Heart-Shaped Hack(60)

“I dated the first woman for three years. She’d actually moved with me twice by that point, but when it was time to move again, she said she wouldn’t come unless I married her. I understood her reasoning, but I was only twenty-four and I couldn’t fathom settling down at that point. After we broke up, I dated but didn’t get serious with anyone until a few years later. What I discovered when I asked the second woman to come with me is that the only aspect of my lifestyle she was willing to tolerate long-term was my income, so I moved on.”

Kate did not need an engagement ring in order to make her decision, nor was she interested in Ian’s money. She turned around so they were facing each other.

“It’s a lot to ask of you,” Ian said. “Selfish, even.”

“Wanting to be with someone doesn’t mean you’re selfish. It just means you want them.”

“What do you want, Kate?”

“To be with you.”

“Is there a certain place you’d like to live?” he asked.

“I’ve always thought North Carolina was beautiful.”

“If you decide to come with me, that’s where we’ll go.”

“Just like that?” She sometimes forgot that anything was possible in Ian’s world.

“Sure. Why not? But you still have time to make your decision. I don’t want you to feel pressured.” But his yearning expression belied his true feelings on the matter.

“I don’t feel pressured.”

She owed it to herself and to Ian to make sure this was what she wanted. It wasn’t that her feelings for him were in doubt, because they weren’t. But Kate would be starting down an unfamiliar path, and life as she knew it would change. For all Ian’s talk about turning down the FBI’s next assignment, there was something about it that he loved. She could see it in the way his eyes lit up when he talked about it.

He kissed her then. His arousal had been evident since he’d climbed into the tub and pressed it against her, and now her body responded in kind.

“How do you feel about drying off and moving this to my bed?” He rubbed his thumbs across her nipples, and her skin felt electrified under his touch.

“That depends. Will there be a number seven kiss included with this offer?”

“Absolutely. And if you give me half an hour to recover between them, you can have two.”

“Half an hour? Boy, you’re not fourteen anymore, are you?”

“I can probably cut it down to twenty minutes if you do that thing I really like.”

She smiled. “Don’t I always?”

“I’m a lucky man in more ways than one. Don’t think for a minute that I don’t know it.” He stroked her cheek and looked at her longingly. “Please think about coming with me.”

“Of course I will.”

She would think it over—carefully—because it was a big decision that deserved contemplation. But deep down she already knew she’d go with him. She’d go despite the things she’d be leaving behind. She’d go regardless of what she’d have to give up, because she couldn’t imagine telling him good-bye and watching him leave without her.

He’d stayed because he loved her.

She’d go because she loved him.





CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Kate was sitting at her desk going over her to-do list.

“Can you do a client interview?” Helena asked. “There’s a gentleman asking for you by name. He said he was referred by a friend.”

“Of course.”

She picked up her clipboard and an intake form and walked to the room where they interviewed new clients. It was hardly bigger than closet-sized, but at least it was private.

A young man was waiting there for her. He was wearing a flannel shirt, jeans, work boots, and a worn-looking coat.

She smiled brightly. New clients were often a bit hesitant when visiting the food pantry for the first time, and she wanted to put him at ease. “Hi, I’m Kate Watts.”

“Zach Nielsen,” he said and shook Kate’s proffered hand.

“Please have a seat.”

Kate went through the intake questionnaire. Zach was twenty-seven, lived with his disabled mother, and also cared for a younger brother. The family currently received food stamps but still came up short at the end of the month.

“My little brother is fifteen,” Zach said. “My mom can’t keep him filled up. He’s growing so fast. I’ve got a part-time warehouse job, and I’m trying to get on full-time. Maybe in the next month or so, they say.”

“It’ll be okay,” Kate said. “We can help you.”

Kate noticed the relieved look on his face and the way he seemed to relax in the chair. “Do you have ID?”

His smile faltered. “Yes, but I don’t have it with me.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Kate said reassuringly. “Just bring it next time, okay?”

“Okay.”

When the interview was complete, Kate helped Zach fill a box with a three-day supply of food for each member of his household.

“Come back next month and we’ll fill the box again.”

“Thank you,” he said.

When she finished with Zach, she started another list, jotting down the things she’d need to take care of if she left with Ian. Breaking her apartment lease and turning in her resignation to her board of directors were the two biggest things she’d need to address. Though he’d mentioned that Kate didn’t need to worry about finding a job unless she wanted one, she knew she wouldn’t be happy without something to fill her days and give her a sense of purpose.