by Jaci Burton
He laughed. "Good thing you're multitalented like that. And you have Gavin to help you."
"When he isn't playing baseball, which is nearly all the time. But I have his family to help out, so it's all good."
"You were lucky to marry into the Rileys, weren't you?"
"Thanking my lucky stars every day, Grant. Now play good, and I'll be in touch."
"See ya, Liz."
He hung up, and thought about New York, which reminded him of Katrina. He was going to have to do something about connecting with her when he was in town. He'd thought about her a lot since the shoot. Practice and games had kept him busy, but he hadn't forgotten he'd promised her he'd see her, even though he figured she hadn't believed he'd pursue it.
He wanted to pursue it, and her. He wanted to meet her brother and sister.
He intended to follow up.
SIX
"HEY, KIDS, I'M HOME."
Katrina laid her bag down in the entryway and headed down the hallway into ...
Dead. Silence.
Never a good sign.
She picked up her phone to check the time. It was four p.m., which meant both Anya and Leo should be home by now.
She checked the living room, but saw no sign of them. They weren't in the kitchen, either, so she rounded the corner and went down the hall toward the bedrooms. The doors were open to both their rooms.
Both empty.
Goddammit.
She went to her room, though they wouldn't go in there, but still, she checked anyway.
Not there.
Their bathroom was empty as well.
There were no messages on her phone, either.
Shit.
Just as panic was about to set in, she heard the front door open, and the sounds of their voices, both of them laughing. She hurried to the front room.
"Oh, hey," Anya said. "You're home."
Both of them had Styrofoam cups, Leo sucking from a straw.
"Sup," he said.
"Where were you?"
"We went down the street to get a drink."
"There are drinks in the refrigerator, and you know you're not supposed to leave the apartment."
"Chill, Kat," Anya said, sliding onto one of the couches. "We went to the market. It's just a block down the street."
"Without texting me to let me know where you were. Without permission."
"Uh, okay, Mom. We're fine," Leo said, heading to his room.
"Stop." Her voice came out sharper than she intended. "We need to talk about this."
Leo kept going, and then closed his door.
Sonofabitch. She hated raising teenagers. She had never been like that when she was their age. She'd been cooperative and respectful. Where did all this attitude come from?
With a sigh, she took a seat on the sofa, feeling tired and defeated. It had been like this for about a year now--the constant battles, the defiance. She had no one to turn to for advice. No relatives, no friends to talk to. She was a novice at this. She hadn't even gone through her own period of rebellion, because at barely eighteen she'd been in charge of two young children. She'd had to grow up in a hurry.
"You need to relax about this, Kat," Anya said, leaning back against the sofa cushions, her feet up on the table as she scrolled through her phone. "It's no big deal."
She was too tired to deal with them. She'd been on the road for three weeks straight, and then after barely unpacking had spent an entire day in meetings.
At least she'd be home for a while now. Maybe they just needed some attention. And some reminders about the rules.
"I'm going to take a bath." She pushed off on her knees and stood, heading down the hall.
"Oh. Hey, Kat?"
She stopped, turning toward her sister. "Yes?"
"I have a new recipe in mind for this homemade pizza I'd like to make. Can we do that tonight?"
She tried for a half smile. Anything that would engage her with her siblings was a good thing. "Sure."
GRANT GOT SETTLED IN HIS HOTEL ROOM AFTER DOING the signing and photo shoot for the Merritt Foundation that Liz had set up for him. He debated whether he wanted to go out for something to eat or wander around the area. He grabbed his phone and decided to call Katrina first. He dialed her number. It rang several times before someone who definitely wasn't Katrina answered.
"Yo, hello?"
"Hi. Is Katrina there?"
"Who's this?"
"This is Grant Cassidy. And who's this?"
"Anya."
"You'd be Katrina's sister."
"And how would you know that?"
"I did a photo shoot with her a couple weeks ago."
"You did, huh? Are you two dating?"
He grinned. You had to love the nosiness of teenagers--and siblings. "Jury's still out on that one."
"She's resistant. Thinks all her free time should be babysitting us, but I can assure you we don't need babysitters."
"I'm sure you don't. So is she around?"
"She's in the tub. So why are you calling?"
"I'm in town and thought we could all get together and do something."
"So, by 'all,' I'm assuming you mean me and Leo, too?"
"I do mean you and Leo, too. Are you all free tomorrow during the day?"
"Hang on. Let me check with her."
She laid the phone down, Grant assumed to check with Katrina. He could only imagine the response. But she came back about a minute later.
"She said that sounds fine to her."
Grant was shocked to hear that. "Are you sure?"
"Absolutely. I think she's bored hanging around us. You're probably a nice distraction."
He laughed. "Okay, then. How about I pick you all up about ten tomorrow morning?"
"Sounds like a plan. Do you need our address?"
"I do."
She gave him the address.
"What should we wear, Grant?"
"Tourist clothes."
Now Anya laughed. "Awesome. See you tomorrow, Grant."
"Okay. If Katrina has any questions, she can call me."
"Noted. See ya."
She hung up, and Grant shook his head.
Tomorrow should be interesting.
He couldn't wait.
KATRINA FELT A LOT BETTER AFTER A LONG SOAK IN the tub. She helped Anya make the pizza, plus salad.
At least she and the kids were eating together. It always took her a while to get balanced again when she got back from a long bout of travel. She felt out of sorts, and they would hit her with a wave of rebellion, so this wasn't unusual. She'd just have to set some firm ground rules and stick to them and the universe would right itself again.
She took a drink of the merlot she'd poured herself and felt a calm settle over her.
She'd tried to engage Leo and Anya with questions about camp activities. So far, she'd gotten nothing but grunts and monosyllabic responses, so she'd given up, figuring she'd try again after dinner.
Leo needed a haircut. His hair was long and hanging well past his brows, which made it easier for him to hide his emotions, which she could always see in his blue eyes, so much like hers. She made a mental note to make a haircut appointment for him this week.
Anya, on the other hand, had no problem at all expressing her emotions. And did it on a regular basis. Her sister sat on the cusp of adulthood, with one foot still firmly planted in the land of bitchy teenager. Katrina never knew which sister she was going to get on any given day. The laughing, smiling, let's-talk-smart-topics one, or the sullen, angry-with-Katrina-about-everything one.
Such a joy.
"By the way, Grant Cassidy will be picking us up at ten tomorrow morning," Anya said.
Katrina nearly choked on her sip of wine. She laid the glass down on the table. "What?"
"Grant. Cassidy. Hot football player. You didn't tell us you were dating him."
She shot Anya a glare. "I am not dating him."
"You know Grant Cassidy?" Leo leaned forward, lifting his
head and shaking his hair back. "Since when?"
"I did a photo shoot with him in Barbados." She looked over at Anya. "And what do you mean he's picking us up tomorrow?"
Anya gave her a saucy grin. "He called while you were in the tub. Said he's in town and wants to take us all out tomorrow. I said yes on our behalf."
And there went her stress level again. "Anya. You shouldn't have done that."
Anya shrugged. "Why not? He told me that he told you he was going to call you and set things up when he was in town. He's in town. I didn't want to bug you while you were in the tub. You seemed wigged out when you got home today, so I figured you wanted some downtime."
"Grant Cassidy's coming here tomorrow? Cool." Leo took a sip of his soda.
"I can't believe you did that," Katrina said. "I'm going to have to call him and cancel."
Leo frowned. "Why? Is he a dick?"
"No, he's not. And don't say dick."
"So if he's not a dick--"
"Anya. Come on," Katrina said, pleading for either an end to this conversation or for some return to civility. It wasn't looking like she was going to get either.
"Okay. So if you don't dislike him, then you like him," Anya said.
"I didn't say that, either."
"He had your phone number. And he seemed like a pretty cool guy."
"Based on what? A five-minute phone conversation?"
"More like three minutes, actually. But he's taking us out tomorrow. And we're going. You don't want to be rude and call him back now and cancel. Then you'd be the dick."
"Oh. My God. I don't know what to do with the two of you."
"There's nothing wrong with us," Anya said. "You, on the other hand, are way too tense. You probably need to get laid. Maybe Grant Cassidy can help you with that."
Leo snickered, then raised his hand up high. Anya high-fived him.
"I am not having this conversation with you two. Finish your pizza, then clear the table and do the dishes." She took her glass of wine and went into the living room to turn on the television.
"That means we're going out with Grant Cassidy tomorrow," Leo said.
This was a nightmare. Her entire life had somehow spiraled completely out of control and she no longer had the capacity to deal with it.
So tonight, she was going to drink wine.
Tomorrow, she'd figure out how to handle her unruly teenage siblings who obviously had no sense of boundaries.
And then she'd deal with Grant Cassidy.
SEVEN
GRANT HAD GOTTEN PERMISSION FROM THE TEAM TO fly in a day early, claiming he had some promotional things to attend to. Which he had, and he'd handled in about two hours. Hey, what they didn't know--they didn't have to know. He wanted this day to see Katrina.
After checking in early at his hotel, he took a cab to Katrina's condo on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.
This place had a doorman. Fancy. Grant gave his name, and the doorman buzzed, looked at Grant, then motioned for him.
"You can go on up, Mr. Cassidy."
"Thanks."
He went to the sixth floor, and once he found Katrina's door, rang the bell.
The door was opened by a very tall teenage boy with long hair and eyes the same color as Katrina's. The kid leaned against the doorway, not exactly blocking it, but not letting him in just yet, either.
Protective. Assessing. Grant liked that Katrina's younger brother wasn't going to let just any guy through the front door.
"You must be Leo. I'm Grant Cassidy."
"I am."
Grant held out his hand, and Leo shook it. The kid had a firm handshake, so he had that going for him.
"Hi. Come on in."
He stepped inside and Leo shut the door. Before he could completely walk into the apartment, a very pretty, dark-haired girl hurried to Leo's side. Tall and slender, also with blue eyes like Katrina's.
"I'm Anya, Katrina's sister. She's still deciding what to wear. Apparently you freak her out because I've never seen her take so long to get ready."
He tried not to smile at that thought. "Nice to meet you, Anya. I'm Grant."
"Oh, I know who you are. I watch a lot of football, though I'm a big fan of our New York teams. Still, you're very good. Hey, can you get us tickets to your game this weekend? Leo likes football, too."
She talked a lot and reminded him of his sister at that age. "I'm sure I can." He turned to Leo. "Do you play?"
"Football? Nah." Leo shrugged, then moved aside so Grant could come in.
"So you don't like football?" Grant asked as they moved down the hall.
"No. I like football. A lot, actually."
"But you don't play."
Leo shrugged. "I might want to, but I haven't yet. You should, like, sit on the couch or something."
"Okay." He followed them into the very spacious apartment, giving it a thorough once-over. It was modern and classy, but not fussy. A lot like the woman who owned it. There were windows that let light in, plus plenty of space. She didn't clutter the place up with antiques or expensive furniture. Only necessary items like a dining room table, a couch, and a couple of chairs.
Nice.
He took a seat on a cream leather sofa. "Does Katrina like football?"
"She watches the games with us when she's home," Leo said. "I'm not sure if she pays attention. She likes to read a lot."
"I noticed that about her when we were in Barbados."
Anya took a seat next to him on the sofa. "She's always got her head stuck in a book. Me, I'd rather be out doing something instead of stuck inside. Unless I'm cooking. But speaking of getting out, what are we doing today?"
"I thought you all might like to show me New York. I'm kind of a tourist."
Anya laughed. "Yeah? We never get to play tourist. This could be fun." She took out her phone and started tapping away.
With Anya focused elsewhere, Grant turned his attention to Leo, who seemed a little nervous. Remembering what it was like to be that age and faced with a strange adult, Grant figured it was up to him to ease the tension. "Okay, so you don't play football, Leo. Do you play any other sports?"
"Lacrosse. Tennis."
"I never played lacrosse. And I sucked at tennis."
That made Leo smile.
"Do you like playing those sports?"
He shrugged. "They're okay. I only do them because Katrina makes me."
Interesting. "So you don't like sports."
"I do. But not those. I'd rather play football, but I'm a little light, weight-wise. And Katrina would bust a brain cell or something if I told her I wanted to play football."
"Why is that?"
"She thinks it's dangerous."
Oh, now he was starting to get the picture. "Have you tried talking to her about it?"
Leo shrugged. "No point in it. She's like the law around here, and freaking her out doesn't do any good."
"This is true," Anya said, her focus still on her phone. "Though it's fun to mess with her a little."
It didn't take Grant long to grasp the dynamics here. Katrina was obviously in over her head trying to wrangle two teenagers. Who wouldn't be? He remembered the shit he and his brothers used to cause, and they had two very firm parents to shut them down. Katrina was barely past her mid-twenties and these kids were smart. They didn't seem like they'd step back easily when confronted. Katrina probably fought a lot of battles and didn't win them all.
If any.
Teenagers could be a giant pain in the ass. But these two didn't look dangerous.
Grant heard a door open behind him, so he stood and saw Katrina making her way down the hall dressed in black capris, a black-and-white-striped T-shirt, and a pair of slip-on canvas shoes. Simple, yet on her, elegant. Her hair was pulled in a high ponytail, making him think about wrapping all that hair in his hand and giving it a hard tug. He wondered how she would react and figured he shouldn't be thinking thoughts like that with her young siblings in the same room.
"Sorry.
It took me a little longer to get ready because someone keeps borrowing my clothes and makeup."
"Yeah, I can't help myself. Your turquoise eye shadow looks so good on me," Leo said, giving Katrina a crooked smile.
Anya snorted and shoved into her brother. "And don't forget how her pink miniskirt highlights the dark hairs on your legs."
Leo looked at Anya and gave her a short nod. "This is true."
Katrina, on the other hand, rolled her eyes. "Comedians. See what I have to deal with?"
Grant laughed. "I don't know, Leo. Somehow I don't think pink and turquoise are in your color wheel."
Katrina blinked. "I can't believe you said color wheel."
He turned to face her. "I have a little sister. She might or might not have painted my nails once or twice."
"Recently?" Anya asked, arching a brow.
"Yeah. Last week, as a matter of fact. To match my team uniform."
"Now who's the comedian?" Anya asked, looking at Katrina.
Leo laughed. "Anya did that to me when I was five."
"Hey," Anya said. "Katrina was out of town and the au pair wouldn't let me paint hers. Besides, they turned out pretty, didn't they?"
Leo sent Grant a look that communicated what brothers had to go through when they had sisters. Grant nodded, because he totally understood.
"You two, your bathroom looks like a hurricane swept through it. Go clean up. The cleaning lady is coming today and she shouldn't have to pick up underwear, socks, and wet towels from the floor."
Leo sighed. "Really? Now?"
"Yes, now."
"Come on, Leo. It'll only take a few minutes." Anya slipped her arm through her brother's and they disappeared down the hall.
After watching them, Katrina turned to him. "I'm sorry about them. They're a handful."
"They're awesome kids. Funny, too."
"They can be. They can also be terrors. Watch your back."
"Did I mention I have three brothers--and a sister? I think I can handle this."
"You say that now. You haven't spent a day with them."
He put his hands on her upper arms. "You need to relax. Maybe we should stop at a bar for alcohol first."
"For me or for them?"
"For them, of course. It's important to get them loaded early in the day. Makes them easier to control."
This time she laughed. "The thought is tempting."
"Actually, we could stop and get you a mimosa or something."
"Even more tempting. It's been an intense few weeks, and I wasn't prepared for you to actually show up."
"Why not? I told you I'd call when I got to New York."