“I gotta go,” she murmured against his lips.
“Then get outta here.” He swatted her ass as she walked away. He cleaned up their breakfast mess while she dealt with her delivery. The whole time he thought about what he could do to prove to her that he’d changed. Earning her trust became his most important goal.
When the containers were tossed in the trash, he walked out of the office to say one last good-bye. He stopped in the hall while Kathy chatted with her delivery guy. Why he’d imagined some pot-bellied middle-aged dude with a hairy back and plumber’s crack, he didn’t know. Probably wishful thinking. The guy leaning on the cooler door beside Kathy had muscles bulging where Kevin hadn’t known muscles existed.
Worse, Muscle Head was making Kathy smile. He was obviously putting some moves on her, and she just chatted away about some flower. The man’s eyes kept wandering to Kathy’s tits.
“Hey, babe,” Kevin said as he neared and put a hand around Kathy’s hip. “Did you need any help with the delivery before I head to work?”
She gave him a confused look, but the delivery guy got the message clear.
“I better get going. See you next week?”
“Yep,” she said cheerfully.
When the guy had gone out the back door, she asked, “What was that about? Since when do you call me babe?”
“Does it bother you?”
She angled her face and took a moment to consider it. “I guess not. But it came out of nowhere. Or do you just assume that because your hand was in my pants, you can call me whatever you want?”
“I wanted to make it clear to your delivery boy that you’re taken.”
“What?”
Kevin pointed at the now-closed back door. “The guy was hitting on you.”
“No he wasn’t. We were talking.”
“You were talking. He was staring at your tits.”
She crossed her arms over her chest self-consciously. “He was not.”
He took her arms and moved them away from her body. “They’re great tits to look at. But they’re for me, not him.”
“Possessive much?”
“Hey, I’m playing by your rules. You said no one else. I like that idea. It means that this”—he allowed his gaze and then his hands to slide over her body—“is all mine.”
She shivered and closed her eyes. “I wasn’t giving him anything.”
“I know.” He waited until she looked up again. “I know you wouldn’t. You should make it clear to guys like him that they don’t have a chance.”
Placing a hand on her cocked hip, she asked, “And are you doing the same? Announcing to the world that you’re taken?”
“Yep.”
“You are not.”
“I tell anyone who’ll listen that I convinced the prettiest girl to give me another chance even though I don’t deserve it. You want more proof?” He stomped to the back door and flung it open. To the empty alley, he yelled, “Kevin O’Malley is officially off the market!”
Kathy grabbed at his arm. “What are you doing? I have to work in this neighborhood.”
“I want you to know that I’m not kidding.”
“I got it.”
He smirked. “Okay. I’ll call you later.”
“Maybe we can have dinner?”
“I’d love to, but I’m not sure how late I’ll be at the office.” He flipped through his mental calendar, but couldn’t recall anything that would cause him to be at the office late. Then again, he’d thought that yesterday too. He closed the back door and locked it. “Walk me out, so you can relock the front door.”
“Yes, sir,” she said cockily.
“Hmmm . . . I like the sound of that. Maybe you can try master next.”
Kathy burst into laughter. “That’s never gonna happen, but you keep dreaming.”
He pulled her close at the front door and kissed his way from her mouth down her neck. “I bet I can make you say it.”
“You play dirty.”
“That’s the only way to play.” He stepped back and pulled his keys from his pocket. “Lock up behind me.”
“Talk to you later. Have a good day at work.”
“You too.” He walked reluctantly out the door and waited to hear her lock it. He wished he could take the day to play hooky. He couldn’t remember the last time he just took a day to have fun. His career had been his main focus for the last few years, but having Kathy back in his life had made him start to reevaluate his priorities. His career was still important, but now he wanted to make time for her.
* * *
Later that day, Kathy fussed with her hair and makeup. Kevin had managed to get out of the office early enough to go to dinner at a decent hour. She wanted to look good for him. She told herself it had nothing to do with the orgasm he’d given her this morning. The fact of the matter was she hadn’t put in effort for him. With the exception of the wedding and bachelorette party, she hadn’t even dressed nicely. So this time, she was out to impress.
He texted to say that he was running a few minutes late. She recognized that as being new for him. In the past, he would’ve just shown up whenever and expected her to be waiting. Part of her knew she needed to stop thinking about the past, but she feared overlooking obvious warning signs like she had before.
Was she really giving him a second chance if she was constantly comparing Kevin today to Kevin from five years ago? She didn’t know. But she knew that she was nervous for their date tonight. He kept saying that he’d play by her rules, but he pushed.
This morning was the perfect example. She was a total pushover. She’d told him five dates and then she completely caved. And now she was primping for him. Lust and sex were making her lose focus.
She wanted to call Moira, but her best friend was still on her honeymoon. Kathy didn’t know what to think.
Her doorbell rang, leaving her exactly no time to consider anything. She buzzed Kevin in and waited
