Heart-Shaped Hack(51)
Kate knew exactly what her mother was talking about. “I haven’t told him yet, but I love him. And I love him in a way I never loved Stuart. I can’t describe it.”
Diane smiled and took Kate’s hands in her own. “One of the things I admire most about you is that you follow your head and your heart. Keep trusting your instincts. This is your life. Make the choices that will bring you the most happiness.”
Kate hugged her mom. “I will.” She started to laugh. “You would not believe how much I didn’t like him at first. Someday when we’re alone and have time, I’ll tell you the whole story.”
When they sat back down at the table, they ordered dessert and coffee. Kate and Diane made plans to meet for brunch and to go shopping the next day, and then Kate would spend some more time with her parents before they headed home the day after that. Kate hoped that next year Ian could come home with her for Thanksgiving or Christmas. Kate wanted Chad and Kristin to meet him too.
When the check came, Ian didn’t challenge Steve about who would pay it, and Kate was relieved. There was a clear hierarchy about who picked up the tab for the first dinner, and Steve held the top spot.
They walked to the door of the restaurant and said their good-byes. Kate hugged her parents and Ian shook their hands. Diane couldn’t resist giving Ian a hug too.
“It was wonderful to meet you,” Ian said. “Thank you for dinner.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow, Mom,” Kate said, giving her mom another hug.
Kate’s parents watched as Ian opened the passenger door for Kate, and she waved to them as they walked to their own car. Ian slid behind the wheel and pulled out of the parking lot.
“Well?” she asked.
“I think your mom approves. She didn’t stop smiling at me the entire time. Your dad might enjoy cross-examining me under oath or administering a lie detector test, but I’m guessing that’s standard operating procedure for any man you’ve ever introduced to him.”
Kate nodded, laughing. “He’d love to do those things, but my mom won’t let him.”
“I liked them. I’m not just saying that either.”
“I was a little nervous. I haven’t introduced them to anyone since Stuart.”
“I could tell. But I’m pretty sure I passed.”
“After watching you use your impeccable manners to charm the pants off my parents—my mother’s almost literally—I would have to agree.”
Ian flipped on his turn signal. “When we get home, I’m going to build a fire and have some more of that bourbon Santa brought me. Then I’m going to take off all your clothes and lay you down on the rug in front of the fire. After that I’m going to make my way down your body until my face is between your legs. Then I’d like to hear what you think about my smooth cheeks.”
Kate smiled and looked at him affectionately. “I was thinking just the other day about how I kind of miss that cocky, over the top, wildly inappropriate man I first met. But then you go and say something like that and I think, Oh… there he is.”
When they got home, Ian helped Kate off with her coat and built a fire. Then he poured the drinks, and when they’d finished them, he did exactly what he’d promised in the car.
And Kate decided his smooth cheeks felt very fine indeed.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Loud electronic beeping roused Kate from a deep sleep. At first she thought it was her alarm clock, which was set to wake her at 8:00 a.m. But the bedroom was pitch-dark, and Ian would not have thrown back the covers and bolted out of bed if the noise had come from her alarm. A quick glance at the clock showed the time as 2:11.
He moved fast for someone who had only moments before been curled around Kate, asleep, and by the time she pulled on her robe and caught up to him, he was already sitting on the couch, fingers flying across the keyboard of his laptop. He’d silenced the alarm, which she now realized had come from the computer.
“Grab our phones and pull out the batteries as quickly as you can.” He spoke calmly, but there was an undercurrent of urgency in his tone.
That woke Kate up in a hurry.
Trying not to panic, she went into the bedroom and retrieved his phone from the nightstand, already prying off the cover as she walked back into the room. She reached into her purse for the phone he’d given her and sat down beside him as they worked, each of them silently absorbed in their tasks.
When both batteries were lying on the coffee table, she said, “What about the SIM cards?” In a regular cell phone, the SIM card contained the identity of the mobile subscriber, but Ian bought prepaid cards and when the minutes were up, he replaced them.
“I already wiped the phones, and I’ll swap out the cards tomorrow.” As he typed, he muttered a string of curse words, which did nothing to soothe her nerves or slow the galloping of her heart.
Kate went back into the bedroom and retrieved Ian’s glasses from the nightstand. After cleaning the lenses, she sat down on the couch and handed them to him.
“There’s that quickness I like so much,” he said, putting them on with one hand and taking the other off the keyboard just long enough to give hers a brief squeeze. “Don’t worry. I’ve got this. Go back to bed.”
Kate didn’t want to go back to bed. She was wide-awake and wanted to ask a stream of frantic questions about what had triggered the alarm and what it meant for him and for them. But Ian had entered a hyperfocused zone and he kept his eyes on the screen, pounding the keys and typing faster than she’d ever seen anyone type before.