Las Vegas Sidewinders: Karl (Book 3) (16 page)

“I don’t think he has
feelings
for me,” she said firmly. “I think he’s attracted to me, and maybe he had some
hope when you and I broke up, but I was very clear that I was in love with
you.”

“I just got a really
bad feeling when she started asking me all those questions.”

“Me, too.” Kate put her
head on his shoulder. They had to get through a game tomorrow afternoon and
another Sunday afternoon before they went back to New York. Then they had five
days in New York before they left for Sweden on Friday. If they could make it
one more week, maybe this would all blow over.
Or probably not
.

Once they were back in
New York, Kate fell into her routine easily. Luckily, Karl fell into it too,
having no trouble adjusting to the fast pace of Manhattan. In Las Vegas they
were usually up early and in bed early; it was completely the opposite in New York.
She often met with clients for dinner and then worked late into the night
handling social media accounts and writing press releases. They would sleep
late in the mornings and he’d been dragging her to the gym with him.

She’d confessed that
she hated the idea of getting fat again and they’d come to an understanding.

“It’s not just about
how I look,” she’d insisted. “Before Erin got hurt in Afghanistan, I was huge,
Karl. I would get out of breath just walking to the subway, and my face would
get all red if I ran for a cab. It wasn’t healthy. I lost almost 30 pounds
after I moved in with Erin, and while I was better, I still wasn’t where I
should be.”

“That’s what you
weighed when I met you,” he said.

“And you may like all
the curves, but I don’t like being out of breath and sweaty all the time.”

“You’re right. Being
out of breath isn’t healthy, so instead of focusing on your weight, we’re going
to focus on your health. You’re going to start going to the gym with me.”

“I just told you that I
hate being sweaty,” she muttered.

“I can think of lots of
times you like being sweaty,” he chuckled.

“Sex doesn’t count!”
she protested, but he wouldn’t give in.

They’d made a deal they
would get on the scale together every other day. He promised not to let her get
too heavy, and she promised to focus more on how she felt instead of what
number was on the scale. She’d gained five pounds since they’d left Las Vegas
and now she’d lost one since they started working out just four days ago. As
she packed for their trip, she lamented over her wardrobe.

“What’s wrong?” Karl
asked, bringing in a load of laundry and finding her sitting on the bed with
her head in her hands.

“Nothing fits,” she
said. “Most of the stuff I normally wear is too big now, and makes me look like
a homeless person. The stuff that does fit makes me feel…exposed. I’m not used
to wearing stuff that’s tight.”

“You always gripe about
how heavy you are, but now that you’ve slimmed down you don’t want to show it
off? What’s up with that?”

“I don’t know.” She sighed.
“Maybe I’m nervous about meeting your family. And when I looked online and it
said that highs in July are only in the low 70s?
Plus
it gets down to the 50s at night? In
July
! I don’t know what to pack!”

He laughed. “And people
wonder why I don’t miss Sweden that much!” He went to the closet and brought
out some clothes. “Here’s all I need. A couple pairs of jeans, T-shirts, a pair
of dress pants and a nice shirt, socks, underwear and a pair of dress shoes.
I’ll carry on a hoody and wear sneakers.”

“No shorts at all?”

“Nah. We’re only going
to be there five days and it really does get chilly at night.”

“So just jeans for me?”
She wrinkled her nose.

“And this.” He pulled
out the red dress she’d worn to her sister’s engagement party. “We might go out
one night, and I love you in this dress.”

She glanced at it,
realizing that it had looked cute before; now that she’d lost weight it would
probably look great. She snatched it out of his hands. “Okay, fine, but you’re
going to have to dig around the closet for the heels that go with it.”

He just grinned.

They arrived in
Stockholm at 10:00 in the morning. Karl hadn’t told anyone they were coming, so
they rented a car and he drove while Kate took in her surroundings. They were
going straight to the hospital where Karl’s mother was having a chemotherapy
treatment because he’d wanted to surprise her. Kate also had a sneaking
suspicion that he didn’t want to give his brother or sister time to cause any
trouble. Though he’d told her they were sorry about the part they’d played in
what had happened earlier in the summer, she got the feeling he wasn’t willing
to risk it. Right now, she just didn’t want to think about any of that. She was
too excited that she was not only in Sweden, but here with Karl.

“There’s water
everywhere,” she said, looking at everything with delight. “It’s beautiful.”

“It’s a great city,” he
said. “Lots to do, low crime, good food. But winter is long and it’s a bitch.”

She smiled. “Yeah, I’m
not overly fond of nine-month winters!”

They were quiet for a
while, each lost in their thoughts. So much had happened over the last few
weeks, he wasn’t sure what she was thinking about or how she really felt about
being here. Though it wasn’t all his fault, he’d put her through a lot. She was
smart and resilient, but he hated that these would be the memories they had of
the early months of their relationship.

“Are you nervous?” he
asked, taking her hand.

“Not about meeting your
mom, but definitely about everything else.”

“Well, my dad’s fine
too. You’ll like him, and he’ll love you. I can’t speak for the twins. Mom said
that when she brought them home from the hospital, I was two, and I told her
they were noisy and smelled bad. She told me she thought so too, and that was
why I would always be her favorite.” He snickered. “And she still tells me
that.”

“Really?” Kate’s eyes
grew misty. “That’s so sweet.”

“My mom is the best. I
can’t wait for her to meet you!”

Kate smiled, happy that
he was happy. She was looking forward to meeting his parents, but she really
had no idea what to expect from Sebastian and Emilie. She couldn’t do anything
about it, so she focused on the beautiful city in front of her instead. She’d
never been to any of the Scandinavian countries before, and she was enchanted
by everything she saw.

Karl was an excellent
tour guide, pointing out places of interest and a few that he was planning to
take her to. She couldn’t wait to spend a day with him being a tourist. They’d
never gone on a vacation together, and although they would be spending most of
the time here with his family, he’d promised her one day would be just the two
of them pretending to be tourists. She’d also been firm about staying at a
hotel. Aside from the fact that she couldn’t imagine having sex with his
parents in the next room, she also didn’t want to be in a situation where his
siblings or their friends could go through their things. They’d put lock codes
on their phones and her iPad, but she wasn’t taking any chances.

Pulling into the
hospital parking lot, Karl put the car in park and then walked around to Kate’s
side to open her door. She got out and he pushed her against the car, lowering
his head to kiss her. His tongue curled with hers lovingly, caressing her as he
held her. He nipped at her bottom lip, grazing her chin with the stubble on his
face. He cupped her ass in his hands, pulling her close enough to feel his
erection.

“What are you doing?”
she whispered, gazing at him lustily.

“Reminding you that I
love you and you’re all I want.”

“I love you too,” she
laced her hands around his neck. “But now you’ve got me all hot and bothered
before I meet your mother.”

“That’s right—that’s
the look I want in your eyes when you meet her.”

She laughed. “Adjust
yourself, big guy, and let’s go.”

He linked his fingers
with hers and they strolled into the hospital. Kate wished she’d had a chance
to shower and change, but Karl wanted to see his mother right away and their
flight had been delayed. Now she felt a small prickle of nervousness, but Karl
squeezed her hand encouragingly.

Walking through the
halls, Kate was surprised that people recognized him, many speaking to him in
English as he paused to say hello. He seemed completely at ease, which was
interesting since he tended to shy away from the spotlight in the U.S.

“Are you really famous
here?” she whispered.

“More than I am in the
U.S.,” he admitted. “But not like George Clooney or anything.”

She snorted. “You’re
way hotter than George Clooney.”

He brushed his lips
across hers before pausing at a doorway and reaching for the knob. “Ready?” he
asked. “It’s a little sad in here, lots of really sick people.”

“I’m ready,” she said
firmly.

They walked in and Karl
saw his parents right away. Anya was in a large reclining chair with the IV
hooked up to the port in her chest, and Wills was next to her reading a
magazine. Karl put his finger on his lips and slowly crept around behind his
mother. He gently put his hands over her eyes.

“Guess who?” he
whispered.

“Karl!” Anya reached up
with delight.

Kate saw the
resemblance immediately. Though his mother was British and his father was
Swedish, he looked so much like his mother there was no doubt they were
related. He had her large, blue eyes, straight nose and full mouth. Though his
chin was stronger and more angular, everything else was like his mother.

“Surprise!” He leaned
down to hug her.

“What are you doing
back so soon?” she demanded.

“I wanted to make sure
you were okay.” He paused. “And there’s someone I want you to meet.” He turned
to reach for Kate’s hand.

“Hello.” Anya’s eyes
lit up when she saw Kate.

“It’s so nice to meet
you,” Kate said softly.

“You should have called
and had Sebastian pick you up!” Wills stood, hugging his son.

“I wanted to rent a car
so I’ll be able to show Kate a little bit of Stockholm without messing up Mom’s
schedule.” Karl could see his father wasn’t happy with their plans, and opted
to ignore that for now.

“Come sit with me,”
Anya motioned for Kate to sit on the seat next to her.

Kate sat down, smiling.
“How are you feeling?”

“It’s not been too
terrible so far. They’ve been good about the anti-nausea drugs, and really all
I do is sleep and watch the television.”

“I’m glad you’re doing
well. Karl worries about you.”

“And I about him.” She
glanced over to where Karl and his father seemed to be arguing.

“I think your husband
may be mad that we’re staying at a hotel,” Kate said quietly. “Please know that
it was my preference, not his, but after what happened last time he was here he
was willing to make that sacrifice for me.”

“Of course you should
stay in a hotel!” Anya rolled her eyes. “How could you possibly have sex with
his parents in the next room?” Kate gaped at her and Anya laughed. “What, you
think I wasn’t young and in love once?”

“No, I just—”

“My son is a
good-looking, virile man. I would be disappointed if he wasn’t having great sex
with the woman he loves.”

Kate felt her cheeks
grow red. “Goodness, you’re not like any other mother I know!”

“You don’t talk about
sex with your mother?” she asked curiously.

“
My mother?
”
Kate laughed. “Not hardly. She’s too prim and proper.”

“That’s a shame.” Anya
glanced over at Karl and William. “Wills, come meet Karl’s girlfriend and stop
being a pain in the backside.”

Wills was scowling, but
he smiled for his wife. “Yes, I was just about to meet Kate.” He turned,
offering her his hand. “We’ve heard a lot about you, Kate.”

“It’s very nice to meet
you.” Kate nodded.

“So they’ll be staying
at a hotel,” Wills said with distaste.

“Well, of course.” Anya
looked at him. “Would we have wanted to stay with your parents when we were
first together?”

Wills’ ears turned red.
“Well, no, but—”

“Wills, stop it!” Anya laughed.
“Come sit down.”

“Tell me how it’s been
going.” Karl pulled up a chair and sat next to Kate, sliding his arm around
her.

“As well as can be
expected. I’m getting through the chemo and feeling better than I thought I’d
be.”

“What happens next?”

“I’ll finish chemo and
then start radiation.”

“I’m sorry, Mom.” Karl
reached for her hand and she took it with a smile.

“It’s not your fault,
darling. Things happen. I’m doing fine. Tell me what you and Kate are going to
do while you’re here.”

“She’s never been to
Sweden, so we’ll do some of the touristy things: a boat tour of the canals,
some shopping in Old Town, and if we have time
Djurgarden
or maybe the Vasa Museum.”

“Lovely.” Anya smiled.
“I wish I felt well enough to go. Next year, Kate, maybe you’ll come and we can
go to some of those places together.”

“I’d like that very
much.”

They chatted amiably
for a while as the IV slowly drained. Anya dozed off at one point and Kate felt
her stomach rumbling.

“Are you hungry, babe?”
Karl looked at her.