Her Backup Boyfriend (The Sorensen Family 1)

“Here.” He shrugged his jacket off and placed it around her shoulders, despite her objection. “Sorry. When did she die?”

“Oh. No. You misunderstand. She’s still alive, it’s just that…well, she’s not really herself anymore.” Kate took a deep breath of the air and slowly exhaled. “A couple years ago she was diagnosed with dementia. It happened so quickly, which I guess is a relief, compared to some other stories I hear where people—their minds—slowly and painfully degrade. In the space of a year, my grandmother was lost to me. She’s been in a home, of course. I go see her every Sunday. Spend the day with her, sometimes playing cards or watching an old Fred Astaire movie.”

She smiled and looked up at him, but he could see the extra glistening to her eyes, the trickle of a tear at the corner.

His heart hurt for her, and he couldn’t stop from reaching out, wiping the tear away with his thumb. She didn’t pull back, just looked at him. “I’m sorry, Kate.” Simple words that didn’t seem enough to express the depth of his feelings just then.

“We all have a sob story in us somewhere, right? I’m really just glad that I still have her. She’s an amazing woman.”

“Just like someone else I know.”

He wanted to kiss her. No. He ached to kiss her. Not a kiss for show, or to tease. A real kiss. But he could still feel the wetness of her tears between his thumb and finger. This wasn’t the right moment.

Wait. He shook his head. What was he thinking? There wasn’t any moment for real kisses. That’s not what this was about.

She wasn’t looking at him now, but back at Glenda’s. “Having met your sister, I’m glad that we’re doing this. I want to help her.” She came to her feet. “Thanks for tonight. And for listening to me.”

He stood and walked her back to the door, the cat winding around their legs again. This time she didn’t hesitate as she pushed the key in the lock and opened the door.

He almost wished someone was watching them so he could plant one on her. But the view from Glenda’s would be obstructed now, so that wouldn’t quite wash.

With reluctance he watched as she waved good night and went inside.

Chapter Eight

“I can’t remember if I left the basement door open.” Kate chewed on her bottom lip, her eyes still on the road as they headed up the canyon. “Maybe I should call Glenda and have her make sure, since if it’s closed and Oscar is inside, he won’t be able to get to his litter box.”

Kate had of course insisted on driving and since it was her car, he didn’t argue. Much. But before this weekend was over, he was going to take it for a spin. With Kate barely cracking the speed limit, he was itching to see the speed he could get on these turns.

“I’m sure Oscar will manage until Glenda stops by later.” Dominic gave her a sideways glance. “He’s a cat. He’ll be fine. Haven’t you ever left him alone overnight before?”

“No. I only got him a couple of months ago. I always wanted a pet but when you’re renting, the rules are such a pain that I didn’t find it worth the hassle—or expense. But the minute I closed on my house I went down to the humane society and adopted him. He was so skinny then.”

“Well, I’m sure Glenda will be spoiling him plenty, so you have nothing to worry about.” He glanced up at the sky. “Looks like that storm they’ve been promising is finally coming in. Good thing I packed for snow.”

“Snow? It’s the first week of November. No way.”

He glanced at her black heeled boots. “Hope you brought something more weather worthy than those.”

“Even if by some miracle it does snow, I’m not planning on leaving the lodge. I’ll be fine.”

“What? There’s tons to do up there. Even without the snow we can take the ski lift up the mountain to enjoy the view, ride the luge down at the Alpine slide, go barhopping in downtown Park City.” But she kept shaking her head. “You’re kidding. What do you usually do when you go on these things?”

“Work. When Michael and I were together, we’d get the fire blazing and pull out our laptops and work in peace and quiet.”

“Seriously?” From the look on her face, he could tell she was being serious, which was pretty sad. “Wow, Michael sure was…adventurous.”

“We always enjoyed ourselves,” she said primly.

“I’ll have to take your word for it. As for me, there’s no way I’m sitting holed up in that suite—not matter how nice it is—for three days. Okay, scratch that. I wouldn’t be holed up in some suite on a computer for three days. Maybe doing some other activities.” Her cheeks were definitely growing pink, but she didn’t turn to look at him. Man, Michael was such an idiot. “Anyhow, if we’re going to pull this little charade off, I think it will do you well if we actually leave the room on occasion. Have fun.”

“Maybe. We’ll see.” From her tone she might as well have said, Sure, when hell freezes over. “So what’s the plan again?” he asked.

“Cocktails from seven to nine and then we’re free until tomorrow. There’s a thing in the morning, supposed to be some psychologist or something who’s going to give people tips on managing stress and maintaining a balanced life or some crap like that. I was thinking of a way to skip it.” He smiled. Of course she was. “Then nothing until dinner and a guest speaker at seven.?

??

He nodded and looked out in time to see the first snowflake settle on her windshield.