Dean chuckled. “Remember the librarian? What was her name?”
“Mrs. Leon.”
“That’s right. She made Sally wear a lab coat all night. It was only after we all left and went into Mac’s that anyone saw her costume.”
Katie rolled her eyes back as the garlic from the bread saturated her tongue. “And you were right there sniffing up her skirt.”
“Leotard.”
“You would remember.”
Dean talked around his food. “I had to chase her to get my mind off of you.”
Katie stopped chewing. “You never took notice of me in high school. I was two years younger.”
“I didn’t want to notice you in high school. You were Jack’s sister and he’d have busted my balls if I made a move toward you.”
“No, he wouldn’t—OK, yeah, he would have. You never let on.”
“You had so many boys tripping over themselves, you wouldn’t have noticed if I looked twice.”
Katie washed down a forkful of beans with her diet soda. “Since we’re playing the honesty game, I guess I should let you know you’re wrong. Remember the outfit I wore on my sixteenth birthday?”
A slow Southern smile spread over his lips and he wiggled his eyebrows. “Red plaid mini, black boots, and that skintight tank top with the spaghetti straps. Oh, yeah. I remember.”
Katie sucked in her bottom lip and made a mental note to see if she could find that skirt when she went home. “You’d just started dating that girl from the Catholic school and I wanted to compete.” And when Dean hadn’t made a move, Katie decided to keep wearing short skirts and provocative clothing to make him.
He never did…well, not until much later.
“I don’t even remember what the girl’s name was.”
“Nina.”
“Nina,” he sighed as he said her name.
She tossed a napkin in his general direction. “You, Dean Prescott, were a player back then. Hell, you all were.”
“You did a fair amount of playin’.”
“More show than go.”
“Gaylord yelled at Jack constantly to find you and drag your skinny ass back home.”
She was wild back then. It didn’t help that the media followed her around to the point where she couldn’t burp without someone writing a story about it. A fabricated bullshit story. After her mother had walked away from them…all of them…Katie searched out attention.
Katie didn’t need two-hundred-dollar sessions on a psychiatric couch to understand why she acted out. Her mother had left her when she needed her the most. “Daddy was clueless about raising a teenage daughter.”
“You had your aunt.”
“Not the same.”
Dean’s fingertips brushed over the back of her hand. “Do you think of her…your mom?”
It was surreal how Dean knew her thoughts. “Sometimes.” More since Savannah had entered her life. How her mother could birth her children, raise them for so many years, then walk away, Katie couldn’t fathom.
“You were a great kid and a beautiful woman. She’s the one who’s missing out.”
Thinking about her mother hadn’t made her want to cry since she was a teen, but Dean’s calm, understanding words knotted the back of her throat and made her miss a woman who gave her up. Would Savannah think like this one day? Would she wonder why or even blame herself?
Katie pulled her hand away from Dean and lifted her napkin to her lips. She hoped he couldn’t see the pain behind her eyes. She attempted a smile and dropped her napkin. Instead of hitting her lap, it fell to the floor. As she bent over to pick it up, Dean did the same.
They both stopped midway and looked at each other. His eyes searched hers and time simply stopped. No, it went in reverse. He placed his palm on the side of her face and drew her in. His lips brushed over hers in soft, even sweeps.
“Oh,” she murmured as she reached and glided her hands over his chest. The thick feel of him under her palms felt right, familiar. He teased her lips open and pushed inside. His taste and scent flooded her, bringing back every wonderful memory of their brief, passionate time together. Unlike the fire and impulse they had before, this kiss was one of calm warmth and desire.
Warning bells screamed inside her mind. She’d barely survived him the first time. Playing emotional roulette with him now was dangerous. Even if it felt damn good to be in his arms again.
Dean must have read her thoughts and slowly ended their kiss. He left her light-headed and dizzy. “I can’t stop thinking about you, Katie.” He dropped his forehead to hers and spoke in hushed tones.
“This isn’t smart,” she said. She had a baby at home. One who needed to stay hidden until she located Savannah’s mother. Diving back into Dean’s arms, no matter how warm they were, could jeopardize everything. “We shouldn’t do this…for so many reasons.”
“Like what?”
“We work together.”
He kissed her again, briefly. “You’re fired,” he teased.
“You can’t fire me. You don’t pay me.”
He reached for her lips again, and she pulled away.
He dropped his arms from her shoulders and let her go. “I won’t push,” he told her.
She looked past him and drew in a deep breath. “Thank you.”
As he picked up their lunch mess, he said, “If you want to kiss me again, my office is right in there…and the door is always open.”