did I.” The words tumbled from her mouth, causing Nathan to smile wider as she mentally winced. “I mean, I didn’t plan on being here. I, uh, I thought Matty might be here.”
“No, I haven’t seen him.” Nathan stepped closer to her and she scooted backward. A flash of amusement lit his eyes and he motioned for her to sit. Catherine lowered herself into an aisle seat as he sat across from her. Her gaze ran down his long legs in a quick sweep, coming to rest at the spot where his bare ankles showed between the frayed hem of his faded jeans and the top of his Birkenstocks. “Should I have?”
“Pardon?” Catherine yanked her gaze away from his bare ankles and met his stare, embarrassment heating her face.
“I said, is there a reason I should have seen him?”
“Uh, I thought, that is, Brian took him to the sports clinic today and they called to say they had tickets for tonight. I just thought…” Catherine let her voice trail off, feeling the first twinge of worry scratch along her spine like nails on a blackboard. There was no reason to worry, she told herself. Matty was with Brian. They were fine.
“They probably got the tickets from the clinic. I wouldn’t worry too much. I wish I had known they were here, though.”
“You didn’t see them at the camp?” Catherine’s pulse pounded louder in her ear as anxiety crept in. They had to have been at the camp—Matty had called saying how much fun he’d had.
“No. I’m not usually there.”
“But I thought—” Catherine jerked in surprise at the vibration that thrummed near her hip then let out a loud sigh. Cursing the pager that kept startling her, she unclipped it from the waistband of her pants and squinted at the number flashing across the LED screen. A sigh of relief escaped her when she recognized Brian’s home number.
“Good news, I take it.”
Catherine flashed a wry smile at Nathan, suddenly feeling foolish. She reached into her purse and rummaged for the cell phone. “It’s Brian. Probably wondering where I am.”
“I see.” A flicker of something lit his eyes for a moment then disappeared. He stood and motioned behind him with a quick point of his thumb and grinned, drawing her attention to a small group of fans who were hanging back from them. “I’ll let you have some privacy for that call.”
Catherine stared after his broad back as he walked away, feeling like she had just missed something. She watched as two young girls sauntered toward Nathan, smiling and flirting with serious intent in their eyes. A knot of impatience swelled in Catherine’s stomach as she realized that the “girls” were in their early twenties. The laughing group suddenly made her feel old. She couldn’t remember ever being—or acting—that young.
“Knock it off,” she whispered, stabbing at the buttons of the cell phone. Brian’s voice greeted her on the third ring.
“I’m at the arena. I thought I’d meet you guys here but I guess not, huh?” Catherine said when he asked where she was.
“Sorry. We would have waited if we had known. But Matty’s fine. He’s sleeping now.” There was a long pause as Catherine tried to think of something to say to ease the tension that had hovered between them the last few days.
“Listen, Brian, about the other day. I acted like a jerk.”
“You sure did.”
Catherine felt her lips turn up in a small smile at the sound of humor in his voice. “Don’t rub it in.”
“Not now, anyway. I’ll save it for later. So tell me why you’re still there. Are you with Nathan?”
She glanced sideways at the smiling crowd, feeling like an interloper as they laughed at something Nathan said. She pushed a strand of hair behind her ear and looked away. “Hardly. In fact, I’m getting ready to go home now.”
Catherine began the climb up the steps, careful to keep her distance from the crowd while keeping one eye on her footing as she made plans to have Matty dropped off tomorrow. She was dropping the phone back in her purse when she heard her name being called. The urge to stop and turn was overwhelming, but the memory of the young girls kept her feet moving. She didn’t need to make herself feel any older by seeing them up close.
The light rail was her headache for the evening. Now, in addition to humiliating herself with her hasty retreat from Nathan, she had missed the train back home. The wait for the next one wouldn’t have been so bad, except for one thing.
Nathan Conners had beat the train to the stop and was staring up at her from the driver’s seat of a flashy BMW convertible, its top down in spite of the chilly February air. His high-wattage smile was turned on her full-force as he tried to convince her to let him drive her home. Catherine glanced at her watch, then down the tracks, hoping the train would be early.
“No, thank you,” she repeated through clenched teeth.
“C’mon, Doc. One ride. It’s the least I can do.”
Murmurs of encouragement grew from the crowd waiting at the stop with her. She gritted her teeth together, wondering what she should do. With a sigh, Catherine hitched the straps of her purse higher on her shoulder and grabbed for the door handle of the car, nearly yanking it off in frustration. Nathan was all smiles as he jammed the car in gear and sped away. Catherine braced her hand against the dash and reached for the seat belt, feeling only slightly safer when she had it securely fastened.
“So is it always playtime for you?” Catherine raised her voice to be heard above the cold wind racing past them as Nathan maneuvered the small car along the dark city streets. He flashed her his crooked smile and shrugged.
“You looked like you could use a laugh.”
“At my own expense, right?” Catherine winced at the sharpness of her words, wondering why she always seemed to be so bitter around him. Brian was right. Nathan really did seem like a nice guy. So why did she always act this way around him?
“What?” Nathan turned to look at her, surprised at the brightness of her eyes and the flush he could see in the passing street-lights. His foot hit the brake and he pulled the car to a stop on a deserted side street as Catherine braced herself with an outstretched hand. He threw the car into First gear and cut the engine, then turned in his seat and stared at her. “I wasn’t making fun of you, Catherine, I was trying to make you smile. I didn’t realize you took everything so personally. I’m sorry.”
He watched as a muscle worked in her jaw, noticed the way her chin came up a fraction of an inch and the way her lips pursed together, though in anger, hurt or stubbornness he couldn’t tell. Probably all three. “No, I’m the one who’s sorry. I didn’t mean to snap at you. I’m not very good company right now. Maybe you should just take me back to the light rail stop.”
Nathan sighed and ran his hands through his hair. This was not working out as he had planned. Seeing Catherine at the arena had been an unexpected but definitely welcome surprise. He had wanted to ask her to go for a cup of coffee or a drink or something, but backed away when she had mentioned calling Dr. Porter. Then she left the arena so fast he wasn’t able to catch up to her. It had been pure luck seeing her at the light rail stop. Only now, instead of laughing or smiling, she was sitting next to him looking like she had lost her best friend. And suddenly he wanted her to smile, just for him.
He sighed again and reached for the key in the ignition, wondering what he should do. The engine turned over with a small purr as he faced her. “Where’s your car? I’ll drop you off there so you won’t have to take the light rail.”
“Um, the Timonium stop.”
Nathan nodded then made a U-turn in the middle of the street, tires squealing as he gave the car too much gas. He reached down and adjusted the stereo until a classic rock tune blared from the speakers. His foot pressed harder on the accelerator in response to the music. From the corner of his eye he saw Catherine’s white-knuckle grip on the edge of