Page 4 of Sweet on Her

Cassie grins. “You’ll see. And wait until you see the fire department and the police.” She fans her face but then she snaps to attention and I whirl to see a big man in the doorway, his bright blue eyes locked on her.

“Hello, baby. Bout done bragging about all the men around here?”

“Now, I was just telling her she’s got a good pool to fish from! I don’t need another fish. I’ve got my catch.”

He leans against the doorjamb and crosses his arms. “Is that so?”

“Franklin. Don’t be mean in front of Kat. She hasn’t signed the papers yet.”

He ducks his dark head and grins, nodding at the papers. “Taking those to your attorney?”

“Yes, I am. I hope that’s not too offensive to you.”

“Nope. I applaud your attention to detail.”

I nod at them both and slip out the door past the big man. “I’ll just let you two get back to what you’re doing. I’ll give these to my attorney and talk to you tomorrow.”

“Sure.” Both of them barely acknowledge me and the heat in that room was scary. It felt like you could get burned alive.

I step outside of the bakery and take a deep breath of the crisp fall air. Then I hustle around a corner and bounce off a hard object, grunting when I hit the ground, hard.

“Ouch, dammit!”

“Katrina? Is that you?”

I look up and up and up and find myself staring into wide brown eyes that I remember dancing with glee and mischief. They’re cold and calculating.

My heart pounds and a whooshing noise hits my ears, drowning out the words that he’s saying.

It can’t be. No way is it him. I can’t be that unlucky. Or is it lucky?

From the furious glare that Hank is leveling on me, I don’t think luck is the word.

CHAPTER 3

Hank

“What the hell are you doing here, Katrina?”

“Hank? Oh shit! I was hoping to be here for an awhile before I saw you again.”

“That doesn’t answer why you’re here. You don’t belong here. You left. Why didn’t you stay gone?”

She flinches like I’ve punched her in the gut. Seems only fair. That’s how I feel.

“Have you seen my Dad lately?”

My heart sinks but I nod my head. “Yeah, I have.” And that’s all I’m saying about that.

“He isn’t doing too well. His memory isn’t that good anymore and after he took off and didn’t show up for days this summer, I knew that I didn’t have another option. I need to be here to take care of him.”

My belly clenches at the fear in her pretty hazel eyes. She’s worried about her dad. I get that. But why the hell does she have to come back here?

All those stupid memories that I’ve been dodging since she left rush back over me like a tidal wave. The pain and anguish, the loss, the confusion. She left me with a Dear Hank letter as explanation. That’s not right. I thought we meant more to each other than that.

But I’m not letting her know that she hurt me. I’ve got my damn pride and no woman is worth the pain she put me through and the bad choices I made while my heart was a damn mess.

“I’m sorry about your dad, Katrina. How long are you staying?” Make it a day or a week. Please.

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