Finding Katie

Chapter 4

Ben

Katie's eyes widened as her head lifted, and her lower lip was caught between her teeth again.

I stared at that lip, at her white teeth sinking into the soft, rosy flesh that darkened when she released it again, and only remembered to look away when she reached into the bag hanging over the back of her chair.

Katie pulled out a folded piece of paper and a pen and wrote down a number on the back at the top of the paper. Then tore off the corner and pushed the slip across the table.

I took a bite of my roast beef sandwich to hide my satisfaction. It would only have come out as a smug smile. But I'd been right: Katie had felt it too, the electricity and the attraction. Still felt it if her smile and the glint in her eyes was anything to go by.

I still did. The electricity had flashed back to life the moment I'd set eyes on her again. I'd tried to tell myself that I had only imagined it, but she was just as beautiful in the light of day, here in this small café in the middle of an ordinary Tuesday, as she had been on Saturday evening.

Her hair was loose down her back, tucked behind her ears, and the tight, black dress that had showed off every delicious curve and flashed in my mind more than once since, had been replaced by a loose, blue and white striped shirt hanging off one shoulder to reveal a black bra strap.

My body was already reacting. Just sitting here across from Katie and the first stirrings of an erection was already disturbing me. Being the aim of that smile of hers, the glint in her eyes, only made it worse.

"You can text me yours," she said, gesturing to the slip of paper as she returned to her lunch. "But I'd like to make up for my sudden departure. If you'll let me."

I held her eyes. "How?"

Those lush lips pursed for a moment, and I shifted on the hard chair. Then she smiled. "Dinner?"

"On you?"

"Of course."

I placed the slip of paper in the inside pocket of my jacket, then sat back. It wasn't just my groin that was reacting. My entire body was vibrating with excitement. A kind of excitement I hadn't felt in years. I didn't even want to bother pretending to play it cool. I saw no reason for it. This was too good to risk with even a slight indication of not being interested.

I was. Very.

It was almost a year since I'd walked away from Victoria, and I could happily go the rest of my life without encountering my ex-girlfriend and her lies again, but I missed being part of a couple, I missed having that special someone who was mine. Not that I'd been dating a whole lot since last summer. Victoria had burned me deep enough that I'd been wary about going out there again, but my reaction to Katie was intense enough that that wasn't a problem here.

My eyebrows rose. "Tonight?"

The corners of Katie's lips crinkled when she grimaced. "You can't tonight. You have a board meeting."

"Hell. I'd forgotten. It's at the new centre so Vincent can give us all the grand tour."

"I know. He's asked me to stay and help set up for the meeting." She chuckled. "You'll be relieved to know that I'm much better at making coffee than Vincent is."

The husky sound of her laugh only increased the southbound rush of my blood. I shifted a little on the chair, thankful that the table hid the front of my trousers. There might be no reason to hide my interest in Katie, but that didn't mean I wanted to expose her to the full extent of my attraction before we'd even gone on a date.