Page 7 of Waste Some Time
That moment had been playing in her head all evening. At first, Katie had been put off by Sydney’s attempt to pretend they’d never met. But whatever the reason for that, Katie decided not to ruin the charade.
For now.
In truth, it was kind of fun to play along. And the rejection of their prior introduction at that party didn’t bother her.
What caught her off guard was the appearance of someone she’d never intended to see again. Remembering the feeling of those beachy blonde waves through her fingers. Those soft, wide lips against her mouth.
“Does her brother think she’s straight?” Rachel asked, breaking Katie’s trip through memory land. “She’s the sister who’s recently divorced, right?”
“Yeah. I have no idea. It never came up.” Katie shook her head. “But she clearly didn’t want him to know we’d met, so I don’t know what part of that she’s hiding from him.”
“That sounds like more family drama than I’d want to touch.” Rachel took a sip of her drink, then gave a sly sideways glance at her cousin. “I thought you said she was a good kisser?”
Katie’s brain swirled. Against her own self-interest, she couldn’t hide her pleasure at the memory. “So good. Unfortunately.”
“Why unfortunately? Now you get to see her again! Assuming you get to stay out of their family drama. Maybe she’ll clear up whatever she was hiding from him?”
Katie shook her head. “Nope. That night was a one-time thing, anyway. I told you. Good kisser, but we have nothing in common. She’s an accountant. I train otters. Not exactly matching puzzle pieces.”
“Why not? Don’t opposites attract?”
“We aren’t even opposites. We’re just… different. Too different. Besides, it’s even more out of the question now.”
“Because she’s Stephen’s sister?” Rachel asked. “He won’t care. He’ll probably be thrilled.”
“Not because of Stephen. Because she lives in San Diego. Even if I wanted to, I’m not starting a long-distance relationship with someone who I’ll see for just a few days while she’s in town for the holidays, maybe once a year.”
Rachel shrugged. “Sounds romantic to me.”
“Only if you consider doomed-from-the-start love stories with no happy ending to be romantic.”
“Oh, hey, speaking of happy endings. I found a?—”
“Nope. Absolutely not.” Katie put her hands up to stop what she knew was coming next out of Rachel’s mouth. “My plate is full with Benjamin.”
Katie had agreed to foster a cat for Rachel earlier that year. It was an adult cat, and Rachel had promised it would be easy and that it was so adorable they’d find it a home quickly just based on his pictures.
She’d neglected to tell Katie that it would be quite some time before they could even take those photos. The fluffy orange cat was matted beyond anything Katie had ever seen and developed some sort of kitty cold shortly after he arrived at Katie’s place. They’d had to shave his belly, but Katie still had to work out matts daily until the cat felt well enough to groom himself.
Several months later, however, Katie couldn’t imagine her life without the aloof pain-in-the-butt she’d named after her favorite band’s lead singer.
“This one’s easy. I swear. It’s a kitten. It’s just a little… sassy.”
“That’s easier. Not easy.” Katie sighed. “I’ll ask around to see if anyone else can take it.”
“Thank you!” Rachel hugged her. “You’re the best.”
Katie didn’t have much hope she’d find someone willing to take any cat, much less a sassy kitten. Rachel had Katie regularly hitting up coworkers to see who had room for rescues.
They were all animal lovers at the aquarium, but Katie had already tapped them out with previous requests to take in Rachel’s rescues. She’d have more luck if this was the summer, when the aquarium got in a bunch of temporary college workers to help with the extra tourist influx. But at this time of year, there weren’t any employees left who hadn’t heard her pitch. It was a good pitch. Katie had a knack for persuasion. But her pitch lost its power after the fourth or fifth time hearing it.
“Change of subject.”
Katie nodded toward the table on the other side of the stage, where a couple of Rachel’s bandmates sat with their significant others. Katie was always welcome to sit with them, but she loved the weird peace she got sitting alone while she listened to music in a crowded room. It was like a meditation for her. A good way to forget about a certain someone she wasn’t supposed to see again.
“I’ll allow it,” Rachel said with a grin before she took another sip of her drink.
“How’s the plans for the upcoming tour going?”
