by Rayne Reilly
A warm hand rested gently on her arm. Kellie looked up and into Holden's soft brown eyes. His mouth gave its usual lopsided grin and he motioned with his head toward the dance floor instead of speaking to her.
Smiling, she accompanied him to the center of the room, next to the bride and groom. Holden placed a warm hand on her waist and took her other hand in his, holding it carefully. Her body filled with warmth and she prayed that her palms would not sweat. She placed a hand on his upper chest, feeling the solid wall of muscle beneath it. With her other hand in his, she reminded herself to breathe.
She hadn’t stood this close to him before. His body heat radiated toward her. She shifted her eyes to the left and right refusing to face him for more than a second or two. If they locked onto one another's eyes, she would no longer be responsible for her behavior.
As they moved slowly to the music, she relaxed into his body. Glancing at his mouth, she fantasized about what it would be like to kiss his incredible full lips. Caught up in her daydream, Kellie lost her footing and stumbled. Holden caught her with a firm grasp and let out a chuckle as he slowed their dance. The two gazed into each other's eyes for just a moment before looking away quickly. For Kellie, time stood still. She didn’t want this moment to end.
Pressing her lips together, she focused on the movement of her feet with his.
“Are you enjoying the big event?” he said softly, his breath was warm on her ear as he leaned down slightly.
She nodded. “Yes. I am. Are you?” She admonished herself for not having more to say. Her body tensed once again and she reminded herself to breathe.
“I am, thank you. By the way, you sang beautifully today. As I said last night, you should be sharing that voice with the world. It’s an incredible gift,” he smiled.
Kellie's heart swelled with pride. Their eyes locked once more, this time they lingered in their gaze until suddenly, Holden averted his eyes. Something in his energy changed. He loosened his hold on her hand and around her waist.
Wondering what had caused the sudden shift, Kellie searched his face for a clue. He refused to look directly at her again and spoke no further.
The song ended. “Thank you,” mumbled Holden and with that, he released her and walked away without another word.
Kellie was heartbroken that the slow dance hadn't meant as much to him as it had to her. She was heading toward her seat when a hand touched her shoulder hesitantly. She turned to find Reece smiling back at her.
“Oh. Hi Reece.” Upset by Holden's seeming rejection, she rubbed her sweaty palms down the sides of her dress.
Reece looked unsure as he asked, “Would you – would you care to dance?”
Kellie scanned the room quickly, looking for Holden but didn’t see him.
“I would, thank you,” she said a little sadly.
It was a fast song so they didn’t need to touch and Kellie was grateful for it. She really liked Holden and while he may not seem interested in her, she didn’t want to give the impression that she was looking to marry a Beringer billionaire.
She wondered if Acacia had put Reece up to asking her to dance. She was sure that people would have noticed Holden's abrupt departure after their dance had ended. Reece was not particularly talkative but he had a quiet strength that Kellie liked. She knew that there would never be anything between them because the feelings between them just weren’t the same as they were between her and Holden.
Smiling, Reece and Kellie danced together, enjoying the music. Reece was not as reserved on the dance floor as she expected him to be. When the song was finished, he thanked Kellie for the dance and the two wandered back to the head table to take their seats.
“You sure know how to move!” Kellie exclaimed, feeling a little more jovial than at the start of the dance.
Reece grinned, looking away for a moment and then back at her. “Thanks. I try!” he said in a deep voice.
Attempting to be nonchalant about it, Kellie glanced around the room looking for Holden. He was in the far corner of the room chatting to the same young woman who had stopped him earlier. Hurt that he had been so rude to her, Kellie pulled her gaze away from Holden and let out a sigh.
“Don’t let him get to you,” Reece said, leaning in close to her.
“What? I don’t know what you mean!” Kellie said defensively, folding her arms across her chest and fighting the urge to pout.
“Holden has never had a serious relationship and I think you scare him a little.” Reece’s voice was tender and sweet. In that moment, Kellie wished that Holden was more like his brother.
She pointed to her chest with her thumb. “I scare him? How so?” she asked, raising one eyebrow.
“He has confided in me and probably Grant, too, that he’s attracted to you, but he isn’t very good at communicating with women.”
Kellie narrowed her eyes toward the spot where Holden and the young woman were sharing a laugh in the far corner.
“He seems to be communicating with her just fine!” she grumbled.
Reece placed a hand on her shoulder and rubbed it for a moment.
“She’s our cousin and she isn’t a threat.”
Kellie felt herself flush with embarrassment. What was happening to make her feel so jealous?
This isn’t me!
She bit her bottom lip and shook her head. She knew that she shouldn’t allow herself to let Holden get to her but she couldn’t help it. How could he not feel the same thing she did when they touched?
She decided to spend the rest of the night ignoring him and dancing with as many people as possible. This might be the last wedding she ever attended and she was damned well going to enjoy it.
At the end of the night, Grant and Acacia left for their honeymoon. Kellie was ready to head home. She made her rounds to say goodnight to Mr. and Mrs. Beringer, as well as to Reece.
Once outside, she stood in front of the house waiting for the valet to bring her car around. Suddenly, she detected a familiar energy beside her. Glancing quickly to her right, she found Holden looking at her questioningly.
“Leaving without saying goodbye?” he asked, sardonically.
“I didn’t think you cared whether I was here or not, so I didn’t see the point,” she snapped.
Stunned by her response, Holden took a step back.
Kellie did not expect his surprise. Is he intentionally playing games?
The valet pulled up with her car, got out and walked toward her. Pursing her lips, she turned to look up at Holden once more. “Have a safe trip home,” she said stiffly before brushing past and getting into her car.
He didn’t respond. She didn’t bother to look back to see if he was still watching her as she drove away.
CHAPTER TWO
Three weeks later
It was nice to finally have the day off and Kellie was going to make the most of it. She had zero interest in her waitressing job now that Acacia was no longer working with her. She was delighted that her best friend was now happily married and getting on with her great new life but Kellie missed her. She had spent the last couple of weeks working extra shifts at the restaurant to help fill up her time while Acacia and Grant were away on their honeymoon. On several occasions she had gone out with other friends but her relationship with Acacia was closer than she had with anyone else. She could confide in her best friend and trusted her more than anyone. Finally, the day had arrived when she would get to see Acacia again.
She combed her long wavy brown hair and put on some make up. Smiling at her reflection, she smoothed her top over her jeans and made her way to the kitchen for a quick bite to eat. As she descended the stairs, she was hit with the mouth-watering aroma of bacon and eggs. Puzzled, she cocked her head to one side. Her father didn’t usually cook breakfast. Dinners were his specialty and he was a great cook.
She smiled and padded toward the closed kitchen door inhaling the savory scents. The sound of an unfamiliar female voice caught her off guard. Was someone in the kitchen w
ith her father? He was already in bed when she had come home from work quite late the previous night. Kellie furrowed her brow and pouted as she stood hovering in front of the door. She and her father were always close. Why hadn’t he told her he had met someone? Shocked, another thought crossed her mind. Maybe this just a one night stand?
No way, he doesn’t do that!
Taking a deep breath, she pushed the door open, a smile planted firmly on her lips. He was an adult just like she was, and he could do what he wanted.
Kellie froze when she saw a woman dressed in one of her father's old shirts and nothing else, standing at the stove. The woman turned toward Kellie with a look of surprise on her face. Her expression changed to a nervous smile as Kellie locked eyes with her.
Kellie’s father, Terry, interrupted the awkwardness of the encounter.
“Good morning sweetheart,” he said from his chair at the kitchen table, a hint of nerves obvious in his voice.
Kellie turned her head toward her father, her mouth agape. She wasn’t quite sure what to say so she smiled even wider as she ran her hands down her sides.
“Morning,” she said weakly. The sizzle of bacon and eggs frying made her stomach growl. She hadn't expected to find a strange women in the house, much less a woman wearing nothing but her father's shirt. To say that she had been caught off guard was something of an understatement.
Terry had not dated very much while Kellie was growing up, choosing instead to raise her as a single parent. She knew how hard he worked as a Seattle police detective. Now that she was an adult in her late twenties, she was reluctant to leave home and abandon him.
Over the past few months she had been focused on helping Acacia get ready for her wedding and hadn’t spent much time at home. Then in the past couple of weeks, she had taken on extra work in the evenings so she and her father had rarely seen one another except in passing.
Kellie pursed her lips as she stared back and forth between her father and the woman standing half-naked in her kitchen. Not quite sure what to say, she folded her arms and shifted her weight to one leg.
Terry held a cup of coffee in one hand and reached for a fork with his other hand. It was painfully obvious that he was deliberately avoiding looking at his daughter.
Kellie glanced at the woman standing at the stove. She looked about fifty-something, much the same as her father. Her medium length blond hair was tucked behind her ears as she flipped some eggs in the frying pan. She had cooked him breakfast, whoever she was.
What the hell? Kellie thought as she struggled to hide her resentment. She had looked after her dad since she became an adult. How could he let this woman make him breakfast?
“Kellie, this is Felicia,” came her father’s voice as she took a seat in silence. Watching the scene in front of her, suddenly she felt like an outsider in her own kitchen. A lump formed in her throat. Her voice failed and all she could manage was a nod and a shrug. Felicia laid the egg flipper aside and walked over to Kellie, extending her hand across the table. The woman was smiling but Kellie could see that she was uncomfortable, too.
'She could have put her clothes on before coming out of his room,' Kellie thought to herself as she gave the stranger the once-over and stared into her eyes. Reluctantly, she took Felicia's hand and shook it as briefly as was politely possible.
“Nice to meet you. Your father never stops talking about you,” Felicia said. She sounded friendly enough but Kellie wasn’t ready to accept this new paradigm. Not until she knew more about this woman. Besides, she doubted that he said too much about her. After all, she was just a waitress still living at home. What was to brag about?
Finally, Kellie managed to speak but her voice came out a little more high pitched than she had intended. Folding her arms, she leaned on the table.
“How do you know my dad?” she asked looking back and forth between them.
“We work together. I was transferred to his division a few months ago,” Felicia said, placing a plate of food in front of Terry and turning back to the stove.
Terry began to eat in silence. He wasn’t going to be any help. Kellie stared at him and rolled her eyes. He refused to look up, politely ignoring his daughter's discomfort at finding his lover in their kitchen.
Felicia piped up from where she was standing. “Would you like a couple of eggs, Kellie?”
“No, thanks. I’m not hungry. I have to get going anyway,” she answered. She brushed some hair off her face and forced a smile.
She refused to look at Felicia again. Her near-naked state was off-putting, to say the least.
“Okay.” Felicia sounded disappointed. Kellie ignored her reaction and got up from the table. She pushed the chair back in and headed out of the kitchen. Turning to wave a goodbye to them, she called, “Nice meeting you. I’ll see you later dad.” As soon as she left the room, her smile faded.
Grabbing her car keys and purse, she bolted out the front door before she had to spend another minute pretending she liked her father's new girlfriend.
Driving to Acacia and Grant's house, she wondered at what point her father had begun dating. How many times had Felicia slept over already? She pushed her feelings of jealousy and envy aside, feeling a little embarrassed at acting so silly. He was an adult. He could do what he wanted. A nagging little voice inside suggested that she was just jealous because her father was dating and she wasn't. In an attempt to drown it out, she turned up the radio.
***
“Kellie! I’ve missed you so much!” Acacia gushed as the women hugged tightly.
Kellie beamed with joy as she stood back and looked at Acacia.
“Marriage certainly agrees with you,” she grinned. “I’ve never seen you look so happy. How was your honeymoon?”
“It was amazing! I took some pictures, but we spent most of the time…well, you know…” Acacia’s giggled as she ushered Kellie into the large kitchen. Acacia made them each a cup of coffee and a light snack before the two caught up on the past few weeks.
“How have you been?” asked Acacia. “Anything exciting happen while I’ve been gone?”
Kellie rolled her eyes and sighed in exasperation.
“My dad is seeing someone,” she grumbled.
“Good for him! Is she nice?” Acacia asked, innocently.
“I just met her a little while ago. She seems okay…I guess,” Kellie offered with a shrug and a frown.
Acacia studied her for a moment, her face filled with concern.
“Do you want to talk about what’s going on?” Acacia asked softly.
“No. Don’t worry about it. I’m being silly. Tell me what’s going on with you guys? How is Grant?” Kellie asked.
“Grant is great…we are great! I’m excited about starting university in the fall and I’m pretty happy I’m not going back to waitressing. I never imagined my life turning out like this!” Acacia said happily.
Kellie felt a pang of envy at the opportunity her best friend now had to follow her dream of becoming a teacher. She wasn’t crazy about being a waitress either. She also thought that being a singer full time was more of a pipe dream than anything else.
Kellie forced herself to smile and nod in spite of feeling a little low. As Acacia continued to fill her in on her new life, Kellie's thoughts wandered to the current state of her own situation and the fact that even her father had a girlfriend, while she remained single and alone.
“…Holden yesterday and he asked about you.” Acacia’s voice interrupted her friend's daydreaming.
Kellie's ears perked up at the sound of Holden’s name. Grant’s youngest brother lived in Las Vegas and was not a lot like Grant at all. The fact that the Beringers were bear shifters didn’t matter to Acacia or Kellie.
In fact, Kellie found Holden all the more sexy for his little secret. Too bad the guy generally behaved liked a jerk.
His behavior at Acacia’s wedding had left her feeling even more insecure. She assumed that her curves and round face were the reasons he wasn’t i
nterested. After all, he could have any woman he wanted. Kellie had been polite to him at Acacia and Grant’s wedding but she had since given up any hope of him ever asking her out.
It didn’t matter anyway. She had no plans to leave Seattle or her fathers house anytime soon. She was determined to make her life work just fine right where she was.
That’s what she had been telling herself up to the moment Acacia mentioned his name again. Now she wanted to know why on earth he would ask about her.
“What? When?” Kellie asked suddenly sitting up straight in her chair. Her attention was suddenly on the four words, “...he asked about you.”
Acacia chuckled. Kellie looked at her in surprise.
“He called last night about coming up for a visit.”
“Is he coming soon?” Kellie asked.
“He says he will be. Though, with Holden you can never be too sure what he is doing.”
“Well, I’m surprised he asked about me at all.” Kellie looked down, trying to hide her excitement. Taking a deep breath, she told herself that his enquiry probably didn’t mean anything.
“He likes you; Grant told me he does. The problem with Holden is that he doesn’t have a great history with women. He worries that they only want to be with him for his money so he doesn’t trust them easily.
“Apparently, a while ago some woman even claimed to be pregnant with his child and threatened to cause a lot of problems for him and the family. Turns out she was lying and was never pregnant to begin with. Holden’s the youngest of the family. To me, he seems less responsible than Grant or even Reece,” Acacia stated.
“Good job selling him, Acacia,” Kellie teased, putting a thumb up. Kellie sipped her coffee then licked her lips.
Acacia frowned. “I’m sorry. I know you think he’s hot, but his inability to commit worries me when it comes to you. Kellie, you deserve the best and I want to see you get it. In all seriousness, though, he did tell Grant that he thought you were pretty great as well. Grant told him to leave you alone because you are my friend.”