Page 9 of Catching the Captain

Kaiden chuckles. “Sounds like you need a bodyguard.”

“Are you volunteering?” Serena asks. She doesn’t know my sister and Kaiden were a couple at one time.

“Well, now that the season is over, I have some free time on my hands.”

“Ha ha,” I say. “I’m sure you have better things to do with your time.”

“Don’t be too sure about that.” He smiles at me, sending my stomach into a free fall.Is he flirting with me or am I misreading things?

I’m not the greatest at picking up on romantic signals, but I have a hard time believing Kaiden is thinking of me as anything more than Valentina’s little sister.

Time for a subject change. “Would you like something to drink? We have water and juice.”

He glances at the gold watch on his wrist. “Actually, I need to head out. I’m meeting up with a friend.” He stands.

Is “friend” code for a woman? Probably.

“Oh. Okay.” I jump to my feet. “Let me walk you out.” I lead him to the front stoop and pause on the top step. “Thanks again for all your help. It was nice of you to rush to my rescue, especially when you didn’t realize it was me.”

“It was nothing, really. I wish I could’ve prevented you from getting hurt.”

“You did plenty. More than most would.”

“We didn’t get to catch up as much as I’d like. Can I take you to dinner some night this week?” he asks.

“I’d love that, but I should be taking you to dinner to thank you.”

He shakes his head. “Yeah, that’s not gonna happen.”

“Why not?”

“Call me old fashioned, but I pay when I take a woman out.”

Wait. Does he mean on a date?

“I guess if you feel that strongly, I can’t argue,” I say.

He wraps me up in an unexpected embrace, and I slide my arms around his lean waist. My heart races so fast, I hope he can’t feel it. Drawing back, he smiles down at me, and my own lips curve in response.

“Despite the circumstances, I’m glad we ran into each other. No pun intended.” He winks.

I snicker. “Me too.”

“How’s tomorrow night work for you?”

“I’m free.”

“I’ll pick you up at six.”

“Sounds great. I’ll see you then.”

“Bye.” He gets to the bottom of the stairs and turns back to face me. “You should put some bandages and Neosporin on your scrapes before you go to bed.”

“Okay, doctor,” I say as I step over the threshold.

“That’s a good girl.” His deep voice follows me inside.

I close the door, and when I spin around Serena is standing there with her arms crossed.

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