was shake and the paint was peeling in spots. But the house was home. It meant security. Comfort. “I moved out for college, then mom died and a year ago, I inherited the house from Nana.”
“Oh,” he said softly. “I’m sorry.”
It took her a second; then Katie laughed and told him, “No, she didn’t die. She just moved. Nana and her sister Grace decided to share an apartment at the Senior Living Center. They figure there are lots of lonely men over there looking for love!”
He laughed at that and once again, Katie felt a rush of something hot and delicious spread through her. The man should smile more often, she thought and wondered why he didn’t. The other guys working here were forever laughing and joking around. But not Rafe.
He was more quiet. More mysterious.
Just … more.
Rafe sat opposite his brother Sean at a local diner and waited for his burger. As for Sean, he was typing out a message or thirty on his cell phone. Okay, as far as Rafe was concerned. Gave him more time to think about Katie Charles.
The woman was haunting him.
He couldn’t remember being so fixated on a single woman—not even Leslie, before he married her, had so completely captivated him. While that should have worried him, instead he was intrigued. What was it about Katie that was getting to him?
She was beautiful, sure. But lots of women were. He wanted her, but he had wanted lots of women. There was something else about her that was reaching out to him on so many different levels, he couldn’t even name them all.
“Hey,” Sean said with a laugh. “Where’d you go?”
“What?” Rafe swiveled on the bench seat and looked at his younger brother.
“I’ve been talking to you for five minutes and you haven’t heard a word. So I was wondering just what exactly had you thinking so hard.”
Rafe scowled a little, irritated to have been caught daydreaming. Jeez. Thoughts of Katie were taking up way too much of his time. “Not surprising I was thinking of something else, since you were so busy texting.”
“Nice try,” Sean said, still grinning. “Distract me with insults so I won’t ask if you’re still thinking about the cookie woman.”
Rafe shot him a glare. “Her name’s Katie.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“Anyone ever tell you how irritating you are?”
“Besides you, you mean?” Sean asked, giving their waitress a bright smile as she delivered their dinners. “You bet. All the time.”
Rafe had to smile. Sean was absolutely the most laid-back King ever born. Most of them were type A’s, ruthlessly pushing through life, demanding and getting their own way. Not Sean. He had a way of slipping up on whatever he wanted until it just naturally fell into his hands.
He was damn hard to annoy and almost never lost his temper. In the world of the King family, he was an original.
Once the waitress was gone, the brothers dove into their meals. This hamburger joint on Ocean Avenue had been a popular spot since the forties. Rafe and Sean were on the outside patio, where they could watch traffic and pedestrians in a never-ending stream of motion. Kids, dogs, parents with digital cameras poking out of their pockets fought for space on the crowded sidewalk. Summer in a beach town brought out the tourists.
“So,” Sean said, reaching for his beer, “let’s hear it.”
“Hear what?”
“About the cookie lady,” Sean countered, both of his eyebrows wiggling.
Rafe sighed. Should have expected that his brother would be curious. After all, Rafe hadn’t talked about a woman since Leslie walked out. He remembered his ex-wife looking at him sadly and telling him that she felt “sorry” for him because he had no idea how to love someone. That he never should have married her and sentenced her to a cold, empty life.
Then he thought about Katie and it was like a cool, soft breeze wafted through his mind. “She’s … different.”
“This gets better and better.” Sean leaned back in his booth and waited.
Frowning, Rafe took a sip of his beer. When he spoke, it was a warning not only to his brother, but to himself. “Don’t make more of this than there is. I just find her interesting.”
“Interesting.” Sean nodded. “Right. Like a bug collection?”
“What?”
Laughing, his brother said, “Come off it, Rafe. There’s something there and you’re looking. And about time too, I want to say. Leslie was a long time ago, man.”
“Not that long,” Rafe countered. Although, as he thought about it, he realized that he and Leslie had been divorced for more than five years. His ex-wife was now remarried to Rafe’s former best friend, with a set of toddler twins and a newborn, last he heard.
“Long enough for her to move on. Why haven’t you?”
Rafe shot Sean a glare that should have fried his ass on the spot. Typically enough though, Sean wasn’t bothered. “Who says I haven’t?”
“Me. Lucas. Tanner. Mac. Grady …” Sean stopped, paused and asked, “Do I have to name all of our brothers or do you get the point?”
“I get it, but you’re wrong.” Rafe took a bite of his truly excellent burger and after chewing, added, “I’m not carrying a torch for Leslie. It’s over. Done. She’s a mother, for God’s sake.” And if he was to be honest, he hadn’t really missed her when she left. So what did that say about him?
“Yet, you’re still living in a hotel suite making do with the occasional date with a beautiful airhead.”
“I like living in a hotel and they’re not all airheads.”
“Good argument.”
“Look,” Rafe said, reaching for his beer. “Katie’s a nice woman, but she’s off limits.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because she’s got white picket fence written all over her,” Rafe explained. “She’s the settle-down-and-get-married type and I’ve already proven I’m not.”
Sean shook his head and sighed. “For a smart guy, you’re not real bright, are you?”
“Thanks for the support.”
“You want support?” Sean asked, digging into his burger. “Then stop being an idiot.”
“Shut up. I tried the happily-ever-after thing and it blew up in my face. Not going to do it again.”
“Did you ever consider that maybe the reason it didn’t work was because you married the wrong woman?”
Rafe didn’t even bother answering that jibe. What would have been the point?
Monday morning, the guys were still fighting with the pipes and Katie was ready for a week in Tahiti. She’d hardly slept all weekend. Though the peace and quiet were great, she’d been so busy filling cookie orders she hadn’t had time to appreciate it.
Now she sipped at a cup of coffee and winced every time the whine of a drill shrieked into the air.
“The noise is worst the first week,” someone from nearby said.
She turned to look at Joe Hanna, the contractor. “You’re just saying that so I won’t run away.”
He grinned. “Once the new pipes and drains are installed, the rest will be easier for you to live with. I promise.”
He had no sooner made that vow when a shout came from the kitchen. “Arturo! Shut off the water! Off! Off!”
“Crap.”