Catia (Starkis Family #6) (2 page)

I gave her a quick hug to hide the tears in my eyes. I was so happy for her, for both of them, but sometimes their relationship only made the void in my life seem bigger.

“Hey, can I get you anything to drink or eat?” Kara asked. “I made cookies today, the kind with the chocolate chunks, like Mom used to make.”

“Maybe later.” My stomach was churning, and I knew it would until she told me I hadn’t made the biggest mistake of my life. “I did something crazy.”

“What else is new?” Kara asked, laughing. “We expect that from you.”

“No, this is really out there. Even for me.”

“Go on,” Kara said, shifting slightly as she tightened the black swing sweater around her.

“I bought a house in the city.”

Kara’s jaw dropped. “Oh my God! Seriously?”

Since I’d never talked to my sister about moving to New York, I’d expected her to be stunned. “Sold everything in Chicago, right down to my car.” Before she could ask why, I rushed on, “I figure since you and Darius are here and Mom and Dad will be spending even more time in the Hamptons once the baby is born, it just makes sense for me to be here too.”

“I’m so happy right now,” Kara said, squeezing my shoulder. “But I can’t believe you didn’t let me go house hunting with you. That would have been so much fun.”

“Honestly, I bought the first house I looked at.” It had been the only one in the running, in my opinion.

“I can’t believe Mom and Dad didn’t tell me about this. Did you swear them to secrecy?”

“They didn’t find out until yesterday.” I hadn’t wanted them to try to talk me out of it. I’d made up my mind, and no matter the outcome, I was determined to at least try to make this new arrangement work. “I’ve been working with the human resources manager in Chicago to find a suitable replacement for me for the past month. She finally found someone, and they’re starting on Monday. I figured I’d wait to tell the folks until it was a done deal.”

“Smart,” Kara said, nodding. “You know how they worry, especially about you since you’re the only one still single. If you told them you were going to be living in New York City all alone, they’d probably throw a fit and try to talk you out of it.”

“I won’t be alone exactly.” When I told her who my new neighbor would be, I had no doubt she would question my sanity.

“You’re going to be living with someone?” Kara asked, frowning. “You couldn’t even stand living with me half the time. Why would you want a roommate?”

“I won’t have a roommate, but I do know my neighbor quite well.”

“Your neighbor? Who’s your…?” Kara’s brows drew together as the pieces obviously fell into place for her. “Where did you say this place was?”

“Forest Hills.”

Kara’s mouth dropped open. “Shut. Up! Your new neighbor is Chase?”

I hadn’t even told her the craziest part yet. “You know I fell in love with the area when I visited his house while we were working on the restaurant. I like that you’re basically in the city but it still feels like more of a town. Did you know the population is only—”

“Hold on a minute,” Kara said, raising her hand as she shook her head. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but you’ve barely spoken to Chase since you left town, right?”

We’d crossed paths at family events a few times, but the way he’d shut me down made it obvious he was still angry with me. I wouldn’t be able to mend fences from halfway across the country though. “Yeah, so?”

“So why are you doing this?”

It was a legitimate question but not one I’d expected from my sister. She’d been the one telling me I had to stick my neck out and take a risk with Chase. “Why not?”

“You don’t just uproot your life for a man you’re not even involved with, Cat. That’s crazy, even for you.”

I may have been a little wild, but I’d never been impulsive when it came to men. I knew Kara would understand after I’d explained. After the years she and Dustin had spent apart, she knew how hard it could be.

“I’m going to be honest with you. It’s been a lot harder than I thought it would be, moving back to Chicago and trying to get back to my normal life. Without Chase…” I shrugged. “I don’t know, nothing made sense anymore. I really tried settling back into my routine, you know, work, clubbing, parties, dating, but it just felt wrong. Like I’d changed somehow and that wasn’t the life I was supposed to be living anymore.”

I could tell Kara was surprised, but she just nodded. “I got the feeling you’d slowed down a lot. Used to be I’d call you on a Friday or Saturday night and you’d be getting ready to go out with the girls. Lately, you’ve been at home when I call.”

I hadn’t become a homebody or anything, but I was just a lot more selective about how I spent my time now and who I spent it with. Instead of chasing a good time with a bottle in my hand, I’d slowed down and started to appreciate the beauty and rich culture in the beautiful city I called home. My girlfriends claimed I was getting old, but I preferred to believe I was finally growing up.

“I’ve done a lot of soul-searching over the past year. I considered all the reasons I haven’t been able to have a real relationship since college, and I realized if I was ever going to put myself out there for a man, it should be Chase.”

I’d filled my sister in on the guy who’d used me in college to try to get a position with our father’s company, but she thought I was being a coward for using that as an excuse not to try again. Turned out she was right. I’d lost the best thing that had ever happened to me because I was running scared.

“I’ve been telling you that all along,” Kara said, rolling her eyes. “I’m glad you finally came to your senses. Not all guys care about our trust funds. Some guys, like Dustin and Chase, are more interested in making it on their own than cashing in on someone else’s hard work.”

The fact that Chase had made it on his own was one of the things I loved and admired most about him. His father had been a construction worker, and Chase had learned the business from the ground up by working with his dad every summer. Now he owned the largest commercial construction company in the state and took care of his parents.

“You know that was wasn’t the real reason I was afraid to go all in with Chase.”

“It was because of his girls.” Kara took a deep breath.

“What?” I frowned, getting the sense she was holding back.

“Seems they’ve been giving him a bit of a hard time since he got custody.”

“What do you mean?”

Since Chase and I had kept our distance, I could only glean information about him from my siblings, but I didn’t want to seem obsessed by asking about him every time we talked. All I knew was that he was still single, and that was the most important factor in my mind. The rest of our obstacles, I was determined to overcome.

“I guess they miss their mom,” Kara said, placing her hand over her stomach. “She may not have been perfect, but she was their mom. I think they’re lashing out at Chase for taking them away from her, and they’re mad at her for not being the kind of mom the rest of their friends have…” She shook her head. “It’s just a messy situation. He has a lot going on.”

“But the girls still see her though, right?” Chase wasn’t the kind of guy who would keep his kids from their mother, no matter how angry he may have been with her.

“They have supervised visitation with her every other weekend, but she’s bitter after the whole custody battle. Her alimony was cut in half, and of course her child support was cut off. She had to move from that big fancy house into an apartment, and let’s just say she’s not too happy about it.”

“I guess not.” I’d never met Chase’s ex-wife, but based on what he’d told me, she was a materialistic person who’d encouraged him to work hard so she could have the finer things in life. “But why supervised visitation?”

“A lot of things turned up during the custody battle. Chase felt his daughters may be at risk with her, so he had a detective follow Karen to make sure she wasn’t doing anything that would jeopardize their safety. Turns out she left them alone while they were sleeping a couple of times so she could go out drinking with her friends.”

My jaw dropped as I imagined how Chase had reacted to that news. “Are you serious? But I don’t get it. They had the money. Why not just get a nanny?”

“Apparently her lawyer told her it could hurt her case, make it look like she wasn’t making her kids a priority, since she was supposed to be a stay-at-home mom. I suspect it also had something to do with the fact that the nanny’s wages would have come out of her alimony check and she wasn’t willing to share.”

“Sounds like the kids have been through a lot.” First their parents’ divorce, then being shuffled from one home to another. “They’re only five and six, right?”

Kara nodded. “Babies, really. And I can’t imagine how difficult it is for a big, tough guy like Chase to handle two spoiled prima donnas.”

We shared a smile. I suspected our father would have referred to us the same way when we were their age.

“So how is he handling it?” I wondered what I could do to alleviate some of his stress. He was such a good man, and I hated to think of his life in turmoil, especially since he was only trying to do what he thought was best for his kids.

“Well, his parents have been a huge help with the kids and have done their best to mediate any conflicts. Thankfully Elsie and Emily adore their nana and papa. I know they sleep over there a lot when Chase is working late or whatever, but they’re in their seventies. Chase worries it’s too much of a burden to place on them.”

“I can imagine.” Getting closer to Chase would mean developing a relationship with his daughters, and I couldn’t imagine how they would respond to me if they were having trouble with their father.

“Anyhow,” Kara said, “I’m sure he’ll figure things out. They just need a little more time to adjust to all the changes.”

Which meant developing a relationship would be at the bottom of Chase’s priority list right now. It was disappointing, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t be his friend and hope that it evolved into more when the time was right. “I guess you’re right.”

“Have you decided what you’re going to do about a job?” Kara asked.

My sister knew I was a workaholic. I hadn’t been without a job since I was seventeen, so I couldn’t pretend I was taking some time to figure things out. She would never buy that.

“This is going to sound even crazier than the house thing,” I said, rubbing my temple as I prepared for her lecture. “Chase’s company hired me. Only he doesn’t know about it yet.”

“What?” Kara shrieked, inching back on the couch. “How is that even possible?”

I shrugged, thinking it wasn’t as ludicrous as she made it sound. Oh hell, who was I kidding? Yes, it was. I bit my lip, thinking about how easily things had come together for me, almost as though they were meant to be. “I noticed a posting on their website for a project manager, and that’s when my plan started to take shape. I emailed my resume to his human resources manager, and she called me the same day because, let’s face it, I have a lot of experience in commercial construction projects, right?”

Kara nodded vigorously, rolling her hand. “And? Did you tell her about your relationship with Chase?”

“No, of course not. I couldn’t.” Nor could I risk crossing paths with him if I came in for an interview. “I told her since I lived in Chicago, it would be difficult for me to manage face-to-face interviews, so I suggested we Skype instead.”

“And she went for it?” Kara asked, sounding incredulous.

“Yeah, it wasn’t the first time they’d hired a qualified candidate from out of town that way.”

“So let me get this straight,” Kara said, raising her hand as she shook her head. “You’re not only living near Chase, but you’re working for him too? And he doesn’t know?”

“Living across the street from him actually.” I blushed when Kara stared at me as though she was waiting for me to tell her I was just kidding. “What? The house is great. Sure, it needs some minor cosmetic updates, but—”

“This is the craziest thing you’ve ever done,” Kara said, covering her face with her hands. “I’ve always known you’re not afraid of change and you embrace risk, but come on, sis, this is just…”

“I know.” From her perspective, it must have seemed as if I’d taken a break from reality, but I honestly felt more centered and grounded than I had in a long time. “But this just feels right. Remember when I told you Chase said he was falling in love with me but I couldn’t say it back?”

Kara nodded. “Yeah, it was that night you spent together in the hotel, right? That’s when you decided to go back to Chicago because you realized you could never give Chase what he needed.”

“Yeah, well, the problem wasn’t that I wasn’t in love with him.” Before she could interject, I said, “I know that’s the way I made it sound, but I was in love with him. I knew that even then. I just didn’t think I could be what he needed me to be.”

“I don’t follow.”

“When he talked to me about his ex, I saw so many similarities between us that it kind of scared me, to be honest.”

Kara scowled. “From what I’ve heard, she’s a selfish bitch who puts herself above her kids. You would never do that.”

I appreciated my sister’s faith in me, but I’d had to do a lot of soul-searching before I could be sure. “I loved him too much to take him on another emotional roller coaster ride the way she did. I had to go home and figure things out before I could say for sure that I was willing to go all in with him.”

“Now you can say that without a doubt?”

“I can.”

Kara squealed before pulling me into her arms. “I’m so happy! You have no idea how long I’ve been hoping you guys would work things out.”

“Then you think he’d be willing to give me another chance?”

Kara looked thoughtful before her face broke out in a wide grin. “I think he’s going to make you work for it, but that’s half the fun, right?”

That wicked gleam in her eye told me it was time to put on my big girl panties ‘cause I was about to embark on a wild ride.

Chase

Since it was Monday morning, I should have been well-rested and ready to tackle the challenges of a new work week, but Elsie and Emily had put me through the emotional wringer with their temper tantrums all weekend. I just wanted to go home, fall into bed, pull the covers over my head, and forget that hundreds of people relied on me to put food on their table.