Heart-Shaped Hack (10 page)

Ian pushed the button to run his seat back as far as it would go. “Come over here.”

“Hold on. There’s a family getting out of the car next to us. I don’t want to traumatize the kids. Aw, they’re wearing Mickey Mouse ears.”

“Are they gone?”

“Almost.” Kate waited until they shut their trunk and started to walk away before she scaled the console and sat sideways in Ian’s lap.

“Much better,” he said, kissing her deeply. He smelled so good, and she fit in his lap perfectly. She settled in and let herself get lost in his kisses, which was becoming easier and easier to do.

“Your upper lip has the most adorable curve right here on either side,” she said, touching it with her finger. “It makes you look like you always have a secret.”

“You have many curves that I like.” He ran his hand along the side of her breast, down to her waist, and along her hip.

“You are one gorgeous man,” Kate said, looking into his eyes.

“I thought you said you didn’t find me all that handsome.”

She kissed him. “Lies, nothing but lies.”

He slid his hand up the front of her shirt and rubbed his thumb back and forth across the cup of her bra while he kissed her. Her nipple hardened immediately.

“Admit that I’m the one you were thinking about in the bathtub.”

“Of course it was you.”

“Is this what you were imagining?” He slipped his hand inside her bra and caught her nipple between two fingers, tugging gently on it.

“Yes,” she said, whimpering into his mouth. Kate didn’t want him to stop. She was so turned on she didn’t care that they were making out in a parking garage like a couple of teenagers and that the windows had, in fact, started to steam up a little.

She nibbled his earlobe and then kissed her way down his neck. She sucked the tender skin into her mouth, and he responded with a low, deep groan.

“You have no idea how much I want you,” he said, and he was breathing every bit as fast as she was by then.

“I might have an idea.” Her voice sounded ragged, and she could not seem to move her mouth away from his neck. “But I don’t think our first time should be in a parking garage.”

“All I took away from that is that we’re going to have a first time. And as skilled as I am, it would still be nearly impossible to reach my optimum performance in the front seat of an SUV.”

“Your confidence never fails to astound me. I’ll be expecting big things when I return.”

He smiled. “I’ve got one big thing I can promise you.”

“Yes, I know,” Kate said, giving him one last kiss. “I’ve already seen it.”

Ian stayed with Kate until they reached the security checkpoint; the line stretched clear around the corner.

“I should go,” she said. “It’ll take a while to get through that.” She stood on her tiptoes and gave him a quick kiss good-bye. “Thanks for driving me.”

As she turned to leave, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her back. “Kate.” He slid his hands underneath her jaw and kissed her tenderly.

Nothing was going to rush him.

Not Kate’s flight.

Not the line for security.

Not the crowd milling around them.

Nothing.

When it was over and she opened her eyes, he was looking at her in a way he never had before. His usual smile had been replaced by an expression of longing and vulnerability. Kate wanted him to look at her like that all the time.

“You better get going,” he said.

Kate’s head was in the clouds as she waited her turn to pass through security. She hadn’t even left yet, but already she wanted to be back. She remembered how mad she’d been that day at the café when Ian had sat down across from her and admitted he’d hacked her credit card information, how exasperated she’d felt upon discovering he knew so many things about her, how exposed she’d felt when he’d walked in on her while she was in the bathtub.

My how things had changed, because now every time she turned around she was kissing him. And worse than that, she didn’t want to
stop
kissing him. She wanted to do
more
than kiss him.

Lots more.

All of this with a man she knew very little about.

For the first time ever, he’d called her Kate.

And that had not escaped her notice at all. Not one little bit.

Kate took a seat at the bar, which was conveniently located near her gate. She ordered a glass of wine and pulled out her phone. Ian had already sent a text.

Ian:
Did you make it through security okay
?

Kate:
Not without a thorough pat-down, but what else is new
?

Ian:
They know a golden opportunity when they see one.

Kate:
My lips are swollen and my cheeks have stubble burn.

Ian:
Did the TSA take you into that little room alone
?
Jesus, tell them someone has to accompany you next time.

Kate:
LOL
.
You did it to me.

Ian
: Then I’ve done my job. And you gave me a slight hickey, so we’re even
.

Kate:
Oops
.
Pretty sure
I haven’t done that since high school
.
Sorry!

Ian:
I never said I didn’t like it
.

Kate:
Why does chardonnay taste so much better in an airport bar
?

Ian
: I can’t imagine there’s anyplace chardonnay doesn’t taste good to you.

Kate
: That question was rhetorical. When I land in Chicago, I’m going to have another glass. And Cinnabon!

Ian
: I do hope you’ll share more of these intimate details with me while you’re gone.

Kate
: I plan to. And I’ll be expecting the same from you. Sharing is caring. : )

Ian
: Don’t expect emoticons
.
And I will not be LOL’ing either
.

Kate
: You just did
. : )

Ian
: That was only for the purpose of explaining that I won’t be doing it.

Kate
: Time to head to the gate. They just called my flight.

Ian
: My fingers are crossed that your seatmate smells as good as you do.

Kate
: LOL! : )

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Kate and her mother Diane were in the kitchen with Chad’s fiancée, Kristin. They’d spent the better part of the day preparing for tomorrow’s Thanksgiving meal and were ready to take a break. Chad, who was two years older than Kate, had proposed to Kristin right around the time Kate and Stuart’s relationship had imploded, which had put a slight damper on their announcement. Kate had felt bad about that. She liked Kristin, and since she didn’t have a sister of her own, a sister-in-law was the next best thing.

“How is Stuart?” Diane asked. Next to Stuart, Kate’s mom had taken the news of their breakup the hardest.

Kate pulled a bottle of wine out of the refrigerator. “You do remember he’s not my boyfriend anymore, right? You didn’t forget the part where I turned down his proposal because I didn’t think I could spend the rest of my life with him and then rented my own apartment.”

“Of course I didn’t forget. And if that’s the way you felt, you made the right decision. I just feel bad for him. It’s his first major holiday without you.”

Kate thought of Ian, who didn’t have anyone to spend the holiday with, not that he seemed to mind. But Kate did. Ian might have claimed not to care about the holidays, but Kate had decided that if he was willing, she would include him in all her Christmas plans.

Kate poured a glass of wine for each of them, and they sat down at the kitchen table. “I met someone,” Kate said. “I’ll introduce you to him when you come for Christmas.”

“Who is he?” Diane asked.

“His name is Ian.”

“How did you meet him?” Kristin asked.

“He made several donations to the food pantry.”

“He sounds very generous,” Diane said.

“You have no idea.”

Chad wandered into the kitchen. He and their dad had been parked in front of the TV since noon.

“Are you coming in to help?” Kristin asked, teasing him. “Because all the work is done.”

“More than likely, he’s in search of another beer,” Kate said.

“My sister knows me too well,” Chad said, reaching into the refrigerator for a Heineken. He pulled out a chair and sat down beside Kristin.

“Please make sure that’s your last one because Kristin and I need you to drive us to the bar later,” Kate said. “It’s the least you can do to pay us back for the delicious meal we’ve been prepping all day, which you’ll inhale tomorrow in seven minutes flat.”

Chad looked adoringly at Kristin. “I’ll be happy to be your designated driver.”

“That reminds me. Guess what I drove, Chad? A Shelby.”

“No way,” he said as he uncapped the Heineken.

“Really I did.”

He took a long drink. “A Shelby? Are you sure?”

“Well, obviously it was a replica, but yes.”

Chad looked at her skeptically.

Kate pulled out her phone and texted Ian.

Kate:
Chad doesn’t believe I drove your car. Clearly he’s jealous (and delusional).

Ian responded moments later with a picture of Kate behind the wheel, one hand on the gearshift and a smile on her face.

Kate:
I had no idea you took my picture.

Ian:
You were too busy driving. It’s hot. I made it my lock-screen picture.

Kate handed her phone to Chad. “Look.”

Chad studied the dashboard in the picture. “That is definitely one of the most authentic replicas I’ve ever seen, at least from an interior standpoint.” He turned her phone over, looking at it from several angles. “What kind of phone is this?”

Kate grabbed it back from him. “It’s a special new phone.”

“Who owns the Shelby?” Chad asked.

“A friend of mine.”

Chad laughed. “Not ready to tell your big brother about your new man yet?”

“How do you know I have a new man?”

“Because the only girl a guy is going to let drive his Shelby is one he’s interested in. I hope you didn’t squander the opportunity.”

Kate mouthed the words
one hundred and ten
. Chad whistled.

“What was that all about?” Diane asked.

Kate and Chad smiled and said, “Nothing.”

Few things were as entertaining as visiting a favorite bar the night before Thanksgiving. It was like a mini class reunion, and Kate looked forward to it every year. Chad handed her and Kristin a beer, and Kate made the rounds, chatting with her friends from high school. Her phone vibrated in her back pocket.

Ian:
You are apparently at some sort of honky-tonk in Indianapolis.

Kate:
Oh hi, stalker!

Ian:
Turn around.

Oh God.

She spun in a circle, heart pounding, eyes searching as she looked for him.

Ian:
If I were AT THE BAR, I’d be a stalker. But I’m at my apartment. I’m just taking a break and wondered what you were up to.

Kate:
I knew you weren’t really here.

Ian:
Sure you did. Are you enjoying yourself?

Kate:
I’m having a blast.

Ian:
I bet there are peanut shells on the floor and men wearing Western shirts.

Kate:
You forgot cowboy boots and buckets of beer.

Ian:
Please be mindful of your liver.

Kate took a picture of herself drinking from a longneck bottle of Coors Light and sent it to Ian.

Ian:
Who’s the man standing behind you?

Kate clicked over to her photos
.
Her photobomber had his arms in the air and his tongue extended toward her.
Ewwww
.

Kate:
His name is Russ. We went to high school together.

Ian:
He looks completely hammered.

Kate:
He said he’s been here since noon.

Ian:
Maybe you should move away from him.

Kate:
I already did because
Kristin and I are about to join the line dancers.

Ian:
It’s like a giant hoedown, isn’t it?

Kate:
Yee-haw!

Ian:
Who’s driving home?

Kate:
Chad. He agreed to be the designated driver because he was planted in front of the TV all day while the womenfolk slaved away in the kitchen.

Ian:
Sounds like a fair trade.

Kate:
I have to go. Two words: Electric Slide.

Ian:
Bust a move, tiny dancer. I miss you.

Kate stared down at her phone and smiled.

“Come on, Kate.” Kristin yanked on her arm. “Let’s go.”

“I’ll be right there,” she said.

Kate:
I miss you too. xoxo

CHAPTER TWELVE

The Watts family Thanksgiving celebration commenced in a flurry of final dinner preparations followed by the immediate arrival of grandparents, aunts, uncles, and assorted cousins. Kate had already answered the inevitable questions about her career change at last year’s dinner, and this year she fielded multiple follow-up queries about how the food pantry was doing. Unfortunately, she also had to deal with a considerable amount of nosy fallout over her breakup with Stuart.

Kate couldn’t wait for dinner to be over.

When the last relative had departed, Kate cut two pieces of pumpkin pie and transferred them to dessert plates, heaping whipped cream on one of them. Chad and Kristin were getting ready to leave for a visit with Kristin’s grandmother, and Diane was doing the last of the dishes. Kate found her dad on the couch in the living room watching TV.

“I sure hope that pie is for me, Katydid,” he said.

“With extra whipped cream. Just the way you like it.”

Kate and her dad had a tradition where they would skip dessert and eat their pie together later after everyone had gone home. She handed him the plate and sat down beside him.

“Sure is nice to have you home,” he said, taking a bite of his pie. “Your mom and I have missed you.”

“I won’t stay away for so long next time.”

He smiled. “I’m going to hold you to that.”

Though they’d both tried their hardest to pretend nothing had changed, Kate’s relationship with her dad had been a bit strained during the past year and a half. Steve Watts had spent thirty years practicing law and was now one of the most respected justices on Indiana’s Supreme Court, and while he’d never pushed either of his children to follow in his footsteps, he’d been incredibly happy and proud when they had. Chad had already been practicing law for two years at a large firm in Indianapolis when Kate passed the bar. In law school, she’d focused on public interest with the intention of pursuing a legal career in community outreach. But upon graduation, when she found those openings in incredibly short supply, she accepted a position as a corporate attorney at the same type of large downtown firm where Paige and Audrey worked. It had been the biggest mistake she’d ever made.