Kit (Chicago Blaze 8)

“You forgive me?” I ask her. “For earlier?”

“Yes. And thank you for the ride home.”

She asks me a few more questions about hockey, but we reach her apartment building too soon. I slide out of the car and call for another Uber to take me back to the bar.

“I’ll wait with you,” Molly offers.

“No, go inside. It’s too cold to wait out here.”

“I’m used to it. I walk everywhere, remember.” She puts her bag over her shoulder, things suddenly turning a little awkward between us. “So are you traveling tomorrow?”

“Yeah, just to St. Louis.”

“I’m interviewing your sister tomorrow.”

I widen my eyes in surprise. “Sara?”

“Yeah, we’re meeting up at a coffee shop.”

After a second of silence, I say, “Tell her I said hi.”

Molly looks at the ground. “Hey, sorry for saying you could go take any other woman in the bar home. I didn’t mean it.”

“I know you didn’t. We’re good.”

She meets my eyes and smiles, and I once again fight my urge to wrap my arms around her and kiss her like she’s never been kissed before. The buzz of the alcohol has almost worn off—what I’m feeling now is straight-up desire.

The Uber pulls up and saves me from doing something stupid. Molly says a quick goodnight and runs up the stairs of her building, not looking back.

I get into the car and spend the entire ride back to the bar thinking about her. She’s quirky and smart and pretty. Stubborn as hell. I like her. A lot.

But she caught me off guard when she told me she’s interviewing my sister. I didn’t let on, but I wish Molly wouldn’t talk to my family. Just like some things are better left unsaid, some questions are better left unanswered.

Chapter Seven

Molly

* * *

“So you want me to spill the tea on my brother.”

Sara Carter smiles as she sits down across from me at a downtown coffee shop. I could tell from the moment she walked up to the table for our interview that she and Kit are family. They have the same warm brown eyes and bright smiles. Like her brother, Sara is naturally attractive.

“Please do,” I say as I pick up my pen. “I need clarification about whether he started his drug ring or the illegal stock trading first.”

She laughs. “I like you already. And I can tell from your tone that you’ve figured out my brother is one of the rare good guys left in this world.”

“He definitely seems to be.” There’s a flutter in my chest as I remember our conversation the other night. And also the way he looked with his suit jacket off, his tie loosened and the sleeves of his dress shirt rolled up, revealing both muscles and ink.

The server approaches to take our orders. I ask for an iced tea, and Sara orders a frappuccino and a bagel. A woman who’s not afraid of carbs—I like her already, too.

“Thanks for taking the time to talk to me,” I say.

“No problem. I’m in the middle of studying for a big contract law exam, and I needed a break.”

“What kind of law are you planning to practice?”

She sighs heavily. “Assuming I survive law school and pass the bar, I’m planning to do entertainment law.”

“That sounds like more fun than bankruptcy or tax law,” I offer.

“Yeah, definitely. I’m hoping once I get going, I can represent my brother. He’ll pay double, of course.” She smirks.

Our orders arrive, and I add sugar to my tea while Sara spreads cream cheese on her bagel.

“So what can I tell you about Kit Maxwell Carter?” she asks right before taking a bite of her food.

I pick up my pen, trying to force the image of him at the bar last night out of my mind. His gaze wasn’t locked onto the women in tight clothes, his tongue rolling out like a cartoon character. Instead, the gentleman Viking was looking at me.

“Has he always been so…” I frown, unable to come up with the right word.

“Obnoxious?” Sara quips. “Insufferable? Smelly? Yes, he has.”

I smile, immediately at ease with her. She’s very approachable.

“I’ve noticed anytime Kit’s around women, they fall at his feet,” I explain. “Has he always been so…you know, naturally charming?”

Sara laughs heartily at my question, wiping a tear from the corner of her eye.

“Sorry,” she says, shaking her head. “It’s just my natural reaction to laugh at anyone describing my brother as charming. Kit was always shy around girls when we were growing up. He gave a girl a note to invite her to prom in high school because he was too shy to ask her in person.”

“Really?” I forget to even take notes because I’m so surprised by this information.

“Yeah. He wasn’t exactly a chick magnet back then. He was kind of…gangly. You know how some men are described as tall, dark and handsome? Kit was more like tall, skinny and angular.”