Joseph kissed the top of her head. The fact that she was trying to reassure him made her more endearing. “Come on, sweetheart. Let’s go inside.”
He threw his arm over her shoulder and walked her toward the building. Katherine froze when they got to the entrance and found her mother waiting, dressed to the nines with a full face of makeup. But if looks could kill, they’d both be dead.
“Mom?”
“Are you happy with yourself?” her mother hissed as she closed the distance between them.
Katherine stepped forward, just out of Joseph’s grasp. “As a matter of fact, I—”
Before she could finish, her mother hauled off and slapped her across the cheek. “You have destroyed this family!”
Katherine recoiled and glared at her mother. “This family?” she challenged. “We were never a family! At least, I wasn’t. I was nothing more than prey to that predatory piece of shit you call a husband.” Katherine turned to Joseph and stuck her hand out. “Let’s go.”
Joseph took her hand. Without so much as a single glance, they walked past her mother, leaving her standing on the stoop. Although, if he had to confess, he was secretly hoping that Katherine retaliated with a slap of her own.
When they entered the apartment, Katherine walked into the living room and looked out of the window.
“She gone?” Joseph asked.
“I think so.”
He grabbed a beer from the fridge. “I wonder how she found you.”
Katherine left the window and walked into the kitchen. “My mother has a bevy of resources at her disposal. Finding me would be a piece of cake.”
Joseph grabbed a bottle of red wine, poured Katherine a glass, and handed it to her. “Today must’ve been hard. Are you okay?”
“I am,” she assured, taking a sip.
Joseph watched her for a bit to see if she was just acting like everything was okay. When he couldn’t tell one way or the other, he opened the freezer and pulled out a package of ground beef. “How about spaghetti tonight?”
Katherine smiled. “Spaghetti sounds amazing. I’m going to watch you cook it so I can make it for you someday.”
Joseph chuckled. “Oh, yeah? You gonna cook for me?”
Katherine walked around the table, snaked her arms around his neck, and rose to her toes for a kiss. “Yep,” she confirmed, raising on her toes for a kiss.
Joseph wrapped his arms around her waist and lowered his lips to hers. He captured her tongue and deepened the kiss. The feel of her lips had his cock throbbing and aching to be inside her. Joseph caressed her body, ready to take her to bed when the shrill ringing of the phone caused Katherine to jump and sever their connection.
“I’ll get it,” Joseph offered.
Whoever it was, he was going to get rid of them so he could enjoy the pleasure of ridding Katherine of her clothes and licking every part of her.
He walked over to the counter and grabbed the receiver. “Hello?”
“Hi. This is Yolanda Greer. I’m looking for Katherine Chase.”
“One moment, please.” Joseph aimed the phone at Katherine. “It’s somebody named Yolanda Greer.”
Katherine grabbed the phone. She seemed surprised by the call. “This is Katherine.”
After a few seconds, she apologized to the person on the other end. As she listened quietly to the caller, Joseph watched her expression go from curious to dejected.
“I understand, Yolanda. Thank you for calling.”
Katherine hung up the phone and dropped her head with a sigh. It was obvious that Yolanda Greer hadn’t delivered good news.
Joseph rubbed her shoulders and turned her to face him. “What is it?”
