Her co-workers clapped and cheered for her after the cameras quit rolling. Her replacement, Monkia Hardy, clapped the loudest. She'd been openly campaigning for Kendall's job for months. They ushered her to a room with a cake and going-away presents. Everyone was in attendance except for her boss who was still brooding. He was positive she was moving to a rival network. He refused to believe she'd given it all up for love.
After the party, she headed home to finish packing. Olivia had completely understood her decision and admitted that she knew it was going to happen the minute she saw the two of them together. Kendall insisted on paying rent until Olivia could find a new roommate, but she already had someone lined up. It was a relief to Kendall that Olivia wouldn't be alone.
She'd been in contact with Dorian every day since she left. They texted each other throughout the day and spoke on the phone for hours at night, usually while she was staring at the photo she'd snatched from Daphne. Their texts were interesting tidbits from their day, like him telling her Maggie tracked down Hank Colbert's kids and they were grateful. Sometimes they were of funny pictures, like when Kendall spotted the Naked Cowboy in Times Square. His response had been to send her a photo of him embracing a scantily-clad woman…one of their practice dummies decked out in lingerie. She'd laughed so hard, the woman next to her on the subway moved to a different seat.
Neither had broached the subject of the future. She wasn't certain where he stood, but she knew what she wanted…him, for the rest of her life. As if her thoughts conjured him, her cell beeped a text message:
What do U call a boomerang that doesn't come back?
She smiled and typed back: I don't know…what do you call it?
His reply was instant: A stick.
She laughed, recognizing that humor.
Knock, knock.
Uh-oh, apparently Kai graduated to knock-knock jokes. She played along: Who's there?
Ach.
Ach who?
God bless U.
She typed: LOL! You with Kai?
How'd U guess? Brat won't quit with the jokes.
Her smile turned to tears. That meant Kai thought he was sad. Miss U. Her phone rang and she knew it was him before she answered.
Her mom arrived the next day. She took a leave of absence from her job and they rented a car driving first to Miami so she could say goodbye to Bridget, and then to Dallas to say goodbye to Kiki. From there, they were headed to Colorado to drop her mom off and then she was going to take the plunge and drive to Indiana.
They'd just left the cemetery in Highland Park, a suburb of Dallas, where she placed a dozen pink roses on Kiki's grave…her favorite flower. Saying the final goodbye was harder than she thought. She wished Dorian was here to hold her…she needed him.
"How about if you drop me at the airport and you can head directly to Indiana," her mom said, breaking into her thoughts.
"What? No, Mom, I'm enjoying our time together."
Her mom squeezed her hand. "I am, too, but it's just one day early and you could go be with your man."
"How did you know what I was thinking?" she asked.
Her mom smiled. "By the look on your face."
"I love him."
Her mom squeezed her hand. "I know, and if he's responsible for that glow on your face and sparkle in your eyes, then I love him, too."
"He never said anything about the future," she confessed. "He said he loved me but he didn't say he wanted to marry me."
"So ask him."
"What?"
"I asked your father."
Kendall's eyes widened. "You did?"
If I waited around for Jack to ask, I would still be waiting. The man was clueless sometimes."
Kendall smiled at the wistful tone in her mom's voice. Her dad had been gone for years and she'd remarried, but her mom still missed him every day.
#
Saturday, November 13
Dorian tossed down his phone and flopped against the back of the chair. Kendall had been sending pictures of her trip with her mom every day. Many were of interesting sights or cities they visited, or offbeat roadside attractions. Sometimes she was in the picture and his heart squeezed. He'd stare at the picture until his vision blurred.
Logan handed him a beer and dropped into the lounger next to him. "Thanks."
"You look like you need it." Logan took a pull of his beer. "Kendall?"
Dorian sighed. "I don’t think I can live without her."
"Then why are you here and not knocking on her door, asking her to marry you?"
"You're one to talk," he grumbled, taking a sip. Logan had let his movie star girlfriend return to Hollywood and film a movie. She had come back to him, so he got his happily ever after. Logan chuckled. Dorian sighed. "Besides, her life's in New York. Mine's here." At least he thought her life was in the Big Apple. She'd quit her job but she hadn't told him what her plans were. He'd been too much of a chicken shit to ask.
"So make it work. Jade and I do."
How to do that was the question. He didn't want to quit his job—he loved it. And now with him mom and sister moving to be closer to him, he couldn't just pack up and leave. But he couldn't ask Kendall to give up her career for him, either. There had to be a way to make it work. She was his oxygen and he needed her to breathe.
His cell beeped a text message. He picked it up and clicked on the photo. It was Kendall smiling beautifully, and it looked like she was standing by his truck.
Nice truck, he typed and hit the send button.
It is, isn't it? Knock, knock.
He groaned. Please no more knock, knock jokes.
She ignored him. Knock, knock.
Fine, he'd play along. Who's there?
"Me."
He turned so fast he spilled his beer, but he didn't care. He was out of the chair and had her in his arms in two seconds flat. He was never letting go.
###
About the Author
Velvet Vaughn is the author of The List, The Fan, Committed, and Violets are Blue, the first four books in the COBRA Securities series, as well as the Christmas Novella, A Christmas Miracle. The sixth book in the COBRA Series, Hide and Seek, will be published soon.
Connect With Velvet
Website: www.velvetvaughn.com
Facebook Fanpage: https://www.facebook.com/authorvelvetvaughn
Blog: http://www.velvetvaughn.com/blog.html
From Velvet
Thanks so much for purchasing Trust No One. I hope you enjoyed the story of Kendall and Dorian. If you did, I would appreciate you leaving feedback at Amazon.com or Goodreads. Thank you!
The next book in the series, Hide and Seek, will be released soon. It's the story of Taylor Hudson and Dante Costa, the COBRA Securities Agent from Trust No One.
If you would like to read the story of one of the characters from my books, let me know. You can reach me through the contact page on my website or my Facebook Fanpage. I'd love to hear from you. And be sure to like my Fanpage—I'll be having giveaways soon.
Thank you again for your support!
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