But he had to wonder how it might have been to be raised with the kind of love he saw now, glittering in Emily O’Hara’s eyes.
“I hear you.”
“Good.” She set her sunglasses in place, flashed him a quick smile and said, “As long as we understand each other, we’ll be fine.”
Then she waved one hand and hurried to a bright yellow VW bug parked at curbside. She hopped in, fired it up and was gone an instant later.
Scowling to himself, Rafe looked back at Katie’s house, quiet in the afternoon light. The crew was gone, she was gone and the old bungalow looked as empty as he felt.
Talking to Emily had shaken him. Hearing his own plan put into words had made him realize that maybe it was as dumb as Katie’s grandmother clearly thought it was. The lie he’d spun and invested so much in suddenly felt like a weight around his neck. He had to wonder if he wasn’t doing the wrong thing in keeping it going.
He’d started this as a way to win her affection and respect without her knowing who he really was. But if he pulled it off, what did he really gain? She wasn’t caring for the real him if she didn’t know the real man. The sad truth was, Katie now cared about a lie. A fabrication. He’d done this to himself and couldn’t see a way out without risking everything he didn’t want to lose.
Rafe didn’t like admitting it even to himself, but he suddenly felt more alone than he ever had in his life. And he wasn’t sure what the hell to do about it.
Katie had deliveries to make bright and early the next morning. Any other day, she would have enjoyed being the one to drop off a surprise gift of cookies. She always got a charge out of seeing people’s reactions to the elegantly frosted and wrapped creations. Since she’d become busier, she didn’t normally have time to make deliveries herself anymore.
Usually, she had a teenager from down the street deliver her cookie orders. It helped her out and Donna made more money than she would babysitting. A win-win situation all the way around.
But Donna was on vacation with her family, so despite being so tired she could barely stand up, Katie had no choice but to load up her car with the week’s orders. Specially made boxes lined her trunk and she carefully stored away the cookie bouquets and cookie towers and cookie cakes that she’d spent the last two days making. Each of them were frosted, some personalized and a swell of pride filled her as she looked at them.
She’d built this business out of nothing and she had big plans for it, too.
“And that,” she told herself firmly, “is just one more reason to stay away from Rafe.”
He was too male. Too overwhelming to every sense she possessed. She couldn’t afford to be distracted from her goals, not even by a man who had the ability to sweep her off her feet with a single glance. And, if she hadn’t already surrendered to her own hormones, he wouldn’t be taking up so much of her thoughts. So she deliberately stopped thinking about Rafe—though it wasn’t easy.
For now, she would devote herself to her burgeoning business. She wanted to make an even bigger name for herself. Move Katie’s Kookies into a shop down on Pacific Coast Highway. Have several ovens, hire more help, expand her client list and maybe even go into online orders. She had big plans. And nothing was going to stop her from making them come true.
The scents of vanilla, cinnamon and chocolate filled her car and made Katie smile in spite of the fact that she was running on about three hours sleep. But she couldn’t blame her sleeplessness entirely on the fact that she’d been baking half the night. Because when she finally did get to bed, she’d slept fitfully, tortured by dreams of Rafe. Of the night they’d had together.
And there he was again, front and center in her brain. Seeing him every day wasn’t helping her avoid thoughts of him. Especially since her own body seemed determined to remind her, every chance it got, of just what she’d experienced in his arms.
“Need some help?”
Katie jolted and slapped one hand to her chest as she turned around to look at the very man she had just been thinking about. “You scared me.”
“Sorry.” He grinned. “I called out to you, but you didn’t hear me, I guess.”
No, she hadn’t. She’d been too busy remembering his hands on her skin. The taste of his mouth. The slow slide of his body invading hers. Oh, boy. She blew out a breath, forced a smile and said, “I’m just preoccupied.”
“I can see that,” he said, glancing into the back of the SUV. “You’ve been busy.”
“I really have,” she admitted, and turned to pick up the last box, holding a dozen pink frosted cookies shaped like baby rattles.
“Let me get that,” he said and reached for it before she could stop him.
Truthfully, even though it was a little uncomfortable being around him at the moment, Katie was glad he was there. She’d spent the last few days avoiding being alone with him, allowing herself only a glimpse of him now and then. Having him close enough now that she could feel his body heat was a sort of tempting torture. He looked great in his worn blue jeans and blue T-shirt with King Construction stenciled across the back. And he smelled even better, with the scent of soap from his morning shower still clinging to his skin. She wanted to go to him. To kiss him.
She caught that thought and strangled it. She was so tired, she was nearly staggering. Way too tired to trust her instincts around a man she already knew she wanted. Katie gave herself a quick, silent talking-to. Besides, she still had a full morning of deliveries. “Thanks.”
He set the box in the trunk, then shot her a look. “Are you okay?”
“Yes. Just tired.”
He frowned and shifted his gaze to the mass of cookies. “You’re delivering all of these yourself?”
She yawned and nodded. “Sorry. Yes. My usual delivery girl is camping in Yosemite with her family so…”
“You can hardly keep your eyes open,” he accused.
As if to prove him wrong, Katie opened her eyes as wide as possible and pretended not to notice that they felt like marbles rolling in sand. “I’m fine. Really. I’ll have these done in an hour or two and then I’ll come home and take a nap.”
From inside the kitchen, a saw buzzed into life.
“Well, maybe I’ll take a nap,” she said with a wry smile.
He didn’t return the smile. Instead, he glowered at her, crossed his arms over his chest and said flatly, “You’re not driving anywhere.”