Welcome to Forever (10 page)

“Not a shopper?” Micah asked.

She dared to look at him again. “Not usually.” Usually she had too much work to do to be out shopping on a Saturday afternoon.

“So do you ladies have plans tonight?” Lawson asked them.

Kat watched the two men exchange a look. “Yes,” she said at the same time that Julie answered, “No.” They looked at each other.

“Your plans were canceled,
remember?
” Julie said, one brow arching slightly—the little matchmaker. She was just as bad as Val.

“Right.” Kat nodded slowly, laughing nervously under her breath. “I guess I forgot about that.” She looked back at Micah. “Looks like I don't have plans tonight, after all.”

“The thing is, there's a garden exhibit later.” Micah shoved his hands in the pockets of his perfectly fitted jeans. “I helped create the designs for it. There'll be miles of a garden that I'd bet gives Eden a run for its money…I'd be honored if you came with us. Both of you.”

Kat wanted to say yes so badly that the only acceptable answer was no. It was on the tip of her lips, ready to leap off, when her sister's answer came first.

“I wish I could, but I have a, um, thing, I just remembered.” Julie shrugged, her gaze skittering toward Lawson. “But Kat would love to go. Wouldn't you, sis?” Her thin elbow plowed into Kat's side, the same way that Lawson's had done to Micah a few minutes earlier.

After rubbing the spot and slicing her gaze at her matchmaker sister, Kat nodded slowly. She didn't have one viable excuse not to go. “Yes. Of course.”

After spending the rest of the day shopping with Julie, Kat made her way to the garden exhibit that Micah had invited her to—alone. Her loving sister had successfully forced her to come here tonight, which was probably a bad idea, and then gone home to attend to her “other plans.” Knowing Julie, those plans included lying on the couch and watching sappy black-and-white movies on the TV.

Parking, Kat looked out into the gravel parking lot and spotted Micah walking toward her. Also alone. He reached her door before she could move and pulled it open.

“You came,” he said in that deep baritone voice that she thought literally made the ground beneath her shake as she stepped out of her car.

“Of course I did. I have to see what kind of competition is trying to sweep you away from caring for the school's lawn, right?” As if that were even part of the reason she was here. “Where's Ben?” she asked, reminding them both that she was also his son's principal. Being his boss and his son's principal were two very good reasons not to be having hot flashes right now.

“I may have designed the gardens, but the layout wasn't my doing. It's not exactly wheelchair-friendly here, so Ben is with my aunt and uncle tonight. They live next door to us.”

“Oh. I didn't realize you had family nearby,” she said, wishing he wasn't standing so close. At his current distance, the temptation to reach out and touch his muscled chest, which was currently pushing against the limits of his T-shirt, was nearly unbearable. He wore a leather jacket over his T-shirt, but it was unzipped, like an open door inviting her in.

“My dad, too. He's the commanding officer of Camp Leon.”

“Commanding officer? Wow.” She wondered if John had known him. What if Micah's father had been the one to send him to war? The thought sent a shiver over her body. She was supposed to be moving on—focusing on the present and not the past. And she was. Presently, she was falling in lust, hard and quick, with a hot guy that she'd kissed once. It had been a couple weeks, but she still remembered the way his lips had felt against hers. He'd had new growth of hair along his face that could only be felt and not seen.

She shivered again as the memory of their kiss replayed in her mind.

“You're cold,” he said.

“No, I'm fine.”

“Here.” He removed his leather jacket and held it up against her. “The wind off the ocean makes for chilly nights.”

Slipping her arms into the cozy confines of his jacket, she took a deep breath, catching the faint smell of cologne. She closed her eyes, loving the deep rustic scent, then snapped them back open, hoping Micah hadn't noticed.

The corners of his mouth lifted as he watched her.

“Salt air,” she said, hoping that explained the giddy grin on her face.

He nodded and started walking. “Wait till you get in the gardens.” His eyes gleamed as he looked at her.

“Can't wait.” She followed him through a gate, where suddenly she was overwhelmed by an explosion of color, too vibrant for the end of September. “It's incredible,” she said, as they continued walking through intense shades of green. And she was in awe of the fact that Micah had helped to create it. “I've never seen most of these plants before. Are they exotic?”

He laughed, seeming to enjoy her complete naïveté when it came to all things green. “Not really. Most of the plants you're seeing are native to North Carolina.”

She looked around, gaining a new appreciation for the plants and flowers around her. Most days she was so busy, she didn't stop to take in what was happening right outside her window.

“These are roses, by the way,” he said, gesturing toward the rust-colored flower blooming beside him. A playful glint lit his soft brown eyes as he watched her.

She dug her elbow into his side. “I know that, Mr. Smart-ass.”

Leaning into her, he said, “I just wanted to hear you laugh again. I like the sound.”

Her face straightened. “No one's ever complimented my laugh before.”

“Then maybe you don't laugh often enough.”

When he looked at her, her knees went weak. “Um, gardening is a rare interest for a kid. What got you curious?” She cleared her throat and redirected her attention. After all, this was Seaside. Anyone could spot her here with Micah and get the wrong idea. Or the right idea because, as much as she wanted to persuade herself otherwise, she was here as a woman, not a boss or a principal.

“I was kind of a bully back in the day. I could never live up to my dad's image of what I should be, so I acted out. The kids in the Friendship Club have nothing on the trouble I caused.” A wicked grin spread, carving out deep dimples in his chiseled cheeks. “Dad dropped me off at my aunt Clara's one afternoon, and she found me cursing the world and every plant in her backyard.”

Kat laughed softly, leaning in closer to him as a soft breeze rustled through the bushes.

“That's when she taught me how to make things grow. It'd felt like magic back then.”

“Not anymore?” she asked.

“With plants, yeah. Anything green. I just wish I had the same touch with Ben. Sometimes I see him struggling and I feel so helpless.” He motioned toward one of the benches that lined the paths and they sat.

She felt immediately warmer with his body shielding the wind. “I don't think growing up is supposed to be easy. That's why kids have parents to help them through it, and I know you do that for Ben.”

“Yeah, well I try, but Ben only has one parent at the moment.” His lips compressed into a hard line.

“Where's Ben's mom?” she asked, hoping she wasn't prying too much.

Looking down at his hands in his lap, he blew out a long breath. “In Afghanistan right about now. She volunteered for another deployment. Sometimes I think she loves those soldiers more than she does her own son.”

“I doubt that's true.”

He looked at her. “Would you leave that boy on purpose? I wouldn't. Jessica grew up in foster care. She never had that sense of family. I guess that's part of the reason why.” He sighed heavily. “It's hard on Ben. It doesn't help, either, that he's different from the other kids.”

“Sounds tough.” Unable to help herself, she reached over and squeezed his hand gently, urging him on.

“I'm not trying to be a downer. Never discuss your ex on a date. Isn't that the number-one rule in the book of dating?”

Kat sucked in a breath at the mention of the d-word, pulling her hand back to her own lap.

“Not that this is a date,” he corrected.

“Right. It's not.” She hadn't woken this morning expecting that she'd be spending her night walking around with Micah through the most magical gardens she'd ever seen. Dates were planned. This wasn't.

He held her gaze for a long, pulse-igniting beat. “It just feels like one,” he said, his voice low, meant only for her.

She couldn't argue his point. It did feel like a date. She was wearing his jacket, and he was sitting so close to her right now that their legs were brushing up against each other. She swallowed. If she didn't look away at this very moment, he'd probably kiss her. And secluded on their bench with no one else around, no one would have to know.

She kept her eyes locked on his. They were magic eyes, with a myriad of browns mixing together, light and dark.

Then his body leaned in slowly as if to tell her a secret. And yeah, she really, really wanted to hear that secret. Her heart pounded in her chest as he moved even closer. So close she could barely think, barely breathe. Then her eyes started to close. She'd worry about the consequences of kissing Micah tomorrow. Tonight, she didn't want to worry. She just wanted to kiss this man until her entire body melted into one big, feel-good puddle.

When nothing happened, her eyes fluttered back open. He was watching her with a large grin stretching along his face. It was a good face, she decided. One she could stare at for a very long time.

“What?” she asked, her chest rising and falling as if she'd just sprinted across the parking lot.
Why the heck wasn't he kissing her right about now?

“Just checking,” he said. Then he leaned in and kissed her.

She moaned softly as his tongue touched her outer lip, and then reached inside her mouth. His hands moved up her shoulders, pulling her gently to him. Bracing both hands on his chest to keep from falling into him, she kissed him back, and it felt good—too good.

After a long moment, the kiss slowed like a ride at an amusement park. She half-expected her hair to be up in the air, a huge mess from their roller-coaster kiss.

“What were you checking?” she asked when she had words to speak again.

“If you were ready for me.” He smiled. “If
I
was ready for you.”

“And?”

He kissed her lips again, more softly this time. “And I'm still not sure.”

It was almost midnight before Micah left the gardens. After walking Kat to her car at the close of the exhibit, he'd returned to help with cleanup. Now, he blinked through heavy lids as he drove home, unable to keep his mind on anything other than the woman who'd been on his arm all night.

What was he getting himself into? He was supposed to be focusing on Ben. That's what he'd decided after his brief thing with Nicole. Ben needed one hundred percent of his attention, and that left no room for a relationship.

So why had he kissed Kat tonight?

Because she was beautiful. That's why. Not just that, but funny, too. And smart. And she was incredible with Ben and the other kids. She was great—which left him with a choice. He could either pretend like nothing had happened tonight, or he could entertain letting someone else into his and Ben's life.

His pulse quickened at just the thought of taking that leap again. And it wouldn't just be his leap. Anytime he leapt, he took Ben with him. That made dating anyone a risk—a risk often best not taken.

As if on cue, his phone buzzed at his side. He glanced at the caller ID, thinking he'd call whoever it was back tomorrow. When he saw his aunt's name on the phone's screen, however, he immediately pulled it to his ear. “What's wrong?” he asked.

“Now calm down,” she said. “Ben's okay.”

“Then why are you calling me this late?”

“Ben had a nightmare. That's all.”

Micah could hear the shakiness in his aunt's voice, which did nothing to calm his growing nerves. “A nightmare?” Ben never had nightmares. Not since “Uncle” Lawson had let him watch that crazy horror flick with the talking doll. “What was it about? Aunt Clara?”

She sighed heavily. “His mother in the war. I know I said I'd watch him tonight, but he's asking for you, Micah.”

Massaging his right temple, pressed down harder on the gas pedal. “I'm ten minutes away. I'll get him on the way home.”

“Good. And I'm sorry,” she said, still shaky.

Micah couldn't help but smile. “For what?” he asked. “For being a saint of an aunt and watching my kid tonight?”
So that I could kiss Ben's principal.
“I'll see you soon.” He hung up the phone and hurried home as fast as his Jeep would allow. He'd left Ben with Clara so that he could see the gardens that he'd helped design. For the last few months, he'd worked on the layouts at night when Ben was sleeping. Getting this opportunity was a big step in starting up his own landscaping business after he was out of the Corps. And in providing Ben with some form of stability.

Kissing Kat, however, wasn't a step in the right direction. If they got involved, there'd be dates. Ben would be left with Aunt Clara a lot more, and he was fragile right now with Jessica deployed. The timing was piss-poor for starting a relationship, and he knew it.

So there it was. His choice was made. He'd just have to pretend nothing had happened tonight. He and Kat would run the Friendship Club, he'd take her to the Marine Corps ball and stay just long enough to please his father and keep him from being DD to a bunch of drunks the rest of the night. Then his deal with Kat would be over. If he could keep his eyes, and hands, off her in that silky black dress, he'd be fine.

And most important, so would Ben.

“Stop staring at me.” Kat frowned at Val on Monday morning.

“Can't help it,” Val said, sitting behind her secretary's desk. “Something is definitely up with you. It's written all over your face.” She circled a finger in the air, growing giddier by the second. “This has something to do with Micah Peterson.”

“Micah?” Just hearing his name made Kat cross her legs under her desk and made her lips tingle at the memory of their fireworks kiss.

“Uh-huh. Something happened with him over the weekend,” Val accused.

How did her best friend do that? Val always knew when she was holding something back. But she wasn't ready to talk about what had happened with Micah over the weekend just yet. And, really, she shouldn't have been kissing a parent at all—not that she had any regrets. She didn't. He'd put a smile on her face that hadn't budged since Saturday night.

“Fine. Don't tell me now. You can spill the juicy details over chips and salsa on Tuesday at dinner.”

Kat gathered a stack of papers from her office mailbox and continued walking. “We'll see.”

“Ah-ha!” Val pointed another accusatory finger. “You just admitted it. Something
did
happen.”

Kat didn't look back. Her kiss with Micah was the last thing she needed to get out on the gossip network at Seaside Elementary. “We'll talk Tuesday.” Slipping into her office, she closed the door and breathed a sigh of relief at the brief moment of privacy.

After several minutes of sitting behind her desk, she slammed a folder on her desk and groaned. She couldn't concentrate on what she was supposed to be doing. Her brain was consumed by the kiss, just like a hormone-ravaged teenager. Like when she'd first met John.