Crimson and Clover (7 page)

With a deep breath, he pushed those thoughts from his mind. He cast a sidelong glance at Adam and hoped like hell Katie wouldn’t mention his indiscretion. If he’d known how things were, he’d have never told her he wanted her. Adam was his best mate and Katie was Adam’s old lady. Jay would never do anything to hurt his friend. Ever.

Realizing Adam had pulled ahead of him, he jogged a couple of steps to catch up. As they reached the tube station Jay resolved to forget about Katie and concentrate on his new band, the one he was starting with his friend.

• • •

Grunting with effort, Katie leaned her weight against the pliers and pushed until her face turned purple with effort. Muscles she didn’t know she had knotted in strain, and she thought her eyeballs were going to pop out of her head. Releasing the pressure with an explosive gasp, she sagged against the tile wall surrounding the bathtub, and glared at the bolt that held the shower head on the pipe. It might have moved a millimeter, but that was probably just wishful thinking on her part. If it wasn’t for her hair, she would have given up. But trying to shampoo the long, heavy mass in the bath or leaning over the kitchen sink was next to impossible, so the bolt was just going to have to cooperate.

After spending the previous day putting subway tile on the wall behind the bathtub, Katie had begun installing the shower just after breakfast. Things had gone at a brisk pace and she was feeling proud of herself until she noticed she’d put the showerhead on upside down. It was fortunate she’d discovered it before she tested the water pressure as she had no desire to repair a water-damaged ceiling. She narrowed her eyes at the bolt with its vise grip appendage. At least she knew the fittings were tight. Small consolation since she now had to undo one. Shaking her arms to loosen any stray knots in her muscles, she took a firm grasp on the pliers, and prepared to give it another try.

“Whatever are you doing?”

With a brief shriek of surprise at the unexpected voice, Katie lost her grip and fell forward, her skull making hard contact with the vertical pipe. “Son of a bitch,” she yelled, as flowers of pain bloomed at the point of impact. Clasping her hands across her now-throbbing forehead, she stumbled backward, trying to stand straight. The back of her head promptly banged into the handles of the pliers, which had, wonder of wonders, stayed locked onto the Bolt From Hell. Muttering curses under her breath, she ducked away from the plumbing and turned to confront her attacker. “Don’t sneak up on me like that!”

Maureen stood in the doorway, regarding her with a mixture of amusement and concern. “I didn’t sneak up on you,” Maureen defended herself. “I called out, but I guess you didn’t hear me over the music.” She nodded toward the living room, where the Beatles were cheerfully singing about tears cried for no one at maximum volume on the stereo.

Ignoring her friend’s explanation, Katie lowered one hand and inspected it for blood. “I swear that damn shower’s going to kill me yet.”

“What are you doing to it?” Maureen wanted to know. “It looks fine to me.”

“Look again. I somehow managed to get the showerhead on upside down.” Katie tossed another glare at the bolt.

“Oh, Katie, how thoughtful. You were obviously thinking it would spray up into my bathroom so I could have a shower, too.” Maureen hooted with laughter.

“Very funny.” With a sigh, Katie climbed out of the tub, and peered at her forehead in the mirror over the sink, pushing away strands of hair that had escaped her ponytail. “Damn. That’s going to leave a mark.”

Maureen’s face appeared next to hers in the mirror, inspecting Katie’s forehead for damage. “Oh, it won’t be too bad.” A grin lit her face. “It’s the blood gushing out of the back of your head I’m concerned about.”

One of Katie’s hands rose in reflex to the back of her head before she could stop it. She tried to repress the smile that quirked the corner of her mouth. It was impossible to maintain a bad mood around Maureen; her perpetual cheerfulness chased gloom and doom out as effectively as an industrial wind machine. Plucking a face cloth from the basket under the sink, Katie ran it under cold water before pressing it to her forehead. She turned to Maureen, and gave into the smile that had been trying to break free. “I guess I’ll live. Now that you’ve got my attention, is there something you wanted?”

“There is, now you mention it.” Taking the sponge from the back of the commode, she leaned over the tub and began wiping up the detritus left from Katie’s installation work. “I was sitting upstairs, listening to your
Revolver
album. Not your fault,” she added, looking up. “They just forgot to add insulation between the floors when they built this place. Anyway,” she resumed, turning back to the tub, “I was grooving to the music, when I remembered something and I had to come down at once.” Turning on the faucet, she rinsed the sponge under the running water, squeezed it out, and balanced it on the edge of the tub to dry.

Curious, Katie asked, “So what was it you remembered that was so important you had to come down and give me a concussion over it?”

“Just this.” Maureen rose to her feet, and stepped out into the tiny hall. When she returned, she was holding a brown paper bag. “I remembered that I didn’t give you your housewarming gift, so I brought it down.” She handed the bag to Katie, and grinned.

Touched by the gesture, Katie took the bag. “You didn’t have to do this.” She opened the bag, and drew in a breath of delight. “But I’m glad you did!” Inside were two pale purple candles with the lilac scent Katie loved. She could tell by the intricate, swirling design stamped into them that they were the special candles made by their friend Debi. “I love them, Maureen. Thank you!”

“The least I could do,” Maureen demurred. “I just feel horrible I forgot about it for two weeks.”

“Don’t feel horrible. You did throw me the party of the year, remember?”

“Well, yes, there’s that.” Maureen grinned. “And I did introduce you to Jay Carey, after all.”

“Ah. Yes. Him.”

Speculation brightened Maureen’s eyes. “You don’t sound overjoyed for some reason. Did the two of you not hit it off?”

“I thought we did,” Katie muttered. She took the cloth from her face and grimaced at the bright red mark adorning her forehead.

“C’mon, Katie. Spill. What’s going on?”

“Let’s go have a Coke. I’m sick and tired of this bathroom.”

No sooner had Katie opened the bottles of Coke did Maureen demand details.

“Tell me everything,” she said. “Don’t leave anything out, because I’ll know if you do.”

“Don’t I know it.” Katie took a deep breath. “Okay. At the party I thought we were really getting into each other.” She thought of the way Jay’s hair felt against her face and the warmth of his skin under her hand and a little thrill of delight shot through her. “Before he left, he told me he wants me.”

“Bloody hell,” Maureen breathed. “I’ve been so wrapped up in Nicky since then I didn’t know any of this. So he wants you. That’s a good thing, right?”

“You’d think so. But I haven’t really seen him the past couple of weeks except for running into him every now and again when he’s with Stuart or Adam.” Her brows drew together in a confused frown. “He’s always really friendly, but that’s it.”

“Hm.” Maureen took a quick drink. “Does he know you want him, too? I mean, you do want him, don’t you?”

“More than I’ve ever wanted anything,” Katie said fervently. “But I didn’t come right out and tell him that, no. I was so freaked out when he told me that I just stood there like an idiot and watched him leave.”

Maureen laid a soft hand over Katie’s. “I don’t know what to tell you. Should I ask Nicky if he’s heard … ”

“Are you completely insane?” Katie interrupted. “No, don’t ask Nicky anything! The last thing I want is that bunch of hooligans knowing Jay’s brushing me off. They gossip worse than a bunch of old women.”

“They do, don’t they?” Maureen giggled. “Blows that whole ‘male mystique’ thing right out of the water.”

“No shit.” Katie’s mouth sagged in a glum pout. “But let’s keep this between you and me, okay? It’s really got me bummed out.”

“You can trust me to keep my mouth shut,” Maureen assured her. “My lips are sealed.”

Under Katie’s flower child exterior beat the heart of June Cleaver, minus the pearls and starched dresses, of course. She had always been something of a laundry freak, declaring that the smell of freshly dried sheets was almost a turn-on, but washing dishes didn’t fall into that category. No matter how much she liked keeping a tidy house, dishwashing would always be nothing more than a chore.

She wiped quickly at the plates in the drainer, wanting to have it over and done so she could sit down and read more of the Harlequin romance she’d picked up a day earlier. The story of Casey O’Shane and her tutor from England, the dashing Cromwell, was a good one, and Katie couldn’t wait to get back to it. A knock on the door brought her out of her thoughts and she glanced over her shoulder.

“It’s open,” she called. “I’m in the kitchen.”

When Jay Carey appeared in the doorway between the two rooms, she almost dropped the plate in surprise. “Hey, there.”

“Hello.” He smiled and sketched a wave. “I hope you don’t mind me dropping in unannounced.”

“Not at all. Want some coffee?” She sent up silent thanks to whatever deities might be listening that her voice was steady and calm.

“American coffee?” Jay asked as he pulled out a chair and sat down.

“That’s the only kind of coffee you’ll find in my house,” she assured him.

“Good. I will have some, then. In a cup about this big.” He measured out the distance of a foot between his hands.

Katie grinned. “Barring the size of the cup, I think I can fix you up.” She reached into the cupboard and pulled out a mug. She filled it from the pot that sat warming on the stove and set it before him. “Cream? Sugar?”

“God, no.” He shuddered. “Why ruin a perfectly good cup of coffee?”

“Wow.” Katie clasped her hands together in front of her chest in a parody of adulation. “You really are perfect, aren’t you?”

Jay snickered and applied himself to his coffee. Katie turned back to drying the few remaining dishes and watched him from the corner of her eye, trying not to swoon. His dark hair curled against the thick grey turtleneck sweater he wore to combat the chill of the October day, and dark jeans so tight she wondered just how he’d managed to get into them. She tried not to let her gaze linger between his spread thighs, but she couldn’t resist a peek. What she saw there threatened to destroy what little self-control she had, so she quickly averted her eyes.

“What brings you down to the Grove?”

“I came round to see Adam or Stuart, but they’re both working.” Jay blew on his coffee before taking another sip. “Then I remembered I haven’t seen you in a day or two, so I thought I’d drop by.”

“Any time.” Katie put the last plate in the cupboard and flung the dishtowel on the counter.

Jay’s gaze roamed around the room. “This is a huge kitchen for a flat in Ladbroke Grove. Is the rest of it as roomy?”

“Pretty much.” She tilted her head to the side. “Wanna see it?”

“Sure.” After a large gulp of coffee, Jay rose and followed her as she led him down the hall, pointing out the bathroom, her bedroom and her improvised closet, the room she was most proud of. Jay, however, seemed fascinated by her bedroom.

“What a brilliant idea.” He looked at the pipes she’d affixed to ceiling so she could hang bed curtains she’d made from Moroccan-inspired fabric. “I’d never have thought of this.”

“Don’t give me too much credit,” she demurred. “I saw it in a magazine and thought I’d try it.”

“How did you ever decide to paint the ceiling purple?” His eyes twinkled at her, and she had to look away, turning her gaze to the ceiling. Her sleep over the past several weeks had been interrupted more than once by dreams of those hazel eyes and the sound of his whisper in her ear:
I want you
.

“It stood out too much when it was white,” she explained. “So I painted it the same color as the walls.”

“It’s great. It’s like a mini-Taj Mahal in here with the purple, and the fabrics and the carved furniture.”

“Thanks.” Katie smiled. “That’s what I was going for.” A sudden thought occurred to her. “Hey! Did you ever get to Scotland?”

His eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Why, no. I didn’t. What made you think of that?”

“I don’t know.” She shrugged. “It just popped into my head. I’ve kind of been thinking of spending a week there. My dad’s family was from Scotland and I thought it might be cool to go see where my grandparents lived.” She bit her lip in indecision, but remembered Maureen’s advice and decided to just go for it. “You’re welcome to come with me.”

He grinned. “And I could show you Thomaston Castle, right?”

“Absolutely. I’m really curious about it now, but I wouldn’t want to see it if you weren’t with me.”

His grin abruptly faded. “Yes, well. Adam’s not too keen on going round to castles, so I don’t know how that would work out.”

“Adam?” Her brows drew together in confusion. “What the hell does Adam have to do with it?”

Jay appeared bewildered at her response. “Isn’t he your old man?”

“What? No!” Katie’s mouth dropped open in shock. “Who told you that?”

The startled look on Jay’s face and the quick aversion of his gaze told her all she needed to know.

“Adam did, didn’t he?” she fumed. “I swear, he is the most annoying individual I’ve ever met. I oughta pop him in the knee with Stuart’s baseball bat next time I’m over there. But no, I’m not Adam’s girlfriend. I’m not
anyone’s
girlfriend.”

For a moment, Jay stood staring at the bed curtains with a look of astonishment. Before Katie could question him, he shook his head and faced her. “Well, then.” He turned the full intensity of those hazel eyes on her. “That changes things.”

Katie’s outrage vanished as quickly as it appeared and her heart rate accelerated like she’d just had a hit of some dynamite speed. “What things?”

“For one,” Jay stepped closer. “It means I can do this.”