The ferocious speed of Kat’s pulse would say most definitely. She smiled wide, biting down on her lower lip.

It’s okay, Carter. I miss you, too.

I can still taste you on my tongue.

A moan slipped from Kat’s throat. The soft, teasing throb in her core became a furious pounding. The man was relentless. Kat allowed her mind to meander to dark, naughty places where she and Carter could do things she’d only ever read about.

Kat was no shrinking violet. She’d had four lovers with whom she’d enjoyed some decent sex. Nonetheless, whenever she thought about sex or variations of the act with Carter, Kat couldn’t help but think that he would blast her past sexual experiences out of the water. He was so commanding and passionate that Kat had no doubt he would be the exact same way in the bedroom.

She wanted him to command her, claim her, fuck her—

She placed a hand over her mouth, surprised by her shamelessly indecent thoughts.

Carter wanted her; he’d told her so. But was that all? Was it just about a hot, passionate fuck to him? Kat was desperate to find out. Law of averages suggested that men like Carter weren’t relationship material and were more than likely to run in the opposite direction at the sound of the word “monogamy.”

Kat blinked at her reflection in the window of the Lexus.

Was she truly thinking about a relationship with Carter?

As in, like, long-term?

Yes. Yes, she was.

Can I call you tomorrow, Carter?

Anytime.

“We’re here, Katherine.” Eva’s voice broke into Kat’s daydream, and she looked up to see that, sure enough, they were parked on the stone drive of Nana Boo’s estate.

The house was as beautiful and imposing as Kat remembered. A wide smile pulled her face when the huge oak front door opened, and Nana Boo appeared with her black-and-white dog, Reggie, pushing to get past her. Jumping from the car, Kat slapped her thighs and whistled. Reggie dashed toward her, barking happily and wagging his tail like a damn whip. He jumped up, tongue slobbering.

“Reggie!” Nana Boo chided. “Get down!”

The dog immediately obeyed with a sheepish glance toward his mistress. Kat laughed and hurried over to her grandmother, who threw her arms around her, squeezing tightly. She smelled of peppermint and lavender.

“Oh, my darling girl,” Nana said softly. Kat clutched tighter at her grandmother’s words.

Small, wrinkled hands cupped Kat’s face. Her grandmother’s sparkling green eyes emitted nothing but love and warmth, and Kat was instantly calmer, reassured. Nana Boo always had a way of making her feel better. It was a grandmother’s gift.

Eva hugged her mother hard before they all made their way into the house.

Nana Boo had organized food and drinks to be served the following evening for the thirty or so people invited. Ben would be there, along with his wife, Abby, and his mother and father, colleagues of her father and numerous members of several charities Kat’s father had contributed to or supported, as well as Beth and Adam.

Kat continued to suspect there was still something going on with her best friend and, despite Beth’s words to the contrary, a part of her worried she herself had done something very wrong to upset her.

She lifted her bags onto the bed of her childhood room and tried to ignore the uneasy foreboding sensation lurching in her stomach.

19

The following afternoon, the house was filled. Serving staff offered entrees and champagne while Kat watched her mother float effortlessly from one person to the next, her smile fixed and her manner easy. Having grown up in a political family and been married to one of the youngest senators in the country, Eva could work a room with the best of them.

Ben, Abby, Beth, and Adam had arrived to a whirlwind of kisses and hugs from her and Nana Boo. As Kat watched them all exchange pleasantries, she was struck with how familiar Beth and her mother had seemingly become. She’d noticed it during her birthday dinner, but now, seeing the two women embrace and talk quietly, it appeared that, somewhere along the line, they’d become friends.

“How are you?” Kat asked, kissing Beth on the cheek.

“Good,” Beth said as she glanced at her fiancé, who was looking decidedly uncomfortable. “And you? Any news?”

“Nothing exciting.” Kat toed the floor, her face heating under the scrutiny of her friend.

“Something you wanna share?” Beth inquired with a tilt of her head.

“Not right now,” Kat said firmly, but followed it with a small smile, trying like hell to take the defensiveness out of her tone. She wasn’t sure it worked. She so wanted to share with Beth, with all of them. But something—something that made her turn cold—stopped her.

Nana Boo was the only person she trusted implicitly with her true feelings for Carter. The quiet and covert conversation with her grandmother the previous night when Eva and Harrison had gone to bed had been wholly different from the ones with her mother and Beth. It had been easy, open, and filled with laughter. Nana regaled Kat with the latest gossip from the bridge club and the handsome new guy, Roger, who was her new golfing partner.

“He’s rough and ready,” Nana had explained with a laugh. “Which I like.”

Kat had curled up on the sofa with a chamomile tea and let herself get swept away by the soft tones and gentle words of her grandmother. She loved how Nana Boo knew what to say to make her smile, and the enthusiasm that the old lady exuded started to chase away the dark anxiety that had resided in Kat since the trip began. Kat heard herself laugh, and her smile was entirely genuine as Nana detailed her distaste for the new lady who had joined her salsa class.

“A floozy, darling, plain and simple” was her no-holds-barred description of the newly widowed Ms. Harper. “So,” Nana Boo had said, smiling. “What’s new with you? I’ve missed you.”

Kat had sighed and plucked at a loose cotton thread at the bottom of her sweatpants. “I’ve missed you, too, Nana,” she’d confessed. “I’m … I’m all right. Busy.”

Nana had hummed and sighed gently. “Kat, I know when my only granddaughter is not herself.”

Kat had laughed without humor and wrapped her free arm around herself. “It’s complicated.”

“What aspects of life aren’t?” Nana had asked with a smile. “Darling, I love you very much, and I want to help if I can.”

“Thank you.”

“I know your mother worries, Kat. It’s her prerogative.”

“I know,” Kat had answered with an exasperated sigh. “But she worries too much. I’m an adult, Nana. I can make my own decisions. I can look after myself.”

“I don’t doubt that, my darling. You were always so strong. So like your father.”

“And stubborn like my mother?” Kat had asked wryly.

Nana Boo had laughed. “Without a doubt.” She’d been silent for a beat. “I know your job causes your mother great concern, but I am so very proud of you. I hope you know that you can talk to me about anything. You have my absolute confidence, angel.”

Kat had closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the sofa, knowing the truth of her words. “I … I’m …” Kat had clapped a warm palm to her forehead in an effort to ease the throbbing persisting at the backs of her eyes. “God, I wouldn’t even know where to start.”

“Start at the beginning,” Nana Boo had encouraged.

So Kat had. Nana had been excited to learn about Arthur Kill and Kat’s study sessions with Carter. She’d been surprised, to say the very least, when she heard about the man who was slowly stealing his way into Kat’s heart, but, being an old romantic, Nana Boo had promised to be there for her every step of the way—going so far as to invite them both to Chicago for Thanksgiving.

“I want to meet the man who has brought that smile back to your face,” Nana Boo had said tearfully.