Chapter 51

Stepping out of the shower, I pulled a white, fluffy towel from the radiator and wrapped it around my waist. Walking over to the mirror, I wiped the foggy condensation from the glass and looked at my reflection. My wet hair looked almost black, water was dripping from the ends that hung near the front, splashing onto my chest and running down my torso in shimmering trails until they disappeared into the soft towel. My skin was a little flushed from the hot water and steam, making my natural olive tone, look darker and sunkissed. I ran my hand along my jaw, feeling the stubble under my fingers, trying to decide whether it needed a trim or not. It usually could have waited another day, but given the occasion, I decided on a slight tidy up. I was afterall about to meet her colleagues and bosses. I wanted to look good, for Kat, and to make the right impression.

It didn't take too long to finish getting ready. Soon enough I was folding my shirt collar down over my tie and slipping on my black suit jacket to complete the look. Taking a quick glance at the clock, I made my way out of the room and downstairs, gathering up my wallet, car keys and phone from the side table. The little blue light flashed to signal that I had a new message. Unlocking the screen, I saw Jamie's name, a short message underneath:

I haven't heard back, do I presume you are dead, or severely injured?

I laughed and began typing a reply.

Oh, don't worry about me. Worry about yourself. The moment I get ahold of you, you'll be the one needing a eulogy bro.

I pocketed my phone and wallet and went outside, jumping in the car, then set off for Kat's place.

Knocking on her door when I arrived, I quickly did a brush down over my suit. It wasn't entirely unusual for me to be dressed smart. My job involved occasions for smart and casual dress, but the full suit and tie appearance wasn't one that I did a lot of the time. It felt restrictive and I found myself already wanting to lose the jacket and tie. I heard footsteps on the other side of the door and took a deep breath. Blowing it out just as the door clicked, then was pulled open. My mouth nearly dropped in awe as I was greeted by a beautiful sight. There she stood, glowing in the hallway lighting, in a floor length, shimmering white gown. The silky material touched the floor, completely covering her feet, and judging from her increased height, considerable sized heels. It's plunging neckline looked perfect on her, showing just the right amount of her cleavage and soft, golden skin. An elegant, crystal decorative piece lay just at the base of the neckline, like a half belt, that pulled the dress at the perfect angle to accentuate her tiny waist and gather the fabric to suit the silhouette. Her hair was down, in gentle waves, the sides pulled back from her face, showing off the sparkling droplet earrings she'd chosen to wear. The look was completed by a slightly heavier make-up than usual, not quite a dramatic, night wear style, but something with a little more sass than her day to day natural look. Her eyeshadow was a darker chocolate brown, that brought out the colour of her eyes even more. I found myself almost hypnotised by them.

"Wow. You look beautiful Kit Kat." I said softly, unable to tear my gaze from her stunning body.

She looked down, her cheeks flushing a light pink as she tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear and mumbled a quick word of thanks. It was such a big change seeing her so nervous, she always had such boldness and character. This side of her seemed to appeal to me on some level though as I instantly felt a rush of protectiveness, mingling with an urge to claim her, mind, body and soul, keeping her for myself. I was partly pissed that we now had to go out, and that I had to share her with countless people for the hours ahead, but I forced myself to remember that the event was for charity, and swallowed my own scorching, selfish desires.

"Are you ready to go?" I asked, stepping back from the door.

"Yeah, just a sec." She replied, quickly ducking behind the door, returning a second later, holding a small, silver clutch bag.

She hopped out onto the step, pulling the door closed behind her, locking it before following me to my car. I held open the passenger door for her, standing back whilst she gathered the skirt of her dress, and lifted it from the ground, pulling it tighter to her body as she took her seat.

When we arrived at the hotel where they were holding the fundraiser event, there were crowds of people flooding in through the doors, all looking glamorous. Men in suits with beautiful women on their arms, dressed in designer gowns and sparkling jewels. It looked like the entire hospital had turned up for the event. Made me wonder if it was the caretakers performing surgeries this evening.

A snide comment that I made of course, which Kat corrected immediately with a laugh.

We followed the crowd, moving inside and into a large room, that had been decorated for the event with elegance and class. At least thirty round tables were situated around the room, all draped in gold cloth, with white rose centerpieces and individual name cards to discern people's seating arrangements. An elder lady wearing a long sleeved, navy blue gown, sat at a table just inside, clipboard in hand and a large pile of sticker sheets spread across the table surface in front of her.

"Good evening, may I take your names please?" She spoke to us, as the people in front moved away, attaching stickers to their outfits as they walked on.

"Hello Sandra." Kat smiled picking up a pen and pulling a sticker sheet towards us.

"Oh Kat, you look spectacular tonight dear." She said, lowering the clipboard and smiling sweetly at Kat.

"Thank you." Kat replied, writing her name on a sticker and pressing it to her dress.

Sandra began scanning her clipboard, flicking to the next page before letting out a small satisfied sound.

"There you are, and your plus one," Her gentle eyes found me as she continued, "You must be..."

"Evan Daniels, pleasure to meet you." I replied, returning her kind look with one of my own.

"The pleasure is all mine. It's wonderful to see Kat with a date, and especially one so handsome."

Kat's cheeks flushed, her mouth opening, ready to correct her. I found the whole thing rather amusing, and strangely didn't mind being called her date. In fact, I liked it, leading me to cutting her off before she could speak.

"Thank you. Seems she'll have to start realising how lucky she is, or I'll swap her for your fine self." I said playfully, winking at her.

She laughed and ticked both of our names off of her list, whilst I wrote my own name on a sticker and attached it to the front of my jacket.

"Okay, both of you are sitting at table eighteen."

We thanked her and with a quick wish for a good evening, we moved along.

We weaved through the crowd, picking up a glass of champagne each from a passing waiter. It seemed like every two steps there was someone calling out to Kat, introducing themselves, or exchanging pleasantries. I briefly met her boss, Stephen Bamdon. An impressive man around his late forties, who exudes class and sophistication. He had a friendly and calm attitude and hung around to chat for a little while. We'd been there for a while, and were just chatting with Poppy and Owen, when Stephen appeared on the raised platform at the front of the room and addressed the whole room through the microphone.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, please can I ask you to take your seats ready to begin."

He stepped down and immediately everyone began to bustle around, all moving towards the tables, trying to find the right one and get seated in the right places.

We found our table fairly quickly, each one had eight place settings around it, little name cards folded in front of each person's plate. I pulled out Kat's chair, then took my seat next to her. All was going well, until the chair on her other side was pulled out, and I saw a familiar face take a seat.

"Looks like I'm at the best table this evening then." He said turning towards us.

"Travis?" Kat exclaimed, seemingly surprised.

"You look beautiful Kat." Travis said, leaning in and kissing her cheek.

I tensed up, my jaw clenched and my heart now throwing itself against my chest at the massive overstep.

Strike one... Keep your fucking lips off my girl.

I felt my hand clench on the top of the table, and moved it from sight to hide my clear anger.

Am I breathing?... Nope. Exhale Evan. Preferably sooner rather than later. Blue is not the greatest colour for a complexion.

I tried to let out the breath I was holding, but I couldn't seem to figure out how.

This isn't going to look good on your tombstone, Evan Daniels... croaked it because he forgot how to fucking breathe!

My ears had tuned out every surrounding sound, all I could hear was my erratic heart pounding in my ears and the huge breath I finally managed to exhale. That would have calmed me, if it wasn't for the next move he made. I watched him tuck her hair behind her ear, and an irrational voice yelled in the back of my mind, like a petulant toddler, throwing a strop.

Could he get any closer to her? He's practically taking her over the table! What kind of prick is he?

The sound of my name brought my surroundings crashing back around me, and I realised Kat was introducing us.

"... Evan, this is Doctor Travis Kapes, he's-"

A prick?

"I remember. You were there after the accident." I finished for her.

He reached across the table to shake my hand. As though on autopilot, I reached up and shook back. I suddenly felt slightly ashamed of my own thoughts about the guy, as I remembered how decent he was to me when I was in the hospital. Still, as he released my hand and turned back to Kat, I caught sight of the adoration and affection in his eyes, and I was back on guard. It didn't take a genius to see that he still felt for her. From Kat's attitude towards him, I suspected though, that she didn't see it the same way. I sat back and sipped my drink whilst they continued to talk for a few minutes, watching how seemingly oblivious she was, to reading his reactions, and noticing just how badly he wanted her.

Even as her boss took to the stand once again, and the event truly kicked off, I struggled to think of anything other than how much I wanted him away from her. We all conversed and chatted through dinner, laughed through the auction and me and Kat even celebrated together on the dancefloor. But underneath my smile, and as I held her body against mine, my arms wrapped around her tiny frame, I couldn't shrug off the fact that they had a past. One that I didn't know enough about, one that no matter what she said before, could still have some kind of hold over her. It dawned on me how much the idea of losing her, was scaring me. It wasn't just a thought, it was a fear. What was worse, was the idea of me losing her to Travis, no matter what kind of guy he seemed to be, he hurt her once, he didn't value her enough to keep her, so as far as I was concerned, he didn't deserve her ever again. Even as I thought that though, another part of me asked a question that I'd tried to ignore all along:

Did I deserve her either?