A Solitary Romance: Book 1 in the Only Love Series (20 page)

"Yes, Doctor.  Thank you for calling." Kate signed off, relieved.

She sent a quick email off to James and another to her father.  Although Donald Crimshaw didn't know about the tests, she figured she should let him know she'd had them, and that all had turned out fine.  This would relieve any fears he harbored about his daughter's health.  Then she traded her old pajamas for work attire, glancing at the platinum Dior dress she'd left hanging on the closet door. 
What if I strode into the office in that?
  The idea brought a smile to her face.  Her boss had
almost
driven her mad these past months.  If she acted crazy, perhaps stress leave could pay her bills while she found a better situation.  Katrina enjoyed playing with the fantasy for the next few minutes, then decided to arm herself for the day the only way she knew how.

She felt confident strolling into the office in her ultra-feminine, pale pink ruffled dress.  A lightweight fabric allowed intermittent rows of two-inch ruffles, trailing on the diagonal across her skirt, to flutter like butterflies with every step she took.  A self-belt cinched her tiny waist while more ruffles served as cap sleeves.  A set of tiny, mother of pearl buttons dribbled from the jewel neckline to her chest.  Pin tucks, sewn down the top, kept the upper portion crisp.  Small pearl ear fobs, topped with silver bows studded with clear rhinestone chips, finished her soft look.  Katrina appeared as if she'd just stepped from a French atelier's shop.

Behind her office door, she checked her emails.  Harriet required everyone present at ten for an all hands meeting.  She hoped her friend's comments hadn't caused Robert harm.  She couldn't help herself.  She wished only good things for that impossible man.

Kiki knocked on her door and entered before she could respond. 

"Wow!  Get a look at you, Girl.  What's the occasion?" the receptionist teased.

"I wanted to feel tough, and oddly enough, a pretty ruffle, pearls, and pink allow that," she joked, and both girls laughed.

"What do you think about this meeting at ten?"

"I don't want to even think about it.  I'm sure she'll announce that you're leaving, and I just can't bear that, Kiki."

"Pish!"

"By the way,
was
that James phoning you this morning?"

Kiki grinned, then nodded.  She toyed with a pen on her friend's desk and avoided eye contact.

"You like him, don't you?"

The Hawaiian nodded.

"I’m glad.  I hope it works out for you two.  You'd be good for him.  The military has hardened him, but I'm hoping civilian life can change that."

"Hmm," the receptionist purred, then added, "all right.  I'll see you at ten.  Chin up, Old Thing!"

"Thanks," she said after a laugh.

She found herself waiting for the meeting on pins and needles.  She hoped Robert hadn't seen the article in the
Times
and hadn't paid attention when she'd been summoned as
Violet
last night. 
Too much to ask?

At a quarter till, she heard a commotion outside her office.  She rose, opened her door, and saw a group forming near the reception desk.  The sounds wafting her way were that of happy people.  Before she could join them, the pack parted and William Dodd strode her way, a woman on his arm.  Samantha Jones smiled at Katrina.  She'd changed hairstyles but otherwise looked the same.  The auditor smiled back before she realized what this meant.

Robert had been fired, and William Dodd had lured her old boss back to the firm somehow.   Mr. Dodd positively glowed, greeting his employees and beaming at Samantha.  Kate slipped back into her office and closed the door.  She felt tears well behind her lids and fought to control herself. 

Why am I so upset that Robert got his just desserts?

She turned her back to the door and waited for the crowd to parade past her office on their way to the conference room.  Gripping the arms of her chair, she knew there was no way she could attend that meeting.  No one would believe her tears were that of joy, and she'd be utterly humiliated.  Maybe no one would notice her absence in all the excitement.  No wonder she hadn't spotted her boss this morning.  He'd been sacked.

Thinking fast, she composed an email to Harriet Reynolds, explaining she'd become ill and had to leave the office.  She copied Mr. Dodd, adding a congratulatory note regarding his return.  She'd sit tight, then slip from the office after the meeting began.  No one would be the wiser.  She moved to the window and stared absentmindedly at the hazy Los Angeles skyline.  The smog always intensified during the hot months of summer.  She lost track of time, growing more depressed by the minute.  She'd never get to see Robert LaSalla again.

"Why aren't you at the meeting?  It's not optional," a low voice growled from behind.

Startled, Katrina gasped and spun on her heels.  Robert moved towards her.  She hadn't heard him enter or close the door.

Unshaven, dark stubble shaded his jaw and chin.  He looked as though he'd been out all night and lost his glasses in the process.  Something about he way he looked at her set off bells in her head and tingling in her toes.

"Stop right there," she commanded.

"Why?" he said in a softer tone, ceasing his advance.

The corner of his mouth twitched upward.  She didn't really have an answer for him.  What was he doing here?  Without realizing it, she bit her lip and shook her head.  Kate stepped back to put more distance between them, but the credenza stopped her progress.  She panicked.

"You've insulted me, shown up where you didn't belong, asked me inappropriate questions, and generally caused me no end of stress.  I want you to leave." Her words tumbled from her lips, which his eyes watched with interest as she spoke, making her even more uncomfortable.

"I apologize, Miss Crimshaw.  But you create conflicting emotions in me."  He paused and arched an eyebrow at her before continuing, "You always have.  I vacillate between wishing to scoop you in my arms and protect you from the world, and wanting to catch you behind closed doors and have my way with you."

"Stop that!  You can't talk to me that way.  It's . . . it's . . . it's harassment.  Don't you know that?" she stammered.  Incoherent thoughts bounced around in her brain.  What was he saying?

Flustered, Katrina trembled all over and glanced right and left as if searching for an escape route.  The man moved another step closer, his steady gaze smoldering with desire.

"It's not harassment," he whispered, the corners of his lips twisting into a grin.

"Yes, it is!"

Robert shook his head, drawing closer still.  Kate saw her chance and took it.  She bolted to his left, hoping to catch him off guard, squeeze between him and the wall, and reach the door before he could stop her.

His immediate response trapped her.  He tugged Katrina to his chest and wrapped his arms around her like steel bands.

"I quit this morning, so I can say whatever I like, Katrina," he said, his voice rumbling, heavy with need.  "What I've longed to tell you for months," he added.

He cupped her chin in one large hand and drew her lips to his.  At first gentle, but quickly intensifying, he deepened their kiss.  As fireworks exploded in Katrina's brain, his other hand pressed into her back, molding her body to his.  When he at last released her mouth, oxygen rushed from her lungs.  Her mind raced, not comprehending what was happening but too weak to care.  The electricity that ran through her made her knees give, but Robert held her so tight it wasn't noticeable.

The man's lips were at her ear, whispering and caressing that sensitive spot.

Through breaths ragged with longing, he said, "I love you, Kate, my beautiful girl. I've always loved you.  Why could you not see it?"

He took her face in his hands again and pressed his hungry lips against hers, demanding more of the girl.  Robert slid his hands to her hips, pulling her against his muscular thighs.  She could hardly breathe.

She leaned away from him before she lost control of her wits and everything else.

"What about Barry?" she blurted.  "I'm . . . I'm involved."

Robert played with the mother of pearl buttons on her dress.  Taking one between his thumb and forefinger, he caressed each tiny orb thoroughly before moving on to the next.  Kate thought she'd die, her heart pounded so fiercely.

"He doesn't matter.  No one else matters, Katrina.  I think you know that," he said, dipping his chin to capture her lips again. 

The man abandoned the buttons, which were only for show, and ran his fingers through her hair.  Kate thought she'd go wild.  Robert lifted her onto the credenza, ignoring her gasp.  All the passion he'd pushed down detonated inside her when he took her mouth in another explosive kiss.

"Please, Robert.  You have to stop.  I can't take this," she confessed when he finally released her lips. 

He smiled down at her, and she wanted to melt into his arms again.

"I've never been kissed like that.  I—I—"

"Shhh," he interrupted, placing his forefinger across her lips

She longed to kiss that finger, to suck it inside her mouth and caress it with her tongue, but she held back.  Instead, she ran a hand over his stubbled jaw, caressing the pulse which throbbed below his ear.

"I need time to think," she said breathlessly.

"I don’t believe that's the case, Violet."  He took her hand from his face, flipped it over in his palm, and pressed his lips to her wrist.  Then he lifted his head.  "I
am
the man of your dreams, after all," he said, a sly grin playing across his face.

It took a moment for his words to sink in.  He
had
taken note of her pen name, and he
had
read her blog!  A hideous thought crept across her brain and she searched his face, looking for the truth. 
Is he trying to take advantage of me because of what I wrote?  Does he think I'm easy pickings?
Pain and anguish displayed themselves clearly on her face.

"What's wrong, Katrina?  Don't let what that idiot did to you years ago make you doubt what we have," he said, his voice harsh.

She continued to scrutinize his face.  Kate wanted to believe him more than anything, but how could she be sure?

"Oh, my beautiful girl, I want to marry you, don't you understand?  I've waited all these years for you, and now we have a chance, our chance.  Trust me, Precious One."

He drew her into another embrace, lifting her from the credenza, and allowed his hands to roam up and down her back.

Kate's tears began to flow.  Robert felt her body tremble in his arms and heard her small sobs.

"Katrina, listen to me," he whispered.  "When we met, you were the opposite of all I'd experienced overseas.  I couldn't believe I got to sit with you every day.  Soft, feminine, sweet, lovely, wounded.  Your perfume alone drove me wild.  I could barely keep my hands off you.  I could tell you'd been hurt, and I was so in tune to your every movement, every word, every sound, every breath.  It didn’t take me long to pick up on what Rod did to you."

She pulled back and searched his eyes. 

"You knew about my fiancée?"

"Of course. I eavesdropped on your conversations.  I learned about all kinds of things, like your high moral code, love of jewelry, etcetera."

He chuckled softly and smiled down at her.  He continued, "It was the only way I could be close to you.  Katrina, you were awfully gun shy and you wanted nothing to do with me.  The way you avoided me, I thought I frightened you."

"I wouldn't have been able to get through your crowd of admirers had I wanted to, Robert," she said, her voice flat.

"You were the only one who mattered to me.  Encouraging those girls was my
indirect
approach, my way of getting to know you.  I guess I thought you'd become interested if you saw that others wanted me.  But, I learned that didn’t impress you.  I tried everything to get your attention, Katrina.  The more you ignored me, the more I wanted you."

She gave him a sheepish smile. 

"You did scare me, Robert.  You were so handsome, but I'd been burned, badly, not long before.  I probably sensed that inner hardness brought on by your military experiences, and it frightened me.  Oh, and you
never
asked me out.  I would have remembered that."

"I did, or at least I tried.  I attempted to slip it into the conversation casually, so saying
yes
would be easy for you.  I bet you were probably daydreaming, because you ignored me and never gave me an answer."

She wondered how she could have missed that invitation.

He continued, "When the Capital Bank job finished, I felt terrible.  I moped for weeks because I didn't see you anymore.  Your beautiful face and sweet voice, your softness, had all been my reason for getting out of bed each morning.  Imagine how happy I was to see you at the library that night.  I felt that God had answered my prayers."

"Prayers?" she asked, nuzzling her head against his chest.

"I prayed for you every day, Katrina.  That God would bring us together, that He'd protect you and keep you safe.  After a few years, I began to doubt we'd ever meet again.  I sent you an invitation to a party once, but it came back
Address Unknown
.  You never attended any professional society meetings either.  I searched the internet, but I didn't know to look for
Violet
."

Kate gave his chest a playful swat, and Robert laughed, a deep, long laugh.  As she rested in his arms, she felt his taut chest muscles ripple then relax.  He wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Over time, my prayers changed, focusing on your happiness and safety.  I never knew if God heard me or not."

"Then we ran into each other at the library," she stated.

"Yes.  That was one of the happiest moments of my life, Kate.  There you sat, unchanged, as if I'd just seen you the day before.  But you ran off the first chance you got."

"I did," she said, nodding.

Robert shifted one hand to Katrina's back and with the other ran his fingers through her hair, twisting the odd tendril around his finger before releasing the strand to find another.  He tugged on one of her long locks, tilting her face upward.  His dark eyes smoldered with a fire that consumed the girl, and she willingly parted her lips to receive his kiss.