Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 91595 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 458(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91595 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 458(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
When she hangs up, Kenni looks up at me, and fuck, I’ve missed her. “Hey.”
“Hey,” she says and then pushes a coffee cup toward me that I didn’t notice was there. Fuck, this woman. “I made you a cup of decaf since I’m sure you’re about to head to bed.”
Do not ask her to join you.
Do not ask her to join you.
Do not ask her to join you.
I swallow back that sentence as I lift the cup she’s offering and take a long pull. “You’re the sweetest.”
Her eyes sparkle as she leans on the island, and I can’t help but think she’s poking that ass out on purpose. Does she want me to come up behind her? Grab those thick hips and rub myself all over her like a cat in heat?
’Cause I fucking will.
On an exhale, I lean on the island opposite her. “How’d you sleep?”
“Great, surprisingly. I did miss Skyye, though.” I chuckle, and she gives me a small grin. “She’s the best to cuddle with.”
“Eh, I think I’m better,” I say without a thought, and I don’t miss the way her eyes widen.
“Sorry, I have no frame of reference,” she quips, and I can’t help the way my mouth curves up in a challenge.
“Are you asking?”
Her eyes are bright, dancing for me—or at least, I’m telling myself they’re dancing for me. She shakes her head slowly but doesn’t look away. “Dean.” I don’t hear annoyance in her voice, maybe more bewilderment.
“KenniLeigh?”
Her eyes search mine. “What are you doing?”
I frown at that, looking down at my coffee. “What do you mean?”
Silence stretches between us, and I feel the tension between us growing heavier by the second. I look up expectantly, and she’s watching me, her brows drawn in. She looks like she’s trying to choose her words, but what she says sends me reeling. “Sadie thinks you’ve been flirting with me.”
I stand up straight, crossing my arms over my chest. “And?”
“And?” she asks, mirroring my stance. “Are you?”
I roll my lips, swallowing hard and feeling like we’re coming up on something I wasn’t ready for this morning. “If I said I was, what would you say?”
She tilts her head. “What is this? Why are you not being straight with me? We’ve always had an open dialogue.”
“Have we?” I ask, my body on fire for this girl. “I feel like since you left, you’ve kept me at a distance.”
She blinks. “I was married.”
“You’re not now.”
“Am I keeping you at a distance?”
“Are you?”
“Dean, what the hell?” she asks, annoyance painting her features. “Are you flirting with me?”
Well, here we go. “Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I can.” Her eyes widen. “Finally.”
Her brows go to her hairline. “I’m your sister’s best friend. You had a baby with my sister.”
“I know,” I say simply. “But none of that changes the fact that I want to flirt with you.”
My heart is slamming in my chest, and the only thing I hear is our breathing. Her cheeks have a pink tinge to them as she bites her lip. “It’s messy, Dean.”
Her words cut me a bit. “Maybe if Missy and I had ever really been together, but that isn’t the case. You can ask her. We were never anything more than two horny people on the side of the Thirsty Pine.”
She looks away, and I wish I hadn’t said that. I went with honesty, and I don’t know if that was the right choice. “That night we ended up at the Pine together and she showed up—”
“Yes, I wanted to kiss you.”
Her eyes snap to mine, and the pure shock in them has me wanting to do just that. I’m thankful for the island between us. “You did?”
“Yeah, and I know you wanted to kiss me.”
“Wow. Pretty sure of yourself, huh?”
“Tell me I’m wrong,” I demand, but she looks away again, the pink of her cheeks turning a bright red.
“Missy said not to do anything with you because it would be weird for Skyye.”
My brow furrows, and I purse my lips. What is Missy up to? I don’t like that. “I don’t agree,” I say, my heart kicking up in speed. “I know my daughter wants me to be happy.”
Kenni looks up at me through her lashes. “And kissing me would do that for you?”
Oh, fuck me sideways, this woman is going to kill me dead. I reel in the desire to spill my heart to her, put it in the palm of her hand, and beg her to keep it. I drag my finger and thumb across my mustache, trying to calm myself down, but my voice breaks a bit. “It’d be the best thing to happen to me since Skyye.”
Our eyes meet once the words leave my lips, and she takes a sharp breath. I feel like I’m suffocating in her penetrating gaze as her chest rises and falls with visible effort. It’s almost as if she doesn’t want to believe me, but she knows I’d never lie to her.