Dark Escort (9 page)

“Thank you.”

“Now turn around so I can see your ass.”

I smacked him on the arm. “You’re unbelievable.”

“Let me prove just how accurate that statement really is,” he said with a dark voice.

I rolled my eyes. “I’ll double your rate if you stop talking.”

He grinned then walked out the door. “Good thing I don’t care about the money.”

***

“More wine, Cato?” Mom asked.

“Yes, please.” He moved his glass across the table toward her.

She poured the bottle then set it down. She watched him carefully, like she was taking everything in at once. Both of my parents seemed to like Cato. He was charming and interesting, and of course, he was good-looking. He would give them beautiful grandchildren. But I knew they were still rooting for Joey.

Dad engaged Cato in a conversation about investments when the doorbell rang.

“That must be the Royals,” she said as she left the table.

Joey’s family was coming tonight. I hoped that didn’t include Joey himself. That would be awkward.

Voices trailed from the entryway, and then Mr. And Mrs. Royal joined us, as well as Joey.

But he wasn’t alone.

A pretty blonde was on his arm, and they were all over each other.

What the hell was going on?

Everyone greeted each other, and when Joey and I faced each other I wasn’t sure what to say. “Nice to see you…” It was lame but I couldn’t think of anything else on the spot. I introduced myself to his date. “I’m Katarina. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Amy,” she said as she shook my hand. She smiled and she was extremely bubbly.

I turned to Joey, waiting for an explanation.

Joey gave her a bright smile. “We met at a newsstand.” He shrugged. “It’s a long, romantic story.”

“Well, I’d love to hear it,” I said.

“And I’d love to tell it,” Joey said. “Another time.” He turned to Cato and greeted him with much more warmth than before. They shook hands, and Joey even patted him on the shoulder before he found his seat with Amy.

I sat beside Cato then looked at him.

He looked back at me.

Perhaps we were spending too much time together, but it was becoming easy to read his mind. Even though he didn’t react in any noticeable way, I could tell he was just as surprised as I was that Joey brought a date, especially after our last conversation in the diner.

Like before, Cato put his arm around my shoulder and remained affectionate with me. He was a phenomenal actor, and sometimes I forgot I was paying him to behave this way. He charmed everyone at the table, including Joey’s parents. I wondered if anyone thought it was odd that both Joey and I brought dates. It was pretty odd to me.

We had dinner and Cato moved his hand to my thigh. He managed to eat with one hand with perfect manners but still act desperately in love with me. A few times he made eyes at me, and he even leaned in and rubbed his nose against mine. I thought he might kiss me, and I admit I was a little disappointed when he didn’t.

After dinner, Cato went into the kitchen and helped my mom with the dishes.

He really was worth every penny.

“He’s a fine young man,” Dad said.

“Thanks,” I said. “I like him.”

“And that’s all that matters, honey.” He gave me a sweet smile before he drank his scotch.

We moved into the living room with our beverages. We had small talk, and Joey was more affectionate with Amy than I’d ever seen. They even had a short make out session, which made everyone uncomfortable.

“Thank you for helping me, dear,” Mom said to Cato as they joined us.

“Don’t mention it,” he said. “After cooking a wonderful meal like that, it would be against the law to let you clean.”

She brushed off his comment. “Stop.”

Mom was clearly smitten.

Cato moved to my side and put his arm around me. “I missed you.” He kept his voice low but I was certain everyone could hear him.

“I missed you too.”

Then he leaned in and gave me a gentle kiss.

I let the affection ensue, unsure what else to do. But I liked it so it wasn’t that big of a deal. His lips were soft and he knew how to use them. They tasted like wine and I wanted more of it. I wanted those lips all over me. I didn’t understand why he was kissing me when Danielle made it abundantly clear he wouldn’t. But I wasn’t complaining.

When the kiss ended, everyone was staring at us. Joey’s gaze was intently on us, and the joyous look on his face a moment ago when he was kissing Amy was gone. But then he recovered himself quickly and acted normal. It made me wonder if I ever saw anything to begin with.

After an hour of socializing, people broke off into groups. Mom cornered me on the couch and asked me how the winery was going. She never participated in the business, choosing to do charity work or yoga with her friends. The news she heard was from my father and me.

Cato was talking to my father quietly, and judging all the random names they blurted out, they were talking was about sports.

Mom lowered her voice. “I’m so glad you found someone, dear. We feared this would never happen for you.”

“I know, Mom. Thanks.” I didn’t have the heart to tell her it was an elaborate lie.

“I hope you don’t feel guilty. You shouldn’t be alone forever.”

I didn’t feel guilty. But I wasn’t doing anything wrong.

“Does that mean Joey is really out of the picture?” she asked sadly.

“Well, he seems pretty busy with his girlfriend anyway…”

“Oh, come on.” She gave me that meaningful look I’d grown accustomed to. “He’s just trying to make you jealous. I’m sad to see it isn’t working.”

“No, he isn’t,” I said. “Joey doesn’t play games. And this game wouldn’t make any sense at all. I already said I didn’t have feelings for him. Therefore, it would be impossible to make me jealous.”

“Do you love this man?” She watched me with intent eyes.

“Yes.” It was hard to say it out loud, especially when it was completely untrue.

“I’m glad you found happiness.  Your father and I were really worried.”

“Don’t worry about me,” I said quietly. “Cato and I are great together.”

“Do you think you’ll marry him?”

It’d been on my mind lately. “One can only hope.”

She eyed Cato for a moment before she turned back to me. “I think it’s safe to say he’s hoping for the same thing.”

If only she knew.

***

After we said good night, we headed home.

Cato was quiet in the driver’s seat. He drove with one hand and kept the other in his lap.

I was tired from all the talking and socializing so I looked out the window and leaned my head against the glass.

“So, Joey has a girlfriend?” Cato asked.

“Apparently,” I said. “I’m happy for him.”

“Don’t you think that was a little sudden?” he asked. “He confessed his undying love for you just a few weeks ago and now he’s sucking some girl’s neck like a vampire?”

“Maybe I hurt him enough to make him move on. I’m happy if that’s the case.”

He shook his head. “He’s up to something.”

“What?” I asked.

“I don’t know. But he is.”

“Well, whatever it is, it’s not working.”

“Time will tell,” he said vaguely.

I watched the trees pass outside the window and noted the skyline of the city in the distance. We were about to enter the bridge. “You’re good with my family.”

“They are nice people. Easy to get along with.”

“Yeah, but you fit in pretty well. My parents are picky when it comes to men.”

“Well, I’m not just
any
man.” He gave me a playful look before he focused on the road again.

“No, you aren’t,” I agreed.

“You melted when I kissed you.” His comment was random and came out of nowhere.

“No, I didn’t. I just played along.”

“Bullshit,” he said. “You practically melted into a puddle at my feet.”

“Again, it’s called acting. And you aren’t supposed to kiss me anyway.”

“I do what I damn well please.” He stared straight ahead and glanced in the rearview mirror a few times.

“Do you kiss all your clients?”

“No. Not one.”

“Then why do you kiss me?” I asked seriously.

“I think you’re hot,” he blurted. “Why else would I kiss you?”

I shook my head then looked out the window.

“We both know you liked it but I’ll be a gentleman and dropped the subject.”

I released a quick laugh. “You’re nothing like a gentleman.”

“I beg to differ.”

We reached the city and he parked along the curb. Then he walked me to my door, keeping his hands in his pockets as he moved. I snaked my keys from my purse and thought about the conversation I wanted to have with Cato. It wasn’t light or easy to explain. But he’d had this conversation with other women before. It wasn’t that odd.

We stopped in front of my door.

“Why don’t you ever invite me inside?” he asked.

“Why would you want to come inside?” I countered.

“To see that picture of us on your nightstand.”

“You mean the bathroom?”

He smirked, a teasing glow in his eyes. “No, your nightstand.”

“Since when did you get a vote on where I put that picture?”

“Fine, at least the refrigerator.”

“Nah, that’s tacky.”

“And the bathroom isn’t?” he asked incredulously.

I chuckled then looked down at my hands. “When I find a place for it, I’ll let you know.”

“Where is it now?”

“Sitting on my kitchen table.”

“Well, that will do. For now.” He kept his hands in his pockets but he was standing close to me.

I wasn’t sure why I was so nervous to discuss this. Cato was always professional when it came to business. Of all people in the world, he could have this conversation. “There’s something I want to ask.”

“Yes, I’m into anal.”

I rolled my eyes and released a sigh.

He chuckled. “Kidding. What were you going to say?”

“Forget it.” Now I didn’t have the courage. I turned to the door.

Cato grabbed me and pulled me close to his chest. His face was near mine and a serious look was in his eyes. “I’m sorry. Please tell me.” His hands were on my hips, and it somehow felt like he’d touched me this way before, that we’d been intimate somehow. He touched me like he’d done it a hundred times already. “Come on, Katarina.”

I stared at his chest for a moment before I found the courage again. “You said you pose as a husband to a client.”

“Yeah.” He stared at me with confusion in his eyes.

“Could you do the same for me?” Would he think I was weird for asking such a thing? I was already paying him to be my boyfriend so that was weird enough.

His eyes focused on my face and he seemed at a loss of words. “May I ask why?”

“It would make my family happy to see me married off. That’s all.”

He nodded slowly. “But pretending to be married is a big lie. You’re expecting me to commit to this for years.”

“I understand it’s a lot. I’ll pay you a higher rate if that’s the issue.”

“That’s not what I meant,” he said quickly. “I thought you hired me so your family would accept the fact you and Joey would never be an item. I think that’s been accomplished.”

“Well, I want more,” I said. “They’ll get off my back for good if I settle down.”

He rubbed the back of his neck then looked away for a moment. His eyes were dark and distant.

“I don’t expect kids if that’s what you’re worried about.” I never wanted to have kids.

“That’s not what’s on my mind,” he said quietly.

“Well, is it something you’re willing to do?”

He ran his fingers through his hair, making it messy but in a good way. “I need to know something first.”

What?

“Why do you want to pretend to be married? I know it’s not because of Joey. There’s another reason.”

There was another reason.

“Katarina?” he asked. “What is it?”

I held my silence, unable to form the words with my tongue.

“Why won’t you tell me?” he asked in a hurt voice. “Do you think I’m going to judge you?”

“No, I just don’t want to talk about it.” I didn’t want to talk about it with Cato, a man I’d just begun to know. Talking about Ethan was hard, and I hated the looks of sympathy people gave me. Every time I discussed it, which hardly happened, I started to cry. “It really doesn’t matter anyway.”

“But it does matter,” he said firmly. “I’m not asking to get into your personal life. I’m asking because it’s my job. How do you expect me to help you if you won’t tell me what the problem is?”