Against the Wall (Stoddard Art School Series Book 3) (15 page)

He groaned. “Seven o’clock. No arguments, no work. I’m taking you to dinner. I’ll make reservations at the Chart House. Wear that little black dress you had on last night. Dear God, please wear panties—or not—just don’t tell me.”

“Wouldn’t it be worse if you weren’t sure and had to leave the wondering to your imagination?”

“Here I thought you were such a sweet woman. You enjoy getting me crazy.”

“Just another of my superpowers,” she teased. “Fine. I swear, I’ll wear something special under my skirt. I have the perfect pair. Black. Lace. It looks like a delicate butterfly.”

“Kay…” he warned.

“But wait…do thongs really count as panties? I mean, they don’t cover much. More a suggestion than an actual article of clothing.”

“You’re evil.”

“No, I’m not. I only use my powers for good.”

Chapter Seventeen

Kay folded the last of her drop cloths and grinned at the tiny addition she’d made to the mural just for Bear. It was high on the wall and so well hidden, he’d probably never find it. The thought of him searching made her smile.

Physically, she’d hit her own wall. Exhaustion claimed her. She had superpowers, but she was no Wonder Woman. Locking up the inn, she stopped to take a deep breath of sea air. The weather was becoming wonderfully warm into the evenings. Tourists had started their descent into the sleepy little harbor. The typical quiet of a Friday night was no more with several of the businesses in town keeping their doors open for late shoppers. Traffic was heavier with folks coming up early to start their weekends, but the mood was light and carefree.

She passed a small group of six, three couples by the look. They were laughing and talking excitedly about their plans. Kay was still smiling when she settled into her car and fit the key into the ignition. She was happy. Feet-not-quite-touching-the-ground giddy. And all because she’d taken a chance and allowed herself to trust Bear.

He was wonderful. Fun, kind, and caring. Not to mention gorgeous, sexy, and insatiable. It was a thrilling rush knowing how she affected him. Knowing he wanted her as much as she wanted him. They could barely keep their hands off one another. She’d never been so bold, but then she’d never been with anyone like him.

Before she could start the car, her cell vibrated. Dottie had left a message earlier asking Kay to stop by for pizza night again. She’d lost track of time and hadn’t returned the call.

“I’m so sorry, I forgot to call you back. I hope you went ahead and ate without me.”

“It’s me, Kay.”

Todd.
Her first instinct was to throw the phone away from her as if it were covered in hairy spiders. She pulled it away from her ear and stared at the screen while contemplated hanging up. Her heart fumbled for a beat.

“
Kay
?” She heard him calling to her.

She lifted the phone to her ear. “What?”

“Where are you?”

“What difference does it make?” All the emotions she’d so carefully tucked out of sight flooded back. Hurt. Betrayal. Anger.

“I’ve been looking all over town for you.”

Anger was leading the wave. “I can’t imagine why.”

“We need to talk.”

“No, we don’t,” she snapped.

“Okay, I get it, you’re pissed, and I totally deserve it. I’m an fucking asshole..”

“I’m hanging up now.” She pulled the phone away from her ear to push the disconnect button.

His voice reached through the phone to stop her. “No! Don’t. Wait. Please.”

“No, you wait,” she barked. “I left Stoddard weeks ago. Not that it makes one damn bit of difference, but why are you calling now?”

“I miss you.”

Kay choked out a bitter laugh. “Bullshit.”

“I
do
. I still love you, Kay-Kay,” he pleaded in the sappy sweet voice she remembered so well.

“Don’t call me that.” The familiar nickname squeezed the air from her lungs. “And you don’t get to say you love me. Not anymore.”

“We were getting married.”

The punch to her heart made her wince. “I remembered. It was you who forgot.”

“We can work through this. Other couples do. I think maybe I was having cold feet. You know, about the wedding. We can go to counseling or something.”

“I don’t need counseling.” Kay watched another tourist couple walk arm in arm up the sidewalk. They stopped in front of the inn. The woman pointed toward the top floor before they kissed. The quick flash of a diamond ring decorated her left hand. Perhaps they were planning to stay at the inn for their honeymoon. They started taking selfies in front of the sign. Kay had to look away.

“I think I might have a sexual addiction, Kay.”

“How convenient for you.” The pain in her chest twisted her gut.

“It’s a real disease. Don’t you care?”

“If you’re sick, get help. If this is just a sad excuse to somehow justify your screwing around, I feel bad for you, because you’ll never be happy and you’ll have no one to blame but yourself. Go live your life, Todd. Do whatever you want. Whoever you want. It doesn’t concern me anymore.”

“I want you back, Kay. I’m sorry. So sorry. Say it’s not too late.”

Kay rubbed at the space between her eyebrows. “It
is
too late. It’s over. I’ve moved on.”

“What does that mean?” His voice took on a sharp edge. “Are you seeing someone else?”

“Yes,” she answered with no hesitation. Bear’s last kiss had her shifting in her seat. The way he’d held her tight against the plastered wall, pinning her hands above her head, ravaging her mouth as he pressed the hot, hard length of his body against her. “Yes, I’m seeing someone.”

“Well, that was fucking quick. So much for true love. What’s his name?” Todd’s raised voice bellowed through the receiver.

“Don’t you dare preach to me,” Kay shot back. “You have no right. True love? What do you know of true love? You’re the one who cheated. How
is
Gwen?”

“How long, Kay?” He conveniently dodged the question about his ex. “How long before you hooked up with this new guy?”

“You and I were done weeks ago.”

“So you’re already sleeping with him,” he snipped.

“I’m not discussing this.” The couple in front of the inn had moved on. Kay could still see them in her rearview mirror. They were holding hands as they walked away.

“Well, that’s a yes.”

“It’s none of your business.”

“Jeez, I almost feel bad for the bastard.”

Kay frowned. The last thing she wanted to do was play one of Todd’s games, but she knew if she didn’t ask, it would eat at her for days. “Why would you feel bad for him?”

“’Cause he’s your rebound guy. It’ll never last. Rebounds never work. I give it two, three weeks, max.”

“Shut your mouth.” The twisting in her gut dropped. Had they been face to face, she would have slapped him. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“It’s classic.” Kay could hear the smirk in his voice. “Wait and see if I’m right.”

“Goodbye, Todd.”

“I’ll just bide my time. You’ll be back. Wherever you are, you have to come home to Stoddard eventually. No way you’ll walk away from your degree when you’re so close to graduating. You’ve only got one more year. By the time fall semester rolls around, whatever this thing you’ve got going is sure to be over. I can wait. Give me a call when you get to Stoddard.”

“I won’t be calling you.”

“Yes, you will. You’ll see.”

Kay slammed the phone onto the seat. “Aaaahhhh!” She lowered her forehead onto the steering wheel. “No. I’m not listening to that lying bastard. I refuse to let him get to me.” She spoke to her lap. “He’s full of shit. Rebound guy? He knows nothing.”

She lifted her head and started the car. Checking the mirrors, she pulled out onto Main Street, and she noticed the engaged couple had started to walk back the way they’d come.

In a rush of jealousy, she punched her foot on the accelerator. “Todd knows nothing.”

Loading her palette the next morning, she was still reliving the phone conversation and cursing Todd. She hated that he’d managed to work his poison into her brain. He was so wrong about her and Bear. What they had was the real thing. The entire notion of her becoming involved with him as some feeble attempt to recover from Todd’s betrayal was beyond ludicrous.

Forget about it. Think about something else!
How many times had she told herself that over the last twelve hours? But his words kept playing over and over in her mind like a song that gets stuck, slowly driving you crazy. “
I almost feel bad for the bastard, he’s your rebound guy
…”

Kay added more white to the paint she was working with. It was still too dark, but she couldn’t seem to bring up the tone and lighten the color. Each time she tried, it screamed at her from the wall. Frustrated, she wiped it all away with her rag. By now, her palette resembled a mud puddle. She scraped it all into the trash and hit the kitchen for a cup of coffee. Cutting half of the murky mess with milk, she ignored the box of day-old bagels and stale donuts and propped herself against the counter. She winced as she tasted the bitter brew, and added more milk.

It was where Bear and Shadow found her when they arrived. The dog beat his master to her, jumped up to put his front paws on her chest, and gave her a sloppy chin kiss.

“Hey, off,” Bear scolded. “She’s mine.” He pulled the dog to one side and held him away from her while he kissed her hello. “I like this. Seeing you here in the morning. Knowing I’ll be seeing you again tonight.” He kissed her again. “I’m liking this a lot.”

“Good morning.” She forced a smile.

He grabbed a cup and poured himself some coffee. “I thought you hated my coffee?” He drank it black.

“I do, but I forgot to stop on my way over.” She stared into her cup. “At least if I drink this I can blame my shaky hands for a lousy paint day,” she mumbled.

“What do you mean lousy? Everything okay?”

“It’s fine.” She gave a quick shake of her head. “You ever have days when your work seems…off?”

“Sure.” He came to stand in front of her and rubbed her arm. “It’s not fair to be brilliant every day.” He smiled.

“I’m not even close to brilliant today. What’s the exact opposite? I hate this when it happens, but I’ve been doing this long enough to learn there are some days I need to step away from it before I end up ruining it.”

“You won’t ruin it.” When she wouldn’t look up at him, he nudged her chin. “Hey,” he whispered. Kay couldn’t stop the sudden rush of tears that had been threatening since she hung up the damn phone last night. “Whoa. Don’t cry.” Bear gave her a small kiss before he took away her coffee and lifted her to sit on the counter. He moved between her knees as he cupped her face. “Sweetheart…” He brushed the stubborn tear away from her cheek. “You’re being way too hard on yourself. It’s okay. You’re just having an off morning.”

Kay buried her face into the now familiar smell of Bear’s neck and wrapped her arms around his chest. He crushed her closer and held her, stroking her back. Shushing her as if she were a child waking after a bad dream. Shadow whined at her feet and pawed at her sneaker.

“I’m sorry,” she mumbled into his shoulder.

“Stop. You’ve nothing to be sorry about.”

Kay pulled back and wiped at her eyes. She gave herself a small shake and tried to pull it together. “Way to be professional. I should add
occasionally cries on boss
to my resumé.” She smiled as she brushed at his damp shoulder.

“I’m not your boss right now. I’m the man who cares about you.”

“I’m fine.” The worry in his eyes threatened to undo her. “Really.” She kissed him. “I don’t know what’s come over me. The moon must be in retrograde or something ridiculous.” She reached down and patted Shadow’s silky head. “I’ve even upset your dog.”

“He loves you.” Something in the way Bear said it made Kay’s breath catch. She met his serious gaze. “The dog loves you…and the man who cares. I love you, too.”

Chapter Eighteen

And she loved him. The dog, and most definitely the man.

She’d said as much before he’d practically crushed her in his arms. Her eyes had filled with tears again, and for a moment, he’d lost his mind. When had he become one of those men who crumbled at the sight of a woman’s tears?

He’d been preparing to tell her how he felt after dinner that night. Whether before, during, or after he’d properly seduced her, he hadn’t decided. But when he came in and found her so upset. It tore at his heart. The words had just tumbled out. Not that he regretted saying them. He’d meant every word.

Kay loved him. He’d taken the blame for her rotten morning. It was his fault she’d tried to switch her schedule. No wonder things weren’t working as well as before. He was being selfish, but he didn’t care. He wanted her. He needed to be with her.

He offered to take her home, but she insisted she was fine. Better than fine. In fact, because the workday had taken such a beautiful turn, she was going shopping. She wanted something special to wear tonight. Panties included, although she wouldn’t elaborate on what defined the term
skimpy
. He could only imagine. That was the problem. If he imagined any more, he’d never make it through the day.

Bear was due to pick her up at seven. He was early.

He heard her call down to him from upstairs. “Come on in. Door’s open. I’m almost ready.”

Bear let himself into the kitchen. “You shouldn’t leave your door open. It’s not safe. I could be a serial killer,” he called.

From overhead he heard, “This is Bell Harbor, not LA.”

“They still have serial killers in Maine, you know.”

“I’m safe. They’d never work weekends.”

“You’re right.” He chuckled. Bear walked out into the shade of the back deck to wait. He shifted the cellophane-wrapped flowers he’d brought to his other hand and noted the fresh bowl of cat kibble. Scanning the surrounding greenery, he realized he’d yet to lay eyes on Kay’s cat. What was the feline’s name again, Hope? “Are you sure you have a cat?” he teased, talking to himself. “I think you’re making her up. Would that make you Hope-less?”

Bear turned laughing to find Kay standing in the doorway. The laughter died on his lips. She was drop-dead gorgeous. Her hair was loose and fell into soft curls at her shoulders. Gold earrings caught the light. The dress she wore crisscrossed her body to form a wide, low V-neckline and tied into a bow on one side. It hugged her curves like a Ferrari. A cherry-red Ferrari.