That Kind of Special Read online

  She stayed on the other side of the room, but turned around. “You confuse me. I feel like what we have is going to disappear at any moment, because that’s all I know. Every single man I’ve dated has disappointed me. It’s not their fault, it’s me, really. I set high standards. Impossibly high ideals. Everything you’ve shown me makes me think you’re the man who is going to prove that I need you. I don’t want it to go away. Yet you’re talking long-term…at least for the immediate future. I can’t wrap my head around it all, and I don’t know if I want to.”

  “You don’t like what we’re building?”

  She swallowed. “I like the sex. I like how I feel when I’m around you.”

  “Fair enough.” He nodded. “That’s a start.”

  “You’ll settle for that?” She tossed her hair over her shoulder. “Don’t you feel like I’m cheating you out of some emotional need?”

  He studied her and realized he wasn’t getting inside her head, but receiving a firm take-a-hike message she probably delivered to all the men she dated. “More than I can express.”

  “Then do something, dammit!” She crossed her arms. “We’ve talked and talked, like two old women at tea time. I don’t get why you asked me out today or why you showed up at my apartment instead of calling. I take that back—I get the sex part. I want to know what’s there behind the sex. Why me?”

  “Not until you finally decide to stop lashing out at me. You’re overthinking things that haven’t even happened yet, and trying to find an excuse that we shouldn’t be together.” He pushed off the wall and walked toward her.

  “Because that’s what I do.” She stiffened. “I’m not bargaining with you.”

  He hooked her behind the neck and pulled her toward him. “Babe, I get it. You’re scared.”

  She challenged him with a stare.

  “So.” He kissed her, stepping back, so she’d have no trouble understanding what he was going to say next. “I’m going to prove to you that you can’t push me away just because you’re frightened of your feelings. And you’re scared because I’m not going to let you get away with this bullshit.”

  “What bullshit?” she mumbled.

  “Give me the truth, babe. You want a man stronger than you. Someone who won’t let you get away with turning into a fucking bitch, just so you can have your own way. You like that I take care of you, and have the balls to tell you no.” He lowered his voice. “That’s the kind of man you want, so you can give yourself permission to open your arms, take a chance, and let someone else take care of you.”

  She narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips. He wasn’t backing down. “Yes or no?”

  “Yes,” she whispered.

  “Then, dammit, come here.” He patted his chest.

  She dived into his arms. He held her against him, tucking her head underneath his chin. “I’m not going anywhere. I’m not the kind of man who’ll let you push me away, and you’re too special for me to walk away without regretting it for a lifetime.”

  Her body relaxed in a whoosh. He stroked the back of her head. Finally, he felt like he’d gotten past her shield and was holding the real Katina. He admired her for her goals, her determination to succeed in developing a business that would support her, and her struggle for independence.

  Yet there was an unbelievable strength in her determination to go about it by herself. She wanted to succeed at an unhealthy level that caused her to suffer for what she really wanted. He didn’t get that. He kissed the top of her head and leaned back, making her tip her head back to meet his gaze. “Are we good now?”

  She nodded. “We’re good…for now. I’ll have to think about it more when I’m by myself.”

  He chuckled. “You do that.”

  “Although you’re probably going to turn into a stalker, huh?”

  He threw back his head and laughed. Yeah, he was going to enjoy their new relationship. “Yeah, baby. I’ll be your stalker.”

  Chapter Ten

  Seattle boasted of having some of the best underground music anywhere, and at the Cavern, Katina believed it. She held Trent’s hand and followed him off the dance floor. The laughter kept coming. She couldn’t stop.

  For someone who’d proved he was fast on his feet, a smooth talker, and a marathon man in bed, Trent couldn’t dance to save his life. She leaned her head onto his shoulder. “I’m sorry.”

  “Right,” he muttered, pulling her to his side and continuing to walk back to their table.

  “Next time, I promise I won’t make fun of you.” She bit down on her lip to keep from laughing and failed. “Seriously.”

  “Real cute.” He kissed her quick. “Those moves should only be made in bed. With me.”

  She stuck out her lower lip, but even then, she couldn’t follow through with her pout. Tonight was everything she’d hoped it would be. Good food, delicious drinks, and the company of their friends.

  “I will never, ever dance when you two are on the floor.” Doreen sat at the table with Tim, wiping her eyes and fighting a wave of giggles. “My God. I think the band even stopped playing at one point to watch Trent.”

  “Hey, I didn’t see you two out there.” Katina pointed at Tim and then Doreen. “Some friends you are.”

  “Hell, no.” Tim put his arm around Doreen. “I admit I can’t dance. I sure as hell wouldn’t get out there and make a fool of myself just because my girlfriend looked at me pretty and promised wicked things later.”

  Trent shook his head, but he smiled. “I owed her.”

  That was true. He’d asked her to go without panties while they played golf yesterday, and after the seventh hole, he’d flipped up her skirt and had her ride him in the golf cart to the next green. It was scandalous, shocking, and one of the wildest things she’d ever done.

  “Ah…” Tim grinned. “That’s the way you played it. So, what did she do for you?”

  She dived toward Trent, putting her hand across his mouth. “Don’t say it, or you’ll never get another treat again.”

  All four of them at the table burst out in laughter. She slid into the booth beside Trent, her heart full and more content than she ever expected. Not only were she and Trent finding something wonderful together, Tim and Doreen were doing their own thing in their spare time.

  Most days, she and Doreen giggled like schoolchildren over their first crushes while they worked. Every day she woke up looking forward to seeing Trent when they both got off work.

  Yet when she was alone, she tried to figure out when the bomb would drop and the fun and games would end. It always did. Something always ticked in the background, threatening to go off and ruin everything.

  “Katina?” A woman’s voice came from behind her.

  She shifted in the booth and smiled before standing. “Laura. How nice to see you.”

  Two months ago, she’d finished decorating Laura and Darren Johnson’s master bedroom. She air kissed Laura. “How is everything working out with the new design? No more problems with Darren getting enough sleep working swing shift?”

  Laura shook her head. “The oriental screens work wonderfully to keep the sun out of the room. In fact, I’ve shown everyone your beautiful talent at fixing up our room, and have a friend who wants to call you and set up a consultation to redo her kitchen. Would that be all right?”

  “Absolutely.” Katina reached behind her for her purse, removed a few business cards. “I would love to meet with her.”

  “That’s great. I’ve already sang your praises.” Laura squeezed her arm. “We’ll talk soon.”

  “Thank you.” Katina watched Laura walk away and turned back to the table more somber and relaxed.

  She’d worked hard to get to the level where others were recommending her to friends. Many times she’d second-guessed her decision to spend her own money on building her business. But, right this minute, it was worth it. She glanced at Trent. He smiled at her and, if she guessed, looked proud of her.

  She swallowed hard. What was she doing? Could
she really handle being the professional she aimed for and still act crazy infatuated with Trent. What if Laura saw her gyrating against Trent’s leg out on the dance floor?

  Trent lifted her hand to his lips. “What do you say, baby?”

  “Hm?” She stared at their fingers linked together.

  “Next weekend we’ll take the yacht out and have dinner on the water?” he said.

  She smiled. “You have a yacht?”

  “I’ve told you that before.” He tilted his head. “Are you okay?”

  Had he? Was she? She shook her head. He’d told her not to borrow trouble, and she’d do her best not to. “Yeah, sure. That sounds fun.”

  Doreen cleared her throat. “Uh, Kat. Don’t look behind you.”

  She started to turn, and Doreen kicked her under the table. “Ouch. What was that for?”

  “Your mom and dad just walked in,” Doreen whispered.

  Katina slouched in the seat. “Where?”

  Doreen ducked her chin and peered out of the corner of her eye. “Ten o’clock. No, twelve. Shit. They’re heading this way.” She squared her shoulders and smiled. “Hey, Mr. and Mrs. L. What are you two doing here?”

  “I’m going to die,” Katina muttered, pushing herself back on the seat.

  Her mom shrieked in feigned shock, but Katina had a feeling her mom knew exactly where Katina would be tonight. “Girls. We had no idea you were here. We stopped to have a drink and a dance before Hank took me home.”

  “Mom.” She plastered on a smile. “Dad.”

  “Katty.” Her dad leaned over and kissed her forehead. “Beautiful as always. You need to come by the office. I have a couple who are asking for a decorator.”

  She eyed him curiously. “Decorating? Or is this your attempt to get me to work in the family construction business?”

  Her dad rubbed his jaw. “Well, I’m not so sure…”

  “Dad.” She pursed her lips. “I’ll stop by, but I thought you retired.”

  He held up his hands. “Just talk to them, Katty. That’s all I ask.”

  “I’ll call on you tomorrow and get more information from Becky.” Deciding to drop the subject of working with Lindtson’s Construction, she grabbed Trent’s hand and squeezed. “You’ve already met my mom. This is my dad, Hank Lindtson. Dad…this is Trent Bauer, and his friend Tim.”

  She held her breath as the men around the table half stood and shook her dad’s hand. Pain shot up her leg. She jolted and glared at Doreen. “What are you kicking me for now?”

  Doreen flicked her eyes to Katrina’s left. Katina swiveled her head and groaned. Great. Another person she didn’t want to see.

  “Hey, Katina. I can’t believe you’re here.” Colby, his bruised eye already healed, leaned in to kiss her.

  “Um, Colby.” She scooted out of reach. Trent would kill him if he dared lay a finger on her, much less his lips. “How are you?”

  Trent cleared his throat. “I’ll get rid of him.”

  “It’s okay,” she whispered.

  “Good, good.” Colby rocked back on his heels, eyeing Trent, then her, then Trent. “How have you been? I’ve been calling, but you haven’t been returning my phone calls.”

  Oh God. She looked at her mom, hoping a mother’s intuition would recognize the problem and fix it before Trent got in another fight because of her.

  She exhaled as her mom smiled and glided toward Colby. Not walked, because her mother never did anything without grace and class.

  “Colby, dear, would you be a gentleman and give us some privacy? Katina’s father and I haven’t caught up with her for ages, and we have a family matter to discuss.” Her mom turned Colby around and gave him a friendly push. “Wonderful. You always were a nice man.”

  Katina watched him leave, glancing over his shoulder as if he had no idea what was happening and where he was going. She inflated her cheeks and let her breath out before mouthing thank you to her mom.

  “Asshole,” Trent muttered.

  She patted his thigh. “It’s all right. He won’t be back.”

  For the next several minutes, her dad joined in on the conversation, asking questions about Trent’s yacht. She sat in stunned dismay. Only her parents would come to a nightclub at midnight and pick the one she was at with Trent. She glanced at Trent. Then she looked at her parents.

  Holy freaking shit. The similarities between her parents and her and Trent reached out and slapped her across the face. She pulled her hand away and sat there blinking.

  Her mom and dad, despite their unique relationship after the divorce, loved each other even more than ever. The odds were against them, but they’d prevailed. She’d admired them and, yes, even dreamed of having a relationship like theirs with someone special.

  But the men she dated were never right. She knew that deep down. That was why she never had long-lasting relationships. Shit. She had to think.

  She scrambled out of the booth. What the hell was she doing?

  “Baby?” Trent dropped his attention from her folks to her.

  No delay, no excuses, he zeroed in on her as if it was just him and her in the room the way he always did, because he was always focused on her every need. She tried to talk. Her mouth opened and closed, but the words never came out.

  She’d fallen in love with Trent.

  How could she explain something she hadn’t even realized before nor had time to accept? She finally muttered, “Sorry, I have to leave.”

  Her dad stepped toward her. “Katina.”

  She shook her head and backed up. “It’s okay. I just forgot I have something to do.”

  “Kat?” Trent pushed his drink back and moved to slide out of the bench.

  She turned and hurried toward the door, not wanting to talk about what was going through her head without making sense of it herself. Outside, she gulped in air and hurried along the sidewalk, not knowing where she headed, but knowing she had to get out of here.

  How could she be so stupid? All these years she’d denied what she needed, fought desperately to stand apart from her family, and swore to anyone who’d listen that she was going to succeed. Seeing her parents together and Trent sitting beside her, it all made sense in her crazy, mixed-up life.

  Whatever excuses she’d used to avoid serious relationships in the past were because of her desire to create the all-consuming love her parents had together. She’d set her sights high, and until her parents walked into the restaurant, she had no idea she was setting her parents as her example of what a real relationship should be like. No one but someone spectacular in her life would be able to give her the same level of love that her dad gave her mom.

  But Trent proved himself to her every single time. That was why she found it impossible to push him away.

  He was the man who filled all her requirements.

  Every second of every day, he showed her how perfect they were together, and she was too stupid to see the truth. He’d brought her out of her comfort level and gave her permission to forge ahead in their relationship. He wanted to share his life with her, and for the first time, she couldn’t imagine her life without him.

  Her ankle turned. She squealed, catching herself before she splattered on the concrete. “Shit.”

  The heel on her left shoe broke. “Just great. What else is going to happen, huh? Huh?”

  She removed both shoes and marched to the garbage can chained to the nearest light post and tossed them away. It figured that her best shoes would break on her too when her world just exploded.

  “Katina!”

  She turned toward Trent’s voice and groaned. Not only was Trent marching toward her, her dad and mom, Tim, and Doreen were heading her way too.

  Trent reached her first and grabbed her hands. “What the hell?” He glowered down at her. “You do not walk away from me.”

  Her dad stepped between them and planted a hand on Trent’s chest. “Not with my daughter, son.”

  Trent raised his hands, palms out, and backed off, neve
r taking his gaze off her. “Katina. We’ve talked about this…”

  Oh, God. His sister. She cringed. She should’ve thought what running away would do to him. He was probably scared to death on top of being pissed off at her.

  “I’m s—”

  “Katty.” Her dad blocked her view of Trent. “Your mom and I’ll take you home, or better yet, we’ll take you back to your mom’s house. You can stay with her tonight. She’d like that, and you two can have a girl-to-girl talk.”

  She fell onto her dad’s chest. “I’m so stupid,” she muttered.

  Her dad’s arms came around her, and he soothed her with a kiss to her forehead. “You’re smart with a good head on your shoulders. The most beautiful girl I know, besides your mother.”

  “I’ve made a huge mistake. I always thought I had to prove I was different from Mom, because she depended on you for her own happiness. I thought of that as a weakness, because she refused share why you two live in two separate houses.”

  Her dad shook his head. “There are reasons—”

  “No.” She sighed. “It’s not even about your living situation. I couldn’t understand that all-consuming love you two shared…until Trent. It’s not a weakness.”

  He pulled her back, so he could look her in the eyes. “You don’t have to explain it to me. I know.”

  “I was wrong, huh?”

  “Yes.” He held her face in his hands. “I suspect you were.”

  She sighed heavily. “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be. You have to learn on your own.” He pulled her toward him and kissed her forehead. “Your mom and I are proud of you, no matter what you do. We’re your parents.”

  “But—”

  “Sh.” His eyes softened. “I suspect the man standing behind me, ready to take me down, thinks more of you than you’re willing to admit.”

  “He does,” she whispered.

  “Okay then”—he squeezed her shoulders—”since I’m too old to take him down for using that tone with my daughter, maybe we should leave so you can talk to him. Calm him down and take the hurt off him.”

  “Yeah.” She sniffed before giving him one more hug. “Thanks, Dad.”