“Katie, sweetheart, this is Gabriella, an ex-girlfriend.” Daniel then turned to the beauty and motioned with his hands toward her. “Gabriella, this is Katie Sparrow, my date now and for the wedding.”
“Katie? You mean Kate Sparrow? The woman who stepped on bodies to get out of the club?” Gabriella’s eyes grew so large Kate wondered if they’d pop out of their sockets. “You’re joking. She’s the worst sort of woman for a doctor about to open his own practice.”
“What?” Kate pounced and took a step closer. Kate-the-superficial was back. Daniel squeezed her hand.
“That’s impolite, Gabriella,” Daniel answered fast. “Katie’s here with me.”
“Never speak to me like that,” Gabriella snapped.
Was he scolding his ex? Kate shook her head.
Both Daniel and Gabriella stopped and stared at her. She gulped. Kate tilted her head. “Yes. I’m the Kate Sparrow you’ve read about. Does it bother you that I’m Daniel’s date?”
The woman stepped back. “Aren’t you the bride’s sister?”
Kate shrugged. “We were going to our room, now.”
“Your room?” Gabriella’s mouth seemed to get stuck open. Then her gaze changed and she gave Daniel big weepy eyes that spoke volumes.
Kate refused to bend now. Instead, she ran her hand down his back then squeezed his buttocks.
Gabriella’s face turned red.
Kate smiled as Gabriella crossed her arms and took a step away from them. “I had no idea. Daniel, when you want to go back to your normal, respectable life, call me.”
Kate’s skin grew goose bumps and heat rose to her shoulders then up to her head. Daniel hugged her waist. Her heart pattered for a new reason, but Kate refused to notice. She swallowed, then called out, “Don’t hold your breath, girlie. No one goes back to boring little nothings.”
Daniel dragged her away.
Kate pressed her lips together and let her next comment die on her lips.
On the next landing, Kate’s head began to clear. How dare the unknown woman insult her? Entertainment news never depended on facts and that woman had the audacity to throw it in her face. Her blood boiled, but she kept her mouth shut.
They went down another flight.
She breathed better now that her nose wasn’t flaring. “Kiss me, Daniel.”
Daniel ran his hand through his hair. “Katie, what happened with Gabriella is . . . I went out with her twice, but we never did anything. She wanted to be a doctor.”
She dropped her shoulders, but stood on her tiptoes. “I said, ‘Kiss me.’”
“You don’t give up easy, Katie.” He opened a door.
Her heartbeat grew. She followed Daniel, but she needed to kiss him. Where was that spark she had felt? In the hall to their room, she opened her mouth and words fell out, “You weren’t surprised Gabriella was here. For a two-date thing, no woman would show up on a cruise for a guy.”
“I knew she’d been invited to my cousin’s wedding.” He stepped backward. “She came with another ex-girlfriend.”
“Another?”
Daniel came closer again. “Yeah. That one lasted a month before she planned a wedding.”
“A wedding? Did you let her believe you’d get back together with her?” Kate folded her hands just to be sure. She could block off the women, if he deserved her protection.
“No.” He stared at Kate’s brown eyes, and moved one of the bags off the couch to the floor.
She backed up. “Women don’t plan weddings without being asked.”
He stopped moving, and she shook her head. He dropped his arms to his sides, “It happens to me. Gabriella planned our whole lives together, forgetting the part that I never asked for any of it. I hardly knew her.” Daniel shook his head. “Women do that a lot to me, Katie. They see my family wealth or that I’m a doctor.”
People believed her horrible because of her last name. She dropped her arms from her sides. “I get judged on my name, too.”
He leaned against the wall. “You have it worse.”
Her eyes wandered him up and down, and she leaned back on the other wall. He had enough money to do, whatever, he wanted. He had a good family. Daniel was not the guy she needed to fall in love with, even if her skin was hyperaware of where he touched her with her clothes on. She pushed her head up to stare at him. “Don’t worry about me. You’re not my type.”
Her entire skin heated the second he stepped back toward her. She needed water to cool her down, but no bottles were in the room. She scooted past him and found her bag next to a bed. She picked it up and found her sneakers.
Without a word, he sat next to her on the bed, though two feet from her side. “What is your type of guy?”
“Independent. Strong. Goes after what he wants, including me. Unbribeable, and not seeking the limelight.” She laughed as she listed off what her prince would be like. She scooted closer to him. “You’re far too rich, Daniel. It’s not on the list. So when my troubles are over, I’m moving to Boise, changing my name, and transforming myself in one of those western towns. I’ll be a waitress in a small town, away from everyone I ever met.”
His brow wrinkled. “Where did you get that idea?”
“Books.” She laughed, and realized she sounded ridiculous.
“Besides not being poor or a cowboy”—Daniel shook his head—“I’m happy here with you.”
Goose bumps rose on her body and so did her body heat. She shook her head. “Self-centered, bossy, and too sure of yourself.” Kate shrugged and scooted away. She needed air. “Let’s get going.”
He sat still. “You didn’t ask me my type of woman, Katie?”
“You have one? I saw your last girlfriend. Not much in the way of brains.” She sucked in her breath, ready to hear his retort.
He said nothing.
She closed her eyes, and told herself not to be mean. “Go on. Don’t stop now.”
Daniel stared at the wall. “The girl I want to marry is soft, sweet, can bake a pie from scratch—”
“I’ve never cooked a day in my life, so I’m out.” She scooted closer to him. “Besides, Kate Sparrow doesn’t fall in love anyhow, and not with a man that has his exes following him.”
“There are no women, Katie.” Daniel gazed into her eyes. In her dreams, at night, she hoped to find a man in love with her.
She had issues, and love wasn’t on the schedule. She tapped her finger on her knee. “You don’t want a wife. You want a woman to be friends with your brother’s wife and perhaps bear you a child. Many women have never baked anything.”
“I was joking about the pie.”
She brushed her hair behind her ear. “Are you planning on opening your own practice?”
He nodded. “Yeah. In my hometown. I bought a house.”
“That sounds permanent and safe.”
He shrugged. “I like predictable.”
She shook her head to build up a wall. She never had a home of her own where she was safe, not since childhood.
“Katie, you asked me to kiss you.”
“I changed my mind.” A chill on her back, she rushed toward the door. At the door, she swallowed her pride. “Go back to your family, Daniel. I’ll entertain myself.”
She opened the door, and ran away again. On the stairwell, she stopped and sat. She tried to stop the thump, thump, thump in her ears. Why had she let her mouth run off?
Daniel’s presence sent her heart into an area she had no room for.
How would she survive this trip with that man as her roommate? Every nerve ending in her body had told her to scoot closer to him on the bed, and taste another kiss.
Chapter 11
What was that crack that Katie never fell in love? Had she been that hurt or did she believe that wildness she spoke of?
Daniel scratched his head.
With no answer, he stood up and unpacked his bags. He had cared for everyone in his life, regardless of what had happened. He’d become a doctor to heal people.
Katie needs to trust him.
Daniel’s gut dropped and he stopped his thought mid-sentence.
He took out his shirt from his bag to hang in the closet.
He’d been wrong that she wasn’t wife material. Life was interesting and in color near her.
He hung up his shirts and slacks, but left her more than half the closet and all the other hangers. He stared at the door, and his feet pointed for him to go. He wouldn’t stay in the room alone.
Katie needed help.
In the hallway, he asked himself the hard question. What did he see in Katie? She’d make him a good wife. He froze. Was it time to settle down?
He shook off the thought.
He went up the stairs and checked that he had his phone. She needed space, but his GPS worked once he typed in his room number as his online password. She was stationary. With a loud breath, he entered the bar.
Daniel sank into the first seat and flagged down the bartender. The place was empty. Everyone was at one of the fancier ones upstairs. Daniel ordered a beer and let himself compartmentalize his thoughts of today in a semblance of order. Katie had called it a date. She’d been willing to let Gabriella have it, and the fire in Katie’s eyes turned him on.
No woman he’d ever met set his heart on fire.
He sipped his beer and let his body relax.
His mind cleared into nothing. On his third sip, Daniel wondered. Katie had been on the defensive. She’d need time to open up. Her kiss-me-then-don’t-kiss-me couldn’t be about another man, could it?
Daniel’s hands became fists for a moment. He’d find out.
“This seat taken, Daniel?”
The other ex-girlfriend on this trip. Was girlfriend the right word? One-month relationships don’t qualify as a friend. He tugged his ear. “I’m leaving in a minute.”
“Daniel, I’m glad I ran into you.” Margaritte stared at him.
The blonde’s smile seemed calculated. “Do you need something from me?”
“No. I miss us.”
He shook his head a bit. No, she wasn’t much of a friend. The floral perfume overwhelmed his noise. Katie smelled clean and fresh. Katie’s attitude meant she’d tell him her opinion on everything without a filter, and he smiled. Katie was more than a friend. He turned toward Margaritte. “I’m here with my date. After my beer, I’m off to find out where she is.”
“I’d be your date for a lifetime,” Margaritte answered. “And you’d never have to look far for me.”
Margaritte was everything he never wanted in his life. Kate was the complete opposite. She had promised him a date. “Guess I like the mystery.”
She licked her lips. “You changed.”
He shook his head. Margaritte didn’t know him. “I’m only interested in one woman, and Katie gets under my skin.”
He finished his last sip then stood up. Katie would make a fine wife, and he needed to find her.
Chapter 12
Kate clambered on the ship’s promenade deck again, then wandered into an art auction room set up, for a show later on. The canvases of artwork distracted her. Swirls of colors everywhere brightened her mood and helped her body come back from orbit.
Daniel had her mind on everything that wasn’t her mission on the ship. Her name needed to be cleared, and she’d get the documents. She refused to think about the six-foot-three doctor who held her and made her body tingle. She blinked and stared at another painting.
Why did so many people find flowers and landscapes peaceful?
She turned left and stared at a picture of a couple in an intimate embrace.
Daniel would make an excellent lover. Her body remained in overdrive, and she tried to shake it off. She crossed her arms and stared at another painting.
Kate decided to walk around the room to see a few more. She stared at a famous artist’s rendition of a landscape for a few minutes, and tried to keep her mind clear. Daniel in their room, on her bed, flashed in her mind.
Her face heated. Meditation hadn’t worked. Daniel’s backside was all muscle. She’d bet money the good doctor was in perfect shape.
She took a deep breath and left the art room. Near the library she saw families that played Pictionary. She crossed her arms, and ordered a hot tea to watch the scene. Mothers, fathers, sisters who all weren’t all-about-the-bottom-line worked together. Kate swallowed back bitterness. Teamwork and love were two things Kate hadn’t been a part of in a long time.
Daniel would be fun to play Pictionary with. She shouldn’t think about him or his dimples. She chewed on her lip. She had her sister and her father to worry about. She needed her freedom.
“Kate, you’re my mission.”
A chill raced down her spine. She turned around and stared at one of the men her father sent to capture her. She stepped backwards and gazed around for a way out.
The man held something in his hands that snapped. Her shoulders hunched together. “If you come quietly, this will all be over faster.”
Kate swallowed and shook her head. “I’m not going with you.”
There had to be a way out.
“The other two are much meaner than I am.” The man almost smiled with his crooked teeth.
Her mind raced. She’d seen that face. Her mind stretched back to her teenage years and her sixteenth birthday party. Bingo. “Harry, whatever my father promised, he can’t pay. He’s in jail.”
She stood up then raced into the shopping area. Harry stayed hot on her heels. She almost knocked some candy over then dashed into small clothing section and shoes. She went down on her hands and knees so he’d not see her.
Harry’s footsteps echoed in the store. He had followed her in. Her heart raced. This was not going to happen. She was not her father’s minion. With her hands curled into a fist, she tried to crawl her way out to a different exit.
Harry might choose to live in denial about her dad, but he’d not take her.
Footsteps sounded closer, and she stared at her heels. The spike would make a nice weapon if Harry came too close.
She should have changed into her sneakers as she planned.
Then Harry walked into the aisle and shook his head. Her mouth went dry. He came closer. “This isn’t a good hiding space. You of all people should know.”
She stood up, but wobbled. “Why me of all people?”
Harry snapped something metallic in his hand again. She stepped backwards. “Your father’s brilliant, and you’re his daughter.”
She sighed, and almost cleared out of the store. “My father is a thief and a liar.”
“So? Isn’t everyone?”
Someone else glared at her from down the hall. Her entire body shook. She couldn’t go that way. “No, Harry. Some people are kind.”
Her vision cleared, and she saw the hand cuffs. She rubbed her arms. Harry opened them. “You’re delusional, Kate. I came here to reason with you. The others will kill you.”
She snorted. There had to be a way. “Kill me is a threat.”
Harry shrugged. “It is.”
She rocked on her feet and could run into the casino. She swallowed. “Go away.”
“I can’t.”
She backed into the crowd and heard horrible karaoke in the background. She took a step towards the sound, and then ran as fast she could.
Her heels clicked in the hall, and Harry caught up with her. The throngs of people watched the horrible performances. She couldn’t push through. Harry came next to her. She pushed her hands away from him, so he’d not get her wrists. “If my father sent you, it’s because he doesn’t want me to turn any evidence against him into authorities.”
Harry’s hand brushed against her shoulder. Her entire body froze. “So you know why you need to come with me now.”
“Why?”
“You need to talk to your father.”
She rubbed her neck to get him off. “I’ll call him the second I get back to my room.”
“Now who is the liar?”
�
��Stop.” She shook her head. The crowd parted and she stepped away. “I tried to call him for months.”
Harry stayed close. “Without the police listening.”
She turned around and walked backwards. She’d not let him take her anywhere. She’d scream fire in the crowd. “He’s in jail. That’s impossible any other way.”
Borrowing the Doctor (The Collins Brothers Book 2) Page 7
