How Cat Got a Life by Tatiana March Page A

mallet against the ball.
    The chinos clung to her backside as she leaned in to strike. Brock propped Tammy on her feet and stepped away. He felt his muscles tighten. For an hour, he’d been fighting an erection. Not in front of a child. He repeated the words in his mind like a mantra. So far it had worked.
    The mallet connected, sending the ball rolling through the gate. Cat gave shout of victory and raced to retrieve the ball. Brock turned his head. He didn’t dare to look in her direction. Didn’t she understand that her blouse sagged at the front, allowing him a peek at her breasts every time she bent down?
    “Three-two to the girls.” She loped back and grinned at him. “Well, Sheriff, where’s you sporting prowess? Unless you hit the ball through the gate—she pointed at an impossible angle behind a tuft of grass—you’ve been beaten.”
    Well and truly beaten, Brock thought. He shook his head as he took aim and swung the mallet. How on earth had he been able to resist her on Thursday night? Did he have ice water in his veins instead of blood? It tore him up to know that he’d had the opportunity to lose himself in her soft body, and he’d passed it by.
    “Whoops,” Cat said as he missed the gate. “You’ll just have to be satisfied with being second best.” Her green eyes sparkled in the sun. A dusting of freckles he hadn’t noticed before warmed her pale skin.
    Never. The word soared in his mind. I’ll never want to be second best for you.
    Tammy scampered across the lawn.
    “Sheri win?” She beamed up at him.
    “No, sweetheart.” He scooped her up. “You and Kitty win.”
    “Sheri kiss Tammy.” She pursed her mouth and closed her eyes.
    Brock pecked her lips. He hadn’t quite decided if the child’s sudden obsession with kissing suited him or not.
    “Sheri kiss Kitty,” Tammy demanded and reached a hand out for Cat.
    “Here we go again,” she said and walked up to him. It had to be the fourth time, and so far he’d limited himself to a brush on her cheek or forehead. Now, Cat imitated Tammy, pursing her lips, then rose on tiptoe and rubbed her mouth against his. It wasn’t even really a kiss, but it sent a pull of desire tugging deep inside him.
    “I have to go,” he said, and handed Tammy to Cat. “Remember, when you come back again, let me know, and I’ll take you out to dinner.”
    As Brock walked away, he cursed himself for the millionth time. Weeks, even months would go by before he got another chance with her. Worse, she might never get in touch when she returned. What about all those other men he was supposed to have prepared her for, those dates she planned to go out on? His hands clenched into fists as he considered the prospect of her with someone else.
    He’d been a damn, damn fool.
    ****
    Sleep wouldn’t come. Cat turned over and checked the time on the alarm clock. Ten past ten. She’d gone to bed early in preparation for the morning flight home. Every time she closed her eyes, Brock filled her vision. Smiling tenderly, his guarded amber eyes turning warm and inviting, the way they had as he watched her striding across the sunny field of grass.
    Karen’s words echoed in her mind. Brock’s a good man, you know. Don’t write him off just yet. Give him a chance.
    Remember, when you come back again, let me know, and I’ll take you out to dinner . His voice reached out to her, as if he’d spoken by her bedside
    The end of term when she’d return seemed forever, and in a flash Cat knew she couldn’t wait that long. Couldn’t wait at all. She flung the covers aside and jumped out of bed. Using one hand to dial Dalton’s cell phone, she began to pull on a pair of leggings and a tight long-sleeved top.
    “Dalton? Where are you?”
    “I’m in the bar on campus. What’s up?”
    “Have you been drinking? Is your judgment impaired?”
    “I only just got here,” Dalton said with a defensive huff. “And they know I’m only sixteen. They won’t serve me anything