“I do,” she whispered.
Nothing like her own words to sway a wary heart, Catherine thought. Unsure of what else to say, she gripped the door handle tighter.
“Then believe me when I say I want to see you again. There’s something too strong between us to just let it go.”
Her heart began a rapid, pounding beat inside her chest. He was good with words—hers, his, it didn’t matter—because he was even better at getting past her defenses and making her believe in the impossible.
She glanced outside and saw her sister’s husband, Kane, walk out the front door. Probably making a routine check on a suspicious car in front of his house, Catherine thought wryly.
She had no desire to introduce these two men and endure Kane the detective’s probing questions later. “I have to go.”
“Friday?” he asked. “You owe me breakfast,” he said when she remained silent.
She gazed into his eyes. His honest eyes. She’d opened up to him, and she trusted him. The only person she was fighting here was herself.
A smile tugged at her lips.
“You’re wearing my favorite sweats and I’d like to collect them in person.”
He was persistent, she’d give him that. He had no way of knowing she’d already made up her mind.
“Call me,” she said, and before he could respond, she opened the door and slipped out of the car, slamming it behind her.
“Ball’s in your court,” she murmured aloud.
If he was truly interested, he’d have to make the effort. She wasn’t coy nor was she playing hard to get. She just wanted to know he was serious before she allowed herself to get in any deeper.
Problem was that Catherine was in way over her head already.
* * *
“The Logan Montgomery? You slept with the Logan Montgomery?” Kayla’s voice seemed unnaturally loud in the small bedroom.
Catherine cringed. “Would you stop saying it like that? And what do you mean the Logan Montgomery?”
Her sister reached for her phone lying on a table beside the bed. She opened the screen and began to scroll through a news app. “It’s in here somewhere. On the front page of TMZ…”
“Hold on.” Her sister was beyond intelligent. She read fiction, literature, and medical journals, but…“You’re reading gossip columns? Stop the world, I want to get off.”
A red blush stained Kayla’s fair skin. “Ever since the doctor said bed rest, I feel trapped. I go through books like they were water. I’ll read anything, including online sites about celebrities,” she admitted.
Catherine sat on the edge of the bed and patted her sister’s hand. “What’s it like to live in the common world?” she teased. Kayla was smarter than any person had a right to be and she had an incredible memory. Although she had access to the Internet, she loved the library and could spend hours reading material of interest to no one else in the world.
“Very funny. Aha. Here it is. Take a look.”
Knowing she wouldn’t like what she saw, Catherine accepted the cell anyway and found herself face-to-face with a close-up shot of Logan, taken at yesterday’s Garden Gala. Even at a distance, his good looks were enough to take her breath away. But the memories of their intimate moments, the sound of his deep voice, his warm hands on her body, him inside her… They were enough to melt her heart.
“Read the article,” Kayla said.
Catherine shifted her attention again. “Favorite Hampshire son, Logan Montgomery, scion of Judge Edgar Montgomery and his wife, Annette, is rumored to be ready to announce his candidacy for mayor of Hampshire. Although the delectable bachelor firmly denied the story, Judge Montgomery told this reporter to stay tuned—as if any of us need an additional reason to keep an eye on this perfect specimen. Too bad for us single working girls, he’s destined to be snapped up by…”
Catherine tossed Kayla’s cell on the bed. “I can’t read any more of this.”
“Oh, my God! You’ve fallen in love with him. In one night?!” Kayla eyed her through narrowed eyes.
Catherine shook her head. No way she’d admit those feelings, not even to herself. She couldn’t leave herself that exposed, open, raw… “What am I going to do?” she wailed and tossed herself across the foot of Kayla’s bed.
“You could start by cleaning yourself up.”