Ah. The necessary conversation. The one I’d suspected we’d have at some point, especially since she’d opened up to me last night. But I didn’t mind having it. Kate was easy to talk to—always had been.
“The truth is simple. One, my last girlfriend wanted to get serious far too quickly, and that’s made me a little wary of getting involved. And two, the woman I dated before her told me when she dumped me that I was already married to work.”
Kate winced. “Ouch. How did you feel about that?”
I scratched my jaw, flashing back to the breakup with Cassidy. I’d liked spending time with her, and had been starting to fall for her, but her parting comment had burned.
With good reason.
“Honestly, I felt pretty shitty at first,” I admitted with a sigh. “But I knew what my goal was—to help my parents with their retirement. My dad worked his ass off while I was growing up, and the least I can do is help him enjoy his retirement now.”
“That’s great that you do that for them,” Kate said, a softness in her voice that tugged at my heart. “I can see why it would bother you if someone you were involved with didn’t understand why it was important to you.”
“Exactly. My dad nearly died of a heart attack, and I have no doubt it was from working too damn hard. The least I can do is help him out.”
“Oh God,” she said, clasping a hand to her mouth, then letting go. “That’s so tough. I’m so sorry he went through that, but I’m glad he made it.” She reached out and set a hand on my arm, rubbing lightly.
I glanced down, and even though her hands had skimmed my chest last night, had roamed my body, this touch felt just as intimate as those had.
But for entirely different reasons.
Reasons I wasn’t so sure I understood.
“Thanks. Me too. Obviously. That’s just part of why I want to help them.” My jaw clenched as I thought of all the hard times my dad went through when I was younger, and how, even as a kid, I’d wanted to do whatever I could for him. “I hated watching him and Mom struggle. When I was in middle school, I vowed I’d do whatever I could to help them. But there wasn’t much I could do then.”
A focused listener, she never let her eyes stray from mine. “Of course not. You were just a kid worried about your father. But look at you—taking care of them now.” She gestured to me with a grin that felt new—one that seemed to come from deep within. “They must be proud of you.”
A warmth like sunshine spread in my chest. She understood why this mattered to me, why my choices were important. “I’m proud of them. They worked hard, they love hard, and they’re enjoying their retirement as they should. I’m lucky to have them, and I want to do right by them and my sister. She has this kick-ass eleven-year-old.” I went on, telling her all about Carson, our pinball passion, the basketball games, and his sarcastic but clever style.
“He sounds like you,” Kate said with a laugh that caught me off guard. I’d heard her laugh plenty of times before, but this one felt like it came from a different place, a deeper place. It was softer, sweeter, and at the same time, it seemed to say she knew me. She could laugh at me, with me, for me.
“Yeah, he kind of is like me.”
“Lucky kid,” she said softly, pushing a few loose strands of hair away from her cheek.
Instinctively, I leaned closer and took over for her, brushing those strands out of the way, tucking them behind her ear.
“Thank you,” she said.
“No, thank you,” I said, lingering on her hair, taking the time to run my fingers over it. Her hair was enticingly soft. “I fucking love your hair.”
The compliment came out unbidden, and it was wholly necessary. Her chestnut strands were gorgeous.
A faint blush spread on her cheeks. “And thank you for that too.”
I lowered my hand, unsure of how to respond. Over the last few months, I’d become accustomed to her sass, to her fire, but this was another side of Kate I’d seen this weekend.
A softer side. A vulnerable side. Sides I dug a whole lot. Even in spite of what had happened with her ex, she seemed to open up easily, to let me in. And every time she let me see more of her, I found myself wanting to kick that door open, know her better, understand her more deeply. And let her into my world too.
Finally, I found the words. “Thanks for listening.”
“I like hearing about your family. And your nephew. It’s great that you’re a part of his life,” she said.
“He’s a good kid. I love getting the chance to spend time with him. And to look out for my sister.”
“This is the same sister who told you to stop working this weekend,” she said, arching a brow.
“That’s the one.”
She took another sip, her expression amused. “Smart sister. Good idea she had.”
I inched closer to Kate again, wanting to be in her orbit, wanting to be near her. Hell, maybe it was the wine. Maybe the peppers. Maybe it was just the aphrodisiac effect of a fantastic meal. But this woman was doing something to me, heating me all over. It wasn’t merely with lust. It was lust mixed with something else, something new. “Best idea ever.”
Lifting her glass, she offered it in a toast. “Let’s drink to fantastic weekends.”
I clinked back. “Like this one.”
She’d just taken a drink of her wine when a voice cut across the table. A pretty, feminine voice. “Hey, girl! Don’t you look gorgeous tonight?”
Kate whipped her head to look, then she grinned. “And I see you’re slumming it, as always,” Kate said, rolling her eyes at the other woman’s just-stepped-off-a-movie-set dress.
Holy smokes. The other woman was Ivy Carmichael, one of the wealthiest people in Las Vegas.
“Seriously, that Badgley Mischka is hot,” Kate continued.
“Thank you,” Ivy said, smoothing a hand over her red dress, then tapping the table with a perfectly polished finger. “Did you get dessert? You have to try the rainbow cake. I’m going to have ten delivered for our next book club.”
“Ten? That seems a little low. That’s one cake per person,” Kate said, deadpan.
The other woman tapped her lip, frowning. “True. Better make it twenty—another for everyone to take home. I better place my order now. Tuesday will be here before we know it.”
“Excellent. As president of the club, I approve. But I have a confession—I didn’t make it through the book. I switched to a hot new romance.”
Ivy dipped her head and whispered, “Same here.” Then she turned to me, and Kate jumped in.
“Ivy, this is my good friend Jake Hamilton. Jake, this is Ivy Carmichael.”
I extended a hand. “Pleasure to meet you. Love your hotel.”
Ivy beamed. “Thank you.” She nodded toward Kate. “And I hope you’re treating my book club president exceedingly well.”
I grinned. “Only the best for Kate.”
“That’s what I like to hear,” the woman who owned one of the most luxurious casinos on the Strip said to me. Then she added to Kate in a not-so-hushed whisper, eyes aimed in my direction, “Friend.”
Ivy shook her head, not buying it.