Broken, page 17
She emerged from her bedroom shortly after and grabbed her shoes from their place by the door, where both Lorenzo and Justin were waiting in the living room, engrossed in conversation about Lorenzo’s use of his fighting skills.
“Man, running that bar, it can be tough. I don’t actually have bouncers. It’s all on Martin and me.”
“So, what did you do?” Justin asked.
“Well, when he came at me with a knife, I kicked it out of his hand.”
“Bad ass.”
“Okay,” Katrina interrupted them, “I’m ready.”
Lorenzo looked at her first, and Katrina’s nerve endings came alive with the way his eyes smoldered.
But only for a moment.
Then he was back to being cool and collected as he stood with ease, his t-shirt riding up just slightly for Katrina to get a peek at his abs beneath.
The same abs her arms would be around in a few short moments.
“You can wear the helmet,” Lorenzo said as he pulled the keys out of his pocket.
“Where is it?”
“Hooked to the back of the bike. You’ll see.”
“Wait! Let me get my camera ready,” Justin interjected. “Okay. Now we’re ready.”
“You’re so not getting pictures of this,” Katrina said as she opened the front door.
“You’re absolutely right. I’m not. Say hello to the camera.”
She turned to him, her hands on her hips as Lorenzo and Justin exited her home and closed the door behind them. “I can’t believe you.”
“Believe it, sis. Now let’s see you get on the back of that bike.”
“And exactly what do you think you’re going to do with this video?” she asked as Lorenzo helped her with the helmet.
“Send it to Mom. Duh.”
She shook her head, helmet and all. “You’re such an ass.”
“Okay, so...” Lorenzo eased onto the bike and set it upright, ready to go. “Slide in behind me.”
“Is there room?”
“There’s plenty of room. C’mon.”
She eased herself onto the back of the bike and he leaned back into her as he started the engine. Between the vibration of the bike and his close proximity, she was almost ready to jump off, call the whole thing off.
Just almost.
And then he said, “Hold on tight. And when I lean, just lean with me. Do you trust me?”
She could only nod as she wrapped her arms around him.
And it felt good.
It felt right.
“You ready?” she heard him ask above the roar as he revved the engine.
Again, she could only nod.
‘It’s just around the block,’ she told herself.
But as they made their first turn and she leaned with him, the wind rushing in her face, she was certain she never wanted the ride to end.
CHAPTER 28
“Keep going,” Katrina said as Lorenzo was stopped, waiting to turn back onto her street. Instead, he kept going forward as she’d asked, and she sighed contentedly, holding onto him.
The morning was cloudy and cool, and the wind against her felt invigorating. Her heart thrummed with excitement as they rounded another corner and she leaned with him, trusting that he had her. She didn’t quite recognize the path he was taking, but soon they were out on the open road, fields surrounding them as they wound around. The curves were nowhere the sharpness of Willow Creek Road so taking them weren’t as dangerous.
And then she recognized her surroundings.
She grinned to herself as she thought ‘That little shit is taking me to make out point.’
Technically it was lookout point, a part on a high hill that overlooked the town below, but as teenagers it had been labeled for the many students who would park there beneath the stars at night.
She and Lorenzo had done the same when they’d had a car to borrow, when they weren’t meeting beneath the stars on Willow Creek Road.
When he came to a stop and let down the kickstand, she eased herself off the bike, still feeling the thrill as she took the helmet off.
“Well?” he asked, a genuine smile meeting her when she dared to look at him.
“I love it,” she replied, returning his smile as she handed the helmet to him. He hooked it on the back of the bike, his gaze on the ground before he met her eyes once more.
“I knew you would. I always wanted to take you for a ride, you know.”
“I remember.”
“And you wouldn’t ride with Justin?”
She shook her head. “It didn’t feel right.”
It wouldn’t have been like this, the two of them having shared the thrill together.
It wouldn’t have been the same with her arms around her brother instead of the man who’d stolen her heart so many years before.
The same man she was certain she was falling for again.
“Where do you stand, Trina?”
“With you.”
He blinked a couple of times, perhaps not expecting her reply to be so certain, so direct.
“I believe you, Ren. And I’m going to stand by you. I’m going to give you the space you need, the support you need. There’s only one thing I ask of you.”
He swallowed hard, emotions showing in his dark eyes that she’d longed to see. “What do you need from me?”
“I need to know that you’re not going to leave me again, not like that. No ghosting, no running. Can you do that for me?”
“I promise.”
“That’s a big promise, Ren.”
“I shouldn’t have done that to you to begin with. You deserved better than that. Better than me.”
She stepped forward and took his hand in hers, her heart pounding. “I understand why.”
“I was hurt when you didn’t look for me.”
“I did look, so long ago.” She laced their fingers together and glanced up at him, holding his gaze. “I didn’t know where to look. You weren’t online. I tried the last neighborhood you’d been in, but no one seemed to recognize you.”
One corner of his mouth lifted. “Boys down there are tight. When they think you’re in trouble, they keep their mouths shut good.”
“Were you there?”
He shook his head. “I barely skimmed the surface of where I’d gone in my time in the system. I went looking for family, any family I could find, only to find I didn’t have any.”
“You have me and Justin. And Judith, I suppose I should include her.”
He chuckled softly. “I know that now. But I’m not a scared kid who doesn’t know his place in the world anymore. I have my job, I have the bar. I...do I have you?”
“Yes,” she breathed as he took a step closer, leaning down and resting his forehead on hers. She closed her eyes, relishing the contact, before she opened them again to his gaze.
“I have a fight ahead of me. The biggest fight of my life. This one is for my daughter. Are you sure you’re in this with me?”
When she hesitated for the slightest moment, he pulled back.
“It hurts,” she finally said, placing her hand over her heart. “It hurts because she should be mine. Ours. But yes, I stand with you on this.”
She watched as one lone tear dripped down his face. “She should have been, I know. I know.”
“But she’s not, and that’s something that I’m coming to terms with. I accept her fully because she’s a part of you, please understand that.”
“And when I get her...not if, when...what then?”
She tried to warm him with her smile. “Then I get to meet your daughter.”
He nodded once and turned from her, facing the overlook of the city they’d called home during their high school years. “I never thought I’d come back here, you know? I never thought you’d speak to me again, let alone...”
“Let alone what?” She moved to stand beside him and chanced a glance up at his features, unsurprised to see his steely gaze.
“I know I’m asking a lot of you...time, space, acceptance. I don’t have anything to give right now.”
“Are you kidding?” She nudged him. “I get time, I get to be in your space. I get to watch movies, ride on the back of your bike, watch your bar transform into something you’d dreamed of ever since we were kids.” She touched his arm and he looked down at her. “I’ve got my best friend back. Everything else, anything else, is a bonus.”
“She’s not a bonus, Trina. She’s my daughter.”
She understood what he was saying. Lorenzo wanted to know if she could love Miranda, not look at her and see her mother.
She wasn’t sure if she’d ever be able to.
He nodded once, not waiting for her answer, and turned to walk back to his bike.
“Ren—”
“It’s starting to rain,” he said, holding his hand out. Tiny droplets of water began to dot his skin, and soon Katrina could feel them as well.
“Will we be okay?”
“I’ll need to wear the helmet,” he said. “I need you to really trust me, Trina. Hold on tight. Don’t let go.”
Hold on tight.
Don’t let go.
The words reverberated around her head as she slid back onto the bike and wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in his back as they took off, then moving to rest her cheek there, allowing the wind and rain to mingle with her tears.
***
The rain was steady, soaking them both to the bone when they finally returned to Katrina’s home. “Justin’s gone,” Lorenzo commented, and Katrina’s mouth fell open. “What?”
“My keys,” she said. “I don’t have my keys. Tell me he didn’t lock the door.”
Lorenzo reached for the knob, which wouldn’t budge.
“Shit!”
“Is there anyone who has a spare?”
“Timothy never returned his. I should probably get the locks changed, but damn it! How do we get in?”
Lorenzo peered at her, then back at the door. “Trust me?”
“Of course.”
“You’re about to see why your deadbolt is a good idea,” he said, almost grinning. He pulled a credit card from his wallet and eased it between the latch and the wall. After a couple of tries, the door popped open, and as Katrina stepped through, Lorenzo hesitated.
“Huh uh,” she said, tugging on his arm, “no way am I letting you ride home in this. Get in here. Let’s get dry.”
“Kinda hard to do,” he said as he reluctantly followed her lead, each of them leaving a puddle of water in the entryway.
“How so? I have a dryer.”
“I have no clean clothes here.”
“I’ll let you wear a pair of Justin’s shorts. Gimme just a sec.” She made her way back to her room and opened her drawer, where Justin’s shorts were ever since she’d borrowed them in her own time of need. She held them away from her so they wouldn’t get wet and walked them out to Lorenzo, who was taking his boots off. Even his socks were soaked.
“Thanks,” he said as he accepted the shorts.
“You can get changed...wherever, except for my room. I’ll be out in a little bit and I’ll get your clothes cleaned.”
“You don’t have to do that. Just dry will do.”
“They have mud spatters on them, and so do mine. No arguing.”
He put his hands up, a grin on his face. “No arguing with Trina. Got it.”
“Good.”
His laughter followed her down her hallway into her bedroom, warming her despite the chill from cold, wet clothing. Once she was in dry yoga pants and another form-fitting shirt, she gathered her wet clothes and went in search of Ren.
She didn’t have to go far.
He was standing in her living room in a pair of Justin’s old basketball shorts and nothing else.
“Holy hell,” she whispered as her eyes drank him in, his muscled body on display.
“What was that?” he asked, and she winced. Her inner dialogue needed to stay that way.
“Nothing,” she replied, and she picked up his wet clothing from her floor. “I’ll go put these in the washer. Want to watch a movie?”
“Sure.”
“Okay, it’s your turn to pick.”
“DVD or something streaming?” he called out to her, and she laughed as she put the dirty clothes into the washer.
“What part of it’s your pick is troubling you?”
“Too much to...no way, you still have your copy of 200 Cigarettes?”
She smiled even though he couldn’t see. “Of course.”
“Do you remember the first time we watched this?”
She’d started her washer and walked back out to her living room. “We’d said it was going to be a New Year’s tradition.”
He held the DVD in his hand and looked back at her. “When was the last time you watched it?”
“New Year’s, our senior year.”
His smile fell. “I took this away from you, too.”
She shook her head as she walked forward and took the disc from his hand. “I’ve had it all this time, saving it for a special occasion, like today.”
“What’s today?”
“The day you promised you’d never disappear on me again.”
“And I won’t, Trina, I swear.”
“Shall we?”
His smile appeared once more. “Popcorn, too?”
“It’s tradition, isn’t it?”
“Then we shall.”
CHAPTER 29
“What is this obsession with older movies that we have?” Lorenzo grinned at Katrina as they sat side by side on the couch, just finishing That Thing You Do! The hour was getting late and the rain had stopped, yet he’d stayed. At least now he was in his own clothing rather than just a pair of shorts, which had distracted Katrina to no end.
“I have no idea,” she replied, returning his grin. “They’re a source of comfort?” Which is what his company had been on this otherwise dreary Sunday.
He shifted, his arm propped up on the couch. “Yeah, I suppose so.” He was silent as he took in her appearance, then his eyes softened. “I can’t say I don’t know what led me here today. I never could help the pull you have on me.”
“And, what, the pull was broken for ten years?” She asked the question in a teasing tone, one that he picked up on as his grin widened.
“Not even close.”
“You’re here now,” she said, nudging his knee with hers. “That’s what matters.”
“I...” His voice trailed off and he looked away, his gaze falling on the night sky. “I do have to get back.”
“I understand.”
He nodded, his eyes now resting on hers. “Grand reopening next weekend.”
“Are you ready?”
“Yeah. Well, aside from a few finishing touches, but yeah. I’m ready to get Cade’s up and running. Would...will you be there?”
Her smile was radiant, and she felt it down to her soul. “I wouldn’t miss it.”
“Would you...you know, like to be there...with me?”
“Are you asking me to be your date, Ren?”
She watched as his cheeks flushed a soft pink. “Yeah, I suppose I am.”
“I’d love to.”
They sat there a few moments longer, smiling at one another before he stood and fished his keys out of his pocket. “I can pick you up, if you’d like.”
“Isn’t that out of your way?”
“You’re never out of my way, Trina.”
It was her turn to blush at his words, and she stood to walk him to the door. “I’ll remember that,” she said, and he nodded once, his eyes falling to the floor before he lifted them to peer at her through the shock of bangs that fell across his forehead.
“I’ll see you soon.” He opened the door and smiled at her again. “Thank you for today.”
“Anytime, Ren.”
One more nod, and he walked out the door, shutting it with a soft click behind him. She turned her back to the door, one hand over her heart, her smile beaming.
She had another date with him.
Not just any date, but one to the grand reopening of his bar, this time with his vision in place.
When the door opened with a slight whoosh, it startled her, and she turned quickly, slightly off balance, only to be pulled into Ren’s arms.
And he kissed her.
His lips were soft, coaxing, bringing forth a whimper from her as he pulled away, leaving her breathless.
One corner of his mouth lifted in a satisfied grin.
“Goodnight, Trina.”
And once again, he walked out the door.
***
Katrina still felt as if she were riding a high the following morning. Her hair cooperated, her makeup was flawless, her coffee just right. When she arrived at work, not only was her spare key waiting for her, letting her know Timothy had gotten her message, but also a fresh bouquet of crazy daisies.
There was only one person those could be from.
The note only said one word.
Friday.
“Head’s up,” Simone, a coworker on her team, said as she walked past Katrina’s office, “the boss wants to see you.”
“That’s fine.” Katrina smelled the flowers and smiled. Her day was going wonderfully.
“What, did Timothy beg your forgiveness or something?” Simone asked from her place in the doorway.
“They’re not from him.”
“I smell gossip.”
“You know I don’t gossip.”
“I know, I know. Don’t wait around too long before going to see Bradford. He’s in a mood.”
“That’s fine.” Katrina grabbed her cup of coffee and walked the long hallway to the corner office, checking in with his secretary.
“He’ll see you now.”
Katrina smiled and murmured her thanks before walking into Mr. Bradford’s office. Seated to his left, dressed in a white jumpsuit, was none other than Emily Torrence.
“Hello, Emily,” Katrina said to her, a bit surprised to see her there.
“Please have a seat,” was all Emily said in return.
“Ms. Carter,” Mr. Bradford began, “I’m not sure how many office staffers know this, but we have been acquired by Torrence Industries.”
“I wasn’t aware,” Katrina replied.
“While I maintain control of Bradford, I do have higher ups that I answer to. It has been brought to my attention by Ms. Torrence here that you are in breach of contract.”
“Man, running that bar, it can be tough. I don’t actually have bouncers. It’s all on Martin and me.”
“So, what did you do?” Justin asked.
“Well, when he came at me with a knife, I kicked it out of his hand.”
“Bad ass.”
“Okay,” Katrina interrupted them, “I’m ready.”
Lorenzo looked at her first, and Katrina’s nerve endings came alive with the way his eyes smoldered.
But only for a moment.
Then he was back to being cool and collected as he stood with ease, his t-shirt riding up just slightly for Katrina to get a peek at his abs beneath.
The same abs her arms would be around in a few short moments.
“You can wear the helmet,” Lorenzo said as he pulled the keys out of his pocket.
“Where is it?”
“Hooked to the back of the bike. You’ll see.”
“Wait! Let me get my camera ready,” Justin interjected. “Okay. Now we’re ready.”
“You’re so not getting pictures of this,” Katrina said as she opened the front door.
“You’re absolutely right. I’m not. Say hello to the camera.”
She turned to him, her hands on her hips as Lorenzo and Justin exited her home and closed the door behind them. “I can’t believe you.”
“Believe it, sis. Now let’s see you get on the back of that bike.”
“And exactly what do you think you’re going to do with this video?” she asked as Lorenzo helped her with the helmet.
“Send it to Mom. Duh.”
She shook her head, helmet and all. “You’re such an ass.”
“Okay, so...” Lorenzo eased onto the bike and set it upright, ready to go. “Slide in behind me.”
“Is there room?”
“There’s plenty of room. C’mon.”
She eased herself onto the back of the bike and he leaned back into her as he started the engine. Between the vibration of the bike and his close proximity, she was almost ready to jump off, call the whole thing off.
Just almost.
And then he said, “Hold on tight. And when I lean, just lean with me. Do you trust me?”
She could only nod as she wrapped her arms around him.
And it felt good.
It felt right.
“You ready?” she heard him ask above the roar as he revved the engine.
Again, she could only nod.
‘It’s just around the block,’ she told herself.
But as they made their first turn and she leaned with him, the wind rushing in her face, she was certain she never wanted the ride to end.
CHAPTER 28
“Keep going,” Katrina said as Lorenzo was stopped, waiting to turn back onto her street. Instead, he kept going forward as she’d asked, and she sighed contentedly, holding onto him.
The morning was cloudy and cool, and the wind against her felt invigorating. Her heart thrummed with excitement as they rounded another corner and she leaned with him, trusting that he had her. She didn’t quite recognize the path he was taking, but soon they were out on the open road, fields surrounding them as they wound around. The curves were nowhere the sharpness of Willow Creek Road so taking them weren’t as dangerous.
And then she recognized her surroundings.
She grinned to herself as she thought ‘That little shit is taking me to make out point.’
Technically it was lookout point, a part on a high hill that overlooked the town below, but as teenagers it had been labeled for the many students who would park there beneath the stars at night.
She and Lorenzo had done the same when they’d had a car to borrow, when they weren’t meeting beneath the stars on Willow Creek Road.
When he came to a stop and let down the kickstand, she eased herself off the bike, still feeling the thrill as she took the helmet off.
“Well?” he asked, a genuine smile meeting her when she dared to look at him.
“I love it,” she replied, returning his smile as she handed the helmet to him. He hooked it on the back of the bike, his gaze on the ground before he met her eyes once more.
“I knew you would. I always wanted to take you for a ride, you know.”
“I remember.”
“And you wouldn’t ride with Justin?”
She shook her head. “It didn’t feel right.”
It wouldn’t have been like this, the two of them having shared the thrill together.
It wouldn’t have been the same with her arms around her brother instead of the man who’d stolen her heart so many years before.
The same man she was certain she was falling for again.
“Where do you stand, Trina?”
“With you.”
He blinked a couple of times, perhaps not expecting her reply to be so certain, so direct.
“I believe you, Ren. And I’m going to stand by you. I’m going to give you the space you need, the support you need. There’s only one thing I ask of you.”
He swallowed hard, emotions showing in his dark eyes that she’d longed to see. “What do you need from me?”
“I need to know that you’re not going to leave me again, not like that. No ghosting, no running. Can you do that for me?”
“I promise.”
“That’s a big promise, Ren.”
“I shouldn’t have done that to you to begin with. You deserved better than that. Better than me.”
She stepped forward and took his hand in hers, her heart pounding. “I understand why.”
“I was hurt when you didn’t look for me.”
“I did look, so long ago.” She laced their fingers together and glanced up at him, holding his gaze. “I didn’t know where to look. You weren’t online. I tried the last neighborhood you’d been in, but no one seemed to recognize you.”
One corner of his mouth lifted. “Boys down there are tight. When they think you’re in trouble, they keep their mouths shut good.”
“Were you there?”
He shook his head. “I barely skimmed the surface of where I’d gone in my time in the system. I went looking for family, any family I could find, only to find I didn’t have any.”
“You have me and Justin. And Judith, I suppose I should include her.”
He chuckled softly. “I know that now. But I’m not a scared kid who doesn’t know his place in the world anymore. I have my job, I have the bar. I...do I have you?”
“Yes,” she breathed as he took a step closer, leaning down and resting his forehead on hers. She closed her eyes, relishing the contact, before she opened them again to his gaze.
“I have a fight ahead of me. The biggest fight of my life. This one is for my daughter. Are you sure you’re in this with me?”
When she hesitated for the slightest moment, he pulled back.
“It hurts,” she finally said, placing her hand over her heart. “It hurts because she should be mine. Ours. But yes, I stand with you on this.”
She watched as one lone tear dripped down his face. “She should have been, I know. I know.”
“But she’s not, and that’s something that I’m coming to terms with. I accept her fully because she’s a part of you, please understand that.”
“And when I get her...not if, when...what then?”
She tried to warm him with her smile. “Then I get to meet your daughter.”
He nodded once and turned from her, facing the overlook of the city they’d called home during their high school years. “I never thought I’d come back here, you know? I never thought you’d speak to me again, let alone...”
“Let alone what?” She moved to stand beside him and chanced a glance up at his features, unsurprised to see his steely gaze.
“I know I’m asking a lot of you...time, space, acceptance. I don’t have anything to give right now.”
“Are you kidding?” She nudged him. “I get time, I get to be in your space. I get to watch movies, ride on the back of your bike, watch your bar transform into something you’d dreamed of ever since we were kids.” She touched his arm and he looked down at her. “I’ve got my best friend back. Everything else, anything else, is a bonus.”
“She’s not a bonus, Trina. She’s my daughter.”
She understood what he was saying. Lorenzo wanted to know if she could love Miranda, not look at her and see her mother.
She wasn’t sure if she’d ever be able to.
He nodded once, not waiting for her answer, and turned to walk back to his bike.
“Ren—”
“It’s starting to rain,” he said, holding his hand out. Tiny droplets of water began to dot his skin, and soon Katrina could feel them as well.
“Will we be okay?”
“I’ll need to wear the helmet,” he said. “I need you to really trust me, Trina. Hold on tight. Don’t let go.”
Hold on tight.
Don’t let go.
The words reverberated around her head as she slid back onto the bike and wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in his back as they took off, then moving to rest her cheek there, allowing the wind and rain to mingle with her tears.
***
The rain was steady, soaking them both to the bone when they finally returned to Katrina’s home. “Justin’s gone,” Lorenzo commented, and Katrina’s mouth fell open. “What?”
“My keys,” she said. “I don’t have my keys. Tell me he didn’t lock the door.”
Lorenzo reached for the knob, which wouldn’t budge.
“Shit!”
“Is there anyone who has a spare?”
“Timothy never returned his. I should probably get the locks changed, but damn it! How do we get in?”
Lorenzo peered at her, then back at the door. “Trust me?”
“Of course.”
“You’re about to see why your deadbolt is a good idea,” he said, almost grinning. He pulled a credit card from his wallet and eased it between the latch and the wall. After a couple of tries, the door popped open, and as Katrina stepped through, Lorenzo hesitated.
“Huh uh,” she said, tugging on his arm, “no way am I letting you ride home in this. Get in here. Let’s get dry.”
“Kinda hard to do,” he said as he reluctantly followed her lead, each of them leaving a puddle of water in the entryway.
“How so? I have a dryer.”
“I have no clean clothes here.”
“I’ll let you wear a pair of Justin’s shorts. Gimme just a sec.” She made her way back to her room and opened her drawer, where Justin’s shorts were ever since she’d borrowed them in her own time of need. She held them away from her so they wouldn’t get wet and walked them out to Lorenzo, who was taking his boots off. Even his socks were soaked.
“Thanks,” he said as he accepted the shorts.
“You can get changed...wherever, except for my room. I’ll be out in a little bit and I’ll get your clothes cleaned.”
“You don’t have to do that. Just dry will do.”
“They have mud spatters on them, and so do mine. No arguing.”
He put his hands up, a grin on his face. “No arguing with Trina. Got it.”
“Good.”
His laughter followed her down her hallway into her bedroom, warming her despite the chill from cold, wet clothing. Once she was in dry yoga pants and another form-fitting shirt, she gathered her wet clothes and went in search of Ren.
She didn’t have to go far.
He was standing in her living room in a pair of Justin’s old basketball shorts and nothing else.
“Holy hell,” she whispered as her eyes drank him in, his muscled body on display.
“What was that?” he asked, and she winced. Her inner dialogue needed to stay that way.
“Nothing,” she replied, and she picked up his wet clothing from her floor. “I’ll go put these in the washer. Want to watch a movie?”
“Sure.”
“Okay, it’s your turn to pick.”
“DVD or something streaming?” he called out to her, and she laughed as she put the dirty clothes into the washer.
“What part of it’s your pick is troubling you?”
“Too much to...no way, you still have your copy of 200 Cigarettes?”
She smiled even though he couldn’t see. “Of course.”
“Do you remember the first time we watched this?”
She’d started her washer and walked back out to her living room. “We’d said it was going to be a New Year’s tradition.”
He held the DVD in his hand and looked back at her. “When was the last time you watched it?”
“New Year’s, our senior year.”
His smile fell. “I took this away from you, too.”
She shook her head as she walked forward and took the disc from his hand. “I’ve had it all this time, saving it for a special occasion, like today.”
“What’s today?”
“The day you promised you’d never disappear on me again.”
“And I won’t, Trina, I swear.”
“Shall we?”
His smile appeared once more. “Popcorn, too?”
“It’s tradition, isn’t it?”
“Then we shall.”
CHAPTER 29
“What is this obsession with older movies that we have?” Lorenzo grinned at Katrina as they sat side by side on the couch, just finishing That Thing You Do! The hour was getting late and the rain had stopped, yet he’d stayed. At least now he was in his own clothing rather than just a pair of shorts, which had distracted Katrina to no end.
“I have no idea,” she replied, returning his grin. “They’re a source of comfort?” Which is what his company had been on this otherwise dreary Sunday.
He shifted, his arm propped up on the couch. “Yeah, I suppose so.” He was silent as he took in her appearance, then his eyes softened. “I can’t say I don’t know what led me here today. I never could help the pull you have on me.”
“And, what, the pull was broken for ten years?” She asked the question in a teasing tone, one that he picked up on as his grin widened.
“Not even close.”
“You’re here now,” she said, nudging his knee with hers. “That’s what matters.”
“I...” His voice trailed off and he looked away, his gaze falling on the night sky. “I do have to get back.”
“I understand.”
He nodded, his eyes now resting on hers. “Grand reopening next weekend.”
“Are you ready?”
“Yeah. Well, aside from a few finishing touches, but yeah. I’m ready to get Cade’s up and running. Would...will you be there?”
Her smile was radiant, and she felt it down to her soul. “I wouldn’t miss it.”
“Would you...you know, like to be there...with me?”
“Are you asking me to be your date, Ren?”
She watched as his cheeks flushed a soft pink. “Yeah, I suppose I am.”
“I’d love to.”
They sat there a few moments longer, smiling at one another before he stood and fished his keys out of his pocket. “I can pick you up, if you’d like.”
“Isn’t that out of your way?”
“You’re never out of my way, Trina.”
It was her turn to blush at his words, and she stood to walk him to the door. “I’ll remember that,” she said, and he nodded once, his eyes falling to the floor before he lifted them to peer at her through the shock of bangs that fell across his forehead.
“I’ll see you soon.” He opened the door and smiled at her again. “Thank you for today.”
“Anytime, Ren.”
One more nod, and he walked out the door, shutting it with a soft click behind him. She turned her back to the door, one hand over her heart, her smile beaming.
She had another date with him.
Not just any date, but one to the grand reopening of his bar, this time with his vision in place.
When the door opened with a slight whoosh, it startled her, and she turned quickly, slightly off balance, only to be pulled into Ren’s arms.
And he kissed her.
His lips were soft, coaxing, bringing forth a whimper from her as he pulled away, leaving her breathless.
One corner of his mouth lifted in a satisfied grin.
“Goodnight, Trina.”
And once again, he walked out the door.
***
Katrina still felt as if she were riding a high the following morning. Her hair cooperated, her makeup was flawless, her coffee just right. When she arrived at work, not only was her spare key waiting for her, letting her know Timothy had gotten her message, but also a fresh bouquet of crazy daisies.
There was only one person those could be from.
The note only said one word.
Friday.
“Head’s up,” Simone, a coworker on her team, said as she walked past Katrina’s office, “the boss wants to see you.”
“That’s fine.” Katrina smelled the flowers and smiled. Her day was going wonderfully.
“What, did Timothy beg your forgiveness or something?” Simone asked from her place in the doorway.
“They’re not from him.”
“I smell gossip.”
“You know I don’t gossip.”
“I know, I know. Don’t wait around too long before going to see Bradford. He’s in a mood.”
“That’s fine.” Katrina grabbed her cup of coffee and walked the long hallway to the corner office, checking in with his secretary.
“He’ll see you now.”
Katrina smiled and murmured her thanks before walking into Mr. Bradford’s office. Seated to his left, dressed in a white jumpsuit, was none other than Emily Torrence.
“Hello, Emily,” Katrina said to her, a bit surprised to see her there.
“Please have a seat,” was all Emily said in return.
“Ms. Carter,” Mr. Bradford began, “I’m not sure how many office staffers know this, but we have been acquired by Torrence Industries.”
“I wasn’t aware,” Katrina replied.
“While I maintain control of Bradford, I do have higher ups that I answer to. It has been brought to my attention by Ms. Torrence here that you are in breach of contract.”
