Page 55 of Burn for Me
“I’m not sure I’m up for any more surprises right this minute,” Kitty replied.
“Yeah, I think you’re going to really like this one though.”
Pulling back so she could see his face, Kitty looked at him suspiciously.
“What have the two of you done?”
Laughing and shrugging at her, Gray simply said, “You’ll have to go see, won’t you?”
* * *
Kitty stepped completelyout of the circle of his arms. Immediately, he missed the warmth of her soft curves pressed to his harder frame. He was still pretty shaken, realising that there could have been a completely different outcome. That he might very well have never gotten to hold her like that ever again.
Everything in him clenched at the thought of never holding her again. Or never getting to hear her laughter. Or simply never seeing her beautiful face again. A life without Kitty was unfathomable for Gray. He’d received a commendation from the city mayor for his part in solving the arson case involving Kitty’s friend Lee, but none of it would have meant anything had he lost her in the process. More than ever, he understood that there wasn’t life moving forward without her. It would merely be an existence, not a life.
Mentally shakinghimself out of his morbid reverie, he held out a hand to her.
“Come on, honey. Let’s go see what’s going on.”
Giving him another look loaded with suspicion, Kitty placed her smaller hand in his. Gray placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. Grinning down into her upturned face, he led her down the passage to the living room.
So focused on Gray was she, Kitty didn’t notice her mother already waiting in the room. Nor did she notice the person standing beside her mother.
“Honey, I know you like looking at me,” Gray teased. “But you might want to take a look around the room for a second.”
Looking a little confused now, a frown creased Kitty’s brow.
“Haha, wise guy.” Gesturing to the room, without taking her eyes off him, she continued, “I’ve seen the room before. What I want to know is, what are you plotting?”
Putting both hands on her cheeks, Gray gently turned Kitty’s head in her mother’s direction.
“You sure you’ve seen everything to see in this room?”
Gray saw Kitty’s gaze move over her mother and come to settle on the person beside her. He saw the exact moment her brain caught up with her eyesight. For a long moment, she stood as if she’d turned to stone. And then, with a cry of pure joy, Kitty launched herself at her brother.
“Phillip! Oh my god, what are you doing here?”
The other man laughed. “I heard via the grapevine you were getting into all sorts of trouble, so I came to see what was going on for myself.”
Gray watched as she launched herself into her sibling’s arms. He saw her grimace as her body made contact with her brother’s, jostling her arm.
“Careful there, Pussycat. You don’t want to do yourself another injury,” Phillip cautioned before pulling her into a hug.
“I’m fine, but you’re right. It’s just I’m so excited to see you.”
As Kitty finally stepped out of Phillip’s embrace, she reached for Gray’s hand.
“Have you met Gray yet?”
“Yes, I’ve had the pleasure. In fact, he collected me from the airport this morning before coming to fetch you from the hospital.”
“Oh.” Kitty’s gaze moved between Gray and Phillip. “Exactly how long have the three of you been planning this?”
Gray, Phillip, and Elenore laughed at the disgruntled look on her face.
“A little more than a week,” Gray replied. “We thought it would be a lovely treat for you to come home to.”
“Sweetheart, I need to get going. There’s a couple of things I need to get done. But I thought it would be nice if the four of us go out for dinner this evening. Do you think you’ll be up for it?”
