Obsession (The Plus One Chronicles) by Jennifer Lyon Read Free Book Online Page B

warmth. Sloane didn’t want to lose Kat, but he didn’t know how to keep her. Things had been simpler when he only had women as a plus-one, not this emotional relationship that left both of them vulnerable. Shoving off the fridge, he slapped John’s shoulder. “You ate her cupcakes, you can help wash up. Let’s go.”
    Kat smiled up at him as she quickly formed square boxes from the flat stack on the table. “What’s up?”
    He wiped a smear of frosting off her cheek. “You’ve done enough. Sit and have fun. We’ll clean up.”
    She lifted her eyebrows. “This is mostly buttercream icing, which is shortening based. It’s hard to wash.”
    Sloane drew his eyebrows together. “Are you questioning my dishwashing skills? I have experience, you know.” He’d been a dishwasher the first time he saw Kat at her sweet-sixteen party. That girl had invoked a complex stew of emotions in him, while the woman in front of him now flat-out owned him.
    Skepticism masked her face. “You have an invisible staff that cleans your house and stocks your fridge.”
    “I worked as a dishwasher in some of the finest hotels and the country club. Prepare to be amazed.” He bracketed his hands around her waist and lifted her onto a stool next to Kylie. “Sit here and observe.” She needed to rest her leg, but he wasn’t dumb enough to tell her that in front of a group of people. Instead, he employed a secret weapon. “Kylie, you watch Kat and make sure she doesn’t try to help. She did all this for us, so it’s only fair we clean up, right?”
    Kylie considered that and nodded solemnly, her eyes huge and serious. “Do a good job for Kat.”
    Sloane couldn’t help grinning. “You bet.” He turned to the boys. “Bring the dishes to the sink, men. Let’s show the girls what we can do.”
    * * *
    Kat stretched her achy leg in the back of the limo. The boys had settled down to watch a movie playing on the two screens, while Kylie showed Kat the wet bar. “These are my favorite juice boxes. I like cherry.”
    “Dad said you can only have water. You had enough junk today.”
    Kylie made a face at her brother. “I was just showing Kat.” She shoved the juice back in the fridge.
    Ben glared at his little sister. “You have to get your way about everything. You made Kat ride in the limo.”
    “I didn’t make her.”
    “Did too.”
    “Did not.”
    Kat began to see why John had been reluctant to leave her alone with the kids. Well, she wasn’t alone, Ethan was driving with the partition down, keeping an eye on things. Sloane and John followed behind them in her car. Kylie had begged Kat to ride with her, and Kat sucked at saying no. Trying to change the subject, she asked, “Ben, did you guys have fun at the baseball game today?”
    The boy’s eyes lit up. “Yeah! Sloane took us down to meet some of the players before the game. We got these Padre hats, and some of the guys autographed them. He removed his hat and held it out.
    She took it, studying every autograph. “Oh cool, you have signatures from—”
    The car swerved left. Kat threw her hand out, bracing herself on the seat to keep from smacking into Ben.
    Ethan must have maneuvered to miss something in the road. She opened her mouth when they were thrown by another jarring shift.
    “Kat!” Kylie screamed, scrabbling toward her.
    The car careened wildly. Kat’s heart jammed into her throat. Her pulse jacked to nuclear. “Ethan!”
    No answer.
    “Ethan’s not moving!” Robert, an older boy, knelt on the seat toward the front of the car. His face had bleached to terror.
    Crap. This was bad. Fear rushed her, trying to seize up her lungs as the car zigzagged. They were going to crash.
    Sobs cut through her fear. Kylie stared at Kat, huge tears rolling down her face. “I want my daddy.”
    The little girl’s fright snapped Kat into action. She grabbed Kylie, pushing her to the floor. “Everybody down. Tuck in tight and cover your head.”
    The kids scrambled