Page 64 of The Sandbar saga

Chapter 24

Katie sat down in frontof his desk in the cottage. He finished writing in the folder of his last patient for the day and then looked up.

She sat with her legs crossed, and her hands clasped in her lap. "Are you done for the day?"

"Yes." He set the folder off to the side of his desk. "What's up?"

"Do you want to go out?" she asked.

"Not tonight." He leaned back in his chair. "How about I order us a pizza and have it delivered? You can even add mushrooms if you want."

She smoothed the front of her sundress and sat straighter. "Will you go out with me? I'll buy you dinner."

"You don't need to spend your money." He took in the loose hair, the blush on her cheeks, and tint of sheen on her lips.

She was all dressed up. Fancier than she usually went to the real estate office. The top of her dress showed the fullness of her breasts, and the length of the hem landed mid-thigh.

She puckered her lips and exhaled slowly. "I want to go on a date with you."

"A date?" At her nod, a heaviness settled in his chest. "What do you think a date will do that you already don't get from me by living in my house?"

Her gaze narrowed slightly. "Don't treat me like a child. You know what a date is and what happens on one."

"You're not a child." He leaned forward. "But, I'm not the person who should be taking you out and showing you a good time."

"Why not?"

She continually questioned his reasons. "Because we don't have that kind of relationship."

"But we could if you let yourself." She scooted to the edge of her chair. "Don't act like I'm clueless. I can see. I can feel. It's so hard, Race. I want to show you how much I love you."

She showed him how she felt in many different ways, he literally walked around the house aroused seventy-five percent of the time.

"You're at the age where you should be dating lots of boys." He regretted the advice as soon as the words left his mouth. As a psychologist, he needed to explain how her feelings toward him were natural. "You think you love me in that way, but you can't confuse security, attention, and our living situation for the love you would find...say between a boyfriend and girlfriend, or husband and wife. You need relationships built on intimacy, shared experiences, and vulnerabilities."

"Are you kidding me?" She blinked wide eyes at him. "Listen to what you're saying."

Caught. He never looked away from her, letting her know he accepted his part in their personal relationship.

She stood and walked over to the window. "Have you ever loved a woman?"

"A few, in different ways, I suppose." He watched her back. "That's part of getting to know someone, caring about them, and giving yourself permission to go through all the emotions that come with getting to know another person better."

"Do your psychology books tell you that love hurts?" She faced him. "Because it does."

The confession aimed at him, hit him square in the chest.

"I don't understand why you're fighting how you feel about me." She cupped her neck. "I understand how I was young, and you were older, but I'm not a child anymore."

He exhaled heavily. She trusted him too much to believe he would hurt her, and he held all the power in his hands to destroy her. No explaining would convince her otherwise.

"Someday, you'll understand," he whispered.

She whirled around and stormed out of the office. The door at the front of the cottage slammed as she left.

He fisted his hand. There were many times, he wanted to push away everything he'd worked for and prove to her she wasn't wrong in her feelings. Show her the ways that love could be beautiful, forgiving, and exciting.

As the days and years had passed, he'd thought she would get over her crush on him. He'd been wrong to wait her out.