“Thanks.”

“Hard hats and stilettos don’t mix,” her babysitter chided.

“Don’t remind me.”

Mrs. Hoyt raised an eyebrow, but left the rest of her lecture behind her lips.

“Your daughter is sleeping.”

Katie attempted a smile and glanced toward the hall. They had an hour before the doctor’s appointment.

“Do you want me to stay?”

“I’ll be OK.” She hopped deeper in the room. “Thanks.”

Alone with a sleeping baby in the apartment, Katelyn cursed her ankle again. After a hobble to the bathroom, she found some Motrin and chased it with a glass of milk. It was a good thing Dean hadn’t seen her fall. Chances were he would have insisted on a trip to the doctor. Maybe even picked her up and carried her against her will.

The memory of his arms around her, of how safe he once made her feel, squeezed something inside her chest and started to hurt. He’d always made her feel secure, wanted. With Dean she never had to put on airs.

“Makeup is for ugly women. Your skin is perfect,” he told her, holding her face in his hands and running his thumb over her lower lip.

“A lady never leaves home without her makeup, Dean Prescott. You have sisters, you know this.”

“We’re not going anywhere tonight.”

They didn’t leave that night. And wearing makeup when it was only the two of them became a thing of the past.

But that was well over a year ago, and best forgotten.

Chapter Ten

Dean stretched out his legs on his chaise lounge on his back patio. Mike sat across from him sipping a beer. “How’s the hotel?”

Dean hadn’t seen Mike since Jack’s wedding. When Mikey had called earlier in the day to suggest they get together, he jumped at the opportunity. Outside of work obligations, Dean hadn’t had a social life since his breakup with Maggie. At first, he avoided his friends. Not that they let him sulk for long. Jack and Mike had found him up in Big Bear and assisted him with getting good and drunk. He’d spent an entire weekend brooding and cursing anything in a skirt before returning to his life. And even then he did so slowly…if at all.

Jack and Mike saw him through the hard time, and went on to support him ever since. Although they didn’t talk about his ex, Dean knew his friends watched him. Whenever they got together, one of them would ask if he was seeing anyone. Checking to see if he was climbing back on the horse, so to speak. In truth, he hadn’t. Not because of an undying love for Maggie, but because of how done he was with the whole dating scene. Maggie was a perfect case of “If you can’t be with the one you love, love the one you’re with.” He knew that now. After.

He supposed Maggie had picked up on his feelings and that was why she had broken off their engagement. Being dumped weeks before your wedding sucked. Being married to the wrong person would have sucked more.

“Coming along. No major setbacks.”

“Is Katelyn actually showing up to work?”

An instant picture of Katie’s blonde hair poking out from under his hard hat surfaced. “She is. I’ll be the first to admit how shocked I am at how seriously she has taken this job.”

“I didn’t think she’d last a week. Of course her real work won’t come until the hotel is nearly finished…right?”

Dean twisted the top off his beer and shook his head. “She’s taken great pride in pointing out design issues in the construction phase. Niches that need electrical and framing. Separate meeting areas outside of conference halls for kids and adults. She even snuck behind my back to talk with my plumber about one of those fancy fountains that shoot water out of the ground for kids to play in.”

“What does all that have to do with sofas and wall color?”

“Nothing. I’m gonna grill Jack when he gets back.”

“You think he knew how involved she wanted to be?” Mike brushed a fly off his arm as he spoke.

“I think Jack was too busy doing all that sappy married crap before he left to pay Katie much attention. Katie is all kinds of resourceful. Probably snuck in a limited amount of details and had him saying yes without realizing what he was doing.” Dean could picture the conversation easily. Chances were Katie cornered Jack with Jessie across the room. C’mon, Jack. You know I’m a born decorator. No need to hire someone to do the job.

That’s all that would have needed to be said to land the position. And it wasn’t as if she was getting paid. How could Jack say no?

“She’s busting your budget I’ll bet.”

“That’s just it, she’s not.”

“What?” Mike sounded as surprised as Dean felt.

“I gave her a budget, a low one thinking she’d balk at it, and so far she’s staying within it. I even heard her haggling with a vendor over paint prices.”

“No shit?”

“No shit!” Dean took a pull off his beer.

“So Jack was right. Katie isn’t acting herself.”

Dean shrugged. “Not completely. The work thing is new. I keep expecting her to burn out. I’ve called the hotel a few times but it doesn’t seem she spends a lot of time there.” And that was classic Katie behavior.

“Is there a guy?”

Dean thought of that Ben guy and ignored the twist in his gut. “Probably.”

“That’s good.” Mike relaxed with that information.

“Why is that good?” Dean didn’t think so. Ben was too old for Katie.