How You Remind Me by Julie Leto Page A

wanted me on call this entire weekend,” Kate
argued, “taking care of every detail of the reunion so you could adequately reunite
with your guy most likely to ride out of town on a Harley. Where is Mr. Motorcycle-Man,
anyway?”
    “He’s grabbing some drinks. And his name is Scott. Though he
did look hot on the back of that hog. All that leather.”
    Erica practically purred. Kate flashed a glance at Shaw. The
only leather he had on tonight was the strap holding his guitar across his
chest, but his well-worn jeans and half-unbuttoned cotton shirt was just as
bone-melting.
    Kate scrunched her nose and tore her gaze away.
    “I thought you called him Rip.”
    “That was his nickname from high school. Scott “Rip” Ripley.
Bad boy extraordinaire, entirely off-limits to goodie-two-shoes, student
council president Erica Holt.”
    Erica’s frown told Kate everything she needed to know about
her boss’s attitude toward her reputation in high school. She’d also been
tipped off earlier when Erica had arrived at the hotel on the back of a Harley,
decked out like a biker chick, defying every preconceived notion her classmates
might have had about how her life had progressed since graduation. Kate knew
the transformation was new and entirely out of character, but Erica seemed to
be enjoying the hell out of it. Even tonight, her sundress was a little more
flowing and a lot more low-cut than Erica normally wore. And without a doubt,
her smile was bigger, brighter and nearly infectious.
    “Doesn’t look like he’s off-limits anymore,” Kate replied.
    Erica leaned in close as Kate unnecessarily straightened the
brochures. “Nope. Good is overrated, Kate.”
    “Good is safe,” Kate countered.
    “Safe is boring.”
    “You wouldn’t think that if you’d been through what I have.”
    “Maybe,” Erica conceded. “Maybe not. But if there’s one
thing I learned this afternoon, Kate, it’s that the pain from the past doesn’t
matter nearly as much as living the here and now.” Erica tossed a purposeful
glance in Shaw’s direction. “You might want to reconsider your hands-off
approach to sexy Mr. Tyler. There are fifty women, single and married, who are
using all their self-control to keep from tossing their panties at him right
now, but by the way he’s looking over here, the only woman’s underwear he wants
is yours.”
    Erica flitted away before Kate responded, which was just as
well since Kate had nothing to say.

Chapter 2
    She was watching him. Shaw was glad he’d played this song a hundred
times because the minute he became aware that Kate Schaffer’s intense emerald
stare was centered on him, his brain disengaged from the music. Uptight,
perennially professional, sinfully sensual Kate, who normally only spared him a
grudging glance when absolutely necessary, couldn’t look away.
    Why now?
    Why tonight?
    Kate had seen him play before, dozens of times. Since Erica opened
her event-planning business after college, he and his band had provided the
music for countless parties, bar mitzvahs and weddings. The gigs weren’t always
glamorous, but they paid the bills and gave him a chance to try out new songs
between the covers.
    Kate, however, had never been impressed. When she spared him
more than a few seconds of her attention, he caught glimpses of distrust in her
expression, as if she wasn’t comfortable with the fact that she couldn’t ignore
him.
    As if some part of her wanted to remember the night they’d
spent together.
    But tonight…tonight, she looked…interested.
    A strident strum blared through his earpiece. Someone in the
band was playing off-key…no, not someone. Him. He tore his eyes away from Kate and
tried to focus on the chords. Once he had the rhythm again, he looked out into
the audience, sang a few more bars of the chorus and tried to focus on someone
else.
    Anyone else.
    Erica.
    As usual, she looked gorgeous. Unfortunately, she was dancing
with a guy who didn’t deserve the privilege