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I give him my best innocent smile when I look up from my menu. “Oops?”

“Bryce, why didn’t you tell Carter I was going to be here this weekend?” Kat doesn’t even give him a second to get comfortable before the interrogation starts. I have to say, I’m kind of impressed. “You told me you’d tell him.”

He gives her his innocent smile. “Must have slipped my mind. It’s not like it’s a big deal. Right, Carter?”

I position myself in a way that hides my glare from everyone except Bryce. He shrinks back under it, leaning closer to Josie like she’ll save him.

“It’s fine,” I say in a tone I hope tells him to let it go. Not wanting to make Kat feel uncomfortable, I turn my focus back to her. “It’s seriously fine, Kat. I’m happy you’re here. What’d you think about your first meet?”

Between ordering and waiting for our food, Kat dives into all her questions. We all get a few laughs out of her slightly clueless understanding of the sport and what she thinks is happening. For the most part, the questions are legitimate, and I think she might have even had some fun. She talks about the feeling of excitement that overcame her as people cheered for their favorite swimmer, even if she wasn’t sure what was going on.

I spent most of that time watching Katrina and struggled not to become completely captivated by this woman, but man, is it hard. There’s something about the way her eyes sparkle when she laughs, or the way she fiddles with the ends of her long, blonde hair when she’s nervous or unsure. Her personality meshes easily with all of us, like she’s been part of this group forever. Like she’s the missing piece.

Except she’s not, and she can’t be. She’s with someone else, not me, and any type of daydream I get wrapped up in is only going to result in me getting hurt.

When our dinner arrives, the conversation drifts to something calmer; not all of us talking over each other and fighting to be heard. I glance up from my pasta to see Katrina enjoying hers, but she’s looking around like she’s waiting for something to happen or looking for a conversation to join.

I can start a conversation with her, we’ve talked a hundred times in the last month or so. She’s one of the easiest people to talk to, but I don’t know where to start. She catches my eye and smiles before taking a bite of her food.

“So, you’ve never told me—what made you want to be a contractor?” She looks up at me in surprise. “I mean, I know your stepfather is one; did you want to follow in his footsteps or something?”

“God, no.” She laughs, shaking her head. “I just liked the idea of being the one that got to build something that’ll last. Architects can draw and design buildings, but I’m the one who oversees them as they become a reality. It’s always been more interesting to me to focus on that side of things.”

“So you’re not much of a daydreamer, then?” I ask, ignoring Bryce listening in to our conversation from my right.

She gives me a coy smile, drawing my attention to her more. “Wrong again, Carter. I’m a huge daydreamer, but I like to see them come to life more. Building and interior design are also things I’m passionate about, but I decided not to let that be my focus.”

“Which is why you’re helping Josie and Bryce with the house,” I point out, and she nods. “Josie’s been telling me about some of the plans you’ve got and they all sound great.”

She smiles softly. “The two of you are pretty close, aren’t you?”

I shrug. “Next to Bryce, she’s one of my best friends; Mia too. That’s what you get with this group. Best to be honest with you about it up front.”

She stares at me across the table in pure amazement. “What?”

My brow furrows as I look back at her. “You’re part of this group now, Kat. Did you think you wouldn’t be?”

“But . . . I’m just the contractor,” she argues. “I’m not here permanently.”

“You think distance bothers any of us? This is going to be the first time we’ll all be in the same spot, ever. Charleston isn’t that far away.”

“What are the two of you talking about down there?”

I look down the table toward Mia, who is staring at us expectantly. “About how Kat is part of the group now.”

“Without a doubt.” With a brow furrowed, she turns to Kat. “Wait, did you not realize that?”

When I look back at Kat, she has that same mystified look in her eye, like she’s grappling to understand the reality she’s in. “I do now,” she promises all of us, and the table goes back to different conversations effortlessly.

Throughout the night, Kat keeps looking at me like I’ve handed her the moon, but that can’t be true, because I’m sure she handed it to me.

March2024

“So I was thinking we could check out a couple furniture stores,” I suggest, “that way I can start getting a sense of your style.”

Josie and I are walking down the hall toward her apartment with a tray of coffees from a local café balanced in my hand while she carries a bag of pastries in hers. We’d just come from an early morning yoga session we’d started doing at least once a week together and we’re now trying to figure out what to do for the weekend. I have no work to do on the pool, so I could start focusing on the house.

They’re set to close on the house in the next couple of weeks, getting keys the same day. After that, it’ll be full steam ahead. While design isn’t necessarily my strongest area, I’ve been able to draw up some rough plans for them and Liam has agreed to help once they close, giving him time to finish up some other projects. In the meantime, I want to get to know what they’re looking for, as I’ll be the one authorizing most of the design choices and execute them on my own.