From the Start by Melissa Tagg

Author:Melissa Tagg [Tagg, Melissa]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: FIC042040, FIC027020, FIC027000
ISBN: 9781441265258
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2015-03-16T04:00:00+00:00

The first second Kate could manage, she escaped to the dinner train’s bathroom—a space that made the walk-in closet back in her townhouse seem cavernous. She’d already used a tissue to wipe away the worst of her rain-smudged makeup. But now that she had access to a mirror, she wanted to see the real damage.

The train’s movement rumbled under her feet, and she steadied herself against the sink before braving a look in the mirror.

“Delightful. Just . . . delightful.” Yes, she’d gotten rid of the mascara smears, but in the process had cleared away whatever was left of her makeup. But surely the fluorescent light bulb over the mirror exaggerated her pale skin and circle-rimmed eyes, right?

“Psst, Kate, you in there?”

“Uh, yeah, Rae.”

“Let me in.”

“How do you know I’m not . . .” Oh, never mind. She unbolted the door and Raegan squeezed in. “What do you need?”

Raegan’s hands clamped onto Kate’s shoulders. “Ohhh . . . my goodness. Oh. My. Goodness.”

“I really look that bad?”

Raegan jostled her shoulders. “No. I’m talking about that scene outside. With the scarf and the hug and Colton.”

The train jolted underneath then, and Kate knocked into the wall behind her. A rush of claustrophobia squeezed her. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Bold-faced lie. That moment in the rain . . . Well, she couldn’t talk about it now. Didn’t want to. Something had happened in that moment, and she wasn’t ready to shine a spotlight on it for anyone else. Never mind that it’d happened in front of half the community. And cameras.

But for now, she wanted to hold it close. It wasn’t only that hug, it was what he’d told her before the pull. Offered her a glimpse of his past that couldn’t have been easy for him. And then the way he’d looked at her. Like today, this whole thing, was his gift to her.

Except, oh, what was she saying? You can’t do this, Kate. Couldn’t let a two-week friendship balloon into something unreasonable in her imagination. She was setting herself up for hurt.

He’s going to go back to LA. I’m going to go back to Chicago. Then New York. Then Africa. She had to rein her heart in now, before it leapt too far from her control.

“You’re so good at playing dumb, big sis.”

The sarcasm lacing Raegan’s tone did nothing to quell the annoyance rising in Kate. “And you’re so good at reading into things.”

Raegan’s lips curved. “Come on, it was plain as day, obvious to everyone who saw it. Dad noticed. Seth noticed. Someone wearing a blindfold would’ve noticed.”

The pungent aroma from the potpourri in the dish at the corner of the sink threatened to overwhelm Kate’s sense of smell. Too much. Too small of a space. “Why would anyone be wandering around blindfolded?”

“I don’t know. Why do you deny what’s in front of your face?”

Kate folded her arms. “Which is?” She shouldn’t have asked.

“You and Colton. Sparks. And not those flimsy sparklers that last like three seconds. I’m talking fireworks.

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