“Hey,” she said, the breeze blowing her ponytail forward.
“Well, I’m glad my guess was right and you went running and weren’t ignoring me.”
“I didn’t expect to see you for hours.” She reached down to her ankle and snagged her key. When she straightened, she looked him in the eye. “We need to talk.”
Ah, fuck. Like every man he knew, he hated those words. He followed her into the building and into her apartment without saying a word. Once inside, he asked, “Is this a sit-on-the-couch kind of talk or yelling-in-the-living-room kind of talk?” He tried for levity he wasn’t feeling.
She turned to face him. “Closer to the latter.”
She toed off her shoes and kicked them aside. Then she crossed her arms and huffed out a breath.
Before she could launch into yelling at him, he raised his hands and said, “I’m sorry you weren’t having a good time at the bar. I wanted to spend some time together. When I got there, I just wanted to let loose. I can’t remember the last time I went out just to drink with my brothers.”
“I don’t care about that.”
Now he was truly baffled.
“I’m pissed because of the way you treated me. You had me tag along to this dive bar and then you abandoned me so you could flirt with—what did you call them?—puck bunnies.”
He stepped forward and reached for her hand. “I told you, you don’t have anything to be jealous of.”
“I’m not jealous!”
Her harsh yell startled Kevin into releasing her hand. Her light brown eyes, the color of cool whiskey, were now burning hot. He’d never seen such a fierce look on her face. He stood in stunned silence.
“I get that you are charming and you’re a talker. You talk to everyone in that friendly let-me-get-to-know-you way. It’s who you are. In fact, it’s one of the things I like about you. But I didn’t like you charming those women when I was in the room, waiting to hang out with you. You said yourself that you wanted to spend time with me.”
As sick as it made him, seeing her pissed off and yelling at him was a turn-on. “I wasn’t trying to charm them. Yeah, they were flirting, and I’m a guy, so I enjoy it. But they meant nothing. Harmless conversation. Why do we have to keep talking about this? You either trust that I’m going to be faithful or not.”
“God, would you listen to yourself? I don’t think you were making plans to fuck them. I’m trying to tell you that I don’t like the way I felt when I was in the bar with you. At first, I recognized that my reaction was a little irrational. And if you’d called me on that, I’d understand. But I went for a run to clear my head and it did wonders. You asked me to come to that bar with you.” She came close, pointing a finger. “You should’ve spent time with me. Even if it meant ignoring your fans.”
He smiled, even though it might’ve caused her to physically hurt him.
She shoved his chest. “This isn’t funny, asshole. I felt like you were testing me at the bar and that was a dick move.”
“What?” She’d lost him again. Sometimes he wished he’d spent more time with his sister because then he might have a shot at understanding the female mind.
“I think you wanted this.” There went her arms flailing again.
“You think I intentionally pissed you off? Why the hell would I do that?”
“To make me fight with you. That’s what you’ve been pushing for, isn’t it? To make me prove that I love you? It’s a crappy way to treat me.”
He was so mesmerized by her body, her fluid movements as she yelled, that he almost missed the words. “What’d you say?”
She crossed her arms again and clenched her jaw. “I said it’s a crappy way to treat me.”
“Before that.”
Her brow furrowed and instead of waiting for her to retrace her thoughts, he said, “You said I wanted you to prove that you love me.”
She shook her head, waiting for more.
“Do you?”
“Of course, I love you. You know that.”
“But you’ve never said it.” He moved in again, pulling her body into his embrace. Her arms were trapped between their bodies. “I don’t need you to prove a damn thing, Kathy. I love you.”
She sighed and relaxed in his arms, wiggling her own free. “This wasn’t exactly how I thought I’d say it to you the first time.”
“I’m sorry I ignored you at the bar. You’re right. I should’ve been with you.”
“Or next time, you can go alone. I don’t need to be with you all the time. I’m okay with you hanging out without me. That was way more your thing than mine.”
His smile broadened.
“What are you smiling at?”
He walked her backward until she was against the door, and he was flush against her body. “First, you fought with me. Like really fought, no shutting down and running away. With a little practice, you’ll be able to give the O’Malleys a run for their money. Second, you fucking love me.”
She tilted her head up. “Why does the fight get top billing?”
“Because you know what happens after a fight?”
“What?”
“Makeup sex.”
Her laugh filled the room, and it was the best sound in the world. She wrapped her arms around his neck and drew him down for a kiss.
“I love you, Kevin O’Malley. You taught me that I don’t have to be afraid to fight with you or for you. Now I’m really looking forward to you teaching me all about makeup sex.”
“I love the sound of that.”
Epilogue
Two months later
Kathy stood in her new kitchen washing glasses and putting them in her cabinet. Correction—their cabinet. Kevin had spent every day wearing her down to convince her they should live together. While she argued and held out for a while, she couldn’t ignore his excellent points.
She
