She flipped her hair back over her shoulder, a waft of stunning coconut smell followed the action. “Well your idea was good to begin with, I was just building on it.”
I said nothing, just continued taking notes.
I felt her gaze on my face. “You’re really stressed out about this, aren’t you?”
I flicked my gaze up at her while continuing to write. “I really want the job, Kat.”
She nodded. “I know you do. Believe in yourself a little. You have a very good shot at it.”
I blew out a breath.
She grinned. “Well at least you have a trust fund to fall back on if you don’t get it.” She made a face as if she meant to duck or hide from my reaction to her tease.
I narrowed my eyes and shook my head. “You’re lucky I know you’re joking.”
She bit her lip. “I am a bit curious. How much is that bad boy worth, anyway?”
I stared at her sidelong. “You honestly don’t want to know. I spend very little of my time thinking about it anymore.”
She sat down on the table, facing me, swinging her free leg while the other braced on the ground. “Why is that?”
“My father has relied entirely on his inherited fortune to make his way in life. I’m a better man than he is. And I sure as hell don’t need that inheritance to succeed.”
She folded her arms across her chest and studied me with a tilted head. “So you’re proving yourself.”
I laughed. “I’ve got nothing to prove to him. He’s pretty disgusted with the choice I made to leave that life behind and get my hands dirty working for someone else.”
She shook her head, smiling good naturedly. “No, not proving yourself to him. But you’ve got a lot to prove to yourself.”
I blinked, returning her speculative stare. “Maybe.”
“I’ve got a good feeling about this. I think you’re in. And no, not because I’m Mia’s friend either. It’s just a feeling.”
“Well I need more than a feeling to feel better about all this waiting.
“Just do your best to convey your vision, because you have a great one. Adam may have started out as a programmer. But in reality, he’s a visionary. This company, this game were products of his vision. And you can be the visionary he wants to see. Doesn’t matter that you’re QA and Jeremy is a dev.”
I quirked a smile, somewhat heartened by her pep talk. “Thanks.”
She stood. “When you finish the game design document, I’ll be happy to look it over if you want me to.”
She put a reassuring hand on my shoulder, then let it slip off, and partially down my arm, which she squeezed before letting go. Her touch burned me through my shirt and I swallowed hastily.
Then she turned and was gone. I stared at the doorway for long moments, wondering why I was finding it hard to breathe. Like the fresh air had been sucked out of this room and had followed her sunshiny presence out of the room with her.
With our unwanted guests out of the house, we met a few more times with them. Once to take them up to Hollywood for some Walk of Fame tourism. And once to Disneyland, which we spared half a day for and left them to enjoy the rest.
Shortly after that, they disappeared. But I’d noticed that Kat had chosen never again to be alone with her brother. He did mention several times how much he wished she’d come back to Canada soon. Every time he said it, she got tense.
So I was relieved when they finally hit the road a few days later.
Our time together as husband and wife—post the unwanted guest era—regressed to its new normal. Kat retreated to her room at night, thank God, and I slept alone. Though not that well. I lay in bed for hours each night craving her next to me, craving the feel of her body beside me, beneath my hands. Hungering to touch that silky hair. She’d only been in my bed two nights but I’d quickly gotten used to it.
We were cordial, but each kept our distance. Kat left the discussion about getting physical at that and I didn’t touch it with a ten-foot pole. She was already too much of a delectable temptation and she now slept dozens of feet away from me with a wall in between.
But some days I’d walk into the living room. She’d be in the middle of her doing