And Then He Kissed Me (9 page)

Whether or not it involved Kieran Callaghan was an entirely different issue altogether.

*  *  *

An hour later, Audrey watched the steam rising from her mug of coffee as she waited for her sister, Casey, to pick up the phone. Outside her kitchen windows, birds darted from tree branch to tree branch, trilling and singing in the pale sun. They’d finally returned from their long winter somewhere far away from White Pine.

Welcome back to the best place to be,
she thought. Her gaze traveled from the birds to the battered notebook resting next to her coffee. She used it for coaching, and it was scrawled with drills and practice ideas. It included everything from weight-lifting regimens to how to divvy up the workouts to ideas for getting enough protein into athletes. She’d pulled it out after her run with Alexis, wondering if she’d have the chance to really use it again.

The thought had her smiling slightly when Casey finally answered.

“Hello.” The word out of her sister’s mouth was a statement, a period in a conversation that hadn’t even started yet.

“Hi, Casey,” Audrey said. She heard the rustle of papers in the background. “Are you at work already?” It was barely eight o’clock.

“I’m doing a round of tax prep for some of the companies with extensions past April fifteenth,” Casey said, sounding distracted. “The date for filing never moves, but you’d be amazed at how many people can’t get it together.”

Audrey pictured the rows of manila folders in her home office, each one neatly labeled thanks to her sister, and knew she’d probably be one of those late-filers if it weren’t for Casey.

“Long day, then,” Audrey said, trying to sound sympathetic, even though she knew her sister loved her job. Casey worked as a corporate accountant about an hour up the road in Eagan, a suburb of Minneapolis. She spent most of her time in a small office on the sixth floor of a glass-walled office building that had a shallow man-made pond out front. Audrey never could get past the smell of the place—a mixture of paste and paint—or the way the plastic leaves on the fake plants in the atrium collected dust. But Casey was there day in and day out, promoted again and again, and never seemed to tire of the columns, spreadsheets, and forms that comprised her successful career.

“Any movement on the employment front?” Casey asked. The question’s phrasing had Audrey picturing soldiers lined up to do battle, pressing into enemy territory.

“It’s, um…” Her eyes tracked the birds fluttering past her window. “It’s not what I expected.” Her stomach sank at the evasion. It wasn’t a lie, not technically, but guilt still weighted her insides.

“There’s nothing in that town,” Casey said. “You need to move up here.”

Audrey forced a smile, reminding herself that if her sister was opinionated, it was only because she was used to playing the role. The two girls had lost their parents when Audrey was ten and Casey was thirteen. They’d gone to live with their aunt Lodi, who was struggling to get by on her own—never mind having two girls around. Casey was the one who’d had to grow up too quickly and become the adult, making sure Audrey ate, making sure she had clean clothes, making sure Audrey did her homework and stayed out of trouble. It was because of Casey that Audrey had tried out for the track team in high school and had gone to college on a track scholarship.

It’s because of me she’s in that office right now,
Audrey thought, her heart constricting. If Casey hadn’t had to care for Audrey for so many years, maybe she wouldn’t have grown to expect that responsibility was always hers to shoulder—a trait she never lost. These days, she applied it to her job, working almost constantly. Audrey pictured her sister’s bare left hand and swallowed back still more guilt. Would her sister be married if it wasn’t for Audrey? Would she be happier?

“I’d love for us to live closer,” Audrey hedged, “but I’m still looking into a few job opportunities in White Pine. There’s more than you think.”

Casey sighed. “Well, in the meantime, I’ve got some potential leads for you up here. I’ll keep you posted.”

Audrey clutched the phone. She tried to summon the boldness she’d felt in her Harley clothes, the same emotions she was able to channel at Lumberjack Grocery, in order to tell her sister she didn’t want to move to Eagan. She’d loved so many things about her P.E. job—the kids, the parents, the other teachers—but the thing she’d loved most about all of it was being in White Pine. Doing all this work in her hometown had her feeling like she was making a difference in a place that mattered to her. Doing that somewhere else—it felt like forcing two puzzle pieces together that just didn’t want to fit.

But the argument died on Audrey’s lips. Her sister was trying to help her—that was what she always did—and Audrey should be grateful instead of combative.

“Sounds good,” she lied. The picture of Kieran Callaghan was filling her mind, and she knew she should tell her sister about him, about the temporary position at the Harley dealership that was helping buy her more time in White Pine. Casey hadn’t liked Kieran five years ago—and she wasn’t about to get excited about him now—but her sister should know the truth. Or, at least part of it.

“Just so you know, Kieran Callaghan is back,” she said, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible. She dragged a finger along the linoleum counter. “I hear he works at a Harley dealership.” She left out the part about how she worked there, too.

There was a long pause. “You don’t say.”

“I saw him with my own eyes.”

Casey exhaled, long and slow. “I hope this goes without saying, but you should stay away from him.”

Audrey laughed, though it was forced. “Of course. Don’t worry about me.”

“I mean it.”

“So do I.” She knew she sounded defensive, but no one needed to worry about her and Kieran.

“Good. Then are we still on for lunch next week?” Casey asked. “I’ll come down there if it’s easier. You’re probably trying to conserve gas money.”

Audrey bit her lip. The numbers in her bank account were disastrously low—worse than even Casey knew. But instead of conserving gas money, she suddenly felt like pulling out her credit cards and going shopping. It was what a bold woman in high heels and leather corset would do—someone who eschewed the practical for the pleasurable. She pictured new shoes and an oversized handbag. She could almost taste the crusty baguettes at the expensive French café that Willa had taken her to once, which she suddenly wanted to visit again. She’d order a bottle of wine for lunch, and maybe even dessert, too.

She shook her head. She was losing it. She strained to focus.

“I would love to see you down here,” Audrey said. “I’ll meet you at the Paul Bunyan Diner next Saturday.”

“See you then,” Casey said. “Love you.” With a soft click, she was gone.

Audrey stood there holding the phone, watching the leaves twist on the trees outside. A distant sparrow caught her eye, a dark speck against the bright horizon. She watched it plunge, a breathtaking fall from the sky, and then at the last minute beat its wings once—a powerful thrust—and fling itself back upward.

She gritted her teeth. The birds were having a more exhilarating time than she was. It didn’t seem fair.

Audrey glanced at the clock. It was time to get ready for work.
It’s time for Kieran,
she thought. A chill raced up her spine. She shivered. Already the idea of being near him again was overpowering.

She tried to push past it, to ignore it entirely. To listen to her sister’s cautionary words. But it was as if the sparrow she’d watched had become trapped in her chest and its fluttering wings were setting the electric tempo of her heartbeat.

C
HAPTER
SIX

A
udrey was just coming out of the women’s bathroom—makeup on, and bustier laced, and ready for work—when Kieran came striding around the corner from the other direction. Audrey pulled up short, thinking that the sight of Kieran could stop any woman in her tracks.

He was wearing a white collared shirt that had
Harley-Davidson
embroidered above the breast pocket. The crisp material set off the dark-flamed color of his hair and the impossibly pale green of his eyes. He’d tucked the shirt neatly into jeans with a black leather belt, and he wore black, thick-soled Harley boots on his feet.

It was the perfect blend of professional and edgy—that same mix of contrasts that she’d once found so appealing about Kieran—and she stared longer than she should have.
Just walk past,
she commanded her legs, but they stayed rooted on the spot.

“Little late, aren’t you?” he said gruffly, glancing at his watch.

It was 9:55, and work didn’t start until ten o’clock. But instead of firing back, she gave him a slow smile. The kind of smile a woman who regularly dressed in a leather bustier might give a man she wanted.
I can pretend I have an alter ego,
she thought suddenly. She could be a different Audrey altogether—a badass, sexy Audrey—who could ride a motorcycle because Kieran would teach her. She’d tilt-shift Kieran Callaghan’s world, instead of the other way around, and get him to do what
she
wanted for a change.

The idea was ludicrous—and thrilling.

In spite of the alarm bells sounding in her head, she inched closer to him. Her pulse ricocheted just beneath her skin, and she prayed she wasn’t sweating visibly. “Maybe I’m right on time,” she whispered.

His eyes widened in surprise. She could already feel moisture collecting at the small of her back. Internally, she repeated
Shut up
to the part of the brain screaming to stop what she was doing already and get to work.

She was ready to turn away when Kieran made an animalistic sound in the back of his throat. It froze her in place like prey in the wild. His eyes flashed dangerously.
She’d had an effect on him.

“This isn’t how you get ahead in businesses that I run,” he said, low and gravelly.

“That’s because,” she demurred, “maybe you’re talking about the wrong kind of head entirely.”

If he started to smile, he pinned it back quickly. “I don’t remember you being so forward.”

“A lot can change in five years.”

He looked her up and down. His gaze was ravenous. “Clearly,” he said.

The raw emotion coursing through her was suddenly carnal enough to spark fear. It jolted the logical part of her brain into action. What was she even doing? This was downright reckless. It was
tawdry
. She could lose her job.

“I should…” she started, but the words faded away into less than a whisper.

She should what, exactly? A few weeks ago, she thought she knew how to answer that question: She should work hard at a job that would reward her efforts. She should try not to make waves. She should put others first. She should guard her heart so no one like Kieran Callaghan would come roaring into her life ever again.

Which had all led her here. Broke. Underemployed. Restless. And with Kieran Callaghan staring at her like he wanted to devour her.

Turn away,
her internal editor commanded.
Go to work.
But instead she simply watched as Kieran’s hand grasped her upper arm, and he pushed her straight back into the women’s restroom from which she’d just emerged. It was just a single stall and a sink, a cramped space, which felt smaller still from the heat of Kieran’s body and the overwhelming mass of him. Had he always been this tall?

He turned the lock with a satisfying click.

Then his lips were on hers in a searing kiss that left every part of her scorched with pleasure.

*  *  *

Kieran backed her against the bathroom door roughly. The handle dug into the small of her back, the metal frigid against her exposed skin. But none of it mattered when his enormous hands grasped the side of her face and held her while his mouth claimed hers.

Her internal cries of
don’t
s and
can’t
s were muted against a rush of surprise and then desire. Oh, how easily it came back to her—the feel of him, the touch of him. In five years, she’d never once been kissed like this. It was as if Kieran wanted to taste not just her mouth, but to taste the very things that comprised Audrey’s essence.

Her hands traveled up the crisp cotton of his shirt, feeling the corded hardness of his forearms, his biceps. She inhaled his spicy scent and the bleach of the clean bathroom just underneath.

The bathroom.

Good God, she should be horrified at losing herself like this in a bathroom, of all places. With colleagues from the dealership just outside, no less! If people found out, everyone in town would be gossiping about it.

She squeezed her eyes shut against the whispers in her head and pressed herself fully against Kieran’s body. She could feel his hardness through the fabric of her jeans. The thick stiffness of it made her heart pound. He groaned and ran his hands down her corseted sides. Sparks ignited behind her eyelids. It didn’t matter one bit what anyone said, she realized, sucking on his lower lip. For the first time in years, Audrey felt alive.