“What?” he snapped. This time he charged down the stairs and whispered sharply. “What are you talking about?”
She shrugged, turning to head down the stairs. “Reese said a few things after that first meeting you went to in New York. I just assumed…” Her voice trailed off when the distinct sound of a door opening caught her attention. She turned her brightblue eyes to Kat. “Hello, dear. I’m Sonya. Come down for supper when you’re ready. Better be quick if you want it while it’s still hot.”
Leo shot Kat a look, then spun to chase after his mother. The second they were out of earshot, he whisper-shouted, “What exactly did Reese say? Because I can assure you, he lied. There is nothing between me and Kat. She’s the dev?—”
His mother gasped and flicked him with the end of a wooden spoon. “Don’t you dare finish that statement young man. Here, we respect women.”
Leo rolled his eyes. If she knew the kind of woman Kat was, she might not come so swiftly to her defense. Still, he knew better than to argue with his mother. He rubbed at his upper arm even though the sting had already faded.
His mother had made her famous lasagna. It was his favorite and the perfect ending to a miserable day. Leo pulled out his chair but before he could sit, Kat entered the room.
“Leo, be a doll, and pull out our guest’s chair, will you?”
Kat stared at him like he might lunge forward and bite her head off. “Oh, I’m fine, Mrs. Chambers?—”
“Nonsense, dear. As I was telling my son here, under this roof, we’re respectful to our guests.” She smiled as brightly as ever and Leo got the distinct impression that she was doing this on purpose.
What was he thinking?
Of course she was doing this on purpose. His mother was ever the matchmaker—especially since Noah and his brothers had all settled down. His cousins were the first to find their soul matesout here in Montana. And their mother had teased his mother about that fact relentlessly. Leo had a feeling she wasn’t going to give in so easily. She wanted her sons married off so she could be the grandmother she always wanted to be.
With Reese off in Georgia, her attention had settled on him.
Shuffling like a child toward Kat, Leo pulled out her chair. Then he glanced over his shoulder to his mother and smirked. When she went to sit down, Leo pulled a little more.
Kat nearly collapsed on the floor, but she was quick enough to catch herself on the table.
Boy, if looks could kill? He’d be a dead man walking.
He chuckled to himself as he pushed the chair in a little too roughly. Then took a seat across from her.
“It smells delicious,” Kat offered. “I love Italian.”
His mother beamed. “It’s my mother’s recipe. Everyone requests it at every family function.” She placed a plate in front of Kat then one in front of Leo.
“Thanks, mom,” he murmured.
Kat took a bite and the moan that escaped her lips startled him to the point all he could do was stare. That sound did things to him, made his body react in ways that weren’t really appropriate—especially at the dinner table.
His mouth had fallen open and the second she looked at him with her own devilish smirk, he had to snap it shut.
She’d done that on purpose!
Leo’s eyes narrowed and he hunched down to take his own bite.
It was good. But then he couldn’t recall a single time when it hadn’t been.
“You’re a whiz, mom.”
Her smile warmed him and for a moment he could forget that an infuriating, annoying, maddeningly beautiful woman was seated across from him. No more ridiculous moans filled the air and the conversation turned to their guest.
His mother did most of the talking, asking about her family and how she liked living in the big city. Kat’s answers were all very vague and polite—though he didn’t think his mother noticed. The woman knew how to sway a room to her favor.
Well, the room save for one grumpy cowboy.
He shoveled the rest of his food into his mouth before asking to be excused. In his room, he settled on his bed again, ears cocked for when Kat would return to hers. Tomorrow he’d put her in her place.
For real.
