White-Hot Hack (Kate and Ian #2)(56)
She got up, opened her office door, and yelled down the hall. “Stop hacking me!”
When she sat back down, the light of her webcam blinked on, and she grabbed a Post-it note and covered up the camera.
A few minutes later a notepad popped up on her computer screen. As if an invisible hand was typing, the words I AM IN CONTROL appeared.
He gave her a triumphant smile when she appeared in the doorway of his office.
“I forgot how frustratingly persistent you can be,” she said.
He pushed his chair back and waved her over. After she sat down on his lap, he said, “Now that you’re here, we can have lunch.” He kissed her but then pulled back abruptly. “You know what I mean when I say lunch, right?”
She laughed. “Ian, when you say things like that, I always know what you mean.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Kate and Ian flew out of DC early on the morning of December thirtieth. There had been talk on the news of an approaching winter storm, and Diane would not breathe easy—or be able to immerse herself in Chad and Kristin’s wedding festivities—until they were on the ground in Indiana. Kate had promised her mother they would be there by noon, and their chartered plane touched down with an hour to spare.
Because they were traveling to Indiana for Chad and Kristin’s wedding, she and Ian had stayed home for Christmas. They spent Christmas Eve alone, eating dinner by candlelight and cuddling in the glow of the lights from their nine-foot Christmas tree, which was exactly what they wanted. On Christmas Day, they joined Phillip and Susan for dinner. Kate loved the way Ian and Phillip put their work aside and enjoyed the holiday in a more familial way while Susan fussed over all of them. Kate had sent Ian’s mom a holiday card, but Ian told her he didn’t expect to receive one in return.
Kate checked their post office box every day, and it saddened her to discover that he’d been right.
“The decorations look beautiful,” Kate said as she stood with her mom, sipping a glass of champagne. Her parents had rented out the spacious back room of Diane’s favorite Italian restaurant for Chad and Kristin’s rehearsal dinner. Twig trees wrapped in fairy lights were scattered throughout the room, casting everything in a romantic glow. Candles flickered on the tables, and flowers—lavender and cream roses in crystal vases—covered every flat surface. Ian stood at the makeshift bar talking to Chad and a few of his groomsmen while Kristin and her mother visited with the rest of the wedding party.
Diane leaned back in her chair and sighed. “I can’t believe it. It seems like just yesterday you and your brother were toddling around the house. After tomorrow, both of my children will be married, and someday you’ll have families of your own.”
“Speaking of families, I didn’t refill my birth control pills this month.”
Diane reached for Kate’s hand, clasping it in her own. “Oh, Kate.”
“Don’t get too excited. Nature still has to take its course. It could take a while.”
“What does Ian think about this?”
“He tried to play it cool, but I think he wants a baby almost as much as you do.” Kate fiddled with the stem of her champagne glass. “I said I wasn’t sure if it was a good time and that maybe we shouldn’t be thinking about taking this step until… things were more resolved. He said if I wanted to wait then that’s what we should do, but he left the decision up to me.”
“Your dad thinks I’m being na?ve, but I choose to believe that everything will blow over. Do you think it will?” Diane had accepted her daughter’s unorthodox lifestyle better than her father had, but that didn’t mean she didn’t worry.
Kate thought of the car that had followed her home. There’s nothing to worry about. It was probably just a coincidence.
“I hope so. Ian’s been in these situations before.”
“And what happened?”
“They’ve blown over. Just like you said this one will.”
During the wedding ceremony, Ian never took his eyes off Kate. She held a bridesmaid’s bouquet of lavender and cream-colored roses, and she looked stunning in a long, flowing dress in deep purple shot through with glittering metallic strands. He wished there was some way to let her extended family know she was doing fine and that he was the luckiest man in the world because he would be spending the rest of his life with her.
Later, at the reception while he was at the bar getting a drink, an elderly woman elbowed her way in next to him. “Get me a whiskey sour,” she barked. She had to be ninety if she was a day, and he found her direct approach amusing. When he handed her the drink, she took a sip, peered at him, and said, “I’m Doris. Who are you?”
“I’m Will. I’m here with Chad’s sister, Kate.”
“Oh, you’re the plumber. You’re Katie’s new boyfriend.”
He set his drink down on the bar. “Excuse me?”
“Stevie is my nephew. He told me Katie had a new beau named Will who is a very successful plumber.” She appraised him like he was a piece of meat. “You are a fine-looking man, but your hair’s a little long.”
“Kate likes it this way.” He’d thought about cutting it for the wedding, but since he wasn’t the one getting married, he decided to skip it.