She smiled back at him and after all the recent ugliness with Wade, realized it was the first real smile she had given to anyone in a long time.
And just like that, the strangest sensation started in her chest, like the valves of her heart were zapped with the electricity of their touch, jolted awake with the recovery of her smile, flexing slowly at first, but gaining momentum with each passing second until her heart was pumping at full speed.
Her eyes widened and she wondered if he could feel it too, this sudden, rapid force of life prompted by their touch. She swallowed and looked down at their hands, unable to feel where her skin ended and his began. When she looked back up, he wasn’t smiling anymore, just staring at her intently, focused.
She swallowed again, clearing her throat. “Can I have my hand back?” she croaked.
Erik jerked his head like he was waking up from a dream and dropped her hand like it was on fire. “Sorry.”
She wanted to look cool and unaffected, but she was affected, so she looked away from him and reached up to adjust her glasses nervously. “It’s okay.”
“When’s the last time we ran into each—”
“Sam and Jenny’s wedding.” She met his eyes, her hand still warm, protesting the absence of his.
“Yeah, of course. But I barely…” He stared at her, running his index finger back and forth across his chin as his voice trailed off.
“You don’t remember me?”
His eyes searched hers and she thought, You don’t know me, but you feel like you should. Why? And why do I feel the same? She felt—unaccountably, ridiculously—like it was impossible that she had somehow arrived at twenty-two years old without intimately knowing Erik Lindstrom. It made no sense at all.
His eyes narrowed. “I remember you, but…you were with, um—?”
“Wade,” she finished for him, her shoulders slumping.
“Wade,” he repeated, his voice hardening appreciably as those light eyes narrowed into shards of ice. It sent a shiver down Katrin’s spine. She sure wouldn’t like to be on Erik Lindstrom’s bad side.
“Thanks for giving Kat a ride today, Erik,” Ingrid interjected, ending their awkward hello. “We all appreciate it.”
“Yes, thanks,” added Katrin.
“Glad to help get you somewhere safe,” said Erik, still staring at her thoughtfully. His gaze flicked to her lips quickly, then returned to her eyes.
She didn’t sense that the gesture was deliberate, but it made her cheeks feel hot.
Lord, but Erik Lindstrom was handsome. It had been a long time since she’d met a man to whom she’d felt so instantly attracted. She looked away from him, catching her reflection in the mirror across the room and suppressing a groan: rumpled sweats, askew glasses, crimson cheeks and greasy hair. She cringed with embarrassment, wondering if she could squeeze in a quick shower before they left for Skidoo. She wasn’t a supermodel, but she could certainly look better than this. She wanted to look better than this. For the first time in months, it actually mattered to her what she looked like.
“Well, should we get going?” he asked. “You have your stuff together?”
“We only told her the plan this morning,” said Ingrid, casting a sheepish look at her sister-in-law. “Can you take Kat home to put a bag together? And maybe stop by the police station and file a restraining order before you head north?”
Erik gave Ingrid a look that read, I thought I was just giving her a ride, and it made Katrin’s stomach flutter with embarrassment. This veritable god was driving her dumpy butt to safety. She couldn’t bear to inconvenience him any more than she already had.
“I don’t need to file the restraining order,” she blurted out. For a moment she was relieved her cheeks were already blazing so no one would see the lying flush spread over her face. “I, um…I already did it.”
Kristian’s eyes whipped to find hers. “I had no idea. Why didn’t you tell us?”
Katrin shrugged, looking down. “Slipped my mind.”
“Well, good. As soon as it’s processed, we’ll have more leverage if he bothers you. I’m so relieved you did that. I’m sure they’ll serve him while they’re holding him, and you’ll probably have a temporary order by the end of this week.”
She tried not to feel terrible for deceiving her worried brother. She was leaving, wasn’t she? Fleeing to safety? And the police had issued an Emergency Protective Order when they hauled Wade away on Friday night. Between that and leaving, it was enough. Or she hoped so, anyway.
Ingrid gave Katrin a bright smile. “Well then, all you have to do is pack a bag and go. Email and tell me whatever you want me to ship up there and I’ll arrange it.”
Katrin nodded at Ingrid, feeling overwhelmed and grateful at the same time. Her eyes filled with tears and Ingrid reached out, pulling her sister-in-law in her arms. Kristian mumbled something about the men waiting outside as the women said their goodbyes.
“I’m so glad you’re getting away. It was pure luck that you and Erik are both going north to start new jobs tomorrow. Or grace. Or fate,” said Ingrid.
Fate. Erik and fate. Katrin’s heart galloped as she hugged Ingrid back, but she tried to reason with herself. She was escaping an unhinged ex-fiancé, not embarking on a new romance. She had no business putting Erik Lindstrom and the word fate in the same sentence, despite the fact that she sort of liked the way they sounded together.
Ingrid drew away to look into Katrin’s eyes.
“Just so you know, Kat…I’d trust Erik Lindstrom with my life. You can trust him with yours. That’s partially why I want him involved. I wanted you to have someone up there who you could turn
