Free Catia (Starkis Family #6) by Cheryl Douglas Page A

sharing. “Like I said, I read more. I even took a cooking class. My parents always implied no man would want a wife who couldn’t boil water, so I refused to learn, just to spite them. But I eventually realized I was interested in learning and refusing to do so because of them was silly and juvenile, so I learned to cook and even bake a little.”
    His jaw dropped. Obviously he remembered my vow to live off of someone else’s cooking for the rest of my life. “Really?”
    “Yeah.” I enjoyed the fact that I’d shocked him. It proved he didn’t know me as well as he thought he did, and in this case, that was a good thing. I wanted to erase his memory of the old Catia and introduce him to the new and improved version I’d been cultivating. “I don’t want you to think I changed for you. I did this for myself because when I went home, I wasn’t happy with life as I knew it anymore.”
    “I respect your willingness to change. Most people would rather stay stuck in lives that don’t please them than risk change.”
    I nodded, turning his comment over and over in my head. “I know myself a lot better now than I did then, but I’m still learning and growing. Hopefully that will never stop.” At the question in his eyes, I explained, “There are things I’ve always wanted to do and haven’t yet.”
    He chuckled. “I can’t imagine what that might be. You seem like the type of woman who’d risk her neck for a thrill.”
    “I’m not talking about a five-minute thrill,” I said, thinking about some of the daring stunts I’d pulled in my twenties. “I’m talking about committing to something hard—learning, failing, and trying again until I get better. Like the piano. I’ve always wanted to learn, so I bought a piano for the new house. I’m looking for a teacher so I can start taking lessons.”
    “Really?” he asked, sounding surprised. “My mother teaches piano. The girls take lessons with her. She’s basically retired now, but if you’re serious, I could ask her whether she’d be willing to work with you.”
    The fact that Chase was willing to introduce me to his mother was a huge step, even if it was for professional reasons, and I didn’t want to miss out on the opportunity. “I’d love that. If you don’t think she’d mind.”
    “Are you kidding? Piano is her passion. Too bad it’s like pulling teeth to get my girls to practice.”
    “I was like that as a kid,” I said, polishing off my now-lukewarm breakfast. “My parents thought it was important we learn to play. Kara didn’t mind because, let’s face it, she’s the good daughter. But I was the headstrong one. I didn’t want to do anything for the sake of pleasing my parents.”
    He shook his head before offering me a wry smile. “I have two girls like you. How the hell am I going to survive?”
    “I can give you some pointers,” I said, smiling. “You know, from a reformed bad girl.”
    “I guess if there’s hope for you, there’s hope for them.”
    And maybe, just maybe, there was hope for us.
     

 

Chapter Six
    Chase
     
    I passed by my parents’ place on Monday at lunchtime. I couldn’t get my breakfast conversation with Catia out of my head, and I wanted to talk to my mother to see if she might be willing to take on a new student as a favor to me.
    “Oh hey, honey,” my mom said, meeting me at the front door. “This is a nice surprise. Have you had lunch?”
    “No, I can grab something later.”
    “Nonsense, I have a loaf of bread coming out of the oven.” She reached for my hand. “Come. I’ll make you a sandwich.”
    I would never have gotten through the past couple of years without my parents. While I’d taken care of them financially when my ship came in, I didn’t think I told them often enough how much I appreciated their help with the girls.
    “What brings you by?” she asked, stacking homemade roast beef on bread before adding my favorite toppings.
    “I wanted to ask you something, but first