Catia (Starkis Family #6) (12 page)

Karen looked shocked when she opened the door to find me in her dimly lit hallway. “Chase! What are you doing here?”

“Can I come in?”

“Sure.” She stepped back, letting me inside her apartment. It was bright and spacious, hardly a hovel but nothing like the sprawling estate home we’d shared. “This must be about the girls since we have nothing else to discuss.”

“It is about the girls. Our visitation setup isn’t working for them, so we need to figure out a way to fix it. Obviously it’ll have to go through our lawyers, but I thought we could hammer out the details now so it’ll just be a formality by the time we go to them.”

“Okay,” she said, sounding wary.

“I’d like you to have more time with Elsie and Em, and I know they want that too.”

“Really?” Her green eyes, which had been her best feature years ago, sparkled again.

“Yeah.” I nodded. “We had a long talk the other night, and I realized part of the reason they’ve been lashing out at me so much is because they miss you. My intent was never to hurt them. We both made mistakes, Karen, but they sure as hell shouldn’t have to pay for them.”

She folded her arms over her slender frame. “You’re right. I feel terrible about what happened. I can’t believe I was stupid enough to go out and leave them alone like that.” A tear dripped down her cheek, and she brushed it away. “I still beat myself up about it every day. It’s hard for me to admit it, but you were right to take them away from me. I would’ve done the same thing in your position.”

Wow.
I couldn’t believe my ex-wife and I were having a civil conversation without our lawyers to referee. “I really want to put everything that happened behind us. I’ll admit I was angry and bitter for a long time, but I’m tired of feeling that way. I just want to move on.”

“Move on?” she asked, raising an eyebrow. “With another woman?”

So much for civil. I knew any mention of another woman being a part of her daughters’ lives would send her into a tailspin. But I refused to make Catia my dirty little secret. If Karen didn’t like the idea of me dating, that was her problem, not mine. “I am seeing someone.”

“Who is she?”

I decided to fill her in before our girls could. “Her name is Catia Starkis. We worked together on a project last year before she moved back to Chicago.”

“She lives in Chicago?” she asked, sounding hopeful.

“She did. Now she lives here. On my street, as a matter of fact.”

“Sounds cozy,” she said, the light diming in her eyes as though I’d imagined it.

“She works for me too. As a project manager.”

Her eyes narrowed as though she’d suddenly had a lightbulb moment. “Wait a minute. Did you say her name was Starkis? Not
the
Starkis?”

Catia’s family was infamous for a variety of reasons: business acumen, philanthropic endeavors, wealth, and bad behavior. “Her father owns the restaurant I built here last year.”

“And her cousin owns Alabaster’s, right?”

Figured my ex would be well-acquainted with Deacon’s high-end lingerie company. “That’s right.”

“Oh my God, your new girlfriend is an heiress?” Nothing lit Karen up quite like dollar signs. “Her family has
billions.
” She whispered the word as though it was the holy grail of life achievements.

“They also happen to be decent, hard-working people.” Not that I expected that to make an impression on her. Karen had been raised in a working-class family that taught her that marrying up was her only hope of getting rich.

“Sure they are,” she said, rolling her eyes.

“You don’t even know them.”

“I don’t have to know them. People who are that rich are always crooked.”

“Right, and you’re as pure as the driven snow, aren’t you?” With an uncle in jail for beating his wife, she didn’t have any room to pass judgment on Catia’s family. “Look, I didn’t come here to argue with you. I came here to offer you an opportunity to spend more time with our kids. Are you interested or not?”

“Of course I am, but—”

“Good. I was thinking you could come to my place next weekend. We can have a barbeque, if that works for you?”

She smiled. “That would be wonderful, but do you really think we could get through the day without arguing?”

“We don’t have a choice. Besides, I think Em and Elsie saw enough of that while we were married, don’t you?” I’d always tried to keep our disagreements behind closed doors, but when we were angry, our voices carried. Even in a house the size of ours, it wasn’t easy to hide the fact we fought a lot.

“I do,” she said, hanging her head.

“Okay, then let’s try this out. If it works, we can talk to our lawyers about amending the custody agreement. I assume we’ll have to appear in front of the judge again to make it official, but that shouldn’t pose a problem if this is what we both want.”

“I do want this,” she said, stepping forward.

My first impulse was to step back, but I knew she would see that as an affront.

“Thank you.” She kissed my cheek. “You don’t know how much this second chance means to me, Chase.”

“Just remember, I’m doing it for the kids. Not for us.”

Catia

I slid a beer across the table to John as he jotted down the names of the service people he’d contracted in the area. I needed someone to shovel snow in the winter and cut grass in the summer, and he claimed “his guys” were the best, so I’d invited him inside to fill me in.

“Thanks,” he said before tipping back the beer. “That should cover it.” He gave the list a quick once-over. “I included the names of my plumber and electrician too since you mentioned a renovation.”

“I appreciate it.” Though I already had great tradesmen on speed dial. Folding the list in two, I asked, “How long have you lived in the area?”

“I guess it’ll be eleven years in the spring. My ex-wife fell in love with the place.”

“I see,” I said, reaching for my wine glass. I was making small talk, but I didn’t want to hear his life story.

“She fought me like hell for the house in the divorce settlement, but I wouldn’t budge. She wanted to buy this beachfront condo in California ‘cause it was close to her parents. So she got that, and I got the house. It was a better deal for me since my dealerships are here.”

“How about your kids?” I asked, knowing he had a boy and a girl. “Do you see them often with them living so far away?”

“I see them when I can,” he said, shrugging. “It’s supposed to be a week at Christmas and a few weeks in the summer, but they’re at that age when they don’t have time for their old man. They’d rather spend time with their friends, so I don’t push it.”

I thought of the hell Chase had gone through to get custody of his kids while John seemed content with birthday cards and the occasional phone call. “How old did you say they are?”

“Eight and ten.”

They were still young, which meant if they didn’t want to spend time with their dad, there was probably a reason. Like the fact that he was clearly a self-centered jerk.

My doorbell rang as John’s eyes drifted over me. “Expecting someone?”

“No.” But I welcomed the interruption. Any excuse to get rid of him. “Excuse me. I’ll see who it is.”

I felt his eyes tracking my every move, and I had to suppress a shudder. He was openly ogling me, making me wonder why the hell I’d invited him into my house in the first place.

“Hey, babe,” Chase said when I opened the door. He smiled before leaning in to kiss me. “My mom invited the kids for a sleepover tonight, so I was hoping I could talk you into sharing this with me.” He didn’t wait for an invitation before setting the pizza box and wine bottle on the hall table.

“Chase,” I said, grabbing his arm before he could make his way into the living room. “I, um, have company.”

He glanced into the living room, which was visible from the foyer, and clenched his jaw. “What the hell is he doing here?”

I rested my hand on his shoulder, feeling the tension. “Please be nice. We’re neighbors. I don’t want any hard feelings.”

“I told you how I feel about that guy, Cat. You can’t trust him.”

“Hey,” John said, coming out of the living room, “haven’t seen you in a while, Chase. How’s business?”

Chase took an audible breath before accepting the hand John offered. “Never better. You?”

“Can’t complain.” He nudged Chase’s elbow with his. “I guess I could, but who the hell would listen, right?”

“Mmmm.”

Chase was obviously barely able to hold his temper, and I knew something must have happened to set him off aside from finding my next-door neighbor at my house.

“John,” I said, smiling at him, “I hope you don’t mind, but I just remembered some business I have to discuss with Chase.” Anything to get rid of John.

“That’s right,” John said, looking from me to Chase. “Catia mentioned she was working for you now. How’s that working out?”

“Fine,” Chase said, clenching and releasing his fist.

“Can’t be easy to keep your mind on the job with a distraction like this, huh?” John asked in a stage whisper. “I know if she was working for me, I wouldn’t get any work done.”

I could tell Chase was about ready to snap, so I grabbed John’s arm and led him to the door. “Thanks for those names, John.”

“Uh, yeah, sure.” He glanced at Chase. “What’s he so uptight about?”

“I don’t know. Probably just work stuff,” I said, wishing he’d leave already. “I’ll see you around, okay?”

“Hey, I was thinking if you’re not busy tomorrow night, maybe we could grab some dinner?”

Oh God, this was going from bad to worse. “I don’t think so,” I said, smiling sweetly to soften the blow. “But thanks for the offer.” I closed the door before he could suggest another time, and I leaned against it with a heavy sigh. “Sorry about that, Chase. I wasn’t expecting you.”

He narrowed his eyes. “What the hell was that?”

“What?” I knew he was angry, but I didn’t think I’d done anything to warrant it.

“Why was he here?” he asked, glaring at me.

If he thought he could tell me who I could and couldn’t be friends with, it was time to set him straight. “He was filling me in on who to call for lawn care and snow removal.”

“You could have asked me.”

I grabbed the pizza and wine he’d brought and took them into the kitchen, forcing him to follow me if he expected to continue this asinine conversation. “We were both pulling in at the same time. We started chatting. He said he was having someone come in to do a yard cleanup tomorrow, and it occurred to me I needed to find someone too. I asked him who he used, and he said he had the info in his phone and if I invited him in for a beer, he’d be happy to fill me in.” Reaching into the cupboard for plates, I added, “Satisfied now? It was totally innocent. And you overreacted.”

“When I walk into my woman’s place and find her acting all nervous while she’s having drinks with another guy, I’m gonna be pissed. Especially when that guy keeps looking at her like he can’t wait to get her into bed.”

“
Your
woman, huh?” The feminist in me wanted to smack him, but the woman who remembered how good it had felt to share a bed with him wanted to dare him to make me his in every way. “When did we decide that? I thought we agreed to take it slow.”

“Slow? You want slow?”

He rounded the table so fast I didn’t have time to escape. Not that I would have.

“I can give you slow.” He backed me against the stainless steel fridge as he fisted my hair and kissed me. The kiss was not only slow but thorough. He traced every crevice of my mouth with his tongue until I was moaning and ready for more than just a kiss. “I can give you fast.” This time the kiss was more demanding, almost punishing. “I can give it to you any goddamn way you want it.”

“Hey,” I said, sliding my hand into his hair and tugging just enough to get his attention. “Where the hell is all this coming from? Why are you in such a mood today?”

“I just feel like I’m gonna break any second. I’ve been walking this tightrope for so damn long, trying to do what’s right. I don’t know how much longer I can do it.”

“What happened?” I brushed my lips across his, hoping to ease his stress in some way. “Rough day?”

“Rough day. Rough month. Rough year.” He hung his head before his eyes locked with mine. “And it all started when I let you walk out of that hotel room after we made love. I should have tried to stop you. I should have figured out a way for us to make it work instead of giving up.”

“The past doesn’t matter,” I said, hoping that was as true for him as it was for me. “We’re here together now. We can figure this out.” I was expecting a bumpy ride, but I didn’t want to give up on us any more than he did. Not this time.

“I need you.” His big, calloused hands reached for the buttons running down the length of my fitted black cotton shirt. “Tell me you need me too, Cat. I need to hear you say it.”

I’d heard men say they needed me before, but I’d never understood what that meant until now. Chase was holding his breath, waiting for my response, as though the very act of breathing demanded mutual consent.

“You know I want you.”

“What I know,” he said, tearing open my shirt, “is how many other men want you.”

I should have been appalled, but I’d never been more aroused.

His eyes devoured my heaving breasts before he swiped his tongue over the swell spilling over the black lace cups. “I need to know you’re mine. This time I can’t make love to you until I hear those words.”

“I’m yours.” I had been the last time we’d made love and every day since. No other man had even come close to tempting to me to stray from the unspoken commitment I’d made to him that night.

“If we do this again,” he said, reaching for the button on my low-cut jeans as his heated gaze pinned mine, “we both have to be all in. We need to figure out a way to make this work. No more running. No more excuses.”

“Agreed.” That was the only thing I’d ever wanted, the reason I’d come back here and gotten a job with his company.

“Good.” He kissed my neck, ratcheting my desire even higher as his scruff abraded my skin while his hand found its way into my panties.