Page 8 of Close Quarters

Katie giggled. “About what?”

“Tell me about yourself. We’ve worked together four years and all I know is you’re good at your job, brilliant, and from Colorado Springs.”

She relaxed into her seat. “There isn’t much to tell, really. I grew up pathetically normal. My parents were both science teachers. I have a younger brother named Zeke. He’s a park ranger by day and competes professionally as a rock climber.”

“Wait. Your younger brother is Zeke Mitchum?”

She nodded. “You’ve heard of him?”

“Yeah. I do quite a bit of rock climbing. He’s a big name in the sport. Do you climb?”

“Some. I’m not a fanatic for it like he is, but I’ve done my fair share.”

“We should go sometime. I haven’t been out in a while and it would be nice to get a climb in before the weather turns. Tell me something else. You mentioned an ex once.”

She blinked twice as her brain registered the fact he wanted to go somewhere with her, then the abrupt change in subject. “Um, yeah. I was married for a hot minute in grad school. The first time I was in grad school,” she amended. “Jonas was a fellow criminology student. We’d been dating several months and moved in together when my roommate moved in with her boyfriend. After a few months of cohabitating, we got married. It was spur of the moment, but I quickly realized he just wanted to ride my coattails. He was the one to suggest moving in together—I had the nicer apartment. I was also doing much better in school. He was in danger of flunking out because he liked to party too much. That should have been a red flag for me, but he was sweet. Right up until I divorced him.”

Alex frowned at her. “Did he hurt you?”

“Not physically. But he hurled some nice insults my way. Told me no man would ever want me because I looked like a tatted up biker’s bitch. And that now I didn’t even have him because there was no way he’d take me back.”

He scoffed. “His loss. You’re sexy as hell.”

Katie’s eyes went wide. A flush crept up Alex’s neck, and he looked at her askance.

“I’m sorry. That was not appropriate,” he said.

She rolled her lips in, her own face reddening. “You think I’m sexy?” she asked, her voice quiet.

He arched a brow and glanced at her. “Have you looked in a mirror?”

She blushed harder. “Please. I’m nothing special. A man like you, I’m sure you’ve had your pick of beautiful, sophisticated women.”

“I have. And I think you could hold your own.”

A small thrill went through her at the heat in his eyes. She glanced back out the window and cleared her throat. “Thank you.”

Silence enveloped them for a moment before he broke it again.

“Why do you have all the tattoos, if you don’t mind me asking? I don’t have anything against them, I’m just curious. It’s not something you see often on a woman. Especially not one so… bookish.”

Katie looked down at her arms and the colorful artwork covering them. “I like art. I draw a lot in my free time.” She shrugged. “It felt right to put some of that on my body. I don’t regret any of them.”

“You shouldn’t. They’re beautiful. Even more so now that I know you drew them.”

Uncomfortable being the center of attention, she turned the conversation to him. “Your turn. Tell me about yourself.”

He sighed. “My upbringing is a lot like yours, except my mom was an accountant and my dad owned a garage. I have a younger sister. She’s a math teacher and married to her high school sweetheart.”

“Did you always want to be a doctor?”

“No. I wanted to be a mechanic like my dad until I was in that car accident. Getting an up-close view of the profession piqued my interest. I started taking more advanced science classes the next school year and loved every minute of it.”

“Hmm. What about relationships? Have you ever been married?”

He shook his head. “No. I came close once. I was engaged for about a year. She was a doctor too. But our schedules never synced, and we just drifted apart.”

That woman was stupid. Alex Randall was a great catch. If he were hers, she’d never let him go. If scheduling was a problem, she’d find a way to make it not a problem.

---