Much to her surprise, she was tugged across the room and two large hands pushed down on her shoulders, forcing her to sit at the small kitchen table. She blinked away the moisture and watched Sam lower Lady carefully back onto the blanket while Eva’s gaze moved between her and Sam. Instead of the annoyance Katie would have expected, Katie saw sympathy and, strangely, what looked like hope in Eva’s expression.
‘Don’t be daft,’ Eva said softly, taking the other seat next to Katie and reaching to hold her hand. ‘Have a cup of tea.’ She looked pointedly at Sam, who moved to the kettle. Katie blinked. She’d never seen Sam tolerate anyone bossing him, however good-naturedly. ‘Then we’ll take you to the vet.’
‘I … well …’ Katie trailed off, totally stunned and for once in her life at a loss for words.
‘I’ve got to say, I’m so glad to meet you,’ Eva went on, gripping Katie’s hand even tighter. ‘Sam never brings any of his women back here, and even if he did I’m hardly ever around to catch them. There was that one bird … what was her name? You know, famous, face like a cat’s arse.’ Eva made a pouty face and Katie let out a surprised bark of laughter: the resemblance to Lydia was scarily accurate. ‘I never actually met her,’ Eva explained, ‘I just look out for her in magazines sinceHeatsaid her and Sam were dating.’
Katie’s eyes went wide. ‘You got a mention inHeat?’
Sam shifted uncomfortably in front of the kettle and shrugged.
‘”Sexy Bodyguard Sleeps With Woman He’s Sworn to Protect”,’ Eva quoted before collapsing into fits of giggles. ‘I’ve got a copy at home, you should see his picture; he looks like he is going to deck the cameraman, it’s hilarious.’
‘That’s enough, Eva,’ Sam growled as he slammed two cups of tea down on the table with a little too much force, causing some tea to slosh over the side.
‘Oh right,’ Eva said, her smile dying. ‘Sorry, I’m such a loser. Of course you don’t want to go over the exes.’
‘Honestly, it’s fine,’ Katie said, ‘but I … look, I’m really sorry but … who are you?’
‘I’m Eva.’
‘Yes, I … um … gathered that … I just …’
Eva frowned and looked a little hurt. ‘Didn’t Sam tell you about me?’
‘Well … no.’ Eva’s face fell and Katie rushed on. ‘It’s just we don’t actually … we haven’t really …’ she shrugged, ‘we don’t really talk much.’ Eva’s mouth dropped open, and then her face twisted in revulsion.
‘Ew! TMI. Not really keen to hear about my big brother’s ability tonottalk, thanks.’
‘Brother,’ Katie breathed, a strange sense of relief flooding her.
Chapter 15
Cute was not beautiful
Sam shot Dylan another filthy look. If he put his hands on Katie one more time Sam was going to rip his goddamn head off. Christ, the prick had more chat and banter than a straight Graham Norton. Sam had thought that his hatred for Dylan had cooled over the last year, since he realized that the stupid bastard had moved on to pastures new, but he was finding the urge not to pummel him surprisingly difficult to repress whilst watching his easy interaction with Katie. To his annoyance, Dylan’s girlfriend seemed totally unconcerned by Katie and Dylan laughing together, or thethreetimes (yes, three – Sam had been counting) that slimy son of a bitch had put his arm around his woman.
No – shit – not his woman, he furiously corrected himself, and scowled down into his beer. Wasn’t that what he had resolved this morning?
After Katie had fallen asleep in his arms last night, Sam had stayed awake. He had only just been able to stop himself taking advantage of her in her grief-stricken state, and sleep was the last thing on his tortured mind. To be honest, finally holding her after years of deliberately denying himself was such an adrenaline rush that he didn’t think he could sleep if he’d tried, and there was no way he was risking another nightmare with her so close. So he lay there and he watched her, letting himself smell her hair and revelling in her soft body resting on his. He knew she was working her way under the blanket of numbness he used to protect himself. But the feel of her breath on his neck and the way she kept snuggling into his warmth, her naturally affectionate nature showing itself even in sleep, made it impossible to cling onto the emptiness; and that terrified him. If he started feeling again, started letting go, he wasn’t sure he could hold onto his sanity.
So, that was when he made a decision. Yes, he’d made a mistake, but there was no reason he couldn’t put it right. He would just have to stay strong and push her away again in the morning. Maybe that would seem odd and cold, but he knew he could do it. After all, he’d managed to push her away for the last six years, he could do it for one more morning, no trouble. But when those gorgeous blue eyes blinked awake and she stared up at him, with no artifice, nothing but open affection in her gaze, and then the way she kissed his cheek, the thought of pushing her away made him feel slightly sick. He’d had to get out of there. Apart from anything, he could feel his body responding to her again and he didn’t think his will-power could take it.
One long, cold shower later and he was facing the fact that not only was his sister in his flat, but she had already locked her sights onto Katie. Why had he given Eva a key? And why in fuck did he ever mention Katie to her? But Eva had always been able to access the more human side of him. Ever since she was born when Sam was thirteen, she’d been the apple of his eye. At that stage he had been fiercely withdrawn, not allowing his new stepmother any sort of connection, despite how hard she tried to get him to let her in. He was too damaged, beyond repair. At least that’s what he’d thought – but Eva had changed that, she’d changed him. He’d started to laugh. She was a safe way to allow him to express his emotions. Babies and toddlers don’t judge you, they don’t reject you; they just love you. It wasn’t until the horror of what he went through six years ago that he retreated back into his safe, emotionless shell.
So now here he was at a wake for a sodding cat. Eva, not content to just accompany Katie to the vet’s, had wanted them to wait with her whilst the cat was cremated andthentake Katie and the cat’s ashes back to Katie’s house. During this time Sarah had called Katie asking why she wasn’t at home, and Katie had broken down again (Sam wasn’t sure how a body as tiny as Katie’s could hold that much water, but she seemed to have an endless supply) and told Sarah about the fat cat’s death. From there things had escalated. By the time they arrived back at Katie’s house Sarah, Rob and the boys were all waiting. (The older boys were also blubbing, the younger two content to bash each other with sticks they had found on the drive.) Preparations were made to scatter the fat cat’s ashes, and more people started to arrive at the house until the small cottage was full to bursting.
The gay bloke Katie worked with even gave a eulogy, for fuck’s sake. He talked about how the cat had pissed on his shoes and eaten his bacon, and people were actually crying – about a cat! By the end of the day Sam’s bloody sister was practically best friends with everyone there, and had spent so much time with Katie that he doubted there was anything either of them could possibly not know about the other. So all day Sam had been dragged along through the most bizarre event imaginable and he still hadn’t been able to give Katie the brush-off that he had been planning. He had just decided to get bloody well on with it, go over to her, make his excuses and drag his sister away, when that prick started touching her. His vision clouded over with rage and he lost his grip on reality.
‘Hey there, W.R.,’ Sam heard Russell say as he tightened his grip on his bottle of beer. ‘Having fun over here? Good spot of brooding?’ Sam spared him a quick glance, registering his wide, mischievous grin with annoyance. He was not about to ask what W.R. stood for; he was quite sure he wouldn’t want to know. He stiffened when he looked back at Dylan, who had pulled Katie in for yet another hug. All his brain could process was thathiswoman was being touched by another man. It was primal, totally back to caveman instincts.
‘Uh-oh,’ Russell muttered, following the line of his gaze and laying a hand on Sam’s arm. ‘Hey, stand down, big guy. You know they’re just …’
Unfortunately Sam was beyond listening. He was beyond any sort of reason or control. Shrugging off Russell’s hand, he strode over to Katie, inserted himself between her and Dylan, put his hand in the centre of Dylan’s chest and shoved.
Now, Dylan was built, but nowhere near as stacked as Sam, and he certainly wasn’t expecting to be pushed. This, combined with the fact that Sam’s anger had clouded his judgment and the force behind the shove was way more than he’d planned, meant that Dylan’s body flew backwards through the two other people behind him and into a conveniently placed armchair. The room fell silent as Dylan sprang back up to his feet and tried to get to Sam. Lou was too quick for him though, and pushed through Sam and Katie, stepping in front of Dylan and putting both her hands on his chest.
‘Babes,’ Dylan growled. ‘Out of my way.’
