by Roze, Robyn
Time to start making introductions.
“Mornin’, Kyle,” he said with cheer, while tending to the omelet in the skillet.
Silence.
“You dialed the right number. Your sister’s asleep right now, didn’t wanna wake her.”
An unimpressed sigh traveled the airwaves. “Is this Tucker from the other side of the door last night?” He sounded mildly amused.
“Yep, that’s me.”
Kyle mumbled and the tapping sound in the background stopped.
“Well, Tucker, I’m actually glad you answered my sister’s phone. I have some things to say and I don’t want her butting in.”
Tucker grinned expectantly as he plated the first tasty omelet, then poured the second batch into the skillet. “Shoot.”
“My sister and I are close, always have been, always will be. I love to tease the hell out of her. Never mistake that for me not caring about what happens to her, not caring about who hurts her.”
Tucker sensed Kyle pointing his finger squarely at him.
“I’ve heard all about you, Tucker Williams. Cassie called me a while back worried about Kat. I’ve read about you on the Internet too. Let’s just say, you’ve got a mountain to climb with me. But unlike other members of my family, I trust my little sister’s judgment. If she thinks there’s something worthwhile about you, then I’m willing to give you a chance. But understand this: I’m the only one who will.”
Tucker already liked Kyle James—a straight shooter.
“I’m aware it’s gonna be an uphill battle. It’ll hardly be my first.” He jerked the skillet across the grate a few times.
“You had damned well better be with my sister for the right reasons. If I find out you’re not, I’ll come after you, Williams. Hard. Got it?”
“Loud and clear, Kyle. I’d just ask you to remember you can’t believe everything you read. Comin’ from a family like yours, I’m sure you know what I’m talkin’ about.”
Kyle exhaled loudly through the phone.
“Will you be at the family dinner this week?” Tucker didn’t know. Kat hadn’t said anything—yet.
“Yeah, I’ll be there,” he said with confidence, sliding the second omelet onto its white plate.
Kyle chuckled. “Oh, this is one family dinner I actually don’t want to miss. I can hardly wait to meet you in person, and then stand back to watch.” He cleared his throat, and then his tone became serious. “Listen, I admire the hell out of my sister for breaking away and doing what she wants with her life. Don’t you dare break her winning streak, Williams.”
The line went dead.
Tucker sighed, turned off the stove, and plugged Kat’s phone back into its charger. When he looked up, he took a double take at Kat strolling toward the bedroom wrapped in a thick white bath towel, blotting her hair with another. He hadn’t noticed her get out of bed, and hadn’t heard the shower running, either.
She pivoted at the doorway. Her gorgeous eyes raked across his bare chest and abs before her hungry gaze locked onto his. All the blood in his body rushed below deck, leaving him cocked and loaded, just from that one look.
“What’d you make for breakfast?” she said, low and sexy.
He couldn’t speak, only stare at her damp, glistening skin.
“Omelets.” He no longer felt hungry for anything other than what he had fixed in his sights.
“Stick them in the fridge. We’ll heat them up, later.” Her smile was full of wicked promises. His erection throbbed in reply. He did as asked. Didn’t have to tell him twice.
“You can tell me who you were talking to later. Right now, I just want to do you, Williams.”
Both towels dropped at her feet.
His vision tunneled, mouth like cotton, and the world fell away. Then she turned and bent at her hips to pick up the discarded towels. He huffed at the view of Kat’s long, lithe legs, stretched and rising up to balance her deliciously round ass. She remained like that for a few tantalizing seconds, on purpose he knew, so he could zero in on her soft, pink center, peeking out at him.
She rose, slowly, stepped into her bedroom, and tossed the towels on a hook behind the door. She sauntered to her bed, positioned her sexy ass on the edge, and reclined in a casual pose. “What’re you waiting for, Williams? Get your perfect ass in here—now.”
Her throaty command woke him. What the fuck? Had some idiot-switch flipped on in his brain? He should already be there. On her. In her. Wasting not another second, he found himself standing before her with no memory of the steps that had gotten him there.
“Drop your pants, cowboy,” she said with a sly smile and sultry lick of her lips. “I want to see all of you in the light of day.”
In a flash, his jeans pooled around his feet. He stepped out of them, kicked the heap off to the side. Kat brazenly admired his entire body, came to rest with evident approval on the undeniable proof of his desire. Her expression turned wanton, then lifted to his hard, determined stare.
“Oh, this is going to be fun.” Then she pulled him down to the bed.
Kyle had Kat in tears with the stories of his travel mishaps during his latest business trip abroad for JAMESCO. His fluency in four languages did not guarantee the absence of cultural blunders or embarrassing mishaps with customs. And he delighted in regaling her with each and every real or imagined trauma he suffered, with his signature dramatic flair and chatty hands.
Oh, she loved her brother. Adored him. Her eyes tracked his handsome, smiling face around her living room as he prepared her for the punch line from his recent adventure. His throaty laughter put her world in balance again and reconnected her to a gene pool where she so often felt cold and unfamiliar. A part of her felt bad for having shooed him away the night before. The other part—her naughty parts—not so much.
After the laughter subsided and the happy tears had been wiped away, Kat asked a double-edged question. “How’s Margo these days? I haven’t seen her at Pilates for quite a while. I always use to run in to her there.”
Kyle’s good humor faded. His focus dropped down to his lap as his thumb swept nervously across the pads of his fingers. Not a good sign. He pushed to his feet with a defeated sigh and moved to rest his shoulder against a wall. The building across the street apparently held his interest.
“We’re not together anymore. It happened while I was away. I should’ve waited until I got back home to talk to her in person, but ...” He rubbed at his forehead. “I’ve been gone so much lately and she just kept pushing to set a date, and I wasn’t ready to. Then one thing led to another and it erupted into a huge fight and,” his hands swept in front of him, then dropped, “it’s over. It’s just over.” He slid his hands into his pockets, his soulful brown eyes dropping to the streetscape below.
Kat sighed in relief. She knew Margo wasn’t right for her brother, and she’d hoped he wouldn’t cave to the pressure from his fiancée, or their families.
“Well, at least now I’m not the only disappointment in the James family.” She wished the tease would put a smile back on his face. “We can keep each other company at those family dinners—at that godawful long table.” She chuckled, then paused, not sure whether to speak the truth she’d known for so long. But something compelled her—maybe his tortured expression, or the torment swimming in his eyes.
She wanted to ease it. Erase it for him.
“I always thought Eric was a better match for you anyway.”
Kyle appeared to stop breathing. He searched her eyes for confirmation, acceptance. Then he moved back to the sofa and plopped down next to Kat, his face a canvas of relief and amazement.
“How long have you known?” His tone was hushed, awed.
“About Eric?” He nodded. “Since college.” She smiled softly, raked her fingers through his wavy, dark hair, and drew him into a hug.
With only thirteen months between them, she and Kyle had always had a special connection. She just got him. She always had. The subtleties and nuances others mi
ssed had never been lost on her. In fact, she couldn’t remember not knowing this about him. She suspected he’d always known too but had tried his best to conform over the years to fit the role mapped by their family, and society.
Kyle pulled her against his chest, took her with him as he settled back into the corner of the sofa. They relaxed in their silent embrace for a few minutes, savoring their connection and the lingering aroma of the remaining scraps of Chinese takeout he’d brought with him.
“I can’t do it anymore, Kat. I can’t pretend. I tried. I really did, but I’m exhausted.” He rubbed his chin against her hair. “I have a couple of job offers on the West Coast. I’m going to take one of them.”
Kat pushed up and away, blinked back the tears stinging at her eyes. “You’re leaving me? You’re running away?” She shook her head in disappointment. “You don’t need to do that, Kyle. I’ll be there with you when you tell them, if you want. I’ll support you any way I can. You know that.” She paused, stroked his cheek. “There must be jobs here in New York you could take.” She pleaded with her eyes.
Kyle gently tugged a lock of her hair, regarding her like a child about to hear Santa Claus never existed.
“I think leaving would be best for me—and Eric. He’s coming too. It would be a fresh start for both of us. More than anything, I want a fresh start, Kat. You understand?”
“I do, but I don’t want to,” she said, trying to regain her composure. “How long before you leave?” She tried to conceal her desperation.
“It’ll probably be in the next few months. Once I’ve decided which offer to accept, I’ll tell Father and Mother about the new job—and about Eric. I think the distance will help them ease into it, eventually … maybe …” His somber face lit up with mischief. “I think I’ll tell them after they meet Tucker.” He bit back a grin.
“Going to let me grease the rails for you, huh?”
“You’ve been doing that for a long time,” he said, admiration obvious in his eyes. “I’ve always wished I could be more like you. You just live your life—much to our family’s frustration.”
“Oh God, I know. I tell you, I’m so sick of hearing about marriage and kids. And the one that really burns me, ‘When will you stop being stubborn and quit playing with that little company, Kathryn?’” The siblings laughed at Kat’s mimicry of their mother’s precise articulation and austere posture. Dark skies cleared.
“What do you know about this guy, Kat?” He brushed her cheek tenderly. “I’ve talked to Cassie.” Kat’s green eyes turned fierce at the betrayal. “And I’ve Googled him. You have to know our family is going to have all kinds of ammunition to shoot him down with, right?”
Kat’s shoulders sank a bit. “You can’t believe everything you read, Kyle.”
“He said the same thing.”
“He told me he talked to you this morning.”
“Did he now? What exactly did he say about our conversation?”
Kat warily eyed her brother. “He said he already knew he liked you. Why?”
“Just wondered.” Kyle picked up his iced tea, took a sip, then returned it to the coaster. He relaxed back against the sofa. “Why isn’t he here tonight? I thought I’d get to meet him before the big reveal this week.” He poked her ribs and she slapped his hand away.
“I told him I wanted time alone with you. You were gone far too long on this last trip. I missed you.”
Kyle looked doubtful. “You didn’t seem to miss me last night when you were doing the nasty up against the door.”
Kat’s mouth fell open, and she smacked his arm. “Kyle James!” He held up a pillow to thwart another attack. “A girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do. In the future, call first.” Her giggle ruined the imperious tone she’d aimed for.
“You really like this one? More than the Grant guy I heard about?”
“I really do. I know we’re different, and I’m sure you got a flavor of that just talking to him on the phone. Maybe I like him because he’s different. I don’t know. I’m just going with it. See what happens. You know how unlike me that is.”
Kyle grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze. “That’s what love does to you, Kat.”
“What! No, no, no. It’s waaaay too early for that,” she said, shaking her head resolutely.
Kyle watched her with evident skepticism and then smiled knowingly. “Yeah, right. Whatever you want to believe, kitten.”
She hit him with the pillow.
****
The multimillion-dollar penthouse stationed above Central Park—the lion’s den—materialized front and center in Kat’s mind. Eight thousand square feet of grandiose space echoing with the lack of domestic warmth to ever qualify as a home. The event tonight, a family dinner, had crowded her thoughts all day.
Family. A collection of people she barely knew, with the one lucky exception of Kyle. And once he relocated, what then? Why continue the charade, the familial obligation, without him? She’d grown weary and impatient over the years with the chill from her mother and Parker, with Charlie’s callous indifference toward her, and with her father’s confusing ambivalence that kept her hooked, hoping.
She rested against the window casement in her living room, drew back the sheer fabric for a clear view of the street below and Tucker’s impending arrival. Her mother had already made her haughty opinion known about Kat’s plus-one. The lengthy, tense discussion about Tucker had taken a nosedive, as per usual. Without doubt, she’d foiled her mother’s plans to foist yet another man on her. Kat had always shot down any man handpicked for her. Would the woman ever wise up?
She placed her head against the molding with a tired sigh. Prior to Grant Collins, she had a difficult time remembering the last occasion she’d brought a man home to endure the harsh judgment of the James dynasty. Dan didn’t count, even though he’d accompanied her many times over the years and had admirably held his own against cutting remarks; her family had apparently understood he wasn’t a serious threat. But Dan’s presence had always managed to piss off her mother, a plus in Kat’s book.
Finding a man, a husband, had never been a priority. If the right kind of man came along, fine. If he didn’t, fine. Kat had never needed a man in order to feel complete. Although, as time raced by, the idea of a partner, a man happy to share her life and take her as is, held some appeal. But that fairy tale would take a special kind of man, and she didn’t have the time to find him—he’d have to find her.
What if he already had?
What if he wore cowboy boots and chewed on toothpicks?
She let the curtain drop back against the pane, pressed her fingertips to her forehead, and closed her eyes. Tonight would be brutal. She could count on Kyle’s support, but he would be it. Her brow furrowed in thought. Maybe Father? He’d always been a distant man, except for the one thing, which seemed to hint at a special connection with her: he’d always called her Katie. A name only he used. A name that when spoken seemed to soften the sharp corners of Henry James’s veneer while at the same time making her mother’s already stiff posture turn to cool steel.
And even beyond the nickname, Kat swore there’d been times when she’d glimpsed a shine of pride in her father’s eyes when she talked about her company, her accomplishments. Or when she rebuffed the men her mother pushed on her. But Henry James was not a man for whom compliments or kind words flowed often. Kat had taken those bits of fleeting warmth, possible acceptance, and had tucked them away.
A grin skipped across her lips. True to form, Tucker didn’t show any signs of concern about meeting her family. Maybe he’d masked his apprehension to put her at ease? Not possible. That man did not hide his feelings. He’d come right out and tell her if he had reservations. Instead, he seemed anxious to go, eager to prove to them all he wasn’t going away.
Her body flushed with heat at the thought of him staying. She liked having him here. He’d spent every night at her place, then in the morning he’d head back to his hotel when she went to work.
Her only complaint so far—a lack of sleep, but she wasn’t complaining about why, because she thoroughly enjoyed paying the price. She snickered out loud at their naked escapades, eyes skipping around to various dirty-deed locations in the room. The man was the embodiment of no-holds-barred fun.
The decisive knock at her door pulled her back into the present. She stepped away from her living room window and moved to open the front door. She gasped in genuine appreciation at the mountain of a man standing before her.
“My, my, my.” She ogled him from head to toe with open lust and admiration. He wore dark gray dress pants with a matching suit coat, a fitted black shirt, and his blond hair knotted tightly at his neck, mischief sparkling in his eyes. “You really didn’t need to dress up. I want you to be yourself tonight.”
“I only get one chance to make a first impression with your family, Kat. I want it to be a good one.”
She pulled him close. “Well, you’ve already made a good impression on me.” Her fingers danced along his chest. “You look good enough to eat, Tucker Williams.”
“Oh, don’t even get me started, sweetheart. The cabbie’s downstairs with the meter runnin’.” He seized her backside with both hands, pulling her up on tiptoes to give him a soft kiss.
“Please don’t take anything personally tonight. Okay? They can be a tough crowd.”
He lifted her chin. “Hey, I’m a big boy. I’ve had to handle plenty of tough crowds. This’ll hardly be my first rodeo.” He stroked her cheek. “Don’t you worry about me.”
Given his history, she understood the truth in his statement, but apprehension still nibbled around the edges. Her real concern had less to do with Tucker and more to do with the uneasy certainty her family would disappoint her tonight.
****
The private elevator opened to the spacious penthouse foyer with its Italian marble floor, gold leaf moldings, Renaissance art, and glimmering crystal chandelier. Kat’s throat tightened. A museum, not a home.
