It's In His Kiss (19 page)

She sat down on the couch to wait for him, then got up immediately. Where was he? He'd as much as said he didn't have anywhere to go today.

Still, she had sort of run out on him this morning without a word. Cat realized she was pacing. She stopped.

What was she going to say to him? What if Deb and her mother were wrong, and he wasn't in love with her. She remembered Deb's words.
You forget. I've seen him look at you.
What kind of proof was that? The irrational ramblings of a certified romantic. 

She stopped at the balcony doors, surprised to find herself there. When had she gotten off the couch? How long had she been pacing? Oh this was ridiculous. She was losing her mind.

Where was he?

She looked at her watch, then looked out the balcony doors. His car was gone, so he wasn't down at the pool or in the weight room.

Cat glanced toward his bedroom, and chewed on her thumbnail, then continued pacing between the front door and the balcony, passing his bedroom and hers each time. She rubbed her eyes tiredly. As she turned and headed back toward the front door, she glanced into his room. She stopped. His bed was rumpled and the jacket he'd worn the day before was tossed carelessly on the end of the bed. He obviously hadn't slept well either. A scrap of red material protruded from the side pocket of the jacket. It was the other pair of boxers. The ones he hadn't wanted her to see. 

She sent a sidelong glance toward the front door. Did she dare? It certainly couldn't hurt at this late date. If Michael was in love with her he'd forgive her. If he wasn't, well, it wouldn't matter. 

Using two fingers, she slid the shorts out of the jacket pocket and held them up, holding her breath, waiting to see what song he hadn't wanted her to see. There, emblazoned across the front, was the picture of Carrie Underwood and the words
"Don't Forget to Remember Me."
 

Standing there, clutching the underwear, Cat started to cry. Her sweet, steady Michael. No nonsense, down to earth Michael. Good old Michael. She laughed through her tears. He hadn't wanted her to see the shorts with the sappy, romantic, sentimental song title on them.

Oh, she loved him.

She hugged the boxers, and looked up to see Michael standing in the doorway to his room.

"What the hell are you doing?" His dark blue eyes flashed with more hot, angry fire than she'd ever seen.

"I--" she started, but he held up his hand.

"Don't even tell me." His jaw worked, his face was hard, and those eyes were burning holes in her. "Just get out of my room. I'm tired of it, Cat. I'm tired of the way you treat me. I'm tired of your snooping. I'm sorry about what happened last night. I never meant to do that. You should probably move out." He said it all flatly, as if he really didn't care, but there was no mistaking the anger in his face.

Cat took a deep breath, and for the first time in her life, she laid her heart on the line. She'd never left herself wide open before. The utter terror inside her made her voice quiver. "We're totally incom--" her voice hitched. "Incompatible."

Michael stared at her, his anger fading to bewilderment at her words. "What? What are you talking about?"

"We took a compatibility test, based on some new software I'm working on."

"Oh
we did?
That's funny, because I don't remember--" Suddenly, some of the odd things Cat had asked him in the past weeks came back to him. "Ah. The questions about trees and stuff." 

She nodded.

Michael watched her. She was so cute, standing there in the middle of his bedroom, holding those stupid boxer shorts. He should have shown them to her long ago, then maybe they wouldn't be so significant right now. He'd thought he'd melt through the floor in embarrassment when he'd seen her holding them.

"So from questions about trees and stuff, you figured out we weren't compatible. So what other questions were there? Did you ask me all of them?"

She shook her head.

"I guess you answered the others for me."

She nodded.

Michael would have thought this whole thing was hilarious, except that he had the feeling this was a very important conversation to Cat. Maybe to him too, he thought drily.

"So you decided you knew me well enough to answer the questions for me, and you determined we're incompatible."

She shook her head. "The software determined we were. And it said Deb and her husband were totally compatible, so--." She shrugged, and if Michael weren't mistaken, her lip quivered.

"So what kind of questions did you answer for me?"

Cat looked away.

"Cat?"

"You know, like when did you lose your virginity."

"I assume you got that one right."

She nodded, her face turning pink.

"What else?"

"Um, whether you like blondes or brunettes. Would you--fall into bed with your best friend or your worst enemy. Have you ever been in love with someone who didn't know you existed."

"So did you answer brunettes, best friend, and yes?"

A tear rolled down Cat's cheek, and she shook her head miserably. "No," she said. "Blondes, worst enemy, and of course not. You always dated blondes." She held up one finger.

"I couldn't say you'd fall into bed with your best friend, because that would be me." She stuck up a second finger, "and what woman in her right mind wouldn't love you back?" She sat down on his bed, still clutching his boxers.

Michael's heart ached with love for her. "I think I see where you made your mistake."

"Mistake?"

"Sure. In fact, Catherine Mary Morris. Actually, we're totally compatible."

"But –"

"Just listen." Michael stepped into the room and pulled her up to stand in front of him. "First of all, I never noticed the hair color of women I dated. I find it interesting that you always did. Second, why would anyone want to sleep with their worst enemy when they could sleep with their best friend--no matter who they were, and third, you spent a number of years not loving me back."

Cat looked up at him, her eyes wide and damp. "What--what are you saying?"

He extracted the boxers from her clutching fingers, put his arms around her, and smiled down at her. "I'm saying, twit, that I have been in love with you since the day you walked into that classroom when you were six years old. You didn't consider that when you were answering that silly compatibility test, did you?"

She shook her head miserably.

He leaned down and kissed her, long and hard, and she kissed him back. He picked her up and took her into his bedroom and they made long, sweet love together.

Much later, Cat was tracing the little swirls of hair on his chest. "Michael?"

"Hmm?" His eyes were closed and his breathing had grown soft and steady.

"Do you think this is going to affect our friendship?"

He opened his eyes and glanced sidelong at her. "Oh, yeah. I believe that falling into bed with my best friend is going to keep me happy for a long, long time."

"Me too."

THE END

From the Author:

I hope you have enjoyed this very short contemporary romance. I loved writing this book, although it's a departure from my usual grittier romantic suspense books and my darker paranormal romantic suspenses. I hope to write more light contemporaries; therefore I'd love to hear what you think of
It's In His Kiss.
You can write me at [email protected] or leave a message on my Facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/mallorykane
 

Coming soon from Mallory Kane:

Time Rider
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 He came from the future to kill her but he couldn't resist her healing touch.

Heart of the Hero
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Shadow of the Cat
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 A grim faerie tale, an evil witch's curse, and a man who knows that he can never let go of the fierce control that keeps the monster inside from breaking free. Only one woman can save him from the evil that seeks to destroy him, if he doesn't kill her first.