Page 56 of All I Desire

Chapter Fifteen

NATALIA

My phone pingsand I lunge for the device that’s resting on the sofa cushion next to my hip. Maybe it’s Matthew. He’s been with his daughter all day and hasn’t had time to talk much. I’m dying to know if Chloe likes her newly decorated bedroom, and whether she’s excited for tomorrow’s party.

Instead of Matthew, it’s Kate.

Can you come get Chunky, please?

I groan out loud at Kate’s text. “Ugh, nooo,” I whine into my empty living room.

I’m in yoga pants and a T-shirt. There are crumbs on the shirt because I’ve been snarfing down oatmeal raisin cookies from a bag. I’m nestled on my sofa with Mister Sinister, reading a twisty thriller. At the end of the chapter, I was going to pour myself a glass of wine.

Cookies and chardonnay are my usual Saturday night dinner offerings.

Can’t you have someone drop him off? Or call Ma, I reply.

No. I can’t. I’m sorry. Your parents are on the mainland at some concert. I’m in a world of shit here and can’t deal.

I frown at my phone. The text is very unlike Kate. Normally, she loves having Chunky at the bar. And usually, she can deal with anything that a Saturday night shift at the tiki bar throws her way. Drunk tourists, crazy locals, the occasional fist fight. She handles it all with barely a raised voice because Kate is firm and graceful. That’s part of the reason why my brother loves her.

Please? Please?I can practically hear the desperation in her texts.

Hunh.

“Guess I’m going out tonight after all, Sin,” I say to the black cat who’s glued to my side. When I stand up, he mewls in protest and stretches on the cushion where I’d been sitting.

I briefly consider changing clothes but decide against it. Because, screw it. It’s just the tiki bar, where people will be half-clothed at best. And Chunky’s fur will just get all over me, anyway. Oh God, I hope he doesn’t still have that farting problem.

I grab my car keys and purse, popping another cookie in my mouth and glancing at my kitty. He always smells like a downy ball of fluff.

“Okay, Sin. I’m going to get your stinky cousin. Be right back.”

It doesn’t take long to drive to Lime and Salt. When I arrive, there’s a handful of regulars sitting around the tables and at the bar. Everyone’s chatting amicably. The cashier from Jake’s Market waves, as does Jane, the server.

Odd. I expected to see a Star Wars Cantina-like situation or a full-on brawl going on. Or something out of place.

Kate’s behind the bar, wiping the counter, staring blankly at her hand that’s going around and around in a circular motion.

I slide onto a stool at the end. “Hey.”

She doesn’t notice me. Weird. It’s not that loud, and she’s usually so attentive.

“Kate?”

Nothing.

“Hey, Kate,” I call out, this time louder.

Finally, she looks up. “Oh. Hey. Thanks for coming. I hope I didn’t interrupt anything.”

She shuffles over to me, and that’s when I realize that her eyes are puffy.

“What’s wrong?”

Her hand goes to her hip and she shakes her head. It’s as if she’s trying not to cry. She wipes her nose with her arm.

I lean in, wide-eyed. “What? Tell me? Did something happen here? Did the cops just leave? Did someone mess with you?” I look around at the people drinking and chatting. A couple of guys are watching sports highlights on a TV at the end of the bar.

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