Chapter Seven
Hawk
The next morning Hawk woke and stared at the ceiling. Part of his mind wandered to the job he was supposed to be doing, but another part of him couldn’t stop thinking about Kathryn. She was as beautiful as ever. Maybe more so. And it was an egotistical thought, but then again, they’d been hot and heavy for a little while there. And it wouldn’t have been impossible for her to find out that he is Vegas or where he was staying …
Dana was obviously closer to the brothers than Kathryn was, and Hawk knew Kathryn and Dana were close. So Dana could have told her that he was coming into town. But then, why would Dana do that? Why would either of them care that he was in Vegas?
To further complicate things, why had Dan called him to tell him to keep an eye on Kathryn while she was in town? Hawk knew that there was a lot of tension between Dana and her father, and he couldn’t imagine that now the two of them were teaming up for some conspiracy against him. The thought was so absurd that he smirked.
Furthermore, last he’d heard, he hadn’t been the favorite Parker as far as Dan was concerned, and though he and Kathryn had had a fling in college, that had ended a very long time ago – much too long ago for her to be showing any interest in him now. As much as Hawk hated to admit it, she had officially stumped him, and he was going to need to bring in someone else—someone who did know Kathryn at least a little bit.
With a surge of resolve, he dialed Cole.
“What happened?” Cole asked as soon as he answered the phone. Hawk rolled his eyes.
“I call you to ask you advice, and the first thing you ask is how I screwed up?” he asked, and Cole sighed in relief.
“Thank God! I thought you really messed up this time. Why else would you be calling me, especially this early in the morning?”
“Is Dana there?” Hawk asked.
“What?”
“Is Dana there? I want to ask you something without her being in the room. Is she around?”
“No, she went for one of those early yoga classes. What do you want?”
“Kathryn’s in town,” Hawk said the sentence rather flatly, and he could hear another sigh through the phone.
“So?”
“And her father asked me to keep an eye on her.”
“That’s not unusual. You know he’s been trying to set her up with one of us for as long as we can remember. Hell, he’s trying to set the entire world up with that girl.” Cole laughed at his own joke, but Hawk wasn’t going to let it go so easily.
“What am I supposed to do?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, what is she here for? I’ve got more important things to be doing than trying to babysit her. And how is her dad’s request going to work with the job I am supposed to be doing?” There was exasperation in Hawk’s voice, and though there was a rather amused tone to Cole’s, he did give his brother advice.
“Look, Hawk, I know the two of you had a thing when you were in college, but I would bet this entire company on the fact that she is not down there to see you, since that’s the subtext I’m reading in your question. Don’t flatter yourself too much. If Dan wants you to keep an eye on her, fine, keep her out of trouble, but don’t worry about anything else, okay?” Hawk was surprised at how nice his brother was being, and he sighed.
“All right. But that doesn’t answer my question. Why is she here?”
“How should I know? I don’t have any contact with her at all. If you are really worried about it, why don’t you take her out to dinner or something? It’s more than likely that she’s trying to get back at her dad for something, and she’s using you to do it. May as well play that up while you have the chance, right?”
“Right.” Hawk hung up the phone, thinking about what his brother had said. He did have a point. It would be very unusual for Kathryn to have come all that way to see him—but at the same time, if she was trying to get back at her dad, then she very well might have done that very thing. He got out of bed and stepped into the shower, doing his best to think about anything but Kathryn.
If she wasn’t in town to see him, then he could focus his attention on the job he was supposed to be doing. Kathryn should be the least of his concerns—though there was something about the way she had looked the day before that had caught his attention.
She had always taken good care of herself, but he had never fully appreciated how beautiful she was except for on the rare occasions. Yesterday had been one such occasion. With a sigh, Hawk lathered up his hair and let the water trickle down his back as it rinsed. He could take her out to dinner and not let it lead to anything more.
In fact, if he did that he would know exactly why she was in town. Even if it was to get back at her dad, he could be all right with that.
But then, why did he even care?
***
“Wow.”
“Do you like it?”
“I don’t think I’ve seen you in that one before.”
“I got it this afternoon—after you asked me if I wanted to go out to dinner,” Kathryn laughed, but Hawk couldn’t take his eyes off her. She was wearing a dazzling red dress that barely covered her butt in the back or her breasts in the front. The plunging neckline was incredibly revealing, showing him everything.
But there was something somehow classy about the garment as well. If there was one thing he could say about Kathryn, it was that she was very good about dressing up for any occasion—and looking like the perfect woman while she did. He looked her over from head to toe, barely able to bring his eyes back to hers when she spoke.
“Are you going to just look at me all night, or are we going out? I’m starving.” She laughed and put her arm in the crook of his, and the two of them headed for the elevator.
“What are you hungry for?” Hawk asked as they stepped inside.
“Adventure,” she replied, then laughed. Hawk looked at her with his most charming smile, and Kathryn looked down at her gown. “I almost went with black. Guess you’re glad I chose the red.”
“So glad,” Hawk agreed wholeheartedly. “Well, let’s do something adventurous and go where I have reservations.”
“You didn’t even ask me what I wanted. What if I had told you that I was hungry for something that isn’t served where you got reservations?” she teased with mock offense, and he shrugged.
“Then I would have told you to change what you are hungry for, or go hungry.” He gave her a smirk, and she playfully punched his arm.
“You’re impossible,” she said.
“But you love me,” he replied. He glanced out of the corner of his eye to see how she would respond when he said the word ‘love,’ and he had to admit, he was rather disappointed when she didn’t even seem to notice. They had known each other for years, though, so of course he could say such things without her thinking anything of it. They’d never exchanged the words during their brief time as a couple, however. Which made things now … awkward. He cursed his poor choice of words.
There was already a cab waiting for them outside, and Hawk opened the door for her to get in.
“Aren’t you just the gentleman tonight?” Kathryn asked with a flirtatious smile, and just like that, the brief awkwardness was gone.
This time, unlike with the receptionist, Hawk had time and was more than happy to take the bait. “I’m always the perfect gentleman.”
“Even when you make girls take the walk of shame out of your apartment?” she teased.
“They should be proud walking out of there—many of them oooo and aaahhh over everything I have. At times I want to ask them if they have ever seen a stove before. You really wouldn’t think that they had.” Hawk was looking ahead and speaking in a serious tone, but then Kathryn laughed and he looked over at her, suddenly captivated by the beautiful melody.
“What’s so funny?”
“You are!”
“What did I do?”
“Think about what you just said. I mean, if you didn’t make it your career to bring home strippers, you might not have that problem.”
It was Hawk’s turn to look mock offended.
“What are you saying? I should bring home a respectable woman with all kinds of money? I don’t need money, so what do I need with any of them?” He shook his head, genuinely confused, and Kathryn shrugged.
“I don’t know, companionship?” she asked, and he gave her a look, though he didn’t say anything. She did have a point; he could use more companionship from the women he brought home—but then, he rarely had more than a one-night stand with any of them. Any flings that he had lasted little more than a week or two, if that.
Hawk found his fulfillment in the parties that he attended and the number of women he brought home—nothing else. He didn’t feel the need to have a single companion, because he was always filling the void with half a dozen others.
“I don’t exactly see you in a long-term relationship,” he retorted, and Kathryn shot him a look. He could see that she was defensive, and he wondered why he was feeling defensive himself. He knew that he had had his fair share of flings, but he didn’t want her to point it out to him. Though he didn’t consider this to be a date, he didn’t want to talk about the other women he had been with.
He wanted to just enjoy the evening with her.
“Well, I might have more success if my father would mind his own business!” she snapped. Instead of arguing with her further, or allowing himself to feel guilt about deceiving her, Hawk decided to diffuse the situation.
“You should tell him to fuck off and leave you alone. You are old enough to decide who you want to spend your time with. I should think you don’t need your father to tell you who you ought to date.”
“Exactly! Thank you!” Kathryn said, making a gesture with her arms. “I have been telling him that very thing since I was twenty years old, and he just doesn’t listen. It makes me think that he thinks I’m just going to screw it up somehow.”
“I don’t think you will. Any man would be lucky to call you his own, and it should be up to you to decide which man that is going to be.” Hawk gave her another of his most charming smiles, and Kathryn blushed prettily.
There was a flirtatious atmosphere between them during the car ride, and it carried on into the restaurant.
“Are you sure you want to dine here?” she asked as they pulled up in front of The Grand.
That surprised him. It was one of the more expensive hotels in town, and Hawk knew she was questioning the price tag. It shocked him, because that was not something that the Kathryn he had once known would ever have done. When they’d been together all those years back, she hadn’t thought twice before batting her lashes and getting someone to spoil her rotten. Seemed like at least one of them had done a little growing up since college. To his surprise, Hawk found he really liked that idea, even though he’d never minded spoiling his girl. His girl … she’d been his one. And he’d let her go.
“Hawk?” Kathryn interrupted his musings. “Hello?”
“Sorry, yeah. I’m sure. I’ve always favored it myself,” he said as he got out of the cab and walked around to her side. He opened the door for her, and Kathryn stepped out. Hawk couldn’t help but steal a glance at her leg when she stepped onto the pavement. His eyes moved over the delicious curves of her thighs and the beautiful arch in her calf. He couldn’t think about them long or he would find himself becoming aroused.
They went inside and had dinner, and Hawk was amazed at how well it all went. Though they hadn’t seen each other for quite some time, they had so much to talk about, he couldn’t believe how quickly the evening went. They played the slot machines, and time after time had to catch himself from crossing that invisible line. He had no idea why he was feeling so strongly attracted to her—okay, he actually did, because she was a total knockout both in looks and personality, but still—and it only was made worse because she seemed to be coming on to him.
More than once throughout the evening she would intentionally bump into him while they were walking, and though they were both enjoying their drinks, he could see that she was far from intoxicated. She was flirtatious and funny, laughing at everything he joked about and offering plenty of her own.
The more time they spent together, the more Hawk had to wonder about why they hadn’t lasted in the first place. She was everything that he remembered wanting in life—and this night reminded him of that. The time flew by, and before he realized it, it was well past midnight.
“I guess we better get going,” he said at last. Kathryn laughed.
“I’m not Cinderella. I don’t have to be home before my cab turns into a pumpkin,” she teased. He laughed.
“I might be Prince Charming,” he said with a wink. Kathryn smiled, and the two of them headed back to the hotel. Their conversation was far tamer on the way back, and Hawk could sense she was tired. She leaned over in the cab and laid her head on his shoulder. Hawk glanced down at her and smiled to himself. There was something nice about the total comfort they had around each other, a comfort that hadn’t been lost in spite of their breakup and the years in between.
When they arrived back at the hotel, he got out of the elevator on her floor and walked her to the door.
“Aren’t you going to come inside?” she asked, and Hawk shook his head.
“I think that is more than enough adventure for one night,” he said with a smile. To his surprise, she suddenly closed her eyes and leaned forward, clearly wanting a kiss. Hawk hesitated. He desperately wanted to kiss her—he wanted to do far more than that to her, let’s be honest. He wanted to kick in the door and throw her on the bed and remind her of how good it had once between them in bed, as good as it was when they together outside of bed.
Instead, he merely leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead. She opened her eyes in surprise, and he smiled.
“Goodnight, Kathryn,” he said. He heard her bid him a goodnight as well, but he was already walking back toward the elevator. He had to get back to his room before he gave into temptation and did what he really wanted to do with her.