LITMIR.BIZ

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easy to be around lately.”

      “Come on, I can’t be that bad!”

      She shot him a wry smile, and Garrett found himself responding to that captivating grin. He nudged her elbow up on the railing. “Kate. What did you think I’d do? Tie you to your kitchen to keep you here? Steal your damn plane ticket?”

      “The fact that you’ve already thought of that makes me wonder about your sanity.”

      “The fact that you’re leaving makes me want to check your head, too. You belong here.”

      He sensed—rather than saw—the smile on her lips, but when she refused to look at him, Garrett wondered why Kate seemed so absorbed by the dark gardens it was as if she’d never seen them before—as if she’d never played outside in that yard when she was growing up. His heart jerked as an awful suspicion struck him.

      “This is because of a man, isn’t it?”

      “Excuse me?”

      “You don’t just dump a life like yours and go away for nothing. So why are you running? Is it a man?”

      “Does it matter?” she asked, thrusting her chin up a notch. “I’m leaving, Garrett, and I’m certain.”

      The rebellious note that crept into her voice only confirmed to him that it was a man.

      A toad Garrett wanted to kill with his own two hands.

      Pushing away from the railing with sudden force, he plunged his hands into his pants pockets and paced in a circle on the terrace, lowering his voice when he stopped at her side again. “Who’s going to protect you?”

      She scrunched her pretty nose with a little scoff. “I don’t need protecting anymore. I’m grown up, in case you missed it.”

      He was struck by a memory of holding his jacket over Kate’s head while they rushed into the house, soaked and laughing. They’d both been just teens. His chest turned to lead as he wondered if he’d never do that again. Laugh with her again. Laugh, period.

      “Adult or baby, you still need to know that someone’s got your back,” he grumbled.

      She glanced down at the limestone terrace floor, and for a nanosecond, he detected a flash of pain in her expression. “I know you’ve got my back,” she said softly.

      She sounded as sad as he felt, and suddenly he wanted to punch his fist into something.

      Because nothing in his life felt right anymore.

      Everything he did felt pointless. He felt restless. Angry. So angry at himself.

      He imagined her all alone in a new place, with no one to help her with anything. Not if she got lost. Not if she was lonely. Not to unload her stuff. Not if there was thunder outside—she hated thunder. He clamped his jaw, loath to think of how many Florida men would be out there just ready to use and discard her, and then continued his attempt at persuasion. “What about Molly? You two are close.”

      “And we still will be. But Molly has Julian now. Plus she’s promised to visit, and so will I.”

      “Then what about your catering business?”

      “What about it?”

      “It’s taken off during the past couple of years. You worked your butt off to make it happen, Kate.”

      She lifted her shoulders in a casual shrug, as if leaving her entire life behind were just an everyday occurrence to her, as if she couldn’t wait to leave the shadow of the Gages behind. “Beth’s my associate now. Trust me, if Landon married her, it means she’s very capable of handling things by herself. We’ll hire a couple more helpers, and I can start a new branch in Miami.”

      Frustrated at her responses, he ground his molars as he thought of a thousand arguments, but he predicted she’d have a retort for each one. How in the hell was he going to change her mind?

      Her smile lacked its usual playfulness as her pretty blue eyes held his. “So that’s it? Those are your arguments for me staying?”

      Her lips...they looked redder tonight, plumper. He wanted to touch them with his thumb and take off her lipstick. See her all fresh and pure like he was used to seeing her. Not all made up. Just pink, fresh-skinned, with those seven freckles on her nose, and that soft coral mouth that he—

      Damn.

      He stiffened against the heat building in his loins.

      But Kate... She made him feel so damned protective it wasn’t even funny. Her smiles, her personality, her alertness... There was no part of Kate he would ever change. No part of her he wouldn’t miss when she left for Florida.

      Luckily, she wouldn’t be going anywhere.

      “What am I going to do to change your mind?” he asked, more to himself than to her.

      “Nothing. Honestly. My mind’s completely made up.”

      He noticed the tray of wineglasses she’d set down nearby. She was taking a short break from making the rounds, he supposed. So he seized one and offered her another.

      “Here’s to me changing your mind,” he said with an arrogant smile. He would find out what she was running away from, and he would eliminate it from the face of the planet.

      She laughed, and the sound did magical things to him even as she declined the wine he offered her. “Oh, no, I don’t drink when I’m working.”

      He snorted. “I should’ve stopped seven glasses ago, and yet here I am. Still going strong. Drink with me, Freckles.”

      “Well it is your birthday. You might as well enjoy.”

      “Come on. Join me on this toast. I relieve you of your duties.” He pressed the glass against the back of her fingers, glad when she finally took it. He felt cocky and arrogant as he lifted his glass. “Here’s to me changing your mind,” he repeated.

      Kate’s eyes gained a new sparkle as she did the same. “And to me, and my new life in Florida.”

      They knocked glasses in toast, and it was on.

      It was on.

      Like when they were kids playing Battleship...hell, yeah. Garrett was going to sink Kate’s Florida ship to the bottom of the ocean.

      As though mentally plotting, too, Kate quietly sipped, watching him over the rim with a little glimmer in her eyes. A glimmer that told him she was definitely onto his plan.

      Think what you want, Freckles. But you won’t be going anywhere.

      “I’m not backing out until I get my way, Kate. You know this, correct?” Garrett warned with a smile

      Kate shook her head, but was smiling, too. “See? And you asked me why I didn’t tell you? There’s your answer. I can’t deal with you right now, Garrett. I need to pack and make plans, help Molly with preparations so I can leave after the wedding.”

      “You don’t need to deal with me. I will be the one dealing with you,” he countered as he finished his glass. He snatched another and then gazed out at the gardens, the alcohol already slowing his usually sharp brain. Oh, yes, he was determined.

      He just couldn’t imagine his life without Kate in it.

      Every family celebration—hell, every family dinner, gathering or festivity—she would be there. Every morning in his office, her delectable croissants would be there. In his mind, his very dark soul, every second of the day, she was there....

      “Will you be spending the night here?”

      The lights in her eyes vanished at his question, and she nodded sadly. “Your mother said I could use my old room. She doesn’t want me driving alone so late. You know what happened...”

      To our fathers, he thought. They’d taken Garrett to watch a rock concert.

      Neither

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