Kiss Me

by C. C. Wood

  Groaning in disgust, Kaylie finished brushing her teeth and washing her face and went back into the bedroom. She flopped down on the bed and tried to let her brain take in what was happening on the television, but her thoughts kept going back to Jake. When Beans jumped on the bed, Kaylie didn’t even try to chase him off as she normally did. Instead, she just cuddled him close, enjoying his warm, heavy weight and his deep purr. When she felt tears gathering in her eyes, she fiercely blinked them away. She refused to cry over Jake Coulter ever again. So she spent the next couple of hours staring blankly at reruns on the television, trying to avoid her own racing thoughts. Finally, lulled into relaxation by the alcohol she’d consumed at the party and the company of her pet, Kaylie let herself drift off to sleep.

  Chapter Two

  The next morning, Kaylie managed to drag her body out of bed. Her hangover wasn’t horrible, considering how much she drank the night before. Beans just opened one eye and stared at her like she was nuts before he went back to sleep. Kaylie just shook her head and stumbled to the kitchen to get coffee.

  She took her time showering and getting dressed. She and Blair weren’t opening up the store until later in the morning. Well, Kaylie figured she would be the only one opening up the store that morning, since Blair was likely still celebrating her engagement. At nine-thirty, she blew a kiss to Beans and headed out the door to work.

  An hour later, The Library was open and full of customers. When Blair walked in the back door a little before ten, Kaylie was shocked. She figured her big brother would have kept her friend in bed for most of the day, but he had also flown in on a red eye, proposed, probably ravished her friend at least twice, and stayed awake through the impromptu engagement party. When Kaylie ribbed her about it, Blair just blushed and changed the subject.

  At eleven, the front door of the shop opened to reveal a huge bouquet of flowers with legs. The arrangement was gorgeous, a beautiful blend of traditional roses, exotic orchids, even some flowers that Kaylie had never seen before. Damn, but her brother had good taste, she thought.

  The delivery guy approached her. “Hi, are you Kaylie Masters?”

  Speechless, she nodded. He grinned and presented her with the amazingly heavy vase.

  “Delivery for you.”

  “Thanks,” she said, her voice breathy.

  Kaylie carried the bouquet to the check-out counter and set the vase down. She had a bad feeling as to who sent the flowers. After she fished the card out of the mass of petals, her suspicions were proven correct.

  Lunch at noon. Jake.

  Kaylie felt her heart start hammering and she bit her lip to stop the swear words that wanted to spill out of her mouth. What the hell was he playing at? After years apart, he kissed her and followed it up with a romantic gesture and a freaking date.

  Blair peered over her shoulder. “Jake? As in Jake Coulter, also known as the Antichrist?”

  Kaylie sighed heavily. “Yes.”

  “Why exactly is he sending you flowers?”

  She threw the card down on the counter. “I don’t know.”

  When Kaylie turned around, Blair was standing behind her with her arms crossed over her chest and a skeptical expression on her face.

  “Tell me the truth, Kaylie Jolene Masters.”

  Scowling at her friend’s use of her full name, Kaylie mimicked Blair’s stance.

  “That is the truth, Blair.”

  Blair just stared at her and started tapping her toe.

  After a few minutes of their intense staring contest, Kaylie couldn’t maintain the eye contact and she looked away.

  “Okay, so he and I had a chat last night. Apparently, he thinks we can just pick up where we left off six years ago.”

  Blair cocked her head to the side and slowly grinned. “Really?”

  Kaylie scowled at her. “Yes, really, and you can wipe that stupid smile off your face. It doesn’t mean anything, because he’s dead wrong.”

  Her friend’s smile didn’t fade. “So what’s this about lunch today?”

  “Just because he said he wants to have lunch at noon doesn’t mean I’ll be here,” Kaylie muttered.

  Blair started laughing. “Have you forgotten what Jake does for a living?”

  Kaylie stared at her for a moment. Jake had followed her brother, Kevin, into the military, though he had gotten out after a few years. Now he was a detective with the Austin PD.

  “Well, shit,” she said.

  Her partner was laughing so hard, she was hugging her sides with her arms. Somehow she was able to speak. “Please, go ahead and leave. It’ll be fun to see what happens when he tracks you down.”

  Kaylie was tempted to walk over to her friend and kick her in the shin, but she knew Kevin would be mad at her if she did. Dammit, but her friend was irritating. She was also right. If Kaylie left The Library, Jake Coulter would use every resource at his disposal to track her ass down and it wouldn’t be pretty when he found her.

  “Dammit.”

  Kaylie stomped toward the back room, to the safety of her office, and ignored Blair’s laughter as it followed her. Still miffed, she slammed her office door behind her. Kaylie went to her desk and flopped into her chair. She wasn’t sure what in the hell she was going to do about Jake. Once that man got an idea in his head, it took a crowbar to pry it loose.

  Kaylie grabbed her sketch pad and tried to focus on work. She had two formal dresses to design in the next few weeks and she had barely started. Soon she was immersed in her sketches and thoughts of how certain fabric would drape and what color would suit her clients. When her door opened, she jumped.

  Jake Coulter’s broad shoulders and dark head filled her doorway. “Are you ready to go to lunch?”

  Kaylie glanced at her watch and realized it was almost ten after noon. “I guess.”

  She threw down her pencil and flexed her fingers. She kept her eyes on Jake as she stood and stretched her back. Kaylie grabbed her phone and her purse before she headed toward the door.

  “Let’s go,” she said.

  Jake stepped back to let her by. “You look pretty today,” he said.

  Kaylie managed to bite back her growl. Here he stood, acting as though they really were going on a date. Well, if he could pretend everything was hunky dory, so could she.

  “Thanks. Also, thank you for the flowers. They are beautiful.”

  As they headed out the front of the shop, Kaylie saw Blair and a couple of female customers staring at her and Jake. Blair was wearing a huge grin and the other two women were looking at Jake like he was a Belgian waffle and they were coming off a low carb diet. Kaylie made a face at Blair as she passed and heard the traitor laugh.

  “Bye, Kaylie. Feel free to take a nice long lunch.”

  This time Kaylie couldn’t hold back her growl and she heard Jake chuckle behind her. For some reason, the damn man always found her temper to be funny, even when it was directed at him.

  As they walked out the door onto the sidewalk, Kaylie looked back over her shoulder. “Don’t encourage her, Jake. She’s a pain in my ass.”

  He grinned down at her. “As I recall, she says the same about you on a regular basis.”

  Kaylie shrugged and absently thanked Jake as he opened the passenger door of his car for her. That was one thing she hadn’t truly appreciated when they were together. At eighteen, when they first started dating, Kaylie didn’t think men doing things like opening doors and putting a hand on the small of her back were all that great. At twenty-two, after they broke up, she couldn’t stand for other men to do those little tasks for her. It constantly reminded her of Jake.

  Now, at twenty-eight, she realized that kind of courtesy was something most men lacked. While she preferred to be independent and would kick a man in the teeth for daring to tell her what to do, she still enjoyed being treated like a lady. Kaylie knew a lot of feminists would roll their eyes at her thoughts, but it was beyond nice to know that a man would do the smallest of things to take care of the woman
he was with. It said a lot about his character.

  When Jake climbed back into the car, Kaylie turned to him.

  “So, where are we going for lunch?” she asked.

  He smirked at her. “It’s a surprise.”

  Kaylie rolled her eyes. “Whatever.”

  A few minutes later they pulled up at one of her favorite Italian restaurants, Guido’s. The owner definitely wasn’t a Guido, he was a Rob, but his Italian wife, Sophia, made sure that the food he served was as close to authentic as it could get. When Kaylie and Jake entered, Rob was manning the hostess desk.

  “Kaylie! How are you?” He came around the podium, arms spread. When he noticed who she was with, he hesitated. “Jake Coulter, it has been a long time.”

  Kaylie tried not to squirm as Rob eyed them speculatively. Though she and Jake had been broken up by the time she moved back to Austin, it wouldn’t surprise her if Kevin had met Jake here for a meal from time to time.

  “Is it just the two of you?” Rob asked.

  Jake nodded and placed his hand in the small of her back, guiding her after Rob. He seated them and placed menus on the table.

  “You’re waitress will be right with you,” Rob said with a smile.

  Kaylie could tell that he was itching to get back into the kitchen and tell Sophia that Kaylie Masters and Jake Coulter were having lunch together. She also saw Rob’s eyes widen when Jake reached across the table to lace his fingers with hers. She sighed as the owner of the restaurant practically scurried toward the kitchen doors and disappeared through them.

  She turned her head back to Jake. “You do realize he’s in the kitchen gossiping with his wife, right?”

  He just grinned at her, completely unconcerned. “So?”

  Kaylie made a show of lifting her menu and pulling her hand away from Jake’s. She pretended to be engrossed with the list of dishes, even though she knew what she would order as soon as she realized where they were going. There were only a few dishes she ordered at Guido’s and they rotated depending on her mood. Today she was feeling more than a little carnivorous, probably because she was irritated with Jake, so she decided on veal parmesan.

  Elaina, a waitress who had been at Guido’s since it opened, came to their table. She grinned at Kaylie knowingly after she took their drink orders and sauntered off. When Kaylie saw the huge grin on Jake’s face, she put her forehead on the table with a clunk.

  “Why me?” she asked. “Why me?” She punctuated each question with a bump of her head.

  “Kaylie,” Jake’s voice was sharp when he said her name.

  She glanced up from under the fall of hair over her forehead. “What?”

  “Stop acting bratty and sit up.”

  Kaylie scowled at Jake and shot upright. “Don’t tell me what to do, Jake Coulter.”

  When Jake smirked at her, she realized she’d done almost exactly what he said and she made a face at him. Okay, so she was still bratty. Elaina was smiling hugely at the pair of them when she returned with their sodas. Kaylie frowned at her so fiercely that Elaina looked a little uncertain and Jake laughed out loud. At Jake’s laughter, Elaina seemed to regain her poise. She took their orders and, like the restaurant’s owner, disappeared into the kitchen.

  Kaylie narrowed her eyes on Jake. “I think I’m starting to hate you.”

  Jake snagged her hand again and laced his fingers with hers. “You don’t hate me.”

  She continued to scowl at him, trying to yank her hand away. He only smirked at her again and tightened his grip. Finally, she gave up.

  “Okay, fine, I don’t hate you, but I don’t particularly like you either.”

  Jake’s smirk faded when she spoke. He let her pull her hand away. Kaylie saw the intensity of his eyes and what she thought was pain. She refused to feel guilty. The guy had broken her heart. Sure, it was a long time ago, but Kaylie enjoyed holding grudges against assholes who broke her heart. Of course there were only two; Jake and David Snider from seventh grade.

  Kaylie leaned back in the booth and crossed her arms. “Okay Jake, why am I here?”

  He mimicked her posture. “I don’t know Kaylie, why are you here?”

  Refusing to take the bait, Kaylie glared at him. “Other than being kidnapped by an ex-boyfriend, no I don’t know why I’m here. I’m hoping you could clarify that for me.”

  Jake sighed and he uncrossed his arms. “I wanted to talk about something you said last night.”

  Kaylie just barely stopped herself from rolling her eyes. Damn, he was worse than a woman. He dumped her six years ago, she might forgive him on her deathbed. What more was there to discuss?

  “Did you really think we were going to spend the rest of our lives together?” he asked.

  She froze, staring at him. “Well, I see you still get right to the point.” Now it was Kaylie’s turn to be uncomfortable. She sighed. Maybe after this stupid ass postmortem they could move on. “Yes, I thought that. I’m sure you think that is pathetic, but I was twenty-two and you were, well, you.”

  Now, Jake scowled. “What the hell does that mean?”

  “It means that you treated me like a princess, you were hot, smart, and funny. How was I not supposed to fall in love with you?”

  Again, Jake had the same look he’d had the night before, both sad and fierce.

  Kaylie leaned forward, putting her elbows on the table. “Okay, Jake, since we’re conducting a postmortem here, I have a question for you. Why did you dump me?”

  He blinked a couple of times and she thought he wouldn’t answer.

  “Forget it, I’m out of here,” she said as she started to stand.

  Jake put out a hand. “Wait, wait. Please, just sit down. Let me explain.”

  Kaylie sat down, the expression on her face mutinous.

  Jake pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger before he dropped his hand and looked at her.

  “Kaylie, when I met you, you were wild. You swore you would never settle down, never go for the daily grind, all the nine-to-five bullshit. Before we got together, you dated half the football team, sometimes at the same time. I honestly thought we would go out a few times, have some fun, and then you’d be onto the next. When you told me that you loved me, I almost couldn’t believe it. Then, when you graduated, I was ready to settle down, get married, start a life. You were still half-wild and going on and on about travelling the world like a nomad, never getting stuck in the same kind of rut you saw other people get into. So, I decided to it was best to walk away, rather than waiting for you to settle down, to choose me over your next adventure.”

  He was going to continue speaking, but Kaylie held up a hand and he stopped. Throughout his little monologue, she had been staring at the table top, a blank expression on her face. Now, she lowered her hand, lifting her eyes to meet Jake’s and she was beyond pissed. Her jaw was clenched so tightly, she could barely speak as she stood up.

  “You know what, Jacob Coulter, I have decided that I do hate you. You are the most self-centered, cowardly, stupid excuse for a man I have ever met. You decided it was best to walk away. How about talking to me like a fucking adult, Jake? If you had, you might have understood that I was talking about living a full life, with a home, a job, and still enjoying every day to its fullest. I wanted it all.” Her eyes moved over his upper body, a sneer on her lips. “You were the one who wasn’t ready to settle down Jake, not me. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have jumped to dumbass conclusions and you would have tried everything to make it work.”

  After she delivered her last blow with deadly accuracy, Kaylie Masters grabbed her bag and headed out the door of the restaurant, her temper swirling around her. Jake had to grip his thighs hard enough to leave bruises to stop himself from jumping up and running after her. He knew better though. She was beyond pissed. It would take a few hours for her to calm down. If he went after her now, it was likely she would do a lot worse than kick him in the shin. She had a wicked right cross, courtesy of her older brother. />
  Jake looked up as Elaina plopped a steaming plate of pasta in front of him. She just shook her head at him.

  “You sure have a way with the ladies, hon,” she said before she wandered back into the kitchen. Jake figured Rob and his wife would hear all about the last five minutes from Elaina before he even took a bite of his food. He picked up his fork and realized that his appetite was completely gone. He dropped the utensil and carried his plate back to the kitchen. He’d have Rob or Sophia wrap it up. Maybe he’d feel more like eating after the ache in his chest went away.

  Chapter Three

  “Absolutely not, you flea-ridden furball,”

  Kaylie stared down in frustration at Beans, her rescue cat. The damn animal lowered his ears and growled at her.

  “No more food, Beans. The vet said you’re already ten pounds overweight. You’re officially on a diet. I want you to live into my old age with me since you are probably the only one who will want to be around.”

  The tub of lard glared at her for a few more seconds before turning his back, tail high in the air, and prancing away.

  Kaylie went back to making her own dinner of grilled cheese and tomato soup.

  “Great, now even the cat won’t want to have anything to do with me,” she muttered under her breath.

  “Talking to yourself again?”

  Kaylie whirled around and screamed, the spatula she was using to flip the grilled cheese held out in front of her like a sword. When she saw it was Jake, without another thought, she threw the thing at him like a blade. The sneaky asshole ducked as the utensil whizzed by his head.

  “Jake, you bastard! How the hell did you get in here?”

  He smirked at her. “I’ve known you long enough to know how your mind works. It wasn’t too hard to figure out where you keep your spare key. Don’t you think a fake rock is a little obvious? Especially since you don’t have any other rocks in your flower beds.”

  Kaylie put her hands on her hips. “Well, where would you keep your spare, Detective Coulter?”

  Jake leaned against the wall, crossing his arms over his chest. “Nowhere near the front door. Or even the back. Probably somewhere to the side of the house and easy to conceal.”