Finding Katie

Chapter 11

Ben

We both turned to look up at Arturo standing beside us, and Katie quickly sat back in her chair so he could clear the table.

My libido sighed when the delicious view she'd created disappeared, but inwardly I frowned. Katie's smile had vanished from her eyes again, and the one on her lips looked forced. It wasn't my story about Andrew that had caused the change; her smile had been sincere then. It was after, but I couldn't work out what had happened.

I accepted her offer of sharing a piece of chocolate and rum tart, which was so good it made me groan with pleasure, and afterwards we said goodbye to Arturo and left the restaurant.

"I've eaten too much," I said, rubbing my belly. "Let's walk a little."

I was full, but it was a ruse to spend more time with Katie. I wanted to, and it might give me a chance to figure out what it was that made her smiles dim so suddenly so I could prevent it from happening. I rather liked being the one to make her smiles real.

"All right," she agreed, and when I twined our fingers glanced down at our hands.

Smiling, I raised my eyebrows in enquiry, but she only nodded. Holding hands was such an innocent thing, and yet the electrical current running up my arm spoke louder than words about my attraction to Katie.

We strolled down the quieter residential streets. It was a nice summer evening, the air warm but not oppressive, and the sun was still up.

"Tell me more about your job."

"My job?" I stared surprised at Katie's sudden statement. "Why do you ask?"

She shrugged without looking at me. "I know almost nothing about what a solicitor does. Only the little you've told me, but I imagine it's an interesting job that requires lots and lots of hours at the office."

"It is and too many." I found my job enthralling and could spend hours poring over contracts and paragraphs and clauses, but very few people could keep their eyes from glazing over once I started telling them about my job.

"What's the most exciting case you're working on right now?"

I glanced down at our entwined hands. Katie's had tensed. "Well, I don't have cases as such. I specialize in mergers, so I have clients; firms that wants to acquire or merge with other firms. I help them with the negotiations and the contracts, and make sure all the legal loopholes are dealt with. At the moment, most of my time is spent on a merger between two online retailers." My brow furrowed. "And I really shouldn't be telling you this. Everything's strictly confidential."

There were thousands of online retailers, but I shouldn't even have mentioned that titbit. Any rumours about the merger between Aimtree and Stiile would instantly affect their shares, and as it would make Stiile the largest online retailer in Britain and twenty-one European countries, their competitors wouldn't be too pleased once the merger was published. It was an uphill battle keeping everything under seal, and the longer it took before the contract was signed, the harder it got. The mistake that had delayed the signing hadn't helped.

"I'm sorry," Katie said. "I didn't mean to pry."

My fingers tightened briefly around hers, and I smiled at her. "It's fine. I don't suspect you of industrial espionage."

It took a moment before she smiled back and it was no more than a faint curve to her lips. Her eyes didn't meet mine before she looked ahead again, but I kept my gaze on her. I couldn't help it. Couldn't help but feel a bit rattled.

I think I could have danced a jig in the middle of the pavement without Katie noticing. She was deep in thought. And not about me, judging by the slight furrow on her forehead. At least, I hoped I wasn't the reason for her frown. I couldn't think of a reason why I would be.