CHAPTER Twelve
The heat outside was well over one hundred degrees. Staying inside the construction trailer wasn’t a chore for Katelyn.
Dean had offered to pick up lunch and the majority of the job site was quiet. Without Jo in the office, it was actually relaxing. Even the phone didn’t bother ringing all that often.
The door slammed, announcing the arrival of lunch.
“I know how fond you are of salad,” Dean said as he walked into the room with two huge bags. From the smell traveling to her nose, there was more than lettuce for lunch.
“Yeah.”
He set the bags on the edge of the conference table, swooped up several plans, and tucked them to the side. “I got you a salad.”
The rich aroma of barbeque teased her stomach and the thought of salad left her hungry. “Ah, thanks.”
“You don’t want salad?”
“Salad’s fine. Great.” Boring.
Dean removed a clear plastic container of garlic dinner rolls. Next came a slab of ribs smothered in sauce.
Katie licked her lips.
“I, on the other hand, am hungry. Mike suggested a takeout barbeque place down the street. The place was lined up out the door.” Out popped an order of baked beans…followed by mashed potatoes.
Out of a second bag, Dean slowly removed a small plastic container with her salad. There wasn’t a smell from her container at all.
“It smells amazing, doesn’t it?”
“Yeah.”
“Here ya go.” He set the salad in front of her and smiled.
“Thanks.”
The full force of the food hit her senses when he opened the last container and started loading up a paper plate. There was enough food for three people. Katie glanced at her salad and tried to think of it as appetizing.
All she saw was an appetizer and a paltry one at that.
Her stomach rumbled.
Dean tore off one of the ribs and sank his teeth into the meat. “Oh, wow. This is amazing.”
Katie opened her salad and stuck a fork into the lettuce.
“Oh, my God. This is better than Mac’s. You know that one off the frontage road on the way to your daddy’s ranch. So. Good.” Dean smacked his lips together and hummed as he chewed.
He ripped off another rib and Katie couldn’t stand it anymore. She shot her hand out and stopped him from devouring it.
He sent her a cocky grin and lifted the rib toward her. “Did you want a bite?”
Instead of answering, she leaned forward and bit into the food. Her taste buds sang and her stomach did a happy dance. The smoky sauce hit the back of her tongue and she closed her eyes with the pleasure of it.
“Can I have my hand back?”
She licked her lips as Dean watched. “Not unless you dish me up a plate.”
Dean stroked away sauce from her lower lip. Her skin prickled with his touch. Why did he have to be so damn handsome?
“No problem, darlin’.” Darlin’ rolled off his tongue with such a smooth tone she felt him sliding back into her system. It wasn’t often Dean used his Texan charm, but when he did, a woman was helpless not to fall under his spell.
Get a grip, Katie.
She forced her gaze away from his and divided the salad.
“Remember the time we went to Mac’s after the Halloween party at the high school?”
“I remember you chasing after Sally Richfield who was dressed like a pornographic cat.”
Dean chuckled. “Remember the librarian? What was her name?”
“Mrs. Leon.”
“That’s right. She made Sally wear a lab coat all night. It was only after we all left and went into Mac’s that anyone saw her costume.”
Katie rolled her eyes back as the garlic from the bread saturated her tongue. “And you were right there sniffing up her skirt.”
“Leotard.”
“You would remember.”
Dean talked around his food. “I had to chase her to get my mind off of you.”
Katie stopped chewing. “You never took notice of me in high school. I was two years younger.”
“I didn’t want to notice you in high school. You were Jack’s sister and he’d have busted my balls if I made a move toward you.”
“No, he wouldn’t—OK, yeah, he would have. You never let on.”
“You had so many boys tripping over themselves, you wouldn’t have noticed if I looked twice.”
Katie washed down a forkful of beans with her diet soda. “Since we’re playing the honesty game, I guess I should let you know you’re wrong. Remember the outfit I wore on my sixteenth birthday?”
A slow Southern smile spread over his lips and he wiggled his eyebrows. “Red plaid mini, black boots, and that skintight tank top with the spaghetti straps. Oh, yeah. I remember.”
Katie sucked in her bottom lip and made a mental note to see if she could find that skirt when she went home. “You’d just started dating that girl from the Catholic school and I wanted to compete.” And when Dean hadn’t made a move, Katie decided to keep wearing short skirts and provocative clothing to make him.
He never did…well, not until much later.
“I don’t even remember what the girl’s name was.”
“Nina.”
“Nina,” he sighed as he said her name.
She tossed a napkin in his general direction. “You, Dean Prescott, were a player back then. Hell, you all were.”
“You did a fair amount of playin’.”
“More show than go.”
“Gaylord yelled at Jack constantly to find you and drag your skinny ass back home.”
She was wild back then. It didn’t help that the media followed her around to the point where she couldn’t burp without someone writing a story about it. A fabricated bullshit story. After her mother had walked away from them…all of them…Katie searched out attention.
Katie didn’t need two-hundred-dollar sessions on a psychiatric couch to understand why she acted out. Her mother had left her when she needed her the most. “Daddy was clueless about raising a teenage daughter.”
“You had your aunt.”
“Not the same.”
Dean’s fingertips brushed over the back of her hand. “Do you think of her…your mom?”
It was surreal how Dean knew her thoughts. “Sometimes.” More since Savannah had entered her life. How her mother could birth her children, raise them for so many years, then walk away, Katie couldn’t fathom.
“You were a great kid and a beautiful woman. She’s the one who’s missing out.”
Thinking about her mother hadn’t made her want to cry since she was a teen, but Dean’s calm, understanding words knotted the back of her throat and made her miss a woman who gave her up. Would Savannah think like this one day? Would she wonder why or even blame herself?
Katie pulled her hand away from Dean and lifted her napkin to her lips. She hoped he couldn’t see the pain behind her eyes. She attempted a smile and dropped her napkin. Instead of hitting her lap, it fell to the floor. As she bent over to pick it up, Dean did the same.
They both stopped midway and looked at each other. His eyes searched hers and time simply stopped. No, it went in reverse. He placed his palm on the side of her face and drew her in. His lips brushed over hers in soft, even sweeps.
“Oh,” she murmured as she reached and glided her hands over his chest. The thick feel of him under her palms felt right, familiar. He teased her lips open and pushed inside. His taste and scent flooded her, bringing back every wonderful memory of their brief, passionate time together. Unlike the fire and impulse they had before, this kiss was one of calm warmth and desire.
Warning bells screamed inside her mind. She’d barely survived him the first time. Playing emotional roulette with him now was dangerous. Even if it felt damn good to be in his arms again.
Dean must have read her thoughts and slowly ended their kiss. He left her light-headed and dizzy. “I can’t stop thinking about you, Katie.” He dropped his forehead to hers and spoke in hushed tones.
“This isn’t smart,” she said. She had a baby at home. One who needed to stay hidden until she located Savannah’s mother. Diving back into Dean’s arms, no matter how warm they were, could jeopardize everything. “We shouldn’t do this…for so many reasons.”
“Like what?”
“We work together.”
He kissed her again, briefly. “You’re fired,” he teased.
“You can’t fire me. You don’t pay me.”
He reached for her lips again, and she pulled away.
He dropped his arms from her shoulders and let her go. “I won’t push,” he told her.
She looked past him and drew in a deep breath. “Thank you.”
As he picked up their lunch mess, he said, “If you want to kiss me again, my office is right in there…and the door is always open.”
He could always make her laugh. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
“You do that.”
Dean kept out of her way for the rest of the day. The task was easy when he could still taste her on his lips. She’d responded to his kiss. Kissed him back, even. The act thrust him into the past to the first time he’d ever touched her. Like this time, she’d met his lips and didn’t pull away. They were all limbs and flying clothes back then. Years of pent-up want exploded until they were both spent and staring at the ceiling. It had been glorious.
Although Dean wanted glorious again, this time things were going to be different. Slower.
“Dean!” He heard a familiar voice yelling from across the shell of the hotel lobby and turned to greet his best friend.
“Jack, you son of a bitch.”
“No denying that,” Jack said. They shook hands and followed it up with a man-hug.
“You look good.” Tanned, rested, and Dean needed to add, sexed.
“Good doesn’t cut it.”
“How’s the ole ball and chain?”
“Jessie’s bound to tie you to your chair with duct tape if she hears you calling her that.”
Dean wiggled his eyebrows. “Oh, bondage. Didn’t think you did the kink, cowboy.”
Jack punched Dean’s arm. “Jessie’s good. She missed Danny, though. Next time he comes with us.”
“Honeymoons aren’t supposed to include kids.”
“I hear ya.” Jack turned full circle and took in the room. It had changed a lot in the weeks he’d been enjoying his bride. “Looks like everything is coming along.”
“Only a few small setbacks. The roof isn’t complete and that’s holding up some of the construction on the west end. Most of the exterior walls are going up. I think we’re about a week, maybe two, away from all the plumbing and electrical to finish up. On the inside at least.”
“Good, good.” Jack’s vision of a more family friendly hotel to add to the empire his father had already built was brilliant. Where The Morrison was a five star vision of opulence, Jack’s hotel would be a five star vision of family affordable opulence.
The project had been in the early planning stages and ground breaking about the time Maggie had left him, which gave him what he needed to get over her. He’d thrust himself into his work and quickly through his messed up personal life.
“I noticed a convertible in the lot. Katie’s?”
“Yeah. She’s been in the office all day.”
“How’s she doing?”
Dean licked his lips, tasted her again. “Good. She’s had some innovative ideas, ones I think you’re going to like.”
Jack stood closer and lowered his voice. “How is she really? I mean, she wasn’t acting herself before the wedding.”
Dean rubbed his chin. “I’m not sure what’s going on, and I understand why you’re worried, but she seems fine to me.”
“You know her better than most so I’ll take your word for it.” Jack started to walk toward the door. Dean stopped him.
“Jack, wait up.” If things were going to be different with Katie this time, then it started here…with her brother.
“Yeah?”
“About Katie…”
Jack narrowed his eyes. “What about her?”
Oh, hell! This would be so much easier with beer. He glanced around the room and decided they didn’t need an audience. “Let’s go in and say hi, then go grab a beer.”
Jack tilted his head to the side. “There something you need to tell me?”
Dean nodded. “Yeah, but trust me. We need beer.”