Chapter 3

Kat spent the day trying to keep busy so that she wouldn't drive herself crazy wondering if John would actually be there that night. She realized that the odds were slim to none but there was a chance. Besides, it wouldn't do her any good to sit around and it would only serve to make the day drag on.

First she busied herself with cleaning her apartment. She set up her phone in the stereo dock and turned on the playlist that she'd appropriately named 'cleaning songs'. It was filled with loads of upbeat songs that actually made the otherwise daunting chore, a lot more fun. Kat danced around to songs from 'Take A Hint' to 'Pour Some Sugar On Me'. Oh she loved her 80's hair bands... For the first time ever, she wasn't overjoyed when the cleaning was done. The task didn't take nearly as long as she'd hoped. That's when she realized she was in trouble... Wanting to clean?... Not happy when she was done?... What the hell was wrong with her?

Kat considered calling her hair dresser to see if she had any appointments available but decided against it. She didn't want to go overboard on anything, just in case John didn't show. She did however, decide to walk down to the little nail salon just a couple of blocks away to get a mani-pedi. It was something that she liked treating herself to every once in a while and this seemed like the perfect time and occasion for such a treat. She slipped on her sandals and headed out.

Thankfully, Luna, her favorite nail tech was available and Kat was able to relax for a bit. She listened as Luna told her about her recent trip back to Vietnam to visit her extended family, her twins who had just started Kindergarten and then she was asking Kat if she had any fun plans for her Saturday night. Kat must have dozed off while listening to Luna, because the woman patted her leg gently when she didn't answer her question. Luna's endless talk in her thick accent had always had a calming effect on Kat and this time was no different. Kat shook her head to wake herself up a bit.

"I'm sorry, Luna. What did you say?"

The little woman chuckled and asked. "So, you have plans tonight? Saturday night...hot date?" Luna wiggled her eyebrows in what Kat assumed was meant to be a sly look, but it made her giggle.

"I don't know Luna. Maybe."

"You pretty girl Kat. You should have date on Saturday night. I have cousin. He good man. His wife die almost year ago. He has job."

Kat smiled warmly at Luna and then leaned her head back against the comfortable leather pedicure chair. "You're very sweet Luna, thank you. But I'm hoping...maybe, tonight might work out. If not, I promise to give you a call." Luna chuckled and patted Kat's leg again indicating that she was finished. She walked up to the front of the shop and paid Luna, leaving a generous tip and walked out admiring her nails. Luna always did a fantastic job and Kat loved the feeling of being pampered and having something to show for it. The dark pink looked lovely against her lightly tanned skin. She had been blessed with her father's skin and she tanned easily, but had also received some of her mother's genes too.

Her mother had been a true red-head. Fair skinned and easily sunburned. Kat's hair had some of her mother's red but it was something she really only got to appreciate when the sun was shining on it. That's when she could pick out the red highlights that were all from her mom. Her thoughts drifted lovingly to her parents. She missed them terribly; her mother especially. She would have loved to talk with her about John and what had happened this morning and... Kat stopped that train of thought. She couldn't bring her mother back and wishing for something that wasn't going to happen was just bringing her spirits down. She had to be tough; there was no room in her life for feeling sorry for herself. Kat rolled her shoulders back and tilted her chin up and continued on her way back to her apartment.

About a block away from her apartment she stopped at a little boutique. She'd seen a little black dress that she thought would be perfect to wear tonight. She walked in and asked the woman at the counter if she could try on the dress. Kat was in luck; the dress was in her size. She took it back to the dressing room and tried it on. She was extremely happy with how it looked on her. It had thick straps and a sweet heart neckline. It hugged her full breasts nicely and then fell loosely around the lower part of her body. It stopped about midway down her thighs which showcased her long legs. She twisted back and forth a couple of times and fell in love with the way the dress moved. Kat looked at the price tag winced but then thought, 'screw it'. She rarely treated herself, so why not go all out today? She got dressed and took the dress up to the counter, paid for it and once again started back to her apartment.

By the time Kat got home, it was almost six thirty. She went and hung her dress up and then threw a T.V. dinner in the microwave because she was starving. She hadn't eaten anything since the scone she'd had this morning and she'd done quite a bit today to work up an appetite. She sat down and watched a bit of the news while she ate and then went to draw a bath. She started the water and squeezed some bath gel with lavender and rosemary essential oils into the stream and inhaled deeply, enjoying the luscious scents. She then wrapped her long hair up on top of her head and secured it with a jaw clip. She stepped in when the tub was about half full and reclined onto the back. The hot water quickly eased muscles that had been tense with anticipation since this morning. She didn't like feeling nervous, but what she did like was the fact that she was excited about meeting with a man. That had to mean something. She just hoped that he was feeling the same way and that he would be there tonight.

Kat heard her cell vibrating and looked over at where it was sitting on the rug by the tub. She rolled her eyes when she saw the caller ID display. She almost picked it up and answered it but decided not to. It was Liam McCabe; a foreman at one of her sites. Just about every other night he'd call her up and it was always the same thing, something that he deemed an emergency but never really turned out to be. The man was also constantly hitting on her, albeit, never in an overly obvious way because he'd found out firsthand how protective of Kat some of her guys could be. Their 'talk' with Liam had staved off the innuendos for a while but then he'd started back up again, but this time was more covert about it. He would always seem to 'turn up' when Kat was away from the rest of the crew, off by herself. She'd considered firing the man but decided if she ignored his advances long enough, he'd get the picture. It wasn't that she was afraid of Liam, he seemed like a nice enough guy around others but he kind of creeped her out sometimes. What didn't help was the fact that he was an extremely large specimen of a man. Six-three, maybe four, big hulking chest, legs the size of young oak trees. She knew deep down that she probably couldn't fend off someone of his size and that's probably why she didn't mind her crew being so watchful.

She couldn't imagine why Liam would be calling her at...she glanced at the time...holy shit it's seven-thirty! She stood up and grabbed the towel and quickly dried herself off. She put on her flimsy little black, lace panties and bra set and tried not to think about whether she would be the one taking them back off later, or perhaps….. As she slipped her dress over her head it caressed her skin lightly and her thoughts wandered to how it might feel if it were John's fingers running down her body rather than the dress. She felt her breath quicken and caught herself staring at a spot on the wall as she day-dreamed about a man she'd met only yesterday, stripping her out of her clothes and then taking her slowly on her own bed. She shook her head and blinked rapidly as she looked at herself in the mirror. 'What the hell is wrong with you?' Kat asked her reflection and then she smiled at herself. She actually looked pretty darn good, if she did say so herself and she was once again pleased with her decision to buy the dress. She slipped the clip out her hair and let her hair cascade down her back, well past her shoulders. She turned to view the dress from the back and she was almost as pleased with that side as she was with the front.

Kat pivoted and headed back to the bathroom to put on her makeup. She added a darker shade to her eye shadow for the evening and some dark blue eye liner that she smudged perfection, and topped it off with a light coat of mascara. Her finishing touches were a light dusting of bronzer and then a light rose-colored lip balm. She was once again pleased the results and couldn't help but smile as she slipped on her red wedge sandals, just to add a bit of color. Plus she could walk a pretty good distance in them and not be uncomfortable. Another glance at the clock and she decided it was time to go. She'd been put a little behind by her musings about John but she was determined not to let it make her nervous or feeling rushed. It was only eight; she had plenty of time to get there and settle in before nine. She grabbed her little black purse, keys, and cell and headed out the door.

About fifteen minutes later Kat found herself at The Coffee Pot's bar. Thankfully they served drinks that were a little stronger than coffee after seven. She ordered a Cosmo and her eyes surveyed the patrons, those that were sitting alone, those in groups, and those that looked like they were waiting on others to arrive and join them. By the looks of the equipment she saw being set up on stage, there was going to be a live band playing tonight. Next she took in the empty tables, couches and chairs. She decided on a couch facing the stage. Most of the couches, larger chairs and love seats had been moved from the back part of the place to up closer near the stage. There was a little alcove further back in the building where she and John might have a little more privacy but she wasn't sure about how John might see that...if he even showed up. 'Damn! Why did her thoughts keep turning to what she and John, virtually a stranger, might or might not do? You'd think she was a teenager the way her hormones were raging!'

She took her drink, and walked back to the couch and sat down. The drink was superb and she sipped from it frequently, hoping it would calm her nerves. Kat watched the band up and start to tune up their instruments as she continually checked the time. It was almost nine when she saw the door open out of the corner of her eye. She turned and her breath caught in her throat. Several people had come in at once but in that group, at the very back holding the door open for them all, was John. Her heart skipped a beat and in the next moment it was in her throat, making it very hard for her to swallow. Kat stood slowly; she wasn't sure if her legs would be steady enough to hold her. John stepped in and her eyes raked over him in obvious appreciation. He had on a gun metal gray, button down shirt and dark blue jeans that she would swear were made just for him. She stood there watching him look over the crowd, searching... a look of hopeful anticipation. When his eyes found her, standing there looking back at him, the smile that lit up his face floored her. She wasn't sure she'd ever seen anything so beautiful in her life.

Kat walked slowly so she wouldn't fall flat on her face and embarrass the hell out of herself, towards John. She couldn't help the smile that spread across her face. She felt like she was grinning like an idiot. She lowered her head and watched her feet move across the relatively short space between her and John. When they met just at the edge of the bar, she stopped and looked up into the face of the man she'd been waiting for...well, for what seemed like forever, but really, it had only been a day.

"Hi." He greeted her simply.

'God, he was even more beautiful than she remembered.' Granted, she hadn't been able to see him very clearly under the few street lights when he'd put her in the cab last night, but oh what the darkness had kept hidden under its cover! She'd known how tall he was, but now, standing there in front of her, with no cab door between them, he was larger than life. The building's lights were shining down on his hair creating glistening highlights against the smattering of grey strands. His cheekbones were absolutely ridiculous, like something out of one of those cheesy romance novels she would sometimes read. But the eyes, above and beyond everything else, those eyes were the focal point for her. The iris of his eyes was a hue that couldn't possibly register on the color spectrum. She tried a couple times to respond before she was able to find her voice.

"Hi."

They stood there staring at each other for what could have been seconds, minutes, or hours, she wasn't sure which, nor did she care. All that mattered to Kat at that moment was that he was here.

"Would you like another drink, Kat?"

His question snapped her back into the present.

"Um..." She looked down at her empty glass and then back up at him. "Yes, please." She answered, as she set the glass onto the bar. John turned and waved at the person behind the counter and indicated that Kat would have another of the same. He ordered himself a Stella Artois and then handed Kat her drink. "Thank you." She told him.

"Thank you… for your assistance last night, Kat."

"Oh...you're welcome. I'm glad I could help." John's eyes flickered somewhere behind her and then back to her. He noted that the only seat now available was the one that offered most privacy.

"Would you like to go sit down?"

Kat nodded. "Sure."

She turned and saw that a group of couples had taken up residence where she had previously been sitting. In fact, the majority of the seats anywhere within the vicinity of the stage were now taken. Kat hesitated before she found one of the love seats that were open...in the very back…in the same little alcove that she had purposely chosen not to sit in. She started towards it with John at her side and then she felt his hand lightly touch the small of her back, guiding her. A gesture that may seem common to some women, but for Kat, it wasn't something that she'd experienced often. She could feel the concentrated warmth of his palm in that one spot and she felt a sharp pull in her stomach, like she was going down a really steep hill on a roller coaster ride. She decided that she liked the feeling very much.

When they reached the plush leather love seat Kat looked up at John. "This OK with you? I didn't see anything else open." She gestured with her chin towards the band that had started to play on stage. "It can fill up pretty quick on the nights they have the live bands here."

He smiled at her again and she thought she just might melt into a puddle on the floor. 'Damnit, she really needed to pull herself together or she was going to make a complete and utter fool of herself'.

"Sure. This will be just fine." John couldn't have picked a more perfect setting for their date if he'd tried. He wanted to get to know this beautiful, fascinating woman. Just as importantly, he wanted to know if she was as affected by him as much as he was by her.

He gestured for her to sit. She did so, leaving him to take the seat on her right. The love seat was a nice size, just enough room for two people to sit comfortably next to each other. It was also flanked by two side tables so that they could set their drinks down and not have to hold them for the duration of their stay. Kat didn't set hers down though; she needed to have something to keep her hands occupied. However, she almost regretted the fact when her hand twitched nervously at John's next words.

"I'm really sorry about this morning..." So he had meant nine in the morning and had missed it. Well, at least he was here now. That more than made up for it. "But I almost think it was worth it, being able to be here tonight." She raised her brows and her hand shook, almost spilling her drink. "You look lovely, Kat." His voice was soft and low, almost a whisper. The way he said it made his words feel like a caress over her skin.

"Oh..." She blinked slowly and then swallowed, with quite a bit of difficulty. "Thank you." She whispered. 'There was that smile again...' She thought.

"You're welcome."

"I'm glad you're here too. I was afraid that...you know." Her eyes dropped and she took a long drink before looking back up at him.

"That I had stood you up?" John finished for her. He winced as his fear was confirmed. He needed to let her know that he'd had a good reason, that he would never disappoint her like that if he could help it.

"Mmm hmm." She nodded and then finished her drink rather quickly. 'God, he was going to think she was a lush!' Kat set the empty glass on the table and then she felt his hand on hers. Her head turned back around to look at him.

"I wouldn't do that...never on purpose. Something came up. There was an emergency and I had to go to work for a while."

Her hand felt like it was on fire where his skin was touching hers. "So... uh... what do you do? If you don't mind my asking."

His hand pulled back from hers slowly but his eyes held hers. "It's a bit complicated, but you could say that I'm an independent contractor."

"Oh... in what field?"

"Risk management." John answered without missing a beat. "What about you, Kat? What do you do?"

She sat up a little before she answered. A habit she'd gotten into a long time ago. People tended to take her more seriously the straighter she sat...especially the men in her industry. "I own my own construction company, Greyson Family Construction." John cocked his brow at her. She was used to the surprised looks by now...a woman owning her own company, especially a construction company.

"Really?"

She nodded. "Yeah, my dad and uncle owned the business. When my parents passed away they left their part of the company to my brother and I. My uncle ran it after my dad died, hoping that Jordan would want to take over his half of the business after school but my brother really didn't want any part in it. He actually joined the Army, which is where I learned what I know about fighting and weaponry. I hung out a lot with Jordan and his buddies on base and they got a kick out of teaching his little sis how to beat up the boys that tried to get one over on a girl." She smiled at the memories her story was bringing up.

"Impressive." John said.

Kat chuckled. "Which part? The fact that I own my own company or the fact that I can take down a lot of men in a fight?"

"Both." John's eyes searched her face. Kat wasn't sure for what but his exploration made her self-conscious. She dropped her eyes again and felt her face warming. A second later she felt his fingers under her chin gently lifting her face until she raised her eyes again to meet his.

"Why do you do that?" He asked her as his head cocked to the side. He reminded her of an inquisitive child, his eyes wide and searching for knowledge.

"Do... what?" She was finding it increasingly difficult to speak with his fingers touching her. It was like he was sucking the intelligence right out of her. She really hated feeling like idiot but she just couldn't seem to do anything about it.

"Lower your head, like you're embarrassed when you're complimented."

"I didn't realize...I was...I guess. I don't think I do, normally."

"So then, it's just me?" A small part of him was thrilled to know he was affecting her so strongly.

"Well,... um..." She kept stammering until she finally decided to stop trying to form coherent sentences. She sighed and then he slowly smiled at her. "God, John...I swear, I'm not always this..." She couldn't lower her head because his fingers were still holding her chin up.

"I think it's very...endearing..."

"Oh..." She breathed. His fingers left her chin to very softly trace along her jaw and then continued in a path down her neck. Her lips fell open as she gasped almost inaudibly.

"...and quite lovely." John thought her skin felt like the softest silk he could imagine. His fingers began sweeping feather light traces along her collar bone. He was no longer holding her chin up but she didn't lower it. Her eyes closed involuntarily as she savored the effects of his touch. His hand began the ascent back up her neck and came to rest, cradling her where his thumb moved lazily across her skin. Her eyes slowly opened to find him leaning towards her, with his own eyes closed and less than an inch of space between them. All she had to do was move just the tiniest bit... and she wanted to. Oh, how she wanted to! 'What the hell was wrong with her'? Sitting here with this gorgeous man, ready and obviously willing to kiss her and God knows what else, and she was hesitating? She asked herself again what was wrong with her before answering herself...nothing. There was not a damn thing wrong with her. She closed the distance between them and felt heaven touch her lips. John's other hand immediately rose to the other side of her face and pulled her in tighter. He didn't deepen the kiss immediately. Instead, she knew, he was allowing her all the control. She lifted one hand to thread her fingers through his short hair, and the other rose to stroke his face. Her subconscious mind told her that she should be careful with this man that she barely knew yet saw fit to accost in a public place, while her conscious mind had completely checked out a minute or so ago.

Kat opened her mouth to deepen the kiss and that seemed to be all the invitation John needed. He inhaled sharply and slid his arms around her back to pull her closer to him. His tongue demanded entrance into hers, which she gladly gave. The soft, velvety texture of his tongue entwining with hers elicited a soft moan. She heard his own answering response in the form of a low rumble that she felt deep in his chest. Her fingers that were wrapped around his head attempted to pull him even closer. Her other hand wrapped around his back where her fingers dug into him, trying to bring his body closer to hers.

Again, her subconscious was needling her to stop but for some reason she was completely unable to. It was like she was trying a drug for the first time and she just couldn't get enough. She wanted more; wanted to keep herself going on this luscious high. His hand had moved up from where her dress stopped to where her skin was accessible and bare. His fingers burned her skin there, she was sure of it...she would be able to see the burn marks in the mirror if she were to go look. Her back arched pushing her chest more firmly against his. She felt that deep rumble again...and then a much higher pitched rumble... There it was again! There was no way that sound was coming from John. She pulled back from him, breath coming in deep gasps. His eyes searched hers as a worried look crossed his face.

"Did you hear...?" She started to say… 'There it was again'. Her head rolled forward and came to rest against his. "Oh for fuck's sake!" She ground out surprising herself with her vehemence. She leaned back and pulled her damn cell phone out from her purse and looked at it murderously. "Fucking Liam." She grumbled. John's head snapped back at that. "I swear, I'm going to fire him on Monday." John cocked his head to the side in response. Kat looked up from her cell at John and read the inquisitive look he was giving her. "One of my foremen. Likes to call or text me for the tiniest things. Calls them emergencies, yet the 'emergencies' typically turn out to be non-emergencies and just an excuse to ask me out." John's eyes darkened at her explanation.

"John, I'm so sorry. Can you excuse me for just a minute while I take care of this?"

"Yes...of course."

"I'm so sorry...it'll just take me a minute..." She started to get up but he grabbed her waist and almost dragged her onto his lap and crushed her mouth with his. Her hands flew to his shoulders and grabbed onto him tightly. As quickly as he'd started, he stopped and then pulled back to look at her. A wide smile pulled his lips up and his eyes crinkled into little slits. His long, dark eyelashes almost completely covered his eyes. She couldn't help but return the smile. His was so beautiful, it was like staring at a bright light and she almost blinded by it.

"Hurry back." He whispered.

"Ye..." She cleared her throat and tried again. "Yeah..." She very shakily stood up and walked towards the bathrooms where she was going to call Liam back and chew his ass up one side and down the other for interrupting her incredibly satisfying date.

She glanced back at John before she entered the hallway that led to the ladies room and she found him watching her intently while a smirk played at his lips. She gave him the most sexy over-the-shoulder smile that she could and then walked down the hall out of sight. Her smile immediately fell as she dialed Liam's number and walked into the ladies room.

Liam picked up on the first ring and started talking before she could get a word in. "Hi Kat, it's Liam."

"Liam, I've asked you before to please call me Ms. Greyson."

"I know, I'm sorry, I forgot... I'm sorry to bother you but there's been a break-in down at the site."

"What?" She practically yelled. "Oh no!" She wailed. "What's been taken, any of the large equipment?"

"No Ms. Greyson. None of the machinery, but the police need for you to come down and inventory the loss for them."

"Wait, wouldn't you have a better idea of what's missing Liam?"

"That's what I told 'em, but they said you gotta be there since you're the owner."

"Damnit. OK, I'll be there as quick as I can. Thanks for the call. Sorry, I couldn't get to my phone earlier."

"Oh, it's OK Ms. Greyson... Hot date or somethin'?"

"I don't really think that's any of your business, Liam... I'll see you in a bit." She disconnected the call, took a deep breath, and walked out the door.

She gasped in surprise as she was immediately pressed against the wall and in the next second, John's mouth was once again pressed against hers. Oh how she wished that she could forget about the call and stay here with John, see what the night would bring...but she had to get down there to talk to the police. Her hands rose to encircle his neck as she pulled her mouth begrudgingly from his. He laid his forehead against hers as they both panted for breath.

"So, this Liam that called you. Is everything alright...is it another false alarm?"

She shook her head. "No...I actually do need to go down to the site and talk with the police."

"The police?" John stepped back and looked at her with concern.

"Yeah, there was a break in at the site and the police won't let Liam do the inventory for the theft. They'll only take it from me."

"I'm so sorry Kat."

"Yeah, me too..." She smiled warmly up at him. "This is by far the best date I've had in years."

"Well, that just means that we'll have to try for an even better one next time."

"Next time, huh?" Kat cocked a brow. "You still want to have a second date even though I'm running out on you during our first?"

"Oh yes, Kat. I definitely want to see you again. But this time, I'd like to have your number so that I can reach you if something were to come up... but I don't want it just so that can call to reschedule, I would also like to have it so that I can call you to set up our next date."

She beamed up at him "Of course!" She replied and even to her own ears she sounded just a little over eager.

They exchanged numbers and then John gave her one more quick kiss before reluctantly letting her go. She walked just as reluctantly away from him and out the door into the cool New York night.