A Feast of You (5 page)

“I don’t know much about it. Abigail, Sarah, and Zoe are planning the whole baby thing.”

That made sense. Sarah and Zoe were William’s other cousins, and Abigail was the aunt who’d raised him.

“The whole baby thing?” I rolled my eyes. “This isn’t a thing. You’re going to have a new member of the family. A new little person!”

Silence.

“Is Lauren having a boy or a girl?”

“Yeah.”

“William!” I smacked him lightly. “How am I supposed to buy her a gift if I don’t know what she’s having? Or maybe she isn’t going to find out.”

“I’m sure Abigail has all that info,” he said, putting his phone on the nightstand and turning to pull me into the crook of his arm. I lay my head on this chest. He sighed. “She’ll be happy to talk about it. She can’t wait to be a grandmother. She’s beside herself with joy.”

“Aren’t you excited to be a...what will you be? A second cousin? An uncle, really?” I raised my head and looked up but couldn’t see his face in the dark.

“I’m excited that Abigail will finally get off my back. She’s been riding me for years about having kids. But thanks to Lauren, she’s eased up a bit.” He pulled the blankets up over both of us and kissed the top of my head. “Abigail will give you all the details. Let’s get some sleep.” His voice trailed off.

I swallowed hard. He sounded so annoyed at the prospect of children. We hadn’t talked about kids yet. Did William even want kids? I really wished I could have seen his face. Maybe then I could have read more into his words. Maybe this was something we should talk about—the two of us, having a family some day.

I yawned.

But not tonight.

M
onday morning I had a major vacation hangover. Watching William get ready for work had me missing our trip. We’d spent days alone together, just the two of us. I felt more connected to him than ever and I didn’t want that feeling to end. But William had an empire to run and I had deadlines of my own. So after a quick workout, shower, and bowl of yummy granola prepared by William’s cook, I headed to the study to get some work out of the way.

I couldn’t complain. Photography was my passion, and it hardly even seemed like work. I took a moment with my mug of dark roast to admire the view from William’s study. I really needed to get my camera out on the terrace. The frozen lake was an expanse of white and grey and in vivid contrast to the clear blue sky overhead. I knew that meant the air outside was crisp, but not too cold.

Look at me
, I thought,
so in tune with Chicago’s weather
. More and more this city was starting to feel like home, and I had William to thank for that. Despite my intense desire to get back to my condo, I had to admit that I could get used to the amazing view from my new workspace. William had gone out of his way to make me comfortable. My desk was outfitted with a top-of-the-line Mac, equipped with the latest photo-editing software. I had a printer, a scanner, and two monitors, one of which was giant—bigger than my TV.

I woke up the Mac. On the smaller screen, I had a document open with the proposal I’d written for Hutch Morrison for his digital cookbook project. I’d put it together almost immediately after our first meeting, and he’d barely looked it over before offering me the job.

I’d been so excited that I’d gushed about it to William for ten minutes before I’d realized he wasn’t saying anything. “So what do you think?” I’d asked.

“Morrison is a great chef,” William had replied coolly.

That was an understatement, although it was high praise coming from William, whose own culinary skills were right up there with some of the best chefs in the city—at least in my humble opinion. “This is such a fantastic opportunity for me. I really think a project like this could take me to the next level.”

“I don’t know. Are you sure that’s what you want to do? A project like this might take you away from other opportunities.”

“Of course, I’m sure. Hutch is at the top of his game and this project is innovative and unique. I would learn a lot and get some great exposure. I can’t believe he thought of me for it.”

That was when I’d caught the look on his face. He’d tried to hide it, but I knew him well enough to know when he didn’t like something. His mouth had turned down slightly, and his eyes had iced to blue. It had hit me. William didn’t want me working with Hutch Morrison.

“Wait, is it Hutch you’re worried about?” I’d asked, but William had changed the subject.

He hadn’t brought my working with Hutch up again, and since then, whenever I mentioned Hutch or his restaurant, Morrison Hotel, William found something else to talk about. I sighed heavily, turning my attention back to the proposal on the screen in front of me. Men and their egos—even if William was pretty cute when he was jealous.

I clicked to open a new window just as my cell rang. I didn’t recognize the number, so I answered, “This is Catherine Kelly.”

“Catherine, it’s Abigail Smith. William’s aunt.”

I smiled. “Hi Abigail. William said you wanted me to call you.

“Well, I thought I’d better call you first thing since I’m giving you such short notice. It’s unforgivably rude of me, I know. But I’d love for you to come to Lauren’s baby shower on Saturday.”

I didn’t hesitate. “Thank you for inviting me. I’d love to come.”

“I don’t know why I didn’t think of it sooner. I’m just not used to William having a...a woman in his life.”

“Well, you’re very sweet to think of me.” I glanced at the image on the monitor and had an idea. “Do you have a photographer for the event?”

“No. Do you think I should hire a photographer?” Abigail sounded a little worried now. I could almost see her pulling out a pen and a pad of paper. “Who do you recommend?”

“Actually, I’d be happy to do it. That’s if you want me to.”

“Catherine, that would be lovely. Yes. Absolutely. Thank you so much for offering. But you must promise to enjoy yourself too.”

“I will.”

“Wonderful. I’ll see you Saturday then. One o’clock at The Drake, which is just a short walk from William’s, as you know.”

After I hung up, I realized I’d forgotten to ask whether Lauren was having a girl or a boy. I’d have to call Abigail back later and ask.

I lost myself in my work for another hour and then my cell rang again, loud in the stark silence. I jumped and grabbed it. I didn’t recognize this number either. “Catherine Kelly.”

“Catherine, this is Lauren Matthews.”

“Lauren, hi.” I was a little thrown by Lauren calling me directly. We were hardly close, but I took it for what it was, a chance to get to know William’s cousin—and to ask her first hand about the baby.

“I just talked to my mother, and she said you’re coming to the shower. I’m so glad.”

“Thanks. I’m happy to be included. It was sweet of you to think of me.”

“And thank you so much for offering to take photos. I really appreciate it. Mom and I hadn’t even thought to have the shower photographed. There’s just so much to think about.”

“I’m happy to. Congratulations, by the way. William says you’re due in June.”

“Yes! Can you believe it? I feel like I’ve been pregnant forever.”

I hadn’t had a lot of experience with friends being pregnant, so I didn’t know what to say to that. “I’m sure it will go by faster than you think,” I offered.

“You’re probably right. Right now I’m just excited to see my sisters this weekend. Sarah and Zoe are both coming.”

“I don’t think I’ve met Zoe.”

“Right. That’s actually why I’m calling, sort of. Look, Catherine, I feel like I should warn you.” Lauren’s tone became hesitant. “Zoe can be, um, a bit of a handful.”

What the hell did that mean?
“Okay.”

“She’s really sweet. I love her to pieces, but when it comes to William, she gets a little intense.”

Intense. Right
. “Intense how?”

“They’re so close, you know, and sometimes they just rub each other the wrong way and it can, well, escalate. They’ve always been like that. Ever since we were kids.”

I was at a loss. William had never mentioned anything like this to me. Now I was getting nervous. “I’m sure we’ll get along great.”

“Yeah, that’s the right attitude. Thanks, Catherine. And see you Saturday, okay?”

I hung up and stared at my cell for a long moment. That was a little odd. Now I was beyond curious and—if I were being honest—a little worried about meeting Zoe. What was the deal with her and William? And I still didn’t know if Lauren was having a boy or a girl.
Shit
.

I closed my eyes and pressed my fingers to my temples. This was the part of a new boyfriend I wasn’t ready for: getting to know the family. My experience with Jace’s family had been less than stellar. I was determined my relationship with William’s family wouldn’t go the same way.

* * *

A
couple of hours later I was outside Beckett’s apartment. Now that he was working baker’s hours, he was home in the afternoon. Of course, Asa had had to drive me in the black SUV, and once we were out front, he insisted on going in first.

It was funny to think of someone lying in wait for me at Beckett’s. I’d only been here a thousand times, and the most interesting thing I’d ever seen was a woman having a loud argument on her cell. But I got that this was part of Asa’s job and that he took it seriously. And Asa in full commando mode was actually kind of entertaining. He insisted on walking in front of me into the courtyard of Beckett’s building. He was trying to appear casual as he looked the place up and down, but everything about him screamed ‘secret service.’

As we approached the outside door to the set of apartments where Beckett lived, a guy walked out and gave Asa a weird look. Then he looked at me, no doubt wondering what all the fuss was about. It hit me that I could really play this up. A big pair of sunglasses and people might think I was a celebrity.

After a quick look inside the building’s entryway, Asa gave me the all clear.

“Thanks. I’ll be at least an hour, Asa.”

“I still think I should go up with you.”

Yeah, that would be fun
. “I’ll text you when I’m ready to go.”

“Okay, Miss Kelly.”

Beckett opened the door as soon as I knocked and put a hand up to his eyes. “The light! My eyes!”

“Very funny.” I pushed my way in, and Beckett closed the door. It might have been quitting time for Beckett, but he wasn’t the kind of guy who lounged in sweatpants. He looked great in distressed jeans and a black T-shirt. I took off my coat and revealed my own black T-shirt. “Great minds,” I said, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

“The glow is blinding.”

“It’s called a tan.”

“Oh, this is more than a tan. This is an all-over”—he waved his hands up and down—“radiance.”

“A few days in the Caribbean will do that.”

“A few days of hot, no-holds-barred sex will do that, you mean. You look...shall we say, satisfied?”

I could feel the heat in my cheeks, but I couldn’t stop the smile. The sex had been spectacular, but I wasn’t going to discuss details with Beckett—at least not right now. He already thought that William and I were insatiable and I hated that he was right.

I tossed my bag on the table by the door and headed over to the couch. We’d had many long talks on this couch, and it was as familiar to me as my own couch in my condo. Maybe even more so now since my condo was off limits.

I took in Beckett’s apartment—it was sleek, with a few bright accent pieces, including a bright green bench that Beckett placed below one of my photos. He had been an early and unconditional fan of my art, and I’d brought Beckett this piece when I moved to Chicago. It was a shot of the coastline in South Africa. I had followed Jace there on tour and loved that strip of pristine beach.

“So how’s Alec?” I asked.

“Oh, Alec? We broke up.” Beckett plopped down on the couch beside me.

I shot forward. “What? When? You didn’t text me or call or anything! What happened?” I could not believe this.

He shrugged. “Valentine’s Day wasn’t that great for us. No private island, you know?”

I punched him lightly but felt a stab at the verbal jab. Private islands weren’t my thing either. “Beckett, be serious. You don’t give a shit about private islands.”

He held up a finger. “Hey, I like private islands as much as the next guy.” I glared at him. “Okay,
seriously
, what happened was we had a fight. A really big fight. And we both apologized and made up, but the next morning we both knew it was over. We agreed to remain friends. It’s not like we hate each other or anything. It just didn’t work out.”

Holy shit
. This was huge news. And I couldn’t believe Beckett was being so casual about it. “Oh, Beckett.” I hugged him hard. “I’m so sorry.”

“Cat, I’m fine.” He leaned back. “Really. I’m not heartbroken. At all. Look, no tears.”

I could see that. It was strange. He almost seemed blasé about the whole thing. This was not like Beckett at all.

“Why not?”

“Cat, we were together for like a minute. Less than a minute. I mean, Alec is a great guy, but we barely know each other. Once we started to get to know each other better, we both realized it wasn’t going to work. Our heads are just in different places.”

“But...” I didn’t even know what to say. Beckett and Alec were together only a couple of weeks less than William and me. I thought Beckett really liked Alec. Hell, I was sure he loved him. They’d seemed to get along so well and there was definitely tons of chemistry. What could have happened? And why wasn’t Beckett upset at all?

“But,” I said again, not sure what came next. What could I say to get him to tell me more?

“Oh, shit!” Beckett looked down at his watch. “I totally forgot I have to go meet the restaurant supply guy about loaf pans.”

I stared at him, uncomprehending. Loaf pans? Seriously? He knew I was coming over. He chose the time for us to meet. I couldn’t help but wonder if he was trying to get rid of me because he didn’t want to talk about Alec. I was in shock. Was I supposed to argue? Maybe Beckett just needed his space? What was my job here as Beckett’s bestie—let him throw me out or insist he talk to me?