Stitches and Scars (4 page)

The man who was holding Kate in his grasp dropped her wrist and stepped back. Finally free, she turned around and saw a pair of familiar gray-blue eyes. The mystery man from the gallery stepped closer and extended his hand. Without a moment’s hesitation, Kate reached for him and let him pull her to his side.

“I take it you’ll be leaving for the evening?” The gray-eyed man glared at the drunk. “Or would you prefer me to escort you out?” His voice was firm, and there was an underlying current of anger that made Kate shiver in all the best ways.

“No, I was just on my way out.” The drunken man looked down at Kate and winked before he turned to leave.

She must have been holding her breath through the whole ordeal, because as soon as he left, Kate let out a huge sigh. Feeling her body relax, she turned and looked up into the same gray eyes she had dreamed about last night. She felt her legs go weak.

“Why don’t we sit for a second,” the man whispered into her ear as he led her over to a chair.

Kate felt completely stupid for reacting the way she was and tried to gather her senses.

Get a grip,
she told herself. “I’m fine, really. That guy was a creep, though. Thanks for stepping in.” Kate looked down at her wrist, noticing its red surface. He must have grabbed it harder than she thought.

“Here, let me take a look at that.” The gray-eyed man reached forward gently and took her wrist in his hand.

As soon as his hand touched hers, she felt her heart jump to life and start racing. Hoping that he didn’t notice her reaction, she dropped her eyes to the floor.

“What, do you have some first aid training or something?” she asked, while trying to hide her face.

“Something like that,” he said with a smirk as he turned her wrist over in his hand.

Kate looked up and watched his face as he studied her wrist, his sexy smirk still in place. He was even more beautiful than she’d remembered. Her dream had not done him justice.

“It looks like you’ll just have some bruising,” he said after a few minutes and gently placed her hand back in her lap. “You may want to put some ice on it when you get home, though.” Their eyes locked, and Kate could feel the palms of her hands getting sweaty. “Well,” he continued, “this is the second time we’ve met, and I still don’t know your name.”

“That’s because I didn’t give it,” Kate teased.

“Ah, so
that’s
how you’re going to play,” he said with a laugh.

“Play? Why, I don’t believe I know what you’re talking about.” Kate batted her lashes exaggeratedly and didn’t hold back her smile.

“I’ll go first. My name is Ethan. It’s nice to meet you.” He extended his hand and waited for her move. He had a moment of doubt where he wondered if she’d turn him down, and let out a silent sigh of relief when she placed her hand in his.

“Kate. And it’s nice to meet you too.” They shook hands and both took their time releasing their grasp, not wanting to lose the connection they felt. They sat in silence, staring at each other for what Kate felt was hours but was pretty positive was only a few seconds. She felt the same tangible energy from yesterday swirl around them and her head started swimming. The room around them began to spin, and Kate knew she had to breathe or it was likely she’d pass out. Slowly pulling her eyes away from his, she looked down at the table, willing herself to take a breath.

“Do you come here often?” Ethan asked.

“Sometimes, but only when we want to go hunting,” Kate blurted out. Her eyes grew big upon realizing what she’d just said. “Umm, I mean, yeah, sometimes when my friend’s boyfriend goes hunting.” She stumbled with her words and failed miserably.

Ethan held back his laugh. “Hunting?” he repeated curiously.

Kate quickly tried to change the subject. “So, did you have a good time at the gallery last night?”

“Yes, but I would have liked to have stayed longer. Sometimes my work pulls me away and—”

The distinctive ring of Ethan’s phone cut him off mid-thought. With a resigned sigh, he pulled his phone out of his pocket. He immediately recognized the number from the hospital and knew that he didn’t have a choice but to answer. “Speaking of work,” he said, holding up his cell. “I’m going to have to take this.” He looked apologetically at Kate as if waiting for permission.

“Oh. No, go right ahead. I should probably get back to my friends anyway. I’ll see you around.” Kate smiled shyly and started walking back to the dance floor before Ethan could stop her.

The further Kate walked away from him, the louder the voice of protest in her mind became.
What are you doing?
The voice yelled.
Turn around and ask him for his number or something!

She knew that if she was going to make a move, she’d have to act fast. Holding onto what little courage she had, Kate closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and turned around to face him. But when she opened her eyes and mouth to say something, he wasn’t there. Glancing around desperately, she searched the bar thinking that maybe she’d just missed him. He was nowhere in sight.

Chapter 4

Magic

K
ate searched the dance floor looking for Ethan, but it was pointless; he was nowhere to be seen. Disappointment settled in her stomach, and she went to find Sophie and Elle.

“Did you think we left you or something?” Elle yelled into Kate’s ear. “You looked frantic.”

“Yeah, are you okay?” Sophie stopped dancing and looked into Kate’s eyes, trying to read the expression on her face.

“I’m great. Aside from the creepy guy that tried picking me up, refused to take ‘no’ for an answer, and about ripped my hand off, I’m fine.”

Kate attempted to sound aloof about the whole situation, but she still felt anxious. And it wasn’t because of the creepy guy. It was because of the gorgeous guy who’d saved her from him. It was the second time she’d met him and the second time she felt an indescribable pull towards him. He was a complete stranger, and yet all Kate wanted to do was be alone with him. She’d never felt an instant connection to someone before—attraction yes, but this was different. She couldn’t quite explain it, but whatever it was, it was intense. And to make it all worse, she didn’t even know if she’d ever see him again.

Ethan.
Her heart fluttered as she repeated his name over in her mind.

“Where is he?” Elle’s yelling broke Kate’s train of thought.

“I don’t know. I tried looking for him, but I think he left,” Kate said sadly.

“You went looking for him! Katherine Thomas, don’t you ever go looking for a creep like that by yourself. What if he did something to you?” Now Sophie was yelling, and Kate couldn’t understand what she was talking about.

“You know the rules. Always come find us.”

Kate looked back and forth between her friends, and it was a moment before she realized who they were talking about.

“Ohhh, you’re talking about the creepy guy,” she said.

“Wait, what are
you
talking about? Who else would we be referring to?” The look on Sophie’s face showed she was just as confused as Elle.

Kate didn’t know how to explain what she was talking about without sounding crazy, but she also knew she had to say something.
Here goes nothing,
she thought. “I was thinking about the guy that kind of … saved me from the creepy guy.” It sounded weird saying ‘saved,’ but she couldn’t think of any other way to phrase it.

“Saved you?” Elle tilted her head to the side, and then looked over at Sophie to see if she wasn’t the only confused one.

“All right, so
saved
is the wrong word. The creepy guy started getting a little rough, and Ethan came over and pretended he was with me. He basically told the guy to stay away from me and leave, or he would kick his ass.” Kate smiled to herself, remembering how it felt to even pretend she was with Ethan.

“I think we need to sit. You have some explaining to do.” Sophie grabbed Kate’s hand and led her off the dance floor with Elle following behind.

“Spill it, Thomas,” she shouted as soon as they sat down.

“Yeah, because we’re both familiar with that goo-goo eyed look of yours.”

“Elle, I’m not goo-goo eyed,” Kate snapped, trying to deny the obvious.

“All right, you’re not goo-goo eyed, but there is something going on. And who is Ethan?”

Kate took a deep breath and exhaled. She didn’t know what to say. On one hand, she could play it off as nothing and tell them that he was just some guy she’d met. On the other hand, she could tell them exactly how she was feeling and how utterly confused she was about the whole thing.

She figured honesty was the best policy, especially when it came to Sophie and Elle. They would find out at some point anyway, so she knew she might as well get it over with. Taking another deep breath, she began her story.

“Last night when I was waiting for you at the gallery, I bumped into this guy. Well, not really bumped, I kind of … fell into him.” Kate smiled at the thought and then continued where she left off. She told them how he’d been surprised when he found out she was the photographer, and she laughed when she described the way she practically yelled at him for making assumptions.

“I wanted to know why he was so shocked. It’s not like he
knew
me or anything. And the crazy part is that he just stood there smiling at me, which of course flustered me even more. He did apologize eventually, and he said he was impressed with my work. He said it was beautiful, and he said …”

Kate’s voice trailed off as she remembered the words he’d said to her. She was so lost in her own little memory that she barely heard the whimpering coming from her two best friends.

“Well, what did he say?” Sophie asked, leaning forward in anticipation.

“He told me he that he thought …
I
was beautiful.” Kate’s smile was so wide she thought her cheeks would split.

“Then what happened? What did you say?”

“Kate, please tell me you took him into the coat closet,” Elle murmured.

“Elle, no! I didn’t take him into the coat closet. I’m not as brave as you. And even if I wanted to, his phone rang, interrupting us. And then you guys got there.”

Sophie sat back in her chair with a smirk. “
That’s
who you were looking for all night.”

“So you aren’t
denying
that you wanted to take him into the coat closet?” Elle was still leaning forward, engulfed in her own thoughts of a closet romp.

“Yes, Soph, that is who I was looking for. And no, Elle, I honestly wasn’t thinking about jumping in the coat closet.”

“Not that good looking?” Elle said, scrunching up her nose.

“No, believe me when I say this—he was so good looking I could barely stand it. I just wanted to reach out and touch him, if only just to prove that he was real. It was so strange too; we only spoke for a moment, and then we just stood there for I don’t even know how long. All we could do was stare at each other. And I could feel this energy between us. I’ve heard of physical chemistry before and I thought I knew what that was, but this was different—completely different.”

Kate knew she sounded stupid trying to explain the unexplainable. But that was just it; she didn’t know how to else explain it. She didn’t even know what
it
was.

“I know you guys probably think I’m little nuts.” Kate laughed nervously.

Sophie placed her hand on Kate’s and smiled at her. “I don’t think you’re nuts. I know exactly what you’re talking about.”

“You do?”

“Yep, I felt that way the first time I saw Logan.”

“You did?” Kate racked her brain trying to think back to when the two of them had first found each other.

Elle let out a loud laugh. “You’re not talking about that whole ‘magic’ thing again, are you, Soph?”

“That’s exactly what I’m talking about.” She hit Elle on the arm, then looked back at Kate. “I just called it something different. I called it magic and you called it a weird, energy, physical pull, attraction thingy.” She was still laughing at her friend’s description when she leaned over and put her head on Kate’s shoulder.

“So, when are you guys going out?” Elle asked.

“That’s the problem, we aren’t.”

“What?” Elle yelled. “You just sat here ranting about this Ethan guy, sounding just like Sophie if I may add, and you aren’t even going to go
out
with him?”

Clearly annoyed with Elle’s comment, Sophie opened her mouth to say something, but snapped it shut before turning her attention back to Kate. “Elle has a point. You just spoke about Ethan with more excitement and passion than you’ve talked about any guy before, Scott included. You can’t just let him slip by.”

“You think I want him to slip by? I would love to go out with him. The problem is that I don’t know anything about him; I don’t even
know
him. I just learned his name tonight. I wanted to ask him for his number or something, but he got called away again.” Kate exhaled and slumped back into her chair feeling defeated.

Sophie, sensing her friend’s sadness, sat up and tried to lighten the mood. “Well, then, we’ll just come here every Saturday night until you find him again.”

“That’s right,” Elle added. “See, I knew hunting tonight would turn out great for one of us.”

“I haven’t caught him yet,” Kate reminded them.

“Don’t worry, Kate,” Sophie said. “You’ll catch him. You just have to think positively.”

Elle wrapped her arm around Kate’s waist and gave her a slight squeeze, showing that she too agreed with their optimistic friend.

“Okay, so now that we all agree on you and Ethan, let’s hear more about this creepy guy. What exactly did he do to you?” Sophie’s eyes narrowed in anger.

Kate spent the next few minutes explaining exactly what happened, making sure to give every little detail.

Sophie’s face was full of worry. “I can’t believe nobody else saw him. Did he hurt you?”

“My wrist is a little sore, but it’s no big deal. I’ve had worse,” Kate joked.

“You don’t think he’s still here, do you?” Elle was sitting up in her chair, eyeing the surrounding men.

“I don’t think so. If I were him, I would have listened to Ethan.” Kate remembered the look on Ethan’s face when he held her to his chest. The rage in his eyes was plain to see, and she wondered briefly if he reacted that protectively to all defenseless girls. She wasn’t sure, but for the moment, she allowed herself to believe that it was just her.

“Well, if that creep comes back, I would love to show him what I think of him.” Sophie once again had that glint of hatred in her eyes.

“Agreed,” nodded Elle.

Elle was one of the toughest girls Kate or Sophie knew. Most men underestimated her and that worked to her advantage. All they saw was a pretty face and hot body. Usually, they didn’t get very far before her sharp tongue informed them of who they were dealing with. The fashion world always made statements about her “diva” attitude, but her friends knew her better than that. Kate and Sophie knew that the real Elle was kind, funny, and loving. She was the most loyal friend that anyone could ask for. She’d just done a perfect job of creating a tough exterior to keep her protected from the mean and sometimes hurtful industry she was in.

“I doubt I’ll see that creep again,” Kate commented. “And if he shows up, I’ll be more prepared. We didn’t take self-defense classes for nothing.”

“Yeah, but in the heat of the moment, some of those moves are harder than you think,” Elle reminded them.

If anyone knew the truth of that statement, it was Elle. On more than one occasion, she’d had to defend herself against some “overly-friendly fans” as she liked to call them. All it took was one scary encounter and the three friends found themselves in self-defense classes to make sure nothing like that happened again.

“All right.” Sophie sat back in her seat. “I’ll forget all about the creep I want to beat down if you tell us more about Ethan.”

“Sophie is right, you know,” Elle agreed. “We’ve heard all about his chivalry, but I haven’t heard enough about the rest of him.”

“What do you want to hear? I didn’t get a great look at his body, but what I saw was nice, very nice.” Kate smiled.

“What else? What about his face? What color are his eyes?” Sophie leaned forward excitedly, waiting for the exact description she knew Kate would give her.

And so she did. Kate went on to describe Ethan’s blue-gray eyes and how they had pierced through her. Simply talking about him made her heart speed up, and she could feel the blood pulsing quickly through her veins. She couldn’t stop thinking about him and didn’t want to.

The three friends sat at their table for the rest of the evening, and they continued to ask Kate random questions.

She tried to pay attention enough to answer, but she couldn’t help but think about what Sophie had said earlier. The more Kate thought about what had happened between Ethan and her, the more she agreed. The way Sophie described it was perfect. It was … magic.