Nicole laughed and the baby’s giggle echoed her. “Nice way of putting it, but yeah.”
Every passing moment filled Katie with more strength. More confidence. Right there in the tiny dressing room, she had the epiphany of all epiphanies. She had closed herself off to life to punish herself for being wrong. It didn’t even make sense. Was pain so great that you couldn’t risk being happy on the off chance you might get hurt again?
It was as if she could feel her old self clawing her way to the surface, brushing past the hesitant, meek Katie and tamping her down, she hoped, never to rise again.
“Who doesn’t pick the wrong guy occasionally?” she demanded.
“Preaching to the choir, girl,” Nicole said ruefully.
“That’s right!” Katie swung around and draped one arm around Nicole’s shoulders. “Your guy was a jerk, too!”
Laughing, Nicole said, “Do you have to sound so excited by that?”
Katie shook her head and said, “Sorry, but I’m having a moment here. The problem’s not me. It never was me. So I picked the wrong guy? So what? Doesn’t mean I’ll pick the wrong one again, does it?”
“Nope.”
Swinging back around to face her reflection, Katie dismissed the dowdy beige dress from her mind and instead admired the sexy black one she wore. She turned and checked herself out from every angle and finally gave a sharp nod. “You were right, Nicole. This dress is perfect. It’s going to knock Rafe’s socks off.”
“Hopefully,” Nicole added with a sly grin, “it’ll knock off a lot more than his socks.”
Katie felt a flush of heat rush through her just thinking about the possibilities. Then she tugged at the zipper and said, “As soon as I’m dressed again, we’re headed for the shoe department. I need some sky-high heels, too.”
“Now you’re talking,” Nicole said and took her son out of the dressing room.
Katie thought about what Rafe’s reaction to her might be and she smiled to herself. She was through pretending she didn’t care about him. Finished trying to protect herself at the cost of her own happiness. Tonight was going to be a turning point for her and Rafe. She was opening herself up to the possibilities.
Katie gave her reflection one last, approving glance. Nana would be so proud.
The restaurant sat high on the cliffs at Dana Point.
There was patio dining and then there were the booths inside, safely tucked behind a glass wall, protecting diners from the cool wind. He’d left their choice of table up to Katie and was pleased when she’d opted for the patio. From here, they could not only see the ocean, but hear the pulse of it as the water met the cliffs.
With the stars overhead and the waves crashing into the rocks below, it was probably one of the most romantic places on the coast. Rafe hadn’t been there in years—but he had known it was the perfect spot for the romantic evening he wanted to have with Katie.
Looking at her now, across the table from him, with the ocean breeze ruffling her dark red hair into a tumble of curls, his breath caught in his chest. Her green eyes shone in the soft candlelight burning from behind the safety of hurricane lamps in the center of their table. Her smile was infectious as she admired her surroundings, and the urge to reach out and touch her was damn near overpowering.
He’d never forget his first sight of her when she opened her door to him. That black dress clung to her body in all the right ways. Her creamy skin was displayed to perfection and the heels she wore made her already great legs look amazing.
Everything in him went hard and tight. His heartbeat was crashing in his chest and his mind filled with sensual images of just how he hoped this evening would end.
“This place is gorgeous,” she said, shifting her gaze back to him before turning her head to take in the restaurant behind them and the people sitting behind the glass wall. “I can’t believe anyone would choose to be inside instead of out here.”
“Me either,” he said and reached for his glass of wine. He took a sip, admired the taste of it and silently toasted his cousin Travis, who owned and operated King Vineyards. The bottle of King Cabernet was perfect. As it should be. “But most women prefer to be inside where their hair doesn’t get messed up by the wind.”
She turned to grin at him, flipping her hair back over her shoulder. “Not me. I love the feel of the wind.”
“It looks good on you,” he said softly.
Katie took a sip of her wine and smiled. “The wine’s good, too, even if it is from the King winery.”
Frowning a bit, Rafe told himself he should have ordered a different wine, if only to keep her mind off the King family and her resentments toward them. Clearly, tonight would not be the night when he’d make a full confession. He would soon, though. He just had to find the right words. The right way to explain to her who he was and why he’d lied to her.
Just as he was about to change the subject, he thought better of it and decided to plunge in and try to subtly alter her opinion of the Kings.
“They can’t all be bad,” he said diffidently.
“Maybe not,” she allowed and he felt a small stirring of hope that was dashed a moment later. “But people that rich are so removed from everyday life they tend to look at the world differently than we do.”
One of his eyebrows lifted. “You know many rich people, do you?”
She smiled. “No. Just the one. But he left an impression.”
“Obviously,” Rafe murmured, still wishing he knew which member of his family had hurt her so badly.
Reaching across the table, Katie covered Rafe’s hand with her own and his fingers trapped hers instantly, holding on to her when she would have pulled back. She tipped her head to one side and said, “The difference between you and a rich guy is that you brought me here because you thought I’d love it. He would have brought me here to impress me. That’s a big difference, Rafe.”
He shifted a bit in his chair, uncomfortable with her explanation. The truth was, he’d brought her here because he had wanted to impress her—but he’d also known that she would love this place. So that was sort of a compromise, wasn’t it?
Still holding on to her hand, he stroked the pad of his thumb across her fingers and said quietly, “What if the rich guy really did bring you here because he thought you’d like it?”
She smiled and briefly gave his hand a squeeze. “It still wouldn’t have been as special as you bringing me here, because I know that for a working guy, this place is so expensive, you wouldn’t come here normally.”