chapter 8

Suddenly, all of the pieces started to fall into place. Kate staring at him when she first met him and acting so completely...goofy. Telling him he looked good while he stuffed his face with French toast. Bringing in the treats every week. The ogling looks. Yeah, looking back, there had been a LOT of ogling looks...

What was he supposed to do with this information, though? She liked him, right? Or she just liked his body? Did she want him to keep getting fatter? It was an interesting thought. Was he supposed to make the next move now? Why did women have to be so damn complicated? He grabbed a couple of cookies and started munching while he pondered. God, one thing was certain--the woman definitely knew how to bake.


Shit, shit, shit! What was she thinking? Kate was having a mild panic attack as she thought about the implications of what she had just done. She had to call Bethany.

Beth was her best friend from elementary school. They'd been the maid of honor in each other's weddings. They lived across the country from each other, but still talked often. Kate knew she could always count on Beth when she needed a reality check.

She grabbed the phone and dialed. "Please pick up, please pick up...Beth! Hi! It's Katie! How are you?"

"Katie! I'm good! What's going on, girlie?"

"How are the kidlets? How's Brian doing?"

"They're great! Kate, are you okay? You sound a little upset..."

"No, I'm great! Well, actually, I need to ask for some advice. And you have to promise to listen and not give me a hard time, because I don't know if I could handle it right now."

"Sweetie, of course! Whatever you need!"

She took a deep breath, and started in. "Do you remember my first boyfriend Kyle? In 8th grade?"



Twenty minutes later, Kate was off the phone. She knew she could count on Beth. Her exact words were, "I don't care if he has three heads, Kate! If you like him, you should go for it!"

It made her feel tons better. Unfortunately, she wasn't exactly sure how to proceed now. The cat was out of the bag. Should she play it safe and let Matt make the next move? Should she be bold and ask him out? The problem was, she always seemed to know the right thing to do when it came to business, but in more...personal matters, she felt a little handicapped. I guess this is what I get for denying myself the right guy for the last twenty years, she thought.

"Hey, um, Kate?" Matt was standing at her door, looking slightly bewildered.

"Hi!" she said a little too brightly. Were they just going to pretend that nothing had happened?

"I'm going to head out for a while. Can I get you anything?"

"Nope! I'm good! Don't forget your coat! It's freezing out there."

"No worries, I have extra insulation." He winked at her and grabbed his belly.

Oh, wow. Just, wow. She fought the urge to run after him and attack him in the elevator.

He was gone for quite a while. Kate started to worry. Two hours later, he got back, carrying a huge drink, a couple bags of chips, and a sandwich bigger than her head. Um, interesting...

He went into his office, sat down, and started eating. Kate tried to pretend like he wasn't there, but couldn't help but notice that the sandwich was stacked high with meat and cheese and mayonnaise was oozing out the sides. Was he trying to turn her on or make some point or...? When he'd finished, he headed to the break room to get some of Kate's cookies and came back to his desk to continue eating while he worked. The whole time, he studiously ignored her. She was having fantasies of his pants splitting and his buttons popping off while he gorged himself. She couldn't take it anymore. She grabbed a stack of papers and headed to the copy room. Matt watched her go and laughed a little to himself. His little performance seemed to have the desired effect.

For lunch on Thursday, Matt brought in the biggest burger, fries, and milkshake Kate had ever seen, and once again, ate it at his desk, feet away from her through their glass wall. (She recognized that it would not be acceptable to press her nose against the glass and stare, but she thought about it.) Again, he pretended not to notice she was there. On Friday, Kate considered canceling their standing brunch date, but went through with it and tried to concentrate on making "business talk" while Matt plowed through five plates of French toast, plus a huge side of bacon, eggs, and sausage.

And the next week, more of the same. She found a recipe for amazingly decadent caramel turtle brownies that she brought in on Wednesday. (She worried that it would be too conspicuous if she missed her treat day, so might as well make it something good, right?) At lunchtime, she found Matt sitting in the break room, his gorgeous ass spilling over the sides of the chair, stuffing his face with brownies. She turned on her heels and walked out before she did something she would regret.

It was the most exquisite torture. And throughout all of it, Matt acted like nothing was going on. Neither one of them said a word about Kate's little confession. They skipped their Friday brunch to work on a big proposal together, and pretended like everything was completely normal.

They worked late that evening. Everyone else had gone home. Just after 8:00, they decided to throw in the towel. Kate gathered up her things and headed for the elevator.

Matt jogged a little to catch her, belly wobbling. "Hey, let me walk you to your car, Kate."

"Um, thanks, Matt." She smiled at him as the elevator doors closed. She was sweating like crazy.