by Ann, Natalie
“I guess you’re right; it’s time. My mother did mention something about the party a few days ago and I sort of brushed it off when you didn’t bring it up.”
She didn’t want to tell him she’d been hurt that he hadn’t asked her to go. Now she was at least relieved that wasn’t the case.
As soon as she hung up with Ryan, she went to her father’s office to break the news to him. Surprisingly he seemed fine with it. At least she thought he was after he got over his initial shock.
The next call was to her mother, because her father said he wasn’t letting her out of the office until she told her mother personally.
He didn’t think Isabel would believe him if he broke the news to her. Again, surprisingly her mother seemed pretty mellow about it, too. That was after a moment of silence on the phone, where Kaitlin had to ask if she was still there.
After both her parents knew, she swore them to secrecy so that she and Ryan could inform everyone else tonight. She would let her parents know once everyone that was important in their lives knew. Then they would be free to talk amongst themselves.
Which she knew was going to happen. She just hoped what they said wasn’t too bad, because she wasn’t changing her mind about Ryan. And nothing they could say would make her.
Ben was going to be the toughest nut to crack, so he was her first target.
“I’m glad you could come to dinner tonight,” she said, reaching up and giving him a kiss on the cheek when he arrived at her house that night.
He was so handsome. Her favorite brother. Though she would never tell Alec and Phil that. But Ben was the closest to her in age, even though he was four years older. Alec and Phil had the twin bond thing going so that left her and Ben for each other. She was glad of it, actually hoped to use it to her advantage tonight.
She watched him open her refrigerator and bend over from his six-foot-two-inch height and grab a beer. He was still dressed in his work clothes—since he came directly from there. Well, if jeans and a black shirt with AMC security embroidered on the front was considered a uniform.
As the Director of Security at Albany Medical Center, he didn’t need to dress in a uniformed shirt, though he did. He’d never been the suit-and-tie type of person and he liked to make his presence known, stating who he was.
Thankfully he left his gun in his SUV. At least she thought he did. She didn’t see it on his belt, but for all she knew he had another one on his ankle. She’d never asked him about any of his missions as a Navy SEAL, and she didn’t want to know. But she knew he almost always had a firearm on him.
“Thanks for inviting me. It saves me from getting takeout tonight or eating in the hospital cafeteria again.”
Rather than look for a bottle opener in the drawer, he popped the top of his beer on the ring he always wore on his right hand. She never inquired about the silver band with the intricate design on it, either. All she knew was he’d never been without it since he left the service.
“Nothing fancy tonight, just steak and baked potatoes on the grill.” She knew he would be happy with that. He had always been a simple eater, never a gourmet foodie. And after being in the service he would eat just about anything.
“Sounds good,” he replied, then sat on the couch and propped his long legs on her coffee table. Crossing his ankles, he reached for the remote.
She leaned over and grabbed it out of his hand. “Hang on a minute. I need to talk to you. Let me just go check the potatoes on the grill first though.”
He nodded and frowned at her. “I better not be getting another lecture.”
“What?” She stopped and turned. “No, not that. Something else,” she said, then walked out of the room.
She came back in and was just ready to sit on the couch next to him when her cell phone chimed. Detouring to the table, she picked it up and glanced at the words that appeared on the screen from Ryan. Lucas and Jack down, all’s good. Going to my mom’s now. Should be fine. Good luck with your brothers.
She couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across her face and typed back quickly. Starting with Ben right now. I’ll call you later.
“Message from your boyfriend?” Ben asked with a smirk.
Too late she realized he had been watching her face while she replied back to Ryan. He’d been dropping hints about her having a boyfriend for weeks, but she had been close-lipped over who she was dating. That was after he finally got her to admit she was even dating someone. Since then he’d been watching her for clues, she knew. “Actually, yes.” She took a deep breath. “That’s why I asked you come over tonight.”
“What? Is he giving you a hard time? Need me to talk to him?” He sat up straighter.
“No!” This was not going well at all. “Nothing like that. I just wanted to tell you who he is since you won’t stop bothering me about it,” she said, trying to joke and lighten the mood. “You know him.”
“I do?”
“Yes.” She took a deep breath. “I’ve been dating Ryan.” There she said it. It was out.
“Ryan who?” He lifted his beer to lips.
“Ryan Mathews.”
He started to cough, choked on his beer, then burst out laughing. “No, seriously. Who is it?”
That wasn’t the reaction she was expecting and she wasn’t sure if it was a good sign or not. She crossed her arms and pinned him with a stare. The one she reserved for when she was annoyed with him.
His laughter died down as he became aware she wasn’t joking. And that she was glaring at him. Hard. Enough to make him squirm. Just like when they were kids. But not enough to stop the words from tumbling out of his mouth. “Oh, hell no!” he roared.
If looks could kill, he would be dead right now. “I’m a grown woman. I don’t need you telling me who I can and can’t date.”
He stopped and put his beer on the coffee table. “Listen, Katie.” She glared even harder. “Kaitlin,” he corrected. “Listen, you don’t know what he’s like.”
“I most certainly do. I’ve been dating him for almost a month,” she said, adding to insult to injury. Might as well come clean.
He groaned. “You’re too good for him,” he said quickly.
“I would like to think we are good enough for each other.”
“You don’t how he is with women,” he said sarcastically.
She was afraid to ask, but she needed to know. “Does he cheat on them?”
“Not that I’m aware of,” he answered honestly, then shook his head. “Doesn’t matter. You’re still too good for him.”
“Then what? I already know he dates a lot. So do you and Alec. Matter of fact, you and Alec have been known to go out with him.” She narrowed her eyes at him harder.
He fidgeted more in his seat.
Before he could answer, she interrupted him again. “You’ve been friends with him a long time. Can you just look beyond the fact that I’m your sister for the moment?”
“That’s a little hard to do,” he said with a pained expression on his face.
She sighed and uncrossed her arms. She knew he meant well. But she needed to get through to him. She needed at least one of her brothers on her side and if Ben was, then the rest would follow.
“Try harder. Aside from the fact that he likes to date a lot of different women—which is no different than you or Alec—name one other thing about him that makes him not good enough for me.”
He stared at her. She knew she had him when he couldn’t come up with anything off the top of his head. “But you and Ryan? Geez, Katie, you’re killing me here,” he complained. Her glare got worse, in the end he sighed and simply said, “Just be careful.”
Alec was a little easier to get through to, but not by much. As soon as Ben left, she called him. He hadn’t been too happy. Alec was the closest of her brothers to Ryan, but when she used the same logic on him that she did Ben, he had no choice but to concede and say the same thing. “Just be careful.”
She hadn’t been able to do much more than
leave a message on Phil’s phone. But hours later he sent her a simple text. I won’t warn you. I’m sure the others already have. Just be happy. She almost cried when she received that message. Leave it to Phil to always know the right thing to say.
Once everyone on her side of the family was informed, she called Ryan and broke the news. “Well, it’s over.”
“What do you mean by over?”
“Everyone knows now. And for the most part they all seem fine. At least in the end they did. I think we are in the clear,” she said, trying to joke.
He let out a breath. “Good to know. Guess I can enjoy myself on Saturday and not worry about any daggers in my back.”
“I’m not so sure about that.” She laughed again, feeling the stress of the day waning.
Your Friends
Ryan saw Kaitlin’s car pull into his driveway and made his way outside to meet her. He tried not to whimper when he noticed her backside was the only thing visible while she reached into the trunk.
He had all he could do not to run his hands along the back of her legs, lifting the bottom of her little sundress up. Just a bit, just to see what treasuries were hidden underneath. “What do you need help with?”
She jumped up with a start, backing right into him, then she tried to tug the sundress down. His arms come around her from behind, steadying her.
“Easy there,” he said, laughing. Then did groan when she relaxed and pressed her rear end into him, and tilted her head up seeking a kiss. He found she was more touchy-feely than she admitted to. Or maybe it was only with him. He hoped so.
He lowered his mouth to hers. What he intended to be soft and sweet, quickly turned into more with his hands sliding up from her waist to cup her breasts, her backside arching into his groin.
When he lifted his head, she turned around and wrapped her arms around his neck to kiss him properly. Her fingers ran through is his hair, messing it up, then ran across the whiskers on his cheek. “I guess it can get a bit rough,” she whispered. “But still plenty soft.” With a sly look, she asked, “Sure we need to go this party?”
She was testing his resolve. Trying to push back the moan that wanted to escape from his lips, he let go of her to step back and give himself some breathing room. Soon, he hoped. He wasn’t sure he could wait much longer. Today would be the deciding factor. “We have a surprise to deliver,” he said through a strained voice.
“I’ve got a surprise too,” she mumbled.
“What?” He didn’t think he heard her correctly but was afraid he did.
“Oh nothing,” she said coyly. “OK, let’s get this transferred to your car since you know the way better than I do. It’s been a while since I’ve been around the lake. I’m sure I could find my way if you want to just take my car though. Or you can drive my car if you want?”
“Neither of us is driving a car. We’re taking my boat over.”
“The boat? Why?” She looked down at her dress with a frown.
“It’s faster. And there will be more than enough cars there, one less helps out. No one else goes over by boat. Though Mac might, to be honest. Zoe has a fondness for boats now,” he said, as an afterthought. “Either way, I usually go to my parents’ by boat when the weather is good.”
Then he looked at her dress a bit closer and wished he’d warned her. She looked really pretty in the white sundress. Striking actually, next to her black hair and dark eyes.
The straps of the halter-top were working extra hard to keep everything in place, but looking tasteful at the same time. The dress was cut very close to her body, showcasing her tiny waist, and flaring slightly at her hips, but draping loosely around her legs, stopping above her knees. She might have to hold her dress in place on the water. Maybe it was a good thing he didn’t tell her, he thought with a grin.
“OK,” she said dubiously. “I’ll get the cookies out of the back if you want to get the rest of my stuff out of the trunk.”
Ryan reached in to grab the big cooler when his eyes landed on a tote-like bag. “What’s in the bag?”
She turned and smiled, a smile that had him looking at her nervously. “Just a change of clothes, my bathing suit, sweater and such. In case it gets a little cool. Good thing too. Maybe I should put the sweater on now for the ride over so I don’t have to worry about the top of my dress flashing the other boaters. Then I can hold the bottom down,” she said as an afterthought.
Pity, the thought of her dress parting brought a grin to his face. He threw the bag over his shoulder and grabbed the large cooler out. “Does it need to stay in the cooler or was it just for transporting?”
“It doesn’t have to stay cold, but it won’t hurt it either.” She followed him around the back of the house with a large tray of cookies in her hands, carefully watching where she stepped.
“You all right there?” he asked when he noticed she slowed down. He saw her looking at the ground as she walked around the house. He had been too busy looking at her assets in her dress to notice the wedges she had on her feet, with a ribbon tied around each ankle.
It was going to be a long day. Even her legs looked sexy. “There are paving stones leading to the dock once we get around back; it will be easier for you to walk then.”
***
“Hand me the rope, Katie,” Thomas instructed as he stood on the dock.
Kaitlin had been on the water and around boats enough in her life that she knew what she was doing but was just as happy to have help, considering how she was dressed.
She really wished she had asked Ryan in advance what she should wear. She was used to dressing for parties in Manhattan and realized that she might be overdressed.
As Thomas was tying the back of the boat off, Ryan crawled along the top of the cabin to tie off the bow.
Kaitlin was trying not to stare, but she couldn’t help it. He had on a soft fitted shirt that did nothing to hide his biceps, which were flexing while he reached forward and looped the rope around the dock.
In straight-leg tan shorts she could see how muscular his thighs and legs were and couldn’t wait to see them up close a bit more, later tonight. She hoped. She wasn’t letting on just yet, but she had no intention of going home after this party. She even had the overnight supplies to prove it, tucked away in her tote bag.
“Give me your hand, Katie,” Thomas offered once she finished stuffing her sweater back in her bag.
She reached out to Thomas, not shocked in the least when he lifted her up and set her on the dock. He was bigger than Ryan. Even though he was decades older, he was still as strong as he always was.
But then he stunned her and pulled her in for a big hug, and whispered in her ear, “Keep him in line.”
“Anyone else here?” Ryan asked, looking at the yard that was shy of people, oblivious to the words spoken to Kaitlin.
“Lucas, Mac and their families are all inside. Beth and Brooke wanted to get the babies down for a nap here so they didn’t have to wake them up early. And Jack and Cori should be here any minute. They wanted to come early to talk about wedding plans.”
Ryan looked at Kaitlin. “Is it okay to leave the cooler in the boat for now?”
“Yes, as long as you keep it out of the sun.”
“Here, Dad, take the cookies.” Ryan handed the tray over, then picked the cooler up and stowed it in the cabin. Once he was done, he effortlessly leapt onto the dock and the three of them made their way toward the house.
Kaitlin watched amazed when a blonde child loudly squealed, “Ryan” and then came running at them full force. Ryan plastered a bright smile on his face and didn’t hesitate to pick the little girl up on a full run. “How’s my girl?” he asked.
She grasped both of his whiskered cheeks in her hands, squeezing them together and giving him a kiss on his already puckered lips. “Good. Will you take me on the boat later?” she asked.
“If Mommy and Daddy say yes.” He laughed at Kaitlin’s face. “I learned the hard way not to tell Zoe yes to anything withou
t checking with Mac or Beth first. Not after the first time I took her on the boat when she was supposed to be taking a nap. That had resulted in a mild temper tantrum, then a time out. I still feel guilty over it,” he said with a wink.
“Mommy, Daddy, Ryan’s here,” Zoe yelled, her little curly pigtails swinging as she bounced excitedly in his arms. Zoe’s parents, Kaitlin assumed, followed by Lucas and his wife, stepped outside. “Ryan said I can go on the boat,” Zoe informed them happily.
“Later,” Ryan clarified. “If Mommy and Daddy say yes,” he reminded her and tried not to look too guilty.
“Can I, Daddy?” she asked her father. She obviously knew who to go to when she really wanted something.
Zoe’s father laughed. “We will see. But right now we need to meet Ryan’s new friend.”
Zoe seemed to finally take notice of Kaitlin standing next to Ryan and tightened her hold around his neck. “My friend,” she said and laid her head on his shoulder.
“Come here, Zoe.” He reached out for his daughter. “Ryan is everybody’s friend,” he said gently, then transferred Zoe to his arms.
Ryan laughed. “Kaitlin, this is Zoe, as I’m sure you’ve figured out. And this is her father, Mac, and her mother, Beth Malone. And the little one in Beth’s arms is their son, Evan.”
Kaitlin smiled politely but couldn’t help feeling out of place in front of Beth. Beth was gorgeous. She had long blonde hair, was tall and thin—built like a model, even though she had given birth less than two months ago. A strong bout of jealously coursed through her. First over the baby that she wished she had by now, and second for the body she’d always dreamed of.
Lucas came forward and gave Kaitlin a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “It’s good to see you again, Kaitlin.” He released her and turned to introduce his wife. “This is Brooke. Who also happens to be Mac’s sister.”
Kaitlin noticed the resemblance between the siblings was uncanny, both had brown wavy hair, light brown eyes, and both were smiling at her sweetly. “Hi, Kaitlin.” Brooke reached a hand out, which only made Lucas laugh. “What?” she said to her husband. “Not everyone greets people with a hug,” she explained. Then she turned back to Kaitlin. “I love your dress.”
