Almost Like Love(19)

Kate looked at him in surprise. “Asperger’s? I don’t think so. He’s probably just having a tough time dealing with his mother’s death, like you said before. That’s natural.”

Ian nodded. “I know. I’ve tried to help, but I haven’t made a lot of progress.” He paused at the door. “Anyway, it’s obvious I’m leaving him in good hands. Call me if you have any questions or if you need anything.”

“I will. Have a good time at the wedding, Ian.”

His eyes held hers for a moment. “Thanks.”

On his way downstairs, he looked at his bow tie in the mirrored wall of the elevator. Seeing it made him remember Kate standing close to him, her hands working quickly and skillfully at his neck.

He didn’t usually like women fussing over him, which was probably one of the many reasons his relationships never lasted very long. But he hadn’t minded when Kate did it.

It had seemed almost natural.

He checked his watch as the elevator doors opened. He was running a few minutes late, but he should still be at the church in plenty of time.

Mick Kalen was one of his oldest friends, and he’d been looking forward to this wedding for months. But as he stepped out of his apartment building and into the cool May evening, he wasn’t thinking about his destination.

He was thinking about the two people he’d left behind.




All through the wedding and the reception, Ian’s thoughts kept returning to Kate. A little after eleven o’clock, he was dancing with the bride’s sister, a bubbly, cheerful woman named Shelly. Their moves on the dance floor couldn’t have been more different from his dance with Kate last night.

Just thinking about it sent a wave of lust through his body.

He’d forgotten how sexy it could be just to dance with a woman. He and Kate had fit together so well . . . and because she’d been a little tipsy and a little unsteady in her high heels, she’d let him hold her close.

He could still feel her breasts against his chest and the satin softness of the bare skin at her waist. He could still smell her fragrance—not a heavy perfume, but a faint suggestion of jasmine. He remembered her mmmmmmm of pleasure, and the way she’d stiffened afterward when she’d realized she’d made the sound out loud.

But when his hands had tightened on her, she hadn’t pulled away. She had even seemed to soften a little, and the yielding quality in the way she’d moved against him had made his body harden in response.

“Ian? Are you all right?”

He opened his eyes to see Shelly looking at him with a concerned expression on her face.

“I’m fine,” he said, realizing that he’d stopped dancing. “I just remembered I have to . . . call the babysitter.”

“Oh my goodness, I know what that’s like. You should go take care of that right away.”

“I probably should,” he said, since the song was ending. “Thanks for the dance,” he added with a smile.

A few minutes later he was in the hotel lobby, pacing back and forth with his cell phone in his hand. If he called, Kate would tell him everything was fine and that he shouldn’t hurry back. On the other hand, if he left now, he’d be home in half an hour. It wasn’t midnight yet—it wouldn’t be too late to offer Kate a drink before she went home.

They’d already done the big send-off for the bride and groom, so there was no reason he couldn’t leave the reception now.

Forty minutes later, he was turning his key in his lock.

The apartment was silent, so he moved quietly down the hall and into the living room. Other than the ambient city light that came in through the windows, the room was dark.

It took him a moment to spot Kate asleep on the couch. He walked over and stood looking down at her.

She was curled up on her side with her cheek pillowed on her hand, her chest rising and falling gently. Her lips were slightly parted. Her feet were bare, and he was surprised to see that her toenails were painted red.

He never would have guessed that Kate Meredith used red toenail polish.

He started to feel uncomfortable. Watching her sleep seemed too intimate, like an invasion of privacy.

“Hey there,” he said softly.

She didn’t stir, and he put a hand on her shoulder. “Wake up, Sleeping Beauty.”

Her eyes opened. She looked confused for a moment; then she smiled at him and stretched.

“Hey,” she said, her voice sounding sleepy. “How was the wedding?”

Kate’s soft voice in the dark room deepened the illusion of intimacy. He had a crazy urge to kiss her hello, as if they’d been married for years.

He took a step back instead.

“It was good. How was Jacob?”