Page 31 of Promise Me, Katie (Bennett Sisters #1)

Taking the glass from her hand and turning her around, Matthew lifted Katherine’s chin to lock eyes with her. “Just because Libby’s not here doesn’t mean anything has changed. I promised we’d wait, and I’m keeping that promise. Okay?”

“Okay.”

“Now, come on,” Matthew said. “Show me to your room.”

As she led him through the darkened house, up the stairs, and into her bedroom, Katherine’s pulse quickened with each step. But when they entered the room and she saw Addison’s things still laid out on the floor, she forgot all about being nervous.

“Sorry for the mess.” She rushed over, wanting to get everything picked up and put back inside the hope chest before she started to cry. “I forgot all this was still sitting out.”

Matthew followed, crouching down beside her. “Can I help?”

“You don’t have to.”

“I’d like to. And we don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”

“Okay.”

Quietly, they gathered up every precious item of Addison’s.

For Katherine, it felt almost as comfortable as cleaning up the kitchen had been.

No words needed. No discussion required.

They just worked through it together. Even though she could tell that he also had to work at keeping his curiosity at bay as he handed her item after item.

Last but not least, he arranged the photographs into a neat stack with a picture of Katherine holding Addison on top.

“Beautiful,” he said, making Katherine beam with pride.

“Yes, she was.”

“I meant the both of you.”

Without responding, Katherine took the photos from his hand.

“You know, I’ve seen that picture before,” he began. “When I was at your parents’ place. In fact, I saw quite a few pictures of you.”

Katherine had forgotten that Matthew went to dinner in the house she grew up in.

Oh, the pictures he must’ve seen. Bloodshot eyes with dark circles under them, no makeup, messy hair, and that exhausted expression she wore the weeks after Addy was born.

Not to mention all the awkward and embarrassing photos from her youth.

Hideous reminders of bad hairstyles and outdated fashion.

“Sorry about that.”

“I’m not,” he said softly. “You were a beautiful young woman. You still are.”

“I’m sure no one thought of me as beautiful back then,” she scoffed, closing the hope chest, remembering the times Max told her how tired and run-down she looked. How he’d say she should fix her hair or put on some makeup whenever company was coming by.

“What makes you say that?”

“No one thinks of a sleep-deprived mother as beautiful. You should’ve seen me the first few weeks after Addy was born.”

Katherine tried to move away, but Matthew grabbed her by the hand.

“I wish I had.” His voice was gentle, and she could hear the sincerity in it. “I’m sure you were still just as beautiful.”

“Please stop.”

“Why? Youarebeautiful. You were beautiful in that picture, and I’m sure you were just as beautiful the moment you gave birth.”

“I was red faced and sweaty with a bunch of broken blood vessels from a long and hard labor. Besides, you’ve seen me in the morning. You can imagine how crazy my hair looked.”

“What I can imagine,” Matthew began, touching her face, “is who made you feel that way. And I’m telling you he was wrong.”

Smiling, Katherine leaned into Matthew’s arms and let him hold her. Standing there in each other’s embrace, they both began to feel the day catching up with them as he yawned, and she answered with her own.

“Do you mind if I sleep in my boxers?” he asked, releasing her from his arms to get undressed.

As he unbuttoned his shirt, Katherine could see he was wearing the same kind of form-fitting tank top he’d worn to bed so many times before.

“I showered right after work, so that I can sleep in my shirt, too.”

“Umm…” She hesitated, her eyes darting back and forth.

“Katie, relax, you have nothing to worry about.”

“Okay,” she sighed in relief. “But if you’re wearing that, then I’m wearing one of my nightgowns. I’m not comfortable in pajama pants.”

“Why didn’t you tell me that before?”

“I thought you liked when I wear your old man pjs.”

“Over seeing you in a nightgown?”

“Point taken,” she said, offering her pinkie finger. “From now on, we choose to be comfortable. Deal?”

“Deal.”

After grabbing a few items from the closet, Matthew insisted Katherine use the adjoining bathroom while he went down the hall. When he returned to find her wearing a light robe that hung to the floor and clung to the curves of her body, his brows lifted, and he nodded his approval.

“Wow.”

“Thank you.” She blushed, fidgeting with the belt. The way he looked her over made her feel desirable in a way she’d never felt before. “I’m glad you like it.”

Pulling back the covers, she folded them neatly before going to the other side of the bed and doing the same thing.

Then, slipping out of the robe, she left it on the oversized armchair in the corner, then smoothed the fabric of the knee-length cotton and lace chemise over the curve of her hips before turning to see Matthew’s reaction.

“Wow, again. Katie, you look incredible.”

“Thank you.”

“And you’re sure the boxers are okay?”

Katherine didn’t realize she’d been staring at Matthew’s bare legs. Admiring them through his uniform, a pair of jeans, or even pajama pants didn’t do them the justice they deserved. They looked strong and hard, and she wanted so much to touch them.

“Katie?”

“Huh… I mean, yes, those are fine,” she managed to get out, hoping she appeared calm even though her heart and mind were racing.

Rounding the bed to give Matthew the side he preferred, Katherine revealed the true length of her nightgown.

“I take it back. You look beyond incredible. You look irresistible.”

Smiling, Katherine slipped back into the bathroom for a bottle of lotion. Squeezing a dollop into the palm of her hand, she went to Matthew and held her hand out for him to smell it. “Too girly?”

“You could never be too girly for me.”

“I meant the lotion,” she laughed. “Is it too flowery?”

“Not at all. It reminds me of you.”

As Katherine sat down on the bed, she patted the other side, inviting Matthew to join her. As she proceeded to rub lotion down the length of her bare legs, Matthew sucked in a breath.

“Tell me something that’ll get my mind off of what you’re doing.”

Katherine looked over at Matthew and smiled. He looked as though he were ready to pounce. “How about you tell me about the rest of your day.”

“Okay… umm, it was a pretty standard workday,” Matthew began in search of something more to say. “Well, aside from my parents showing up announced. Oh, and someone calling about their dog stuck in a tree.”

Katherine laughed. “Don’t you mean their cat?”

“No, it was a dog. Apparently, some lady’s grandkids took her Chihuahua up in their treehouse and forget about him.”

“Oh, no, not again. You must mean Button.”

“Yeah, how’d you know?”

“This isn’t the first time he’s gone missing,” she said, snapping the cap shut on the lotion. “Poor little guy must’ve been hungry and scared.”

“I don’t think so. He seemed pretty content. The kids had left some snacks up there and a busted sprinkler head was shooting water inside the treehouse forming a puddle for him to drink from.”

“Why didn’t Mrs. Davis call the fire department?”

“That was my question. Justin said something about her hating them.”

“Oh, that’s right.” Katherine rolled her eyes just before Matthew gave her quizzical look. “It’s a long story. Have Justin tell you about it.”

“That bad, huh?”

“No, he just loves to tell that story. You’ll see.” She smirked as she rubbed the excess lotion from her hands up and down both her arms. “How long are your parents in town?”

“A few days. By the way, they’re gonna want to meet you. Think you’d be up for it tomorrow?”

“You told them about me?” Katherine asked, getting up to put the lotion back on the bathroom counter. What she really wanted to ask was if he’d told his parents about them being a coupleor about the woman living next door.

“Of course I did. I wanted them to know where I’d be. Especially if Libby needs me in the middle of the night.”

“Wait… are your parents next door?”

Matthew looked puzzled. “Well, yeah, I told you they were here.”

“Oh,” she said, then walked into the bedroom. “I guess I thought they were staying somewhere else.”

“You mean like a hotel?” Matthew said when she reappeared. “You don’t know my mom. She wouldn’t go for that. She’d tell me she didn’t drive three hours in nightmare traffic to see her only grandchild, then wind up at the Holiday Inn. Besides, you know there’s plenty of room at my house.”

The more Katherine listened, the more her body grew heavy.

“Katie, are you okay?” Matthew rushed over to steady her. “You look like you’re gonna be sick. Do you feel sick?”

Katherine nodded as her body went limp.

“Come on, let’s get you over to the bed.” After getting her settled, Matthew got a cool, damp cloth for her forehead and sat beside her. “What else can I do?”

“Nothing,” she whispered as her head swirled in dizzying circles. She imagined sewing scarlet A’s on her shirts and an extra-large one on the front of her overalls.

“Do you think you could stick your finger down your throat?”

“What?”

“So you can throw up. You might’ve gotten food poisoning.”

“That’s not what this is.”

As she tried to sit up, the washcloth from her forehead fell into her lap. On its way down, it brushed against her chest, leaving a damp spot across the front of her nightgown, rendering it virtually see-through.

“Let me fix that for you!” Matthew said, rushing to the closet and yanking the first shirt off its hanger before hurrying back to cover Katherine and wrapping the blouse around her like a straitjacket.

Despite how bad she felt, she laughed. “Are you trying to cover me or cart me off to the asylum?”

“Sorry, did I hurt you?”

“No, but I’d rather have my robe. Can you get it for me?”

“Sure.” Then Matthew did as she asked. “But if you’re not sick, then what’s wrong?”

“Exactly what did you tell your parents about us?”

“I told them that we’re friends.”

“Friends?”

“What’s wrong with saying friends? We are friends, aren’t we?”

“Of course, we’re friends,” Katherine managed, hoping that answering with a smile made her words more convincing. But her smile was forced and eventually faltered. When she got up to put her robe back on the chair, Matthew followed her to the opposite side of the bed.

“Don’t turn your back on me, Katie. That’s not going to help us.”

Katherine bit back a sob and turned to face him.

“Tell me why that bothered you.”

With a heavy sigh, she said, “Because I don’t wanna be just friends. I thought you wanted more than that. Have you changed your mind?”

“Not at all. But I didn’t wanna tell my parents too much about us.

Honestly, I don’t wanna tell anyone too much about us.

People can know we’re together, but they don’t have to know everything.

” Matthew sat down in the big armchair, pulling Katherine onto his lap.

“Look, I’ve done a lot of thinking about what Peter said how people will naturally have opinions about us—good, bad, or indifferent.

But we don’t have to open the door to any of it.

And for the record, I plan on protecting you from the bad ones as much as I can. ”

“I’m okay with that.”

“Good. Because, like Peter said, the fastest thing to come between two people is other people and their opinions. It should be you, me, and God at the center of this relationship and no one else. And that includes our families.”

As Katherine’s fear subsided, she felt like she was falling in love with Matthew all over again.

“I don’t want what we have now or what we’ll have in the future to be influenced by anyone but us.”

Katherine leaned in for one of Matthew’s gentle kisses, but instead, his kiss grew possessive and demanding.

“Do you still trust me?”

“Yes,” she said in a breathy whisper. She didn’t know why he was asking, but she also didn’t care. All she cared about was him kissing her like that again.

“Then come with me,” he said, moving them from the chair to the bed. “I want you to lie down and close your eyes.”