “Morning, Kit Cat. You must have been tired last night; you disappeared on us in the middle of the celebration.”
I shrug my shoulder and hope I don’t sound too sarcastic. “I’m sorry, but I was exhausted from the flight and all the surprises. I guess it was just too much excitement for me.”
“It’s okay, we understand.”
No, you don’t, if you only did. My dad sits back down at the head of the table. I take the empty seat next to Jay and my adorable little niece. She is too cute. I give her my best smile and hold my hands out to her. She looks at me for a minute, smiles, then climbs into my arms. “Hey, cutie.” I give her a kiss on the cheek, place her on my lap and put my hands around her waist. “You probably don’t remember me, but I’m your Aunt Catherine, but everyone calls me Cat.” I press my cheek up against hers. “You’re getting so big! The last time I saw you, you couldn’t even talk, now look at you.”
Sasha looks up at me with her big brown eyes and carefully holds up three fingers to me and says, “I’m three years old. I’m a big girl.”
“Yes, you are,” I say, and look at Jay. “She is the cutest thing I have ever seen.”
“You seem surprised. Really, Cat, look at her—she looks just like me. Who do you think she got her looks from?”
We look at each other and smile. “Okay, if your head gets any bigger you’ll topple over. Seriously.”
Kate starts talking from across the table. “I tell him that all the time. Do you have any plans for today, Cat? I thought it would be nice if all of us got together tonight and had dinner.”
Chris is sitting next to her across from Jay, and I look at him when he answers.
“That sounds cool, I’m free tonight,” Chris says.
“What about you, James?” Kate asks.
“I might be able to make it,” he says.
I pour myself a cup of coffee and add a teaspoon full of sugar and a splash of cream before I reply. “Sure. Dinner sounds good. When you say all of us, who’s all of us?” I’m seriously hoping all of us does not mean me staring across the table at her and Nick because that would just be another f-ed up night.
“It’ll be the four of us and Nick.”
That’s what I thought.
“So where are we going to have dinner?” Chris asks, taking a drink of his orange juice. “I know a nice place. The food is amazing, and there’s a live band called Blue. It’s a bar lounge that’s also named Blue. The band owns it; it’s kind of upscale, not your regular bar lounge.”
I stir my coffee and look at Chris. “Can I get a ride with you, Chris, since I don’t have a car yet?”
“Yeah, I’ll be over here around six. I’ll pick you up after I come from work.”
“Thanks.”
My mom stands up and picks up one of her fine white and silver-edged china plates and puts all of my favoriteson it: Belgian waffle, soft scrambled eggs, and turkey bacon. Serving me is out of character for her, but I guess the wedding talk put her in a giving mood. I’m going to eat everything on that plate and go back for seconds. I shouldn’t, but I don’t care. I’ll do an extra workout session during the week.
“Honey, I’m so happy you decided to come back home. I never did understand why you wanted to go halfway around the world all by yourself, with no family in sight.”
I give her a half smile at her exaggeration. “I missed you too, Mom.” I’m not going to get into this discussion again. She wouldn’t understand that I had to go away to find who I was without my family. I needed to be independent, without a safety net—and an audience. I didn’t want to be William and Candice Reed’s daughter, and I didn’t want to be Chris and Jay’s little sister. My first year at NYU, that’s who I was, because both of my brothers and Nick went there.
I wanted to feel like a grown-up woman, and it wouldn’t have happened here. My family means well, but when you’re the youngest, everyone is sticking their noses in your business, as if they all know what’s best for you.
