by Lola Gabriel
I wonder if Owen still takes what he wants?
The question sent a shiver of pleasure through Kennedy, and she mentally chided herself for behaving so stupidly, even in her own mind. Owen was being friendly, not giving her googly eyes… no matter how much she might wish he was.
“That sounds like a lovely gift. Who doesn’t want world peace?” Owen asked, bringing her back to the present. A slow blush tinged Kennedy’s creamy cheeks, and she nodded, turning her head so that long strands of platinum covered her face. She didn’t want him to catch her blushing, feeling that he would know exactly what was causing it.
“Let me wrap it for you. Would you like to write a card?”
“Sure…” Owen trailed off, his hazel eyes fixed on her pensively, and she wondered what he was thinking. “Although, I have a very poor way with words. Maybe you can help me with that, too?”
A smile crossed Kennedy’s face, and she nodded. “I’d be happy to, Mr. Parker.”
His eyebrows shot up, and he studied her with interest. “Mr. Parker. Why do I always feel like a boss when someone calls me that?”
“Maybe because you are a boss?” Kennedy replied teasingly. The boss of everything. Not only did the man rule the Hollows with his brothers; he was also the CEO of one of the biggest insurance agencies in both worlds.
“I would rather be your equal. You can call me Owen if I can know your name,” he said. Kennedy pretended to busy herself wrapping the bracelet, more embarrassment coloring her cheeks.
The prince was undeniably flirting with her.
There’s another Dear Diary moment. Holy Hell, this exchange could be an entire diary. It’s the most exciting thing that’s happened to me in years. Kennedy realized how pathetic that sounded. Gods, I hope he’s not actually reading my thoughts.
“Owen,” she said, sampling the word aloud. She liked the way it rolled around in her mouth.
“Well, that’s not fair,” Owen chirped when she didn’t offer her name in return. “I feel vulnerable now.”
Kennedy snorted and immediately clamped her hand to her mouth at the sound of the noise. Very ladylike, Kenn. “My name is—”
“Why haven’t you been answering my calls?” a low voice interrupted.
Both Kennedy and Owen turned to address the being glowering at the two of them. Kennedy felt all the elation of Owen’s nearness drain out of her when she saw who stood before them.
“Well?” Rocco demanded, his icy blue eyes flashing with anger. “Why haven’t you?”
She watched with disappointment as Owen stepped back, clearly having no interest in interrupting a lovers’ dispute. He slipped away, leaving Kennedy with a deep sense of loss.
“Have you forgotten how to speak?” Rocco hissed, and Kennedy whirled to stare at him defiantly.
“No, Rocco,” she snapped. “I’m at work.” She gestured around as if to prove her point.
“Well, I worry about you,” he grumbled. “You have to answer your phone when I call.”
Kennedy’s eyes became slits of annoyance, but she bit back the scathing comment on the tip of her tongue. She didn’t want Owen to hear the barrage of words threatening to spill from her lips.
How the hell can I get this guy to take a hint? And what timing! What, did he wait to come in at the most inopportune time ever?
More customers entered the store, and Theo shot her a helpless look.
“I’m busy, Rocco,” Kennedy muttered, finishing her wrapping job. “I’ll call you later.”
“You better,” he snapped, but he made no move to immediately leave.
“Rocco, how do you think my father would feel about you hanging around here like this?” Kennedy loathed having to use her father’s name in such a way. With Theo, it had been funny to bring up Cameron. With Rocco, it was a necessity—the only way to get him off her back.
Uncertainty crossed through Rocco’s eyes, and he seemed to consider her words carefully.
“Make sure you call me,” he said again, seemingly wanting to drive home the authority he believed he had over her.
“I’ll do my best,” Kennedy lied. If she were to say what she was really thinking, she was certain that Owen would never look at her with those shining eyes again. I’m really going to have to do something about him.
She slid the brightly wrapped present across the counter and nodded toward Owen, offering him a tentative smile. The prince’s expression had turned stoic. Whatever moment they had shared had evaporated in the wake of Rocco’s arrival.
Chalk it up for one more reason for me to throttle Rocco Bellevue. “Here you are, Mr. Parker.”
For the first time, Rocco seemed to realize who stood nearby and instantly moved away. To his credit, he darted his eyes down, as if he felt some modicum of embarrassment, but he couldn’t resist having the last word. “Call me.”
I heard you the first ten times, Kennedy wanted to scream at him. “Should I charge it to the palace, Mr. Parker?” she asked instead, dismissing Rocco, who made his way toward the exit. She could feel his eyes boring through her even as he left.
“Yes, please,” Owen replied, taking the package and heading to the door. She thought he was going to leave without another comment, but at the last minute, he turned back to her. “Is that your boyfriend?”
Kennedy’s heart skipped, and she realized that maybe she hadn’t completely lost him despite Rocco’s untimely arrival. Owen seemed more concerned with infringing on someone else’s lover than he had been put off by the scene.
“No,” she answered. “He’s a member of my pack.” A very insistent member of my pack. More like my stalker, if you want to get technical.
Owen’s expression relaxed, and he glanced toward the door where Rocco had finally disappeared. He pivoted his body back toward the counter and leaned across, a small smile lingering on his face. “Then maybe you can help me write that card now.”
Kennedy exhaled and nodded eagerly. “It would be my pleasure… Owen.”
A flash of guilt slid through her as she questioned her own motivations at that moment. Was it that she truly was interested in Owen, or was she just seeking an out to the inevitable nightmare that her life was threatening to become? She almost laughed aloud, a shiver flooding her body when their hands “accidentally” touched over the counter.
There was no doubt that she was ridiculously attracted to Owen Parker, no matter what else was happening in her life.
It was a pity it could never be.
2
When the dragons had first taken over the Hollows, Owen had been the least involved with the process. It wasn’t that he was opposed to the takeover, but he had been quite indifferent to the idea. Where his brothers had striven for the taste of war and blood, he had always been more rationally-minded.
Owen was content to help out when he was needed, though it wasn’t his priority, and even before the others had ventured into the world of business, he had already been one step ahead. No one had heard of his ideas, which made him so instantly successful. It hadn’t even bothered him when Wilder had stolen his notions and branched out, becoming even more successful than him in some ways. Owen marched to the beat of his own drum, which had never changed over the years, despite the ever-altering flows of everything and everyone around him.
In his opinion, money came and went, and the crash of the stock market was hardly something to get upset about. They had hundreds of lifetimes to recoup their losses and live any kind of life they wanted. There was no rush, no stress, but there was methodology. Owen did not much care for his sense of structure to be upset.
Much the same could be said about his personal life. He was not a flashy guy, and when he ventured into relationships, they were more calculated than based on emotion. He recognized his internal needs and indulged himself when necessary, but as far as romance or love, Owen never believed the ancient Pharaoh’s prophecies or the words of Lucia all those eons ago. He was a realist. Love did not meet statistical quotas, nor did it follow re
asoning that any sound mind could justify. It was a combination of hormones and electrical brain currents, which didn’t fall into Owen’s mathematical mind.
This made his connection to the stunningly beautiful blonde in the jewelry shop so surprising.
Yes, she was gorgeous, but that was hardly a shock in the Hollows. There were thousands of ethereal beasts of unsurpassed elegance and charm, ones Owen had known personally. The tiny yet busty girl was certainly lovely, with her intelligent green eyes and porcelain skin. She didn’t much suit the physical description of a Lycan, but that did not mean much in the day of interbreeding. No, there was something else that drew Owen to Kennedy, an intangible feeling that he wanted to be near her, despite the fact that their encounter had been interrupted by a being clearly intent on claiming her.
Under normal circumstances, Owen would have dismissed both Kennedy and the man without a second thought. The last thing he needed was drama in his life. There was nothing structured about a love triangle, and he certainly was not the type to wander into one, unwittingly or fully conscious. The Hollows provided more than enough troubles of its own, not to mention the trials and tribulations of his highly successful insurance empire. Owen did not need to add to his list of never-ending problems by fighting over a woman, no matter how much she might entrance him.
Still, he couldn’t seem to shake the scent of her pheromones from his nostrils, even among the festivities of Vlad’s Day.
“Uncle Owen, you’re not having any fun,” Bernadette commented, and Owen snapped back to reality, shoving the thought of Kennedy from his mind. He turned to the red-headed girl and frowned with fake displeasure.
“Of course I am,” he told the little girl in a growly voice. “How can you say that?”
She pouted and folded her arms under her chest in defiance. “I can tell! You’re making a mean face and your voice is all funny!”
“Your primitive sense is off,” Owen warned her. “I think you might need surgery.”
Bernadette scowled.
“Daddy! Uncle Owen says I need surgery!” she wailed, bolting off to find her father. Bernadette wasn’t Owen’s blood niece, but he and her father, Colin, had been in an unlikely friendship over the centuries. Colin was one of the few beings who had never ventured into the Sunside because of his nature as a Chimera. The rays of the sun affected him differently than the other immortals, and the simple feel of it on his skin would cause him to burn. Like the trolls, he had never gone beyond the access portals, knowing that only bad things awaited him on the other side. Sometimes Owen envied him for that.
What if I had no choice but to remain in the Hollows? he wondered. I could think of worse things than to never have contact with the mortals again.
He didn’t know who he was kidding—the mortals made up seventy-five percent of his business. The other twenty-five were immortals with Sunside properties. What did an immortal need insurance for? Certainly not life or health. But he made a killing on renter’s and home owner’s insurance from those beings.
Note to self: look into pet insurance, he thought. That appeals to both worlds, and people are stupid about spending money on their house beasts.
“Stop torturing my daughter. This is supposed to be a day of love,” Colin joked, flopping onto a folding chair at Owen’s side. He handed the dragon a beer, and Owen accepted it gratefully.
“Someone’s gotta teach her the ways of the world. Unlike you, she’s not going to have the delicate bubble of living in the Hollows her whole life.”
Colin snorted and shook his head. “The delicate bubble of the Hollows. Said like a man who’s never seen the Trenches.”
“I’ve seen the Trenches,” Owen protested. “But I think we both know that Bernadette is not going to be living her life in the bowels of the underside.”
“Not if you keep paying me the big bucks, Your Highness.”
Colin had been Owen’s point of contact in the Hollows, handling the business from the underbelly while Owen ran things above. It was a harmonious business relationship, one which had made them both very wealthy, although you would never have known it by looking around Colin’s house.
Both men laughed and clinked bottles before taking a sip of beer.
“Here’s to the big bucks!” Colin toasted, and Owen nodded, chasing the words with another swig of beer. He felt like he had been drinking more lately, and he couldn’t say why. It wasn’t as if he needed to drink, but he was finding solace in the bottom of a bottle more than he had in the past.
Solace for what? What do I have to feel bad about?
That was a matter for another time, when he was alone and wallowing in self-pity. That night was for being among friends.
Maybe I’m not just jealous of Colin for being stuck in the Hollows, Owen thought. Maybe I envy more about his life than I think.
“Isn’t Amelia annoyed that I’m here?” Owen asked, craning his neck back to look for Colin’s wife. He caught the outline of her body pattering around in the kitchen through the sliding doors beyond the deck. The mugginess of the previous day had lessened, and a coolness enveloped them in the shadows.
“The only one she’s annoyed at is me,” Colin chuckled. “But what the hell else is new? What’s married life if you can’t receive a blast of shit from your wife every now and again?”
“What did you do this time?” Owen demanded. “You keep it up and I’m going to arrange a better husband for Amelia.”
“Hey, you should be thanking me! I did you a favor. She wanted to invite one of her single friends for you for Vlad’s Day, and I told her if she did, I would take her credit cards away.”
Owen snickered, but he was slightly touched by Amelia’s thought.
“Too bad,” Owen jested. “I could have used some eye candy. You’re not getting any better-looking with age, you know?”
“Careful, or I’ll have her call whomever she had in mind,” Colin warned. “You haven’t met many of Amy’s friends. They’re mostly trolls.”
“Trolls need love, too,” Owen reminded him, but in the back of his mind, he wondered why he was engaging in such a conversation. It was like the thought of romance was on his mind with Vlad’s Day. Or the thought of Kennedy.
An unexpected shiver both warmed and cooled him simultaneously.
“Bernadette!” Owen called suddenly, reaching into the breast pocket of his shirt. “Come here. I have something for you.” The little girl approached him warily, her eyes wide with suspicion. “Why are you looking at me like that?” Owen asked, mildly surprised. Usually she swarmed to him easily.
“I’m not doing surgery,” she announced, and both men laughed.
“Fine. I have a present for you,” Owen told her. “Peace offering?”
Her eyes brightened, and she eagerly reached out for it.
“What do you say, Bernie?” Colin reminded her, rolling his eyes like the exhausted parent he was.
“I can’t say thank you if I don’t know if I’ll like it,” Bernadette explained. Owen had to laugh. The girl was going to have no problems in life with that attitude.
“Bernadette!” Amelia snapped, hearing the tail end of the conversation. “Thank your uncle! If someone cares about you enough to give you a gift, you say thank you, even if you hate it.”
Owen hoped she did not hate it.
“Thank you,” Bernadette muttered begrudgingly, tearing into the wrapping Kennedy had done with such care. Owen almost cringed as he watched, remembering the painstaking detail Kennedy had used.
In his mind’s eye, he saw Kennedy’s silken tresses falling over her face as she focused on the packaging. He knew she had been blushing and trying to hide the pink of her cheeks from him, but he had seen it.
“Oh!” Bernadette gasped. “A Prism Charm bracelet! Oh, thank you, Uncle Owen! All of my friends have one of these! See, I told you, Mom and Daddy! Everyone has one of these! Even Uncle Owen knows that!”
Colin and Amelia shot him a disapproving look.
&nbs
p; “What?” Owen mouthed, confused. Colin rubbed his index finger and thumb together, indicating the cost of the piece, but Owen couldn’t even remember how much it had cost—or if he had even asked. He had been too consumed with the worker to think or care about it.
“What’s the point in having a rich uncle if she can’t prove it?” he protested aloud. He gestured for Bernadette to come closer so he could fasten the bracelet around her wrist.
“You spoil her,” Colin sighed, and Amelia nodded in agreement. “I’ll blame you when she grows up entitled.”
“It’s not spoiling if she deserves it,” Owen replied. The pewter piece was slightly too large for Bernadette, but she would grow into it. He had meant it when he told the jewelers that he wanted his niece to keep it for a long time to come. He was glad she was happy. “Anyway,” Owen continued. “She’s the most special woman in my life. I’m allowed to spoil her.”
Bernadette gave him a shy smile, and Owen returned it. The item was a success. He would have to go back to Solstice Jewellers and thank Kennedy for her selection. It was the least he could do.
Impulsively, Bernadette threw her small arms around Owen’s neck and pecked him on the cheek.
“Well, we could find you another special girl,” Amelia said in a singsong voice. “I know a girl who—”
“Amelia. Credit cards,” Colin interjected, and his wife promptly stopped speaking. Owen grinned as Bernadette untangled herself and scampered off into the yard, dangling her bracelet happily.
“Thank you, Amelia,” Owen said cordially. “But I am perfectly content without the complications of a relationship.”
“It’s not complicated if you find the right woman,” Amelia insisted. Colin glared at her, knowing his friend’s sentiments on the matter.