“Let me know when you get the details,” Cate said. “In the meantime, we should stop meeting like this.”
“Is it your boyfriend? He’s jealous of Pugg, isn’t he? Pugg has encountered this problem before.”
“It’s not just my boyfriend. It’s
“Pugg has encountered this problem before, too, and Pugg has discovered over the years that sometimes he can wear a woman down and eventually have his way with her. Pugg is not averse to pity sex. Sometimes women even have sex with Pugg as a bribe to leave them alone.”
“That’s disgusting.”
“Yes, but effective. I don’t suppose you would consider…”
“No!”
“Pugg suspects you’ll feel differently next week.”
“Pugg is cruising for another knee in the groin.”
“Pugg likes your spunk, but he’d prefer not to get kneed in the groin again.”
Cate wrenched the door to Evian’s open and swished inside. “Go away,” she shouted to Pugg. “Go home! Harass some other woman.”
Cate went directly to the small back room reserved for employee lockers. She threw her purse into a locker and called her mother on her cell phone.
“Where did you find Pugg?” she asked her mother.
“I got new tires for the van, and he gave me a discount. He seemed like such a nice young man, I immediately thought of you.”
“He’s not nice! He’s a disaster. You have to stop fixing me up. I’ll find a man on my own. I’m just not ready yet.”
“Your brother has a banker who sounds wonderful.”
“I’m begging you. Please, no more fix ups for a while.”
“I’ll restrain myself. And Danny will probably lose interest in your love life since he has other things on his mind. Amy just found out she’s pregnant again. I’m making chicken and biscuits stew as a special celebration dinner tomorrow night. It would be nice if you could join us and bring one of your amazing cakes.”
“Sure. That’s great. I’m really happy for Danny and Amy. And it’s my day off so I don’t have to jump up and leave before dessert.”
Even before Kellen McBride strolled into the bar at ten thirty, he knew he was in big trouble. Cate Madigan was stuck in his head. He liked the way she smelled, and the way she kissed, and the way her hand felt in his. He liked her curly red hair and milky white skin and Opie Taylor freckles. She was all the things he admired and feared in a woman. And that translated to a knot in his stomach and an ache in the area of his heart. Symptoms very similar to indigestion, but Kellen didn’t think an antacid was going to do much for him. He was very close to having his ticket punched. He supposed he’d always thought it would happen one day… he just hadn’t planned on it happening now. Truth was, it was inconvenient and mildly painful. And he had no idea how to reverse the process… or if he wanted to.
“I thought I should show up to walk you home,” Kellen said to Cate. “After all, I
“Was he outside?” Cate asked.
“Yep. I told him I was on board.”
“Did he go?”
“No, but he crossed the street.”
Cate wandered the length of the bar, checking on the few remaining customers. A half hour to closing and everyone was in a holding pattern. She rinsed glasses and tidied up. And she thought about Kellen McBride, and admitted to herself that she liked him. A lot. And she was attracted to him. A lot. And she felt totally flummoxed over the whole thing. A lot.
“He’s completely out of my league,” Cate said.
Andy Shumaker dragged his attention off the overhead game to Cate. “Who?”
“Sorry,” Cate said. “I was talking to myself. I didn’t realize I was talking out loud.”
“Why do you think he’s out of your league?”
“He’s way too handsome. And he’s very smooth. He’s probably had a kazillion girlfriends.”
“Lucky duck,” Andy said. “Who are we talking about?”
“The guy at the end of the bar.”
“The one staring at you?”
“Yep.”
Andy did a little finger wave at Kellen and hoisted his glass in salute. Kellen finger-waved and hoisted back.
Andy was in his midfifties and had recently been kicked out of his house. His wife had listed “constant humming and finger tapping” as grounds for divorce, and Andy was attempting to break himself of the habit by consuming large quantities of alcohol.
“I bet he exfoliates,” Andy said. “I bet he’s a stinkin’ exfoliator.”
Cate made a mental note to cut off Andy’s beer supply for the night and slid a look at Kellen. “You could be right,” she said to Andy. “He has wonderful skin.”
“And look at his eyebrows. He has two of them. And they’re not even fuzzy. I bet he plucks.” Andy slugged down the remainder of his beer. “You know what it means when a man plucks his eyebrows?”
“He wants to look human?”
“It means he’s gay.”
“Feeling a little hostile to the well-groomed guy?” Cate asked Andy.
“I hate those groomer guys,” Andy said. “They all think they’re so hot. Look at the way his clothes fit. It’s like he had them tailored. And his shirt is ironed. And he has muscles! I bet he works out.”
“You could work out,” Cate said to Andy.
“When?”
“You could work out instead of sitting here drinking beer.”
Andy stared at Cate, mouth open, eyes showing mild horror as he digested her suggestion. The train was slow in loading at Andy’s station.
Kellen crooked his finger at Cate in a
“Me?” Cate mouthed.
Kellen smiled and nodded.
Cate gave Andy a diet soda. “On the house,” she said. And she moved down the bar to Kellen.
“You were talking about me,” Kellen said.
“We were admiring your shirt.”
“It’s just a standard white button-down.”
“It’s ironed. Andy was impressed.”
“As well he should be. What about you?”
“What about me?”
Kellen grinned. “Are you impressed?”
“Pretty much,” Cate said. And she thought she would probably be even more impressed by what was under the shirt.
Chapter SIX
Cate and Kellen stepped out of the cool bar into the hot night and immediately spotted Pugg waving at them from across the street.
“Pretend Pugg isn’t here,” Pugg called. “Pugg is a phantom in the night watching over his damsel.”
“Pugg needs a reality check,” Kellen said, taking Cate’s hand.
Cate looked down at her hand in his. It felt nice, but she wasn’t sure what it meant.
