How was she going to end this weird rendezvous? She was about to scream out in frustration. Moments ago, she was this close to kissing those full lips of his. Donovan wanted her too. She’d heard him groan, and the sound made her pull back.
She suddenly remembered her hurt feelings, and it angered her all over again. This, whatever it was, had to end right now. Whatever he was doing, he needed to stop it. She wouldn’t let him play with her head—her heart either. She stomped across the hall and halted in front of the sofa, next to the coffee table.
“I want you out that door. Right. Now,” Kate said with her fists balled on her hips.
Donovan had the nerve to smirk at her. Smirk! Kate looked up toward the ceiling, feeling frustrated. She let go of the breath she was holding and narrowed her eyes in an attempt to hold his stare. She wasn’t about to back down. Kate had always been the most easygoing, the one that wouldn’t make a fuss, who was sure to comply. But something in his twinkling gray eyes told her to stand her ground.
“Make me,” he smirked.
Kate gasped. “You did not just say that, Donovan!”
He chuckled and seemed truly amused by the show she was giving him. “Sorry, cupcake, but you and I have certain things to talk about. I’m staying.”
“What on earth do you and I have to talk about? We never talk,” she screeched. And after taking a deep breath, she added in a whisper, “You don’t even like me.”
In the blink of an eye, he was up from the sofa and holding her cheeks with both palms as he locked eyes and said, “You’re infuriating, you know that? How could you say that I don’t like you? How could you even think that for a second? You are all I can think of.”
Kate blinked in surprise and swallowed. She was at a loss for words. She stared into his icy gray eyes and tried to see if she could reveal the lie there. But she came up empty. It looked like he truly meant it.
“I don’t understand,” she whispered.
“I know, cupcake. I don’t understand it myself.”
He leaned forward, and she held her breath while closing her eyes, sure he was going to kiss her.
“Oh my God! I can’t believe it.”
Kate startled and opened her eyes to see Errin standing in the living room doorway. Her younger sister had the same aquamarine eyes, little freckles on her nose, and long, wavy hair like Kate. If you would forgo the curves on Kate, they could pass for twins if Errin’s hair wasn’t a deep honey color instead of Kate’s dark brown.
“How long has this been going on? Oh, I can’t wait to tell Kayla about you two.” Errin clapped her hands joyfully.
But before Kate could say anything, Donovan’s hands were pulled from her cheeks as if she’d burned him. He turned around and insisted, “There is nothing going on, Errin. There is nothing to tell. Forget it.”
What was he saying? He said she was all he could think of only a moment ago, and in the next breath, he said there was “nothing going on”? Tears welled up in her eyes as she brushed by Donovan.
He didn’t reach out for her, nor did he say anything when she rushed out of the living room. That probably hurt most. He didn’t even try to talk to her. She went into her bedroom and slammed the door shut. After locking the door, she threw herself on the bed and cried into her pillow.
“Don’t you think for one second you can treat my sister like that, you asshole,” Kate heard Errin reprimand him.
“I’m trying to do the right thing here,” Donovan said, but clearly her sister was having none of that.
“Ha, the right thing? The right thing for you would be to not hurt my sister!” Errin got louder and louder, and the thin walls in the apartment ensured that Kate heard every word. She loved Errin, but she didn’t want her younger sister fighting her battles. That was even more embarrassing.
She pulled herself from the bed and walked toward the door but halted when she heard Donovan’s angry voice. “I know. All I ever wanted to do is to take care of her. To make sure she’s safe and doesn’t get hurt. And now I’ve done the very thing I didn’t want to. Fuck! I’ve tried to stay away, Errin, by God, I’ve tried.”
“Well, all I know is that you’re not worthy of my sister. If you even have to think about whether or not you want to be with her, then you’re clearly not good enough for her.” Errin’s voice seemed to have turned down a notch after his confession.
“You’re right. I’m leaving. Please take care of her.”
“You really are an asshole. I’ll be sure to remind my sister of that, you know,” Errin shouted.
When Kate heard the slamming of the front door at Donovan’s departure, she turned and slid down to the floor against her bedroom door. Her face rested against her pulled-up knees, and she cried like she’d never cried before. The feeling of not being good enough from when she was younger came back in full force.
“Kate? Please open the door…. Let me in, sis,” Errin spoke softly on the other side of the door.
“No, please… I need a minute.” Kate hiccupped.
“If you don’t open the door right now, I’m going over to Duncan and Kayla’s, and I’ll be sure to tell them what that bastard was doing here and how you’re crying your eyeballs out over him.”