Heart-Shaped Hack (17 page)

“What about your mom? Do you ever talk to her?”

“She’s remarried now. I keep track of her, out of curiosity more than anything. I call and leave a message once or twice a year. She doesn’t call back. I don’t give her money. I would if she asked for it, but she can’t be bothered to learn enough about me to know I have it. So I give it to others, people who are more deserving. It makes me feel good.”

He grew quiet then. Kate shifted her body so she was lying on top of him. She pressed her lips tenderly to his and said, “I think you’re amazing.”

She kissed him again, slowly, softly, gently. His body stirred underneath her, and she responded with her touch because at that moment there was nothing she wanted more than to share that closeness with him again.

Maybe she didn’t know how it would feel to be loved by Ian, but she knew how it would feel to love him because that night, in his bed after hearing his story, Kate’s heart felt like it would burst and she fell hard.

The next morning when she awakened wrapped in Ian’s arms, he nuzzled his face in her hair and asked if she’d accept his donation.

“Yes,” she said. She could no sooner deny his request than she could the hungry people who walked into her food pantry, and he probably knew it. “But I’d like it to be my Christmas gift from you, and I’d rather it came from you personally. I don’t care that you take money from cyberthieves, but there’s no justifiable reason for you to do it on my behalf.”

“Whatever you want,” he said, and both of them were happy.

A few days later, she and Ian met at Target after work. If he was going to donate the money, she wanted him to see what he was paying for. They worked from the list Kate had brought, making sure to buy toys in a variety of age ranges that any child would enjoy, regardless if it was a boy or a girl. By the time they were done, neither of their SUVs could hold anything more. Because Ian was providing the toys, the organizations she was partnering with were able to put the money they’d raised toward the holiday meal, and everything was set for Christmas Eve.

Afterward, Kate insisted on taking Ian out for dinner and to Nicollet Mall where they walked hand in hand, looking at lights and checking out the Christmas Market. Then, when they were sipping mulled wine and watching the winter fireworks, he squeezed her hand and said, “I am falling so hard for you.”

She smiled up at him because his words filled her with joy. Kate wanted to tell him she’d already fallen. She wanted to tell him that when she woke up in his arms she wondered what it would be like to wake up in them for the rest of her life. She wanted to tell him that
his
babies were the ones she’d been thinking about lately. But she worried it was too early to say any of those things, so she squeezed back and said, “Me too.”

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Ian was sitting on Kate’s couch with his laptop. When she walked into the room, he set the computer on the coffee table, took off his glasses, and said, “C’mere, sweetness. I’ve got a number six for you.”

“I
love
the number six.” She sat down on his lap, and he cupped her face and pulled her in for a kiss.

“When do you need to leave?” he asked, sliding his hands under her sweater so that his warm palms rested on her bare skin.

Kate was meeting some friends from college for a Timberwolves game. She wasn’t a huge basketball fan, but the group had been going once or twice a season for years and used the outings as a way to stay in touch.

“Soon.”

“You don’t sound very excited.”

“It’s hard to get excited when it’s so cold outside and so warm and cozy in here.” Though Kate enjoyed getting together with her old friends, she was tired and really didn’t feel like venturing out on such a bitterly cold night right before Christmas. But the tickets had already been purchased, so she was going.

“I know a little something about hard and excited,” Ian said, a devilish smile on his face.

She smiled back. “Do you ever.” Kate gave him a long, warm, soft kiss, relishing the way it made him groan. “Will you stay? Wait here for me until I get back?” Though she couldn’t remember the last time he’d slept at his place, Kate didn’t want Ian to think he had to go home just because she was leaving. She wanted him to still be on her couch when she returned from the game.

“Of course.”

“Good.” Reluctantly she lifted herself off his lap. “I’ll be home as soon as I can. Keep your fingers crossed that the game doesn’t go into overtime.”

The Target Center was packed when Kate arrived. She and her friends spent a lively fifteen minutes talking and having a drink in the concession area. There were seven of them in the group, four women and three men. A man named Derek smiled when he spotted Kate. She’d known him since her senior year of college and had once been very interested in dating him. It had never worked out between them because they never seemed to be single at the same time. Derek was attractive, smart and confident, but over the past few years Kate had noticed a bitterness creeping in as the glory days of college gave way to the not-so-glory days of a lackluster career in middle management.

When it was time to take their seats, Derek followed closely behind Kate, sloshing beer down the back of her sweater when she stopped to let someone pass by.

“Sorry,” Derek said, pawing at her with a napkin once they sat down. The area where Ian’s warm hands had been was now cold and wet.

“That’s okay,” she said, brushing his hands away. “It was an accident.”

“You’re looking good, Kate.”

“Thanks.” She glanced down the row, wishing she was sitting closer to the other women. Lisa was sitting on the other side of Derek, but Brooke and Julie were clear at the other end.

“Heard you and Stuart broke up.”

“Yes.”

“You were together a long time.”

“Five years,” Kate said.

“That’s rough.”

Kate didn’t appreciate Derek’s pitying expression. “Well, I broke up with him.”

“How are you holding up?”

“I’m doing fine. Really.”

Further conversation was cut short when the announcers began the pregame show and the players took to the court. Derek rested his arm across the back of Kate’s seat, but since he wasn’t actually touching her, she thought it would seem petty if she asked him to move it. During a break in the action, she tried to lean around Derek to talk to Lisa. Unfortunately, this caused Kate’s body to press up against Derek’s spread legs, and he did nothing to move them out of the way. She settled back into her seat, having forgotten about Derek’s arm, which now rested lower on the back of her seat. She scooted forward slightly to avoid his touch.

“I’m going to get another beer. Want one?” Derek asked.

Kate held up her nearly full beer. “No thanks.” She was finally able to talk to Lisa while Derek was gone.

When he returned, he settled into his seat and put his arm around her again. “Remember how we were never single at the same time? Now that we are, we should go out sometime.”

“Actually, I’m seeing someone.”

He whistled. “Didn’t waste much time, did you?” His voice carried an edge she hadn’t noticed before, and Kate wondered how many beers he’d had at home before he joined them. “Guess the early bird gets the Kate. I’ll remember that next time.”

“It’s been over six months since Stuart and I broke up,” she pointed out.

“So where is this guy?”

Derek knew as well as she did that significant others had never been a part of these outings, which was something that had always bothered Stuart. “He’s waiting for me at home.”

“How long have you been seeing him?”

Kate didn’t really want to give Derek any ammunition by admitting she’d been dating Ian for such a short time, but she didn’t need to prove anything to him either. She knew what she had with Ian was more than a fling. “November.”

He stopped short of rolling his eyes, but the look on his face told Kate he’d already dismissed Ian. “Sounds like early days to me.”

She smiled sweetly. “And sometimes you just
know
.”

“Let’s go to dinner next week. We can catch up.”

“I can’t. I’ll be having dinner with my boyfriend.”

“I’m sure he’ll understand if you save one night for me.”

“Thanks, but I’ll pass,” Kate said firmly.

“Come on, you can have dinner with an old friend. Bring him along.” He grinned at Kate. “Tell him I’m willing to share if he is.”

Kate laughed dryly. “I’m not yours to share, buddy. Seriously, how many beers have you had?” Had Derek always been an asshole and she hadn’t noticed, or was this the alcohol talking?

He should have paid more attention to her incredulous—and irritated—expression, but instead he smiled and held up his empty glass. “Not nearly enough.”

Kate wished she hadn’t come and was glad when Derek left to go to the bathroom at the start of halftime. Her phone buzzed.

Ian:
Having fun?

Kate:
No. I’m irritated, wet, uncomfortable, and cold.

Ian:
I’m confused by your words considering you’re at an indoor basketball game with friends.

Kate:
I’m trapped at the end of the row so I can’t talk to anyone, and Derek spilled beer down my back.

Ian:
Derek?

Kate:
The token drunk guy in our group, or at least he will be by the end of the evening if he doesn’t slow down. He’s being an ass.

Derek came back, holding a giant beer. He scowled when he noticed Kate typing on her phone. That didn’t stop him from putting his arm on the back of her chair
again.

Ian:
Is he bothering you?

Kate:
It’s nothing I can’t handle. But if you’re watching the game on TV and they happen to flash a picture of us on the Jumbotron, it was not my idea for him to rest his arm across the back of my chair. Also, he’s miffed that you scooped me up when I was single. How dare you!

Ian:
Please elaborate.

Kate:
I told him about you, but he’s still acting like he has a shot with me. He said he’s willing to share if you are.

Kate was surprised when there wasn’t an immediate response from Ian. He didn’t strike her as the jealous type, but his extreme confidence made her think he might have something to say about Derek’s behavior.

She was looking right at the Jumbotron when the first message appeared on the screen.

KATE IS MINE

She sat bolt upright and looked around to see if anyone else had noticed, watching as Derek took a big drink of his beer and squinted at the screen. Turning away from him slightly, she pulled out her phone.

Kate:
Oh my God. You did NOT hack the Jumbotron.

Ian:
You know, I believe I did.

BEAUTIFUL KATE BELONGS TO ME

People in the crowd had begun to point at the Jumbotron.

Lisa leaned toward Kate. “Didn’t you say your new boyfriend’s name was Ian?”

“Well, yes,” Kate said, noticing that Derek was listening in. “But those are both pretty common names.”

“You can pay to have a message put on the Jumbotron,” Lisa said. “I read something about it in the program.”

Kate shook her head. “Trust me, it’s not him.”

Kate:
I’m never leaving you at home without a sitter again.

COME HOME KATE I MISS YOU

The announcers joined in on the fun. “I don’t know who Kate is, but she’s a lucky girl.”

More pointing, more cheering.

Heads turned as people tried to pinpoint “Kate’s” location.

“Kate, if you’re in the stands,” the announcer said, “stand up and wave your arms so we can get a shot of you.” A cameraman panned the crowd, and a live video feed of the fans was now appearing on the Jumbotron.

“Are you sure, Kate?” Lisa asked again. “Maybe he did it to surprise you?”

“Bit of a lame surprise, if you ask me,” Derek said. Which no one had.

Kate:
Derek just said the messages were “lame.” And he still has his arm around the back of my chair.

STOP TOUCHING KATE

THIS MEANS YOU DEREK

ESPECIALLY YOU

AND I DON’T SHARE

EVER

“Look!” Lisa said, pointing at the screen. The crowd was no longer paying any attention to the halftime show. They were too busy watching the Jumbotron to see what would happen next.

Kate stifled her laughter, sinking lower in her seat and trying to appear as unobtrusive as possible so as not to attract the attention of the cameraman filming the crowd.

She wished Lisa would
sit
down
.

“What the fuck?” Derek said, looking warily at Kate and
finally
removing his damn arm.

Kate stared back at him, an innocent smile on her face. “What an absolutely bizarre coincidence.”

Kate:
OMG. I’m dying.

Ian:
Do you think he got the message? Or do I need to continue?

Kate:
He’s very confused. And fairly drunk. But he moved his arm!

Ian:
VICTORY IS MINE.

Kate:
I’m coming home.

When she arrived at her apartment fifteen minutes later, he met her at the door. After removing her coat, he backed her up against the wall, sliding his hands into her hair and crashing his mouth onto hers. His kisses were rough, demanding, and he didn’t stop until they were both gasping for air.

“You sure know how to make a statement,” she said, breathing heavily.

He pressed his body against hers and sucked his way down the length of her neck. “Just staking my claim, sweetness.”

He lifted her sweater over her head and took off her push-up bra. He yanked on the button of her jeans, unzipped them, and pushed them down. “Step out,” he said when they’d cleared her hips and landed at her ankles. Then he pulled a condom from the front pocket of his jeans, ripped it open with his teeth, and spit out the narrow strip of foil. She looked at him questioningly as he unzipped his jeans and freed himself enough to put on the condom.

He smirked, desire blazing in his eyes as he pulled down her underwear. Then he lifted her and pinned her against the wall, and all she could do was press her shoulders into it and grab his biceps as he entered her.