Page 7 of Catalyst

CHAPTER4

Ellie

Donna’s Bar.

One of the absolute best places in the whole world. At least in my opinion. It’s only fifteen minutes from Westlake, in the little town of Sonoma, and I love it. It’s loud, the music is fantastic, and the people here are always welcoming to everyone who steps through the door.

Sure, there are a couple of decent bars in Westlake to choose from, but there is something special about this little hole in the wall. The log cabin theme feels like a cozy hideaway from the stress of your normal life.

It’s the perfect place for me and my best friend, Katie, to get some much-needed girl time. She’s a single mom to an adorable eight-year-old boy named Cody, which makes spending time together a smidge difficult. Most nights, we hang out at her house so she doesn’t have to pay for a babysitter.

But tonight, Cody is at a fun sleepover at his crazy Nana Sue’s while Katie gets a full night alone. It’s a win for everyone. Even though Sue and I aren’t technically related to Cody, we don’t let that stop us from spoiling him like any other family would. We’ve created a happy little unit, the four of us, finding comfort in each other since most of our biological families don’t want to be a part of our lives.

“It’s packed tonight,” Katie says as she sets our margaritas down on the high-top table I snagged when we came in.

“It’s always packed on the weekends.” I take a drink, the cold glass refreshing in the warm room.

“True. I also ordered food. I figured we’d want to eat at some point this evening.”

“This is why you’re my best friend.”

Katie grins, throwing her hair over her shoulder. “Mom habits. Can’t turn them off.” That one hair flip made every male eye turn her way.

She’s gorgeous with long, silky dark hair and naturally tan skin. The two of us couldn’t be more opposite of each other in both looks and personality. She’s the gloomy to my sunshine, the realist to my idealist, the peanut butter to my jam. All of these are reasons we make such good friends.

We met when I started working at the same daycare Cody attended. It was best friends at first sight, I swear. I murmured one sarcastic comment I didn’t mean for anyone to hear, and Katie responded with one of her own, and I was sold. We’ve been best friends ever since.

Katie has never entertained the lusty looks she receives. I’m not sure if it’s because she doesn’t see herself the way others see her or if she just can’t be bothered. I don’t really blame her either way after what happened with Cody’s asshole father.

It took a drunken night of too much wine and pizza to pry the story out of her. When she finally fessed up, I wanted to kill him myself. He’s one of those men that believe they’re entitled to do whatever they want, and the consequences of their actions don’t apply.

He deserves to get decked in the face. Repeatedly.

“Okay, time to dish. How is working with the most eligible bachelor in Westlake? It’s been what, two weeks now?”

I can’t fight the grin on my face. “Yes, two whole weeks of trying to figure out the biggest enigma of a man I’ve ever met.” Adam is unlike anyone I’ve ever interacted with before. He’s serious all the time, rarely allowing himself to joke around, but when the corner of his mouth quirks up in a smirk… Ugh. He’s heart-melting.

Katie says nothing, allowing me a moment to get my thoughts together. “Adam is… gorgeous. More than any magazine or Google search could do justice. He’s obsessive when it comes to how he runs the company. I thought he was going to burst a vein in his forehead when I replaced his normal sticky notes with rainbow-printed ones.”

“Did you replace the sticky notes on purpose?” Katie raises her eyebrow.

“Of course, I did.” I laugh. “The dude needs some color in his life or he’s going to keel over from a heart attack at forty.”

“Isn’t he, like, thirty-seven or something?”

“Exactly. He needs some fun to break up all the serious.” I grin.

“And Sunshine Ellie is always up for sprinkling her rainbows around.”

“That sounds dirty.”

Katie chuckles, her smile wide across her face. She doesn’t smile like that very often, and I swear it feels like my heart might burst when I coax it out of her. My constant need to make others happy is probably a character flaw. I can’t stand when the people I care about are hurting. I know there are times when you have to feel those dark feelings. It’s important to face them and understand their root, but I never want my people to get stuck there. I never want them to feel like there’s no hope in continuing their journey. There’s always hope, no matter how dark the tunnel can get.

“Any sexy flirting? You’re basically living out my office romance dreams.”

“He’s hot. So, so sexy, but no. There’s been no flirting. I don’t think Adam would know what flirting was if it hit him upside the head.”

Katie throws her head back and groans, garnering more attention from her admirers. “You’re killing me here. There’s been nothing? Not even a hot look cast across the conference room that makes you burn?”

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