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George snorted. "Like kissing her?"
Jared felt his temper soar. "Stop harping on that. It was a
kiss at a kid's ball game. Nothing more."
"Right, sure. Whatever you say."
"It is. And I mean it, George. Don't do anything with that
information."
"Fine. I won't do ... anything with it. When will you be
wrapping this all up then?"
"Soon."
Again George sighed. "What's your definition of soon?"
Jared ignored George's latest comment. "Goodbye,
George."
"Jared..."
He ended the call and flipped his cell phone closed.
Flopping back down on the bed, he shut his eyes again and
saw Kat in his mind's eye.
In that coral-colored corset. Touching herself. Like she did
the previous evening...
He groaned.
Maybe George was right. He was thinking with his dick.
She's a good person. Don't hurt her...
Or maybe, he was thinking with his heart.
* * * *
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George O'Reilly sat staring at the phone for a long time.
Several minutes went by. George leaned over and pressed
the buzzer.
"Rebecca, get in here please."
George's secretary walked in a few seconds later. "What
did you need?"
"A flight to Long Island, New York."
She cocked her head in George's direction. "When do you
want to leave?"
George smiled thinly. "The sooner the better, honey."
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Chapter Eleven
A few days later, Kat walked up the steps of 'Noone's
Nest,' balancing two containers of coffee in her hands and her
tote bag across one shoulder. She entered Nancy Noone's
rare-bird emporium to hear Sammy, the Cockatiel, singing
one of Kat's favorite oldies tunes. A grin lit Kat's face as she
placed her bag and the coffees on Nancy's counter.
"Hello!" she called out. "I've got your favorite, my friend.
French vanilla cappuccino."
Nancy came from the back of the store. "Hi Kat." Nancy
seemed pale. Her fine-boned face appeared pinched and
strained. Kat could have sworn there were tear tracks on her
friend's face.
Bill. It had to be. Nancy had been looking at Bill's picture
again.
Nancy approached the counter and grabbed one of the
coffee containers. "Thanks, Kat. I could sure use this."
Kat waited for her to take a few sips. "Want to talk about
it?"
Nancy shrugged. She angled her head toward the back of
the store. "Come on, let's go into my office."
Kat followed her, the birds in the cages ruffled their bright
plumage in greeting as she and Nancy passed by. One of
them, an older parrot, looked at her with large, sad eyes.
Birds couldn't look sad ... could they? Were the birds at
Noone's nest mirroring Nancy's glum demeanor? Or was it a
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harbinger of some bad thing to come? Kat shook her head to
clear it of her crazy thoughts.
"I, uh, wanted to talk to you, Kat."
Oh boy. Not good. Maybe the birds did know something
was up.
When they arrived at Nancy's backroom office, she
plunked down into a chair. "Have a seat," she told Kat.
Kat eased into a chair. She and Nancy didn't speak for a
few minutes. Kat's legs began to sweat, the backs of them
sticking to the leather of the seat. She shifted, welcoming the
cool air that drifted underneath her heated thighs.
"I think you should be the first to hear this."
Kat's heart pounded.
Nancy's brown eyes bored into hers. "Jared Martin offered
me three hundred thousand dollars for 'Noone's Nest.'"
Kat's hand shook. She placed her Styrofoam container of
coffee on the desk next to her.
"Nancy, you're not going to give in and take it, are you?"
Nancy angled her head. "We've been friends a long time."
Kat nodded, her throat feeling tight. "Since we were in
elementary school."
Nancy looked away then back. "In all that time, we've
never disagreed on much, did we?"
Kat gave her a small smile. "Except for when we got into
high school. We couldn't agree on which boys were cuter."
Nancy's face lit with a smile, but it soon faded. "Bill was
the cutest."
Kat felt a lump in her throat. Her voice grew soft. "I know
you still miss him."
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"Kat, I can't keep this place anymore." She swept a hand
out in front of her. "I've got three kids, you know that.
Michael's going to be thirteen next month, and the other two,
well, I need the money, Kat."
Kat felt sick inside. Jared Martin played his trump card
money. She knew he upped the ante and many of
Summerville's store owners were thrilled. Kat looked away
from Nancy. How could a man be such a passionate lover, a
man who could care enough to bring her to the very height of
sensual desire and gratification, and be such a bastard in
business? She shook her head. The fatal flaw Jared probably
banked on. Kat had made the big mistake of mixing business
and pleasure. Fool, she thought savagely. Fool! She pressed
her fisted hand into her thigh.
"I can't pass on this offer, Kat. I just can't."
Kat stood and paced for a few seconds. She walked back
over to Nancy and said, "Didn't you tell me you got some
money after Bill died?"
Nancy waved a hand through the air. "Kat, he was a
fireman. They didn't give them much money after ... after
Nine Eleven."
Kat shuddered. Nancy was right. The government didn't
give Nancy and her family a whole hell of a lot of money in
the aftermath of September Eleventh. Bill's untimely death at
the World Trade Center left a huge hole in Nancy's life...
...and her bank account.
"I need this money, Kat. The boys are getting older,
they're going to need so much and ... I'm tired. I can't do the
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hours here anymore and quite frankly, without Bill, I don't
want to."
"But Bill didn't work here with you." The words spewed
forth. Kat wanted to take them back when she saw Nancy's
pale face turn white.
Nancy stood on shaky legs. "Yes, I know he didn't work
here. This store was supposed to be my dream, my ... well, it
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