Page 70 of Catching the Captain

CHAPTER20

KAIDEN

I’m waitingin the parking lot when Rori and Serena leave the spa. They walk in my direction with their arms hooked together and both of them are laughing. Observing them makes me smile. Their friendship is special, and anyone who spends time with them can tell.

“Hello, handsome,” Rori shouts as they near.

“Hey, beautiful,” I say back. She still knocks the air from me whenever she smiles at me. “Did you have fun?” I sent the two of them for a day of pampering that included hair, makeup, nails, and anything else they wanted in celebration of Rori getting her cast removed. I dropped her off when the spa opened and it’s now mid-afternoon.

“It was fabulous,” Serena answers for them both. “Thank you for a great day.”

I grin. “I’m glad you enjoyed it, and you both look great,” I say, but I’ve barely noticed Serena. My eyes are occupied scanning Rori’s face and hair to see what looks different. She had a lot of length cut from her hair. It used to end at the middle of her back and now it’s falling to her shoulders. When the sunlight hits the strands, I see a hint of red. It looks sexy.

She and Serena share a hug before they part ways. Rori comes my way, pausing to stare up at me. “Hi.” She smiles.

Her eyes are heavily made up in a way I’ve never seen from her. She looks like an older, more professional version of herself.

I echo her smile and trail my fingers down the front strands of her hair. “You look unbelievably beautiful. Fucking stunning.”

She throws her arms around my waist. “Thank you for being such an amazing and generous boyfriend. I had a phenomenal day with my bestie.”

“You’re welcome. I’m glad you enjoyed it so much. You deserve it.”

She laughs. “I don’t feel like I do. I haven’t worked in almost six weeks and you’ve been spoiling me rotten. I can’t wait to start my new job.”

Nadia called her in for an interview a few weeks ago and they hit it off immediately. And it just so happens that one of her employees is about to go out on maternity leave. She’s having Rori fill in for those three months, and if things go well, she’ll have her stay on.

“Funny you should say that. We’re about to go shopping for some work clothes for you.”

“Kaiden, I don’t need you to buy me clothes. You do enough for me already. I have some black pants and a few blouses I can wear until I get my first paycheck. Then I’ll invest in a couple more outfits.”

“When are you going to learn not to argue with me?” I ask.

“Never.” Her red glossed lips bend into a teasing smile.

“I think you might be right, but I’ll never give up. Come on.” Catching her hand, I press our palms together and lead her to a well-known store one block down. We step through the front doors and Rori lets out a satisfied sigh.

“The air conditioning feels amazing. I changed my mind about not needing clothes. I need an entire wardrobe so I can stay cool,” she says.

“It is a nice change.” I tow her along with me as I head toward the women’s department. “I’d like you to buy anything you want. Please don’t argue with me about this. Think of it as me investing in your future. I believe in you and know you’ll be successful.”

“You always know what to say. It’s like a superpower of yours.”

“I have an even more impressive one than that,” I say.

“What would that be?”

“Making you come.”

“Kaiden.” She says my name between clenched teeth while her wide eyes dart around to see who’s watching us.

One of the store’s employees approaches us. “Can I help you?”

“We have an appointment with Suzanne,” I tell her.

“I’ll let her know you’re here.” She smiles, retracing her steps away from us.

“You made me an appointment to buy clothes? What kind of chi-chi store is this?” she whisper-yells at me.

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