Exclusive excerpt: 'The Space Between' by Kate Canterbary

Kate Canterbary, author of The Space Between, book two in her Walshes Series, joins HEA to share an exclusive excerpt from her new release.

Kate: When I first started envisioning the Walsh family and their third generation Boston architecture shop, I knew the one at the helm — the one who shouldered the burdens his siblings couldn't even imagine — would be a special creature.

Growly, adorable and all kinds of alpha.

I wanted to write someone who was Patrick Walsh's equal in every way possible, and I knew that woman had to be an architect who shared his obsessive perfectionism.

Plus a few quirks of her own.

These perfectionists are decidedly imperfect, and the second book in The Walshes Series, The Space Between, explores Andy and Patrick's imperfect journey.

Andy Asani has landed the dream sustainable preservation architecture apprenticeship, and she's learning from Patrick Walsh — the man she's studied and idolized as an architectural visionary for years.

But she also wants to rub up against him and lick his naked body.

Patrick has his hands full managing the family firm, and bringing on an apprentice was supposed to make his life easier. Instead, things are much, much more complex with Andy Asani in his office all day.

Andy knows it's dangerous for her career, and Patrick knows he should know better, but they can't seem to stay away from each other.

Here's a look at one of my favorite moments in The Space Between. At this point, Patrick and Andy have struggled to find their footing with each other. They're misinterpreting signals, reading into every comment and awkward moment, and generally getting in their own way. They struggle with understanding each other, and stumble through the most basic interactions, and they're totally scrumptious together.

—

"Didn't peg you for a matzo ball soup guy," she said, pointing at my bowl with her spoon. "I learn something new about you every day, Patrick."

"Really?" I asked, glancing across the table. "What did you learn yesterday?"

She sat back in her seat and crossed her arms. "You hate traffic circles."

"You're in Boston, Asani. They're called rotaries. And they're only acceptable when traveling by horseback, and even then, I bet they were a pain in the ass. And everyone hates them."

"Okay," she said. "I know you refuse to accept Top Chef's awesomeness because you can't try the food, and I know you like fish dives."

"You would like them too, if you gave them a chance." It was rocky territory, but I continued, "Offer still stands. And no, I'm not getting into another Top Chef argument with you right now."

She spooned a bite of vegetarian lentil soup into her mouth while staring out at Sullivan Square. After a long pause, she said, "Maybe."

I rolled my shoulders and studied my soup, waiting for the flare of adrenaline in my system to slow. "Maybe you'll consider the possibility that fish dives aren't terrible, or maybe you'll take a ride with me this weekend and actually try one?"

Andy leveled an even gaze in my direction, an eyebrow lifted subtly as if she knew exactly how much her prolonged silence tortured me.

She knew. She knew, and she liked it.

"Maybe I'll go with you. But I reserve the right to eat nothing, criticize everything, and drink a lot of beer."

I always knew the serious, composed woman working beside me each day was only one iteration of Andy Asani, and along the way, getting past her poised veneer turned into another one of my missions. It also seriously threatened my mental health.

"That's exactly what I had in mind."

Just book the padded cell for me now.

Find out more about Kate and her books at www.katecanterbary.com.