He bustled around making the coffee, poured them into identical mugs, brought it to the kitchen table. Sat beside her.
They did not speak. He could hear the steady ticking of the clock on the wall, marking off the seconds. Tried to think of something neutral to say as she stared into her coffee cup.
Ridge cleared his throat. "When do you graduate from vet school?"
"Next summer, if all goes according to plan."
"What could hamstring it?"
"Money." She shrugged, a casual gesture but he sensed something more behind it. "But if it takes longer, it takes longer. There's no rush."
Ridge sipped his coffee. She blew across the top of hers to cool it. He thought about offering her money. But she was so proud and independent he didn't want to offend her.
"You want to make this an Irish coffee?" he asked. "I saw some Baileys in the fridge."
She lowered her lashes, dished up a sly grin. "Are you trying to get me liquored up?"
"I'm trying to get me liquored up."
"Why?"
"Do you have any idea how much you throw me off balance?"
"Not any more than you throw me."
Their eyes met.
"I should go." Kaia jumped up suddenly, accidentally kicked the leg of the table, and sent hot coffee sloshing from the mug. It splashed her lap. "Ooh, ooh, hot, hot!"
He set down his cup, leaped up, took hold of her arm and propelled her toward the bathroom. "Get out of those clothes before you get burned. Strip. Get in the shower. Rinse off. Now! I'll see if I can find something for you to wear."
"Okay."
He closed the door after her. Heard her rustling around. His pulse pounded. "You okay?"
"I'm fine. Getting in the shower now. Find me some clothes."
"On it," he said, even though he had no idea what, if any, clothes were in the house.
He went to the master bedroom and was surprised to see the queen-sized bed he'd caught Vivi and his father having sex in a decade ago had been replaced with a new king-sized bed.
More props for Vivi. He was certain she was behind the bed change. Remorse? Her attempt at seeking his forgiveness? She need not have worried. He'd forgiven her years ago. It was his father he couldn't quite forgive.
He stepped to the closet, found a brand-new white terry cloth bathrobe. It would be huge on Kaia, but it was something to cover up with.
Ridge rapped on the bathroom door, but the shower was running, so he didn't know if she'd heard him or not. He tried the knob.
It was unlocked.
He opened the door, intended on resting the robe over the towel rack, but he caught sight of her naked body through the clear glass shower door.
Mesmerized, he couldn't move.
Her eyes were closed and she had her face stuck under the spray of water. His jaw dropped. The fantasies he'd been having about her paled in comparison to the sizzling woman standing there. Instantly, he got hard.
Leave!
He left the robe and scooped up her coffee-stained bridesmaid dress from the floor and ran out of there. He paused in the hallway to take a few deep breaths before heading into the laundry room, but then realized the dress should be dry-cleaned.
What now?
He paced, thinking of her clad only in a robe. Stop it. No expectations. She'd come here for coffee, not sex. But he couldn't help wishing and hoping that she had ulterior motives.
To what end? A onetime sexy romp?
Kaia deserved better than that. She deserved happily-ever-after, and he was not the guy who could provide that. He was going to China for six months, and in the fall she'd be headed back to College Station to finish her schooling.
Bad timing all the way around.
Ah hell, how had he gotten himself into this situation? Ridge ran his palm up the back of his neck.
Better question, how was he going to get himself out?
Chapter 15
Ridge was waiting for Kaia in the living room when she got out of the bathroom, her skin damp from the shower.
The sight of him slid into view before she had fully braced herself for it.
He was leaning back in the expansive leather chair, holding a tumbler filled with an inch of Baileys Irish Cream over ice. He sat in a relaxed posture, but his eyes were sharp, focused, a blue-jeaned executive in his Texas tuxedo. Sharp as a honed blade in a suede sheath.
She opened her mouth to say just that, but then stopped, put the tip of her tongue to the apex of her upper lip. He might take it the wrong way and that bothered her. Why?
Unless . . .
Kaia shook off the thought and tightened the belt on the oversized terry cloth bathrobe. Felt completely naked underneath the heat of his frank perusal.
"Have a seat." He waved at the matching chair next to him.
Not really knowing why, other than he'd issued an edict, she sat.
He stabbed his fingers through his hair. Showing his nervousness for the first time. Ah, the iron man did have a chink in his armor.