Dropping her gaze to his hands, she watched the long elegant fingers of his left hand flip and toy with a spoon. What was with his fingertips? She had seen a lot of deformities in the hospital. Advanced lung or heart disease often caused the fingers past the last joint to become rounded and bulbous or “clubbed”. That was not clubbing. She leaned closer, puzzled. He was giving his full attention to whatever Buzz was saying.
She studied his other hand resting on the table, the one without the spoon. No, the tips of his left hand were callused, but not the right. Now why would that be? She was on the verge of asking him about it when it came to her. Those were calluses from playing guitar. She gasped and both men turned to her. She covered the gasp with a cough and averted her gaze toward the street. He told her on the airplane that he didn’t play anymore. Hell, he’d just denied it to Buzz.
What a whopper!
A tall, thin blonde in a blue micro-mini, yellow fleece hooded sweatshirt, and tan Ugg boots clomped down the sidewalk.
The woman noticed Buzz and froze. Even from this distance, Kate could see her eyes widen and her face contort into a mask of rage. She stormed over, marching through the gate toward their table.
“Uh oh,” Kate whispered to Alec. He followed her gaze, sitting back in his chair.
“Madison!” Buzz greeted her with a shout of happy recognition, oblivious to what was so clearly written on her face. Kate and Alec exchanged wide-eyed looks. Her figure taut with thinly suppressed animosity, she strode to where they sat.
“You son-of-a-
bitch
,” she hissed at Buzz, eliciting curious stares from other patrons at the café.
“Babe,” Buzz sounded hurt, “what the hell? I haven’t had a chance to call--”
“You didn’t tell me you lost the condom last night!”
“Whaaaa?” He was either too stoned or too clueless to catch her meaning.
“Last night? You failed to mention that your condom came off?” She was spitting fury. All other conversation on the patio died down. All eyes turned to the spectacle.
Slowly the light dawned for Buzz. “Yeah,” he said, stroking his chin. “It did come off. Wonder what happened to it?”
Kate was caught between horror and hilarity, mouth agape. Even Alec was leaning forward now, studying the couple.
“It was still in me!” she shrieked. “It came out at Zumba this morning!”
A snort of laughter escaped Kate. She clapped a hand over her mouth at the twin expressions of incredulity on the male faces.
Madison turned a scathing look on her.
Alec met Kate’s gaze, then he started to laugh, and didn’t bother to stifle it.
Madison glared at them both. “So. Not. Funny.”
Buzz was the picture of concern and confusion. “Can that even happen?”
“Asshole,” she spat and turning on her heel, she fled the patio.
The patio was silent.
“Seriously, Kate, can that even happen?” Buzz asked, shifting in his seat.
She shrugged. “I have no idea.”
“I know you don’t
really
know, like first hand,” Buzz responded. “But, like, as a nurse, have you ever heard of that happening … ” he trailed off as Kate shot him an incredulous glare. She could not believe he was alluding to that around Alec.
Alec turned a quizzical expression on her, then turned back to Buzz. Intercepting Alec’s look, Buzz said “Dude, I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know. Kate doesn’t put out. Hell, do you even date anymore, Kate?”
Kate sat stunned. The hot flush of embarrassment crept up her neck and then over her face.
Damn her fair skin.
“I date,” Kate replied. Recovering, but still flushed, she turned to Buzz. “Why don’t you ask our resident sexpert about disappearing condoms?” she said, gesturing to Alec.
“Damn man, it’s never happened to me.” Alec laughed, putting his hands up as if to ward off the series of questions he could see Buzz gearing up to ask.
Alec turned a wicked look on Kate, his teeth flashing and his eyes boring into hers. “But then again, condoms are a snug fit for me.”
Kate pursed her lips. She refused to laugh.
Buzz was oblivious.
“Later,” he muttered, obviously still puzzling over Madison’s bombshell, he picked up his skateboard and hopped back over the gate. Kate stood and walked to the sidewalk. She put a hand on his shoulder.
“She’s mad Buzz, but there’s no injury. Maybe call to apologize?”
He nodded, glum, and took off down the street.
• • •
Alec watched her standing at the gate. Probably reassuring the guy.
She was, as Asher said, ‘smokin’ hot’. He studied her from the top of her still-wet, thick curling hair to her pale pink toenails. His groin tightened. So much for hoping her effect on him had diminished.
She returned to the table and sat down.
“So, you don’t put out?” He didn’t believe it of course. Not for one minute. No one got to twenty-five, looking like she did, and stayed a virgin. Didn’t happen. He sat back and played with his spoon, flipping it, eyes on her.
She seemed taken aback, then blushed again. He watched her translucent skin pink up with fascination.
Do I even know anyone who still blushes?
He racked his brain. Nope. It was charming. He enjoyed reading every emotion as it crossed her face. People in his line of work prided themselves on keeping their cards close to their vest. He was surprised and delighted at being able to read what she was thinking in her expressive, green eyes.
She peeked up at him through her lashes and tugged on a strand of her hair. He almost groaned aloud as his body responded.
“He only knew me in high school.”
“You didn’t have a serious boyfriend in high school?” he asked, idly raising a hand and signaling the waitress for the check. He hadn’t meant to stay so long. There was a conference call he couldn’t miss in less than an hour.
“Not really. There wasn’t a lot of time.”
His attention snapped back to her. “Right. Because of your mom and your sister.” The smile he directed at her was gentle.
“Well, between that and school and things.”
“Hmmm. Yeah, but in college … right?” He watched her. There it was again, the downcast look, the hair tug, that half-embarrassed air he was coming to know.
“Kate?”
She glanced up, eyes wide and guileless. “Well, it was nursing school, which is mostly women … ”
He knew his face was registering astonishment.
Her gaze skittered away.
“Since you got out of nursing school?” Even he could hear the pleading is his tone. Don’t let her be a virgin. Her youth he could deal with, even her relative inexperience, she’d been on an airplane only four times for heaven’s sake, but virginity? No fucking way. He had never been with a virgin. Ever. The idea of someone of his experience with a virgin was ludicrous.
“It’s not something to be ashamed of,” she said, hotly, raising what he now knew were innocent eyes to his.
“I’ve dated. I just … I just wanted to wait for the right time,” she said, softly.
He muffled a groan but she heard it.
She stood. Hands fisted at her sides.
“Sit, please,” he said.
She flung herself back into the chair with a scowl as the waitress arrived with the check. Kate pulled out her wallet and tossed money on the table. He ignored the cash, stuffed a black credit card into the plastic tray and shoved it back toward the edge of the table.
He rubbed his hands over his face. He hadn’t been able to get her out of his mind since he met her. The incident in the cab fired up his libido and he fantasized about her constantly. Finding out she was inexperienced — no, more than that, a virgin — cooled his ardor. How did he extricate himself from this politely?
When he glanced up, he caught sight of her heading out the patio gate. A hissing breath escaped him and he called her name authoritatively. Patrons on the patio turned to stare at him. He’d be damned if he would give them another sideshow. She didn’t stop or turn back.
Damn it!
He pulled the credit card off the table, replaced it with cash and hastened after her.
His long stride ate up the pavement. He grabbed her hand and spun her toward him. Her eyes were so full of tears he doubted she could even see. He felt the bottom drop out of his stomach.
Crap!
Pulling her into an alleyway between buildings lined by plants, he tugged her into his arms.
“I’m sorry.”
She sniffled. He held her tightly to him and kissed the top of her head. He had to bend over to do it. How could someone so tiny have so much hair and why did the smell of her send another surge of lust through him?
“I’m an asshole.” He squeezed her, arms wrapped tightly around her curvy frame.
She didn’t argue.
“I knew you were sheltered,” he said. “I didn’t realize the extent of it.”
She drew back and looked up at him. “I’m not sheltered. No teenager who watches their parent die and assumes the responsibility of a child is sheltered. I’m a virgin.”
He grimaced.
“Stop doing that,” she growled.
He gave a half-laugh. “What am I doing?”
“Making faces and rude noises!”
Another laugh escaped him and he felt an unexpected surge of tenderness wash through him.
“It’s not that crazy. I wanted to wait for the right time and the right person. You try parenting a teenage girl and explaining why you can have sex and she can’t. Besides, a lot of guys don’t want to date a girl with as much baggage as I have, then or now — ”
“I have baggage,” he interrupted, “the whole Louis Vuitton set. Trust me, you don’t even have a carry-on.”
“But I
do
have baggage. And some of it now is this damn virginity,” she insisted, eyes peeking up at him through her mass of wavy hair.
He paused for a split second and stared down at her.
He yanked her up, hands cupping the firm swell of her bottom, got her to eye level and pushed her back against the wall, holding her there with his body. Lowering his mouth to hers, he kissed her, fierce, hard. Instant conflagration, just like in the cab. He leaned back and met her smoldering green half-closed eyes. Her arms went around his neck and tugged. Her open mouth pressed eagerly to his. She smelled of flowers and sunshine.
His hands moved up and down her body, fingers stroking her until she moaned her pleasure into his mouth. He moved his hips against her and felt her legs move restlessly against his. One hand went gently under her shirt and pulled her bra cup down until her breast filled his palm. He rolled the nipple lightly between his fingers and she went wild; her tongue lashed his, her thighs wrapped around his hips as she tried to squirm closer, using her legs to pull his hips against her, harder. A low noise rumbled through his throat. Pinching her firmly, she gave a cry of pleasure muffled by his mouth. He fisted a hand in her thick hair and pulled her toward him.
“You make me ache,” she whispered against his stroking mouth. His breathing accelerated, the kiss spun out of control.
A police siren shrieked up the street startling him. He pulled back, shocked.
They were in an alley for God’s sake.
He gently lowered her feet to the ground and set her from him to pull himself back together. He was shaking. She had never been so alluring.
“God you’re beautiful.” The words slipped out of him, unbidden.
She smiled shyly. “Well, I guess that answers that question.”
“The ‘am I willing to take your virginity right now, against this wall’ question?” he panted.
She laughed. “I was thinking more along the lines of, is he as attracted to me as I am to him?”
He stared at her, incredulous. “Asked and answered in the back of a cab in New York. The chemistry with you is — ”
“Yeah,” she interrupted. “It is. But I haven’t heard from you.”
He laughed. “I’ve been sitting on my surfboard on a flat ocean hoping to see you for the past two days.” His admission startled him in its honesty.
Her eyes widened. “Really? But I only run on workday mornings.”
He glanced at his watch and groaned. “I’ve got a conference call. Can I take you home and call you later?”
“Sure. I’ll be sleeping for the next few hours and I have to go in tonight around six.”
He frowned. “I have business in LA tomorrow and the next day, but I’ll make arrangements to stay in Cielito for a day or two after that. We’ll go do something fun.”
He slung an arm over her shoulder, pulling her up against his body and they headed for his car.
A few hours later, humming to herself, she pulled the makings of a salad out of the refrigerator. The cell phone rang. Her heart leapt. Alec?
No. The area code was unfamiliar, so she answered it cautiously. The rescue had been more than a month ago, yet there were still occasional calls from the media. And Billingsly. Always Billingsly. Daily texts. Nightly voicemails. Insisting she give him another chance. At least it wasn’t him.
“Kate Gibson?” the masculine voice on the other end of the phone asked.
“Yes?”
“It’s your father.”
All the blood rushed out of her head and white spots clouded her vision. She slowly sank to the kitchen floor pressing her forehead to folded knees. My God. Him. After all this time. Her mind raced but she sat, utterly still, the rapid throb of her heartbeat deafening.
“Damn it, say something,” he demanded.
“How did you get this number?” she croaked.
“Never mind,” he said. “Don’t you think I had a right to know?”
Rage washed over her clearing out the disconnected feeling and she sat up abruptly. The wooziness counteracted by the heat of fury and adrenaline racing through her bloodstream.
“You don’t have a right to anything,” she enunciated with finality.
He let out a sharp crack of laughter. “Oh, that’s hilarious. I don’t have a right to anything? I gave up college. I gave up my career when your mother got pregnant with
you
, and took that dead end fucking job at the bank. I made sacrifices and then you guys kicked me out. So don’t tell me I have no right.”
Kate sat, speechless. So that’s why they got married. Still, how was she to blame? Or her mother for that matter?