17. Rory

CHAPTER 17

RORY

I arrived five minutes early but sat in the car for a bit so that I wouldn’t seem too eager when I went and knocked on the door. I wanted tonight to go perfectly. That’s why I’d stopped at the store and bought an expensive bottle of wine, some nice cheese, and three different kinds of crackers. I had no idea what she liked, but that was what tonight was all about—getting to know Katrina on more than just a physical level. It was obvious that we had a connection, and the sex was nothing short of mind-blowing, but I wanted more.

And I had a feeling she did, too.

Plus, I still planned on trying to sniff out any clues regarding Katrina’s mysterious past. That way, I could at least put Nic at ease after she inevitably found out I had broken my promise to her. God, that was going to be a rough conversation…

Finally, at a minute past eight, I got out of the car with my plastic grocery bags and walked up the side staircase to Katrina’s little apartment. She opened the door before I even knocked. She grabbed a fistful of my shirt and pulled me inside, cutting my greeting off with a kiss. I kissed her back because—how could I not? But then, when we came up for air, I smiled and took a step away from her.

“It’s good to see you, too,” I said. I put the bags on the short counter space available next to the kitchen sink. “I hope you like red, by the way.”

“Sure,” she said. “There are glasses in the cupboard above the sink, but…” She reached for my hand and started tugging me into the next room, where the bed was. “Before we even crack that bottle open, I was thinking…”

I laughed and squeezed her hand. “As tempting as that is, I think I need to eat something first. I haven’t had anything since we left the cafe and now it’s well past dinner time. Aren’t you hungry?” She walked back to me, and I tucked some of her short blond hair out of her face and behind her delicate ear. “There’s plenty of time for the other stuff, you know.”

She smiled coyly. “You say that as if I’ve already invited you to stay the night.”

I smiled back. “Let’s just have a glass of wine and see where the night takes us, shall we?”

Katrina allowed me to pull her back towards the kitchen area. She sat on the little couch on the other side of the room and watched as I opened the wine and poured us each a glass. I could feel her gaze on me, and it took every ounce of strength I had not to toss the wine glasses aside and run to her. Not to tear her clothes off and take back everything I just said about waiting to have sex.

But I stuck to my guns.

This was my chance to learn more about this amazing woman who walked into my life and turned it completely upside down. I wasn’t going to do anything to jeopardize that. If we fucked, she might call it a night early and send me home. That was the last thing I wanted.

“So, how did you spend the rest of your afternoon?” I asked.

“Nothing exciting. I cleaned up a little,” she said. “Laid around. Oh, and then I had a very strange conversation with Al’s new girlfriend a bit ago. I’m not sure what to make of it.”

I frowned and brought the glasses with me as I came to sit on the couch. “Strange how?”

She took her glass and sipped. “It’s kind of hard to explain. On the surface, if I just told you what she said, you would probably think she was just being protective. But it was her tone that really freaked me out. She always talks in this really friendly way, all smiles and stuff. Today though, she was shooting daggers at me with her eyes as she told me not to mess with Al. She thinks I’m taking advantage of him or something.”

“She said that?”

Katrina nodded. “Yeah. Then she let slip the fact that Al had a daughter who passed away a while back, which I didn’t know about by the way. He never told me.”

“Oh yeah, I remember that,” I said. “It happened a few years after I came to Solara Bay. She had been sick for a while and Al was the only parent in her life, so he took care of her. I think whatever she had was terminal though, so there was nothing that could’ve been done. He kept the bar closed for at least a year after she passed away. Maybe longer.”

She sighed and looked straight ahead. “That’s so sad. Poor guy.” She took another big sip from her glass. “But I swear to god, I had no idea. Missy thinks the only reason Al is being so nice to me is because I’m, like, filling some gap in his life or whatever, but I think Al’s just a good guy.” She glanced my way with a pained expression. “I would feel awful if I thought I had accidentally taken advantage of a grieving father.”

“You didn’t,” I assured her. “Al’s always been generous, and even if he does have a soft spot for people who remind him of his daughter, that’s not your fault. You didn’t know the situation you were walking into.”

“I guess…”

“I’m serious. Don’t let that woman get to you. She doesn’t know what the hell she’s talking about. I mean, for fuck’s sake, she’s only been around town for a week or so! Who the fuck does she think she is?”

“Yeah, but… so have I.”

I drew back. “Huh?”

“I’ve only been in town for a week or so. Give or take a few days.”

I didn’t respond right away. For a moment, Katrina’s words made no sense to me. Even though I knew they were true, they felt so wrong. How was it possible that this person had only been in my life for a few days, and yet…

And yet, now, I couldn’t imagine my life without her?

“What?” she said, laughing softly. “Why are you staring at me like that?”

“Wh—oh.” I shook my head. “Nothing. Sorry. I just forgot that you only just arrived in town as well. Feels longer.”

She nodded. “Yeah, I know what you mean. I feel like I’ve been here longer, too.” She curled her legs up underneath her and took hold of her wine glass with both hands. “I just hope I can show Missy she has nothing to worry about. I would hate for her suspicion of me to rub off on Al or something.”

“Nah, he’s too smart for that. Just don’t tell him I said so.”

She laughed. “I won’t.”

Much to my delight, the conversation flowed quite nicely after that. We continued to drink wine, and she asked me more questions about Solara Bay. Her desire to know more about the area made me think she was planning on sticking around for a while, which put me in a good mood. I kept the wine coming as well, noticing that she was loosening up a bit with each sip. She felt so comfortable, in fact, that about an hour and a half after I arrived, she laid back against the couch armrest and put her legs over my lap.

It was the kind of gesture one only did with a person they really trusted, and I was going to do anything I could moving forward to hang onto that trust.