From Your Heart

by Shannyn Schroeder

  Setting her near-empty box beside his, she reached for his hand. “This was sweet. It was completely unexpected and I appreciate it. The orgasm was a nice bonus. Even without that, this would count as a date.” She stroked her thumb over his knuckles. “I know five is an arbitrary number. It sits in the back of my head as I’m getting to know a guy. But we have history. We kind of know each other.”

  “I remember a lot about you, but you’re different now.”

  “Different good or different bad?”

  “Just different. I haven’t figured out the details yet, but I’m looking forward to it.”

  “I like this.” She pointed between them. “The sex had always been good and what happened here is a blatant example that hasn’t changed. But I want to be sure. About you. About us.”

  “I know. I’m not trying to push.”

  “You’re pretty pushy.”

  “It’s a family trait. All in the genes.”

  A bell rang and she squeezed his hand. “That’ll be my last delivery.”

  “I should get going anyway.”

  They stood and he took the chance to kiss her again. Their tongues barely touched when the bell buzzed again.

  “I gotta go,” she murmured against his lips.

  “Then get outta here.” He swatted her ass as she walked away. He cleaned up their breakfast mess while she dealt with her delivery. The whole time he thought about what he could do to prove to her that he’d changed. Earning her trust became his most important goal.

  When the containers were tossed in the trash, he walked out of the office to say one last good-bye. He stopped in the hall while Kathy chatted with her delivery guy. Why he’d imagined some pot-bellied middle-aged dude with a hairy back and plumber’s crack, he didn’t know. Probably wishful thinking. The guy leaning on the cooler door beside Kathy had muscles bulging where Kevin hadn’t known muscles existed.

  Worse, Muscle Head was making Kathy smile. He was obviously putting some moves on her, and she just chatted away about some flower. The man’s eyes kept wandering to Kathy’s tits.

  “Hey, babe,” Kevin said as he neared and put a hand around Kathy’s hip. “Did you need any help with the delivery before I head to work?”

  She gave him a confused look, but the delivery guy got the message clear.

  “I better get going. See you next week?”

  “Yep,” she said cheerfully.

  When the guy had gone out the back door, she asked, “What was that about? Since when do you call me babe?”

  “Does it bother you?”

  She angled her face and took a moment to consider it. “I guess not. But it came out of nowhere. Or do you just assume that because your hand was in my pants, you can call me whatever you want?”

  “I wanted to make it clear to your delivery boy that you’re taken.”

  “What?”

  Kevin pointed at the now-closed back door. “The guy was hitting on you.”

  “No he wasn’t. We were talking.”

  “You were talking. He was staring at your tits.”

  She crossed her arms over her chest self-consciously. “He was not.”

  He took her arms and moved them away from her body. “They’re great tits to look at. But they’re for me, not him.”

  “Possessive much?”

  “Hey, I’m playing by your rules. You said no one else. I like that idea. It means that this”—he allowed his gaze and then his hands to slide over her body—“is all mine.”

  She shivered and closed her eyes. “I wasn’t giving him anything.”

  “I know.” He waited until she looked up again. “I know you wouldn’t. You should make it clear to guys like him that they don’t have a chance.”

  Placing a hand on her cocked hip, she asked, “And are you doing the same? Announcing to the world that you’re taken?”

  “Yep.”

  “You are not.”

  “I tell anyone who’ll listen that I convinced the prettiest girl to give me another chance even though I don’t deserve it. You want more proof?” He stomped to the back door and flung it open. To the empty alley, he yelled, “Kevin O’Malley is officially off the market!”

  Kathy grabbed at his arm. “What are you doing? I have to work in this neighborhood.”

  “I want you to know that I’m not kidding.”

  “I got it.”

  He smirked. “Okay. I’ll call you later.”

  “Maybe we can have dinner?”

  “I’d love to, but I’m not sure how late I’ll be at the office.” He flipped through his mental calendar, but couldn’t recall anything that would cause him to be at the office late. Then again, he’d thought that yesterday too. He closed the back door and locked it. “Walk me out, so you can relock the front door.”

  “Yes, sir,” she said cockily.

  “Hmmm . . . I like the sound of that. Maybe you can try master next.”

  Kathy burst into laughter. “That’s never gonna happen, but you keep dreaming.”

  He pulled her close at the front door and kissed his way from her mouth down her neck. “I bet I can make you say it.”

  “You play dirty.”

  “That’s the only way to play.” He stepped back and pulled his keys from his pocket. “Lock up behind me.”

  “Talk to you later. Have a good day at work.”

  “You too.” He walked reluctantly out the door and waited to hear her lock it. He wished he could take the day to play hooky. He couldn’t remember the last time he just took a day to have fun. His career had been his main focus for the last few years, but having Kathy back in his life had made him start to reevaluate his priorities. His career was still important, but now he wanted to make time for her.

  * * *

  Later that day, Kathy fussed with her hair and makeup. Kevin had managed to get out of the office early enough to go to dinner at a decent hour. She wanted to look good for him. She told herself it had nothing to do with the orgasm he’d given her this morning. The fact of the matter was she hadn’t put in effort for him. With the exception of the wedding and bachelorette party, she hadn’t even dressed nicely. So this time, she was out to impress.

  He texted to say that he was running a few minutes late. She recognized that as being new for him. In the past, he would’ve just shown up whenever and expected her to be waiting. Part of her knew she needed to stop thinking about the past, but she feared overlooking obvious warning signs like she had before.

  Was she really giving him a second chance if she was constantly comparing Kevin today to Kevin from five years ago? She didn’t know. But she knew that she was nervous for their date tonight. He kept saying that he’d play by her rules, but he pushed.

  This morning was the perfect example. She was a total pushover. She’d told him five dates and then she completely caved. And now she was primping for him. Lust and sex were making her lose focus.

  She wanted to call Moira, but her best friend was still on her honeymoon. Kathy didn’t know what to think.

  Her doorbell rang, leaving her exactly no time to consider anything. She buzzed Kevin in and waited by the front door. He strode through the hall in jeans and a T-shirt, making her feel overdressed in her sundress.

  “Hey,” he said as he entered. “You look great.” Leaning in, he kissed her cheek. “Where do you want to go?”

  Before she could answer, his phone vibrated in his pocket.

  “I’m hungry, so dinner would be great,” she said.

  The buzzing started again. He groaned. “Sorry. Let me check this.”

  While he swiped at the screen, she packed her purse. When she turned back, his face was still staring at the phone. His eyebrows were drawn and his lips tugged into a frown. “Fuck.”

  “Everything okay?”

  He glanced up. “It’s work. The mayor wants a new draft of something I did for him.”

  “And he’s calling you now?” She glanced at the clock. Seven in the evening.

  He s
ighed.

  “You have to go, don’t you?”

  He nodded. “You could come with me.”

  “That doesn’t make much sense.”

  “I can probably get this done within a half hour. Then we can grab something downtown.”

  He was trying. She’d give him that. “It’s okay. We’ll try for another day.”

  “No. I told you we’d go out tonight. I don’t want to put it off again. A half hour, I promise.”

  She smiled. He seemed so sure of himself. And she hadn’t been downtown in a while, other than driving through to get to Navy Pier for the party. “Okay.”

  If nothing else, they could talk on the ride there. Plus, she’d get to see where he worked. She wanted to see the other side of Kevin O’Malley. The side that worked at city hall and networked with politicians.

  “You’re an awesome girlfriend, you know that?”

  Her heart jumped at him calling her his girlfriend. Silly thing. “I am quite the catch.”

  “You are.”

  Where she had been flippant, he spoke seriously. As she locked up, her neighbor Mrs. Thomas walked down the hall.

  “Hi, Mrs. Thomas.”

  “Hello, Kathy. My, you’re looking pretty tonight. And who is this?” she asked, looking at Kevin.

  “Kevin O’Malley, ma’am. I’m officially off the market because Kathy is my girlfriend.”

  Mrs. Thomas laughed. “Good to know.”

  Kathy took Kevin’s hand. “Are you going to keep doing that?”

  “What?”

  “Announcing that we’re together and you’re off the market.”

  “Yep.”

  “That’s ridiculous.”

  He led them to his car. “You seem to be under some illusion that I’m fighting women off day in and day out. If I have to make constant announcements to let you and everyone else know that I’m with you, I can live with that.”

  She sat down in the car and waited for him to get in. “It’s over the top and you know it.”

  “It might be. But I expect you to tell a man who’s hitting on you that you’re not interested because you’re taken. I’m willing to do the same.”

  Listening to him created more questions in her head. “Did you think I was sleeping with other guys before?”

  He pulled out into traffic to head to downtown and said, “Hmm?”

  “When we were dating, did you think I was sleeping with other people?”

  He was quiet for a minute. “I didn’t think much about it. If I’d considered it, it would’ve made me crazy, but I also knew that I had no claim on you because I hadn’t offered monogamy. I thought we were casual.”

  She didn’t know what answer she’d been expecting or hoping for, but that one didn’t sit right with her. Irritation danced along her neck and she turned her head to try to get rid of it. She was supposed to be moving past all that and she didn’t even know why his answer bothered her. He was being honest, which was what she’d asked for.

  Kevin reached across the seat and grabbed her hand. “You okay?”

  “Yeah.” It wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t entirely true either.

  They drove in silence, listening to the radio. When they reached downtown, Kevin pulled into an underground parking lot. As they walked together, he put his arm around her shoulders.

  “I’m sorry our night got screwed up again.”

  “It’s okay. You’ll finish your work and then we’ll eat.”

  They rode the elevator up, and Kathy was intrigued to see where he worked. The space had some cubicle-like areas divided, but there were more open spaces with tables together. Overall, she couldn’t imagine more than ten people working here at a time though. Office doors were closed along one wall.

  No one else appeared to be around. Kevin grabbed a chair and wheeled it behind him to one of the cubicles. “You can sit here.”

  He took his own seat in front of his computer and booted it up. Kathy sat and crossed her legs. She pulled out her phone and scrolled through Facebook. Kevin started to mumble at his screen. When his office line rang, she stood to give him privacy.

  “Yes, Mayor Park,” he said.

  Kathy waved at him and wandered into a conference room, which offered a beautiful scene of the city. Twenty minutes later, Kevin was still talking and typing and her stomach growled, announcing how empty it was. Since they came in his car, she couldn’t just leave. That would be a crappy thing to do anyway.

  Then she had a brilliant idea. Kevin had delivered breakfast to her this morning, so she’d have dinner brought to them. Hopping back on her phone, she placed an order for Chinese food and then went downstairs to meet the delivery guy. On her way down, she hoped she wouldn’t need any special pass to get back up.

  In the lobby, a security guard stood by the door and one manned a desk. She approached the desk. “Hi. I’m upstairs working with Kevin O’Malley. I just ordered dinner to be delivered.”

  The guard eyed her up and down and she fought the cringe. She knew she looked like she was on a date.

  She took a deep breath. “Should I stay down here to wait for the delivery, or can you send him up?”

  “We can send him up.”

  “Do I need an ID or anything to get back up in the elevator?”

  “The bank on the left will get you where you need to be.”

  “Thank you.”

  She took the elevator back up and when it dinged, she saw Kevin stand at his desk to see who was coming in. His desk phone was still at his ear, and he gave her such a pitiful look that she felt sorry for him.

  When she got back to the desk, he mouthed, “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s fine. Is there a vending machine where I can get us some drinks?”

  “Can you hold on one minute, Mayor?”

  Kathy’s eyes popped wide. Who told the mayor to hang on? That seemed kind of ballsy. Then Kevin set the phone on the desk and pulled her close. “You’re the best girlfriend ever.” He planted a quick kiss on her lips and handed her a wad of cash. “The vending machines are in the staff lounge down the hall on the right.”

  Then he picked up the phone again and began talking. By the time she got a couple cans of pop from the machine, the elevator dinged again and their dinner arrived.

  Kathy paid the delivery guy and carried the food and drinks to the conference room. Once she had everything spread out, she hoped Kevin might really be done.

  “Kathy?” he called.

  “In your fancy conference room.”

  A minute later, he stood at the door. “What’s this?”

  “You were working so hard, I ordered food. It seemed like your quick fix wasn’t happening.”

  He sighed and hung his head. “I’m almost done. The mayor really likes to talk.” He came into the room and sat at the table. “I think I can take a break for dinner.”

  They spent time eating and laughing. Kevin told her about what the mayor had him working on. Their evening hit a smooth stride again, and she enjoyed their time together. After they finished eating, she told him to go back to work and she’d clean up.

  Taking care of the mess, she thought about their odd dates. So far, she and Kevin had attended a wedding together because they were both part of the wedding party, enjoyed breakfast at her shop, and had dinner in his office. She laughed. When she thought about being won over by a man, this wasn’t what came to mind.

  But it worked. If nothing else, she’d get one hell of a kiss good night.

  Chapter Ten

  A week later, Kevin questioned his sanity in trying to land the new liaison position with the mayor. He’d been scrambling to do anything the mayor needed, including offering to handle the lackluster city events calendar. And he had no fucking clue what he was doing. Against his better judgment, he went to Moira. If anyone understood a social calendar, it was her.

  When the door opened, she stood in her shorts and tank top, staring at him. “Jimmy’s at work.”

  “Okay. I’m here to
see you.”

  Her pink forehead wrinkled. “Why?”

  Holding up the paper file in his arms, he said, “Can I come in and explain it?”

  She opened the door wider and walked barefoot into the living room. Their house was a little smaller than his dad’s but not by much. He knew Jimmy was looking forward to starting a family of his own. Papers spilled across the top of the dining room table all around her laptop. “Looks like you got some sun while on the honeymoon.”

  She and Jimmy had gone to Disney World.

  “Go figure. Florida in the summer,” she answered.

  “I didn’t think Jimmy would let you leave the bedroom.”

  “I’m not discussing my sex life with you.” Gathering some papers into a pile, she said, “Have a seat.”

  He pulled out his own laptop and set the file on the table.

  “What do you have going on that you think I can help with?” she asked as she sat in a chair, pulling her feet up on the edge.

  “You know I work in the mayor’s office, right?”

  She nodded.

  “He’s heading up a new initiative to outsource the tourism board. We’ve got the field of companies to work with narrowed down, and he’s going to announce soon.”

  “What does this have to do with you? Or me?”

  “He’s going to need to appoint a liaison for this. I want it. So to prove how much I want it and how good I’ll be at the job, I’ve been bending over backward to do anything he asks. This is the latest task.” He shoved the file folder closer to her.

  She flipped the folder open. “What the hell is this?”

  “Stupid-ass notes from the woman who was in charge of the city calendar. Can you believe this was what she worked from? For years. I don’t know where to begin.”

  “Dump the paper first.” She scanned through the stack, much as he’d done when it was delivered to his desk. “You need to automate.”

  “How the fuck do I do that?”

  She sighed. “Talk to whoever is in charge of the city website. Have them add a plug-in or whatever so there’s a form to fill in. Items can just be plopped onto the calendar automatically. Well, maybe you want to have to approve things first. Otherwise who knows what you’ll get.”