I told myself this was just one setback; it didn’t mean we were back to where we’d been. We’d come so far in such a short time; it wasn’t going to be perfect, but, damn, his cool attitude had burned like nothing else. I swallowed the lump in my throat and flopped on the bed. It was early, barely dinnertime. I’d been looking forward to a night in with Sal. Now I needed a way to blow off some steam.
An hour later, I was kicking the shit out of a punching bag at the gym after running full out on the treadmill for thirty minutes. It was helping, a little.
Wes called as I was wrapping up. “Yeah?” I asked, still slightly out of breath.
“Where are you at? Sal asked me to roll by and check on things,” he demanded gruffly.
Wes was always so gruff, but really he was a total softie at heart.
“I’m at the gym,” I answered impatiently.
He sighed loudly. “Kat, you were supposed to call me if you went anywhere. Sal is gonna be pissed.”
“Well, Sal isn’t here, is he?” I demanded haughtily. “If he’s going to go roaring off into the night, then I can go punch the shit out of something at the gym!” I cried.
“Fair enough,” his deep voice rumbled, and I could tell he was biting back a laugh.
“I’m not being funny!” I exclaimed.
Funny, no. Shrill, perhaps a tad.
“I’ll roll by and follow you home. Give me ten,” he said and disconnected before I could protest.
That was Wes for you.
True to his word, he met me out front and followed me back to Sal’s. I wished like hell I could go back to my place. My instinct was to retreat at the same speed as Sal, but that hadn’t worked out so well in the past.
Wes saw me safely inside before taking off, leaving me to my date for the evening a pint of Ben with a side of Jerry.
I must have fallen asleep watching TV on the couch. The next thing I knew, I felt the couch depress and I opened my eyes groggily. Sal was sitting on the end of the couch, my legs moved into his lap.
“Hey,” I murmured, my voice raspy with sleep.
“Hey,” his deep voice returned. He looked over at me, his gorgeous eyes thoughtful in the dim light.
“What’s up?” I asked, feeling confused and half-asleep.
He gave me a warm smile, a genuine one and squeezed my leg. “You’re so cute when you’re half-asleep,” he chuckled.
I smiled back and waited for him to share whatever was on his mind.
“You think Pete will give you a few days off?” he asked quietly.
I wasn’t really a fist pump kind of girl, but in that moment, I had to seriously fight off the urge to do just that.
“Yeah,” I agreed, trying desperately to sound casual.
He nodded thoughtfully. “Good. I’ll book you a ticket. We’re on the red-eye,” he informed me. I knew a last minute flight would probably be outrageously expensive. It was also my first time flying and I was a bit nervous about it, but I didn’t say a word. I didn’t want to do anything to deter him.
“Okay,” I agreed, and I couldn’t stop the giant grin that spread across my face. This was a huge breakthrough for Sal and we both knew it. I sat up and moved to straddle his lap, kissing him soundly. “Thank you,” I murmured against his lips.
“We’ll see if you’re still sayin’ that when we get there,” he grumbled.
I didn’t answer him. I knew there wasn’t anything I could say in the moment to soothe his concerns. Instead, I grabbed him in a passionate kiss and let my body do the talking.
Chapter 14
Icould be really freaking stupid sometimes.