And now the evening was coming to a close. That point where he might go in for a kiss. Might try and do some petting if she gave him any encouragement.
A wash of cold swept over her, mingling with the heat in her blood.
Oh God. She wasn’t ready for this. Was she?
She could’ve told him she’d walk out to her car by herself. They were by a busy street and it was light enough. She would’ve been fine.
But she hadn’t wanted to go out alone, and not because of fear, but because surprisingly she didn’t want this night to end. It had been both terrifying to realize, and a bit liberating.
She was all too aware of his tall, wide frame walking beside her. Just how blatantly large and male he was. She was used to her brothers, but they were family. Brett was most definitely not a relative, and each step she took toward her car reminded her of it.
She reached her destination and drew in an unsteady breath.
“Here’s my little Escort.” She tried for a bright smile, but it felt tight. Fake. Terrified.
He stopped beside her, inches away, and didn’t say anything. She could feel his gaze on her. Probing. Questioning. Heated. She’d seen that flash of need in his eyes more than once inside the restaurant, but he’d been a perfect gentleman. Doing nothing more than touching her hand briefly.
She’d been almost disappointed when he’d moved his hand away. Would he try and touch her again now?
Her heart doubled its rhythm and she drew in tiny shallow breaths as panic started to swell in her.
“Brett—”
“Relax, Kenzie,” he said softly. “I’m not going back on my word. I’m not going to seduce you in the parking lot of Applebee’s.”
He wasn’t? Maybe it was a bloody shame, because with the way her body was reacting right now, she sensed he might’ve succeeded further than any man in the past ten years had.
With a soft curse, he muttered, “I have to kiss you, though. Please don’t say no.”
Say no? Could she even if she tried? Yet giving any kind of permission was nearly as impossible at this moment.
She could only stand frozen, eyes wide and heart racing. Finally, she gave a small nod.
He drew in a ragged breath and reached out to cradle her cheek with one hand. His other rested on her waist.
“I hope that was giving me permission, sugar, because I need only a taste.”
Without waiting for a response, his head lowered and his lips hovered just above hers. She closed her eyes, letting her senses take over. Their breath met first. Warm and moist, their lips not quite touching yet. Then he moved ever so slightly so that his mouth pressed against hers. Soft, but firm.
There was restraint in the hand that held her waist. His fingers on her skin, even over the cotton of her T-shirt, seemed to brand his prints on her. Making her burn. His grasp was strong, but not imprisoning.
His lips brushed hers again, softly, without pressure. He made no move to deepen the kiss or rush anything. It was simple and yet so sensual. The warmth in her belly began to spread through her blood, bubbling hotter and faster. Making her aware of every nerve ending on her body, but everything homed in on the one spot where their breath mixed together.
She wanted more. She wanted to deepen the kiss.
For an instant, his thumb pressed harder against her waist, and she could sense him struggling with his control. His lips trembled against hers and then, in a surprising move, he caught her bottom lip between both of his and sucked lightly.
Shock and pleasure jolted through her, and she whimpered, swaying against him. She needed more. Her lips parted and she leaned forward, but he’d already pulled away.
Dazed, she blinked her eyes open. It took a moment for her vision to adjust to the streetlights that held the nighttime darkness at bay.
“Thank you for taking me to dinner, Kenzie,” he murmured, tracing his fingers down her jawline, ever so lightly.
“You actually paid for it.” Oh shite, her voice sounded like she’d swallowed a squeak toy. “Thank you.”
He gave another smile, the one that had all those little butterflies coming to life in her stomach. In the artificial lighting, she could see the lingering heat in his gaze and something else. Some kind of hesitancy.
He truly wasn’t going to try to convince her to go to bed with him tonight. That fact in combination with how amazing the evening had been was making it harder to find a reason to not want to see him again.
Brett was a good guy. And she needed to start dating. Delonna was right. She really, really needed to put her arse out there.
And that kiss…whoa.
“I work tomorrow night, you should come in and see me. I’ll likely hook you up with some shepherd’s pie.”
Wow, that was quite bold of her, wasn’t it? Channeling some vintage Kenzie, she was. Biting her lip to hide a smile, she reached into her purse for her keys.
“Sounds good. Have a good night, Kenzie.”
“You too.”
He was rather sweet, waiting until she’d climbed into her car and driven off. Only then did she see in her rearview that he made his way to a big pickup truck in the corner of the lot.
This was good. She’d met a decent guy and he was the perfect person to jump feet-first back into the dating game with.
It didn’t have to be serious. Honestly, she didn’t know if she even wanted serious while she finished up her degree.
But she was putting herself out there, and it was about time.
Brett maneuvered his Dodge Ram into a spot at the pub. The place was already packed even though it was a Sunday night. Maybe because there was a Seahawks game on and McLaughlin’s Pub had a couple massive flat screens throughout.
It all sounded pretty awesome actually. The game, a couple beers, shepherd’s pie and a beautiful girl he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about.
He’d gone all out this afternoon. Taking an extra-long shower and finally opening his bottle of Marc Jacobs aftershave. It had been a gift from his sister at Christmas, sitting unused in his bathroom until today. Not much for designer things, he figured his under $10 bottle was absolutely fine and he’d hold off on the pricey stuff until he ran out.
But today he saw the appeal in the designer brand. Felt the difference. Actually, he figured he smelled pretty damn good right now. And getting dressed, he hadn’t put that much thought into what to wear since, well, maybe never.
To top it all off, he was nervous. Like he was about to go on some kind of first date in high school or something.
What the hell was wrong with him?
As he stared at the front door of the pub, watching people slip in and out for a cigarette, a sliver of unease raced through him.
He shifted his gaze to one of the windows of the pub, saw the crowds of people. Some clearly sailors from the base.
Suddenly, she filled his vision. She had a tray of food balanced on her hand as she delivered it to the table near the window. Her hair was always the first thing he noticed. It was as much her identity as the trace of a Scottish accent.
Even from across the parking lot, he could get a good glimpse of her. So beautiful. His pulse jacked up and he drew in an unsteady breath.
With the food delivered, she tucked the tray under her arm and placed a hand on her hip. She seemed to be talking to the men, but her gaze rose to the window.
Through the drizzling rain and fading light, he knew she wouldn’t be able to see him.
She lingered for a moment more, staring out into the night, before turning and walking away.
Shit.
Realization hit with him quick, cold precision.
He liked her. He liked Kenzie in a way that meant he might not be able to sleep with her for a couple of weeks, or even a night, and move on.
How? They’d had two hours talking at Applebee’s and a kiss that most would consider chaste, for fuck’s sake.
He scrubbed a hand down his smooth, expensively scented jaw, and was reminded of how h
ard he was trying tonight.
The excitement of the evening slowly faded into the depths of somber disappointment. He couldn’t go down this road, not again. Nothing serious.
It was a promise he’d made to himself after the last time and one he’d done damn well at keeping.
The women he’d gotten involved with in the past couple of years had known what they were getting into. It had been casual. It had been fun. It had been brief. It had never been permanent.
Kenzie wasn’t the kind of woman you slept with and walked away from. She’d blatantly said last night she didn’t move that fast getting sexually involved with men, and he’d been fine with that. He knew she would’ve been worth the wait.
But despite the lighthearted yet tough exterior she presented, he knew she was fragile. Delicate. Though he suspected she’d smack him one if she ever heard him call her that.
She’d been hurt before. By someone. Maybe she hadn’t told him, but some things you could sense.
His chest tightened and his stomach roiled. The dejection lingered in a heavy cloud around him as Brett started his truck, the keys still in the ignition.
He couldn’t do it. He couldn’t be the man who hurt Kenzie again. It was better if he walked away now.
Reversing out of his spot, he sped out of the pub’s parking lot and forced himself not to give it a backward glance.
Chapter Four
“School’s out. I don’t know how the heck I’m going to keep my sanity all summer long.”
Sitting on the front porch of Sarah and Ian’s house, Kenzie smiled slightly at Sarah’s pained words. Her brothers were in the back grilling dinner while Kenzie and Sarah sat on the porch chatting. Unfortunately, Hailey hadn’t been able to make it to the weekly family gathering because she’d been called in to work.
Kenzie stared at her niece doing backward handsprings in the yard and gave a small shrug.
“I’m sorry you can’t use wine to help this time.” Kenzie lifted her own glass and gestured to Sarah’s baby belly. “Don’t want to get my future nephew drunk, so I’ll be sure to drink another glass for you.”
“Aren’t you wonderful,” Sarah drawled, then sipped on her lemonade.
“I can’t remember. Is this barbeque tonight celebrating that it’s summer vacation? Or trying to distract from the pain that your child will be telling you how bored she is for the next two months?”
“I think a little of both.” Sarah rubbed her belly. “Though I’m sure Auntie Kenzie will take her for a few dozen sleepovers, right? Please? Oh God, please say yes? I’m already exhausted from being pregnant.”
Sarah was so tiny that she’d begun showing pretty quickly into the pregnancy, now at six months she was already almost all belly. Emily was over the moon at the idea of being a big sister.
Kenzie laughed and shook her head. “You doubt me? Of course I will. I adore my niece.”
“You spoil her rotten.”
“I believe that’s actually the definition of adore, isn’t it?”
Sarah arched a brow.
“Aye, well it should be then.” Kenzie sighed and leaned back in the chair.
Her gaze drifted out over the handful of houses in the distance and the road that led down to the quaint town of Coupeville. It was rather pretty. One of the oldest towns on the island and still with that small-town feel.
“You’ve been back here a year now, do you ever tire of island living?”
“Not at all. I love Whidbey.” Sarah’s expression turned whimsical. “It’s beautiful and peaceful. When we moved to Japan for Dad’s orders, I didn’t just mourn leaving Ian, but the island too.”
“But it must’ve been nice being able to travel.”
“You really don’t have much choice if you’re in the Navy life. I’m not much for moving around since I did it so much as a kid.” Sarah grinned. “If you’re thinking about traveling, you should go and marry yourself a nice Navy man and—oh fuck.”
Kenzie’s grimace deepened.
“Shit, Kenz, I’m sorry. I forgot for just a minute and completely let that slip.”
To hear her friend dropping swear words left and right almost erased the slight stab of sadness that had bloomed at Sarah’s Navy man remark.
“No need to apologize. Seriously. We had one dinner together, and I’m not even sure I’d call it a date.” She forced a light shrug. “And it was seven months ago, so it’s water under the bridge.”
Seven months. Shite, that was over half a year. Why did it still bother her this much?
Sarah clenched her glass of wine in her hand, clearly distressed. “I know, but—”
“You don’t need to tiptoe around the topic of the Navy or Navy men, for fuck’s sake. We live on an island where there’s a base nearby. They’re sewn into our lives by nature.”
“They are. You’re absolutely right. But I try and be careful and not mention them, because you don’t need to be reminded of a certain asshole sailor.”
Certain sailor meaning Brett. This was why you didn’t tell your friends all the little details about your love life. Or lack of a love life.
The night after she’d had dinner with Brett, she’d met Sarah, Delonna and Hailey for breakfast. They’d all inhaled four-digit-calorie meals while scooping on all the details of Kenzie’s first date in a long-arse time.
Real brilliant move there, because Sunday night Brett hadn’t shown up at the pub. Actually, he’d avoided coming to the pub every night for the past seven months. Radio silence. He didn’t have her number and she didn’t have his. Not that she would’ve called him.
The ball had been in his court. He knew where she worked while she only knew he worked on a Navy base with about a zillion other people. Clearly, he’d dropped the ball. Then again, maybe he’d never wanted to have it in the first place.
Yet she’d been quite a fool and had held out hope for the next couple of weeks that maybe something had simply come up. Maybe he’d been called back on the ship. Did that happen?
Until she’d spotted him a few weeks later in the grocery, walking through an aisle with a pretty woman at his side. Kenzie had hightailed it out of the store in a heartbeat, leaving a cart full of groceries and the insensitive wanker behind.
It had all become clear, including how naïve she’d been. Brett had been indulging her at dinner that night, but obviously his pressing need to get shagged had been more important than waiting to see how long it would be until she put out.
“He’s not necessarily an asshole, Sarah.” Even as she said it, she wondered why she was defending him. No, she couldn’t be that silly. “He was simply a horny sailor hoping for a bit of immediate fun. Seeing that I wasn’t ready to give it to him, he obviously went elsewhere.”
“Apparently,” Sarah grumbled. “I’ve never met him, but he sounded like a nice guy from what you said and I was pretty excited to hear you were putting yourself out there and dating.”
Kenzie didn’t reply, instead stared at her niece continuing to do flips on the lawn.
It really was better that her brothers hadn’t realized she’d gone out on a date and then been stood up. To say they would’ve lost it would be an understatement. Aleck in particular, as he’d had a bit of a run-in with Brett that night.
Shite, what was she doing still thinking about this man? Giving him a minute of her thoughts? It was ages ago.
“Is there anyone out there who has caught your interest lately, Kenzie?”
Ah, the girls were always fishing for the latest on her love life. They’d calmed down for a couple months after Brett, giving her time to heal if she’d needed it, but then jumped right back on the train.
“I don’t know if it’s interest,” she admitted slowly. “But there is someone.”
Sarah jumped on it like a kid on cake. She sat up in her chair and leaned forward. “Seriously? Spill the beans. I want details and I want them now.”
“I met him at my gym. He’s a trainer there.”
“You go to a
gym?” Sarah’s eyes widened ever farther. “And you use a trainer? But you hate exercise.”
“I don’t bloody hate exercise, I hate sweating. There’s a difference, and shouldn’t you just be excited I’ve met someone?”
“I am. Oh, absolutely. Is he cute?”
“He’s attractive. Maybe a little unconventional. Loads of hair that he keeps in a ponytail—”
“Wait, you like long hair on guys?”
“—and I don’t believe he has an inch of fat on him,” she continued, ignoring the dubious look from her friend. “He’s big and wide—”
“So are semi trucks. Keep going. Does he have a good personality? Do you guys have much in common?”
“We both like to work out.”
“But you don’t like—fine, you don’t like to sweat. What else does he have going for him?”
“I don’t know, Sarah, it’s early. We’ve only talked in the gym and mostly about fitness stuff.” She paused to take a sip of wine. “He’s a single father, he told me that much. Has a son who’s three.”
“Oh wow. A kid, huh? But you do love children.”
“Do I?” Kenzie shook her head and frowned. “Sometimes I wonder if I just prefer borrowing other people’s. Maybe the most I’m supposed to be is an aunt.”
“Please. You’ve got plenty of time to decide.”
“I’m twenty-nine,” Kenzie pointed out.
Sarah shook her head in dismay. “You realize people do get pregnant past thirty, right? Do we need to talk about how babies are made?”
“Sausage goes in the crescent roll, something of the sort.”
“Sausage in the crescent roll? That’s a new one.”
“Thank you.” She lifted her wine glass and winked. “I try to stay cutting-edge with my perverted analogies. Regardless, I know how babies are made. Even if I haven’t participated in anything quite that fun lately.”
Sarah gave her a pointed glance. “Maybe this trainer guy is exactly what you need then.”
Even though the thought of sleeping with the man did absolutely nothing to her pulse, she still gave a small nod. “Maybe. We’re having dinner at Flyers tomorrow night.”
Loch and Key: McLaughlins, Book 3 Page 4