“He had his hands on you and he is married? He is bad news, Kamryn! You stay away from him!”
“No, Jesus, Barb! He caught me. I literally ran into him and almost fell over. He just caught and steadied me.”
“Oh. Well. Still. You need to remember the man is married, and there are some lines you just don’t cross. And don’t you dare take the Lord’s name in vain around me again, young lady.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Why don’t you tell me more about this other guy . . . Aiden, right? Let’s talk about him until Kinlee gets there. I’m assuming she’s running late again?”
“Of course, she is.” I sighed and rolled my eyes as I looked up at the door to see if it was her who just walked in. “Oh . . . my . . . word. He’s a cop,” I whispered.
“Who is?” she whispered back at me.
“Brody. He just walked into the coffee shop.”
“Kamryn, don’t you dare—”
“Barbara,” I hissed as I forced my eyes away from Brody in his uniform and looked around to see if there was anything I could hide behind. There wasn’t. “He’s married!”
“Baby girl, you are not too big for me to give your behind a good swat! Don’t you use that tone with me! I’ll fly to Oregon just to remind you of your manners.”
“Yes, ma’am, but I need to hide, and there’s nothing to hide behind. Maybe he won’t—”
“KC?”
Son of a bitch! “He found me,” I whispered, before turning to look at Brody. “Hi,” I said through gritted teeth. Oh, Christ, he looked better than I remembered . . . and with that uniform on, this was not about to go over well.
Brody gave me a strange glance before looking to the side and back to me. “You don’t remember me, do you? I’m Brody—”
“No, of course, I do. You’re Jace’s brother.” How am I supposed to forget you? I can’t sleep because of you! “Barb, I have to go, call me later.” She was spouting off warnings as I tapped the END button and laid my phone on the table.
“Sorry, I didn’t realize you were on the phone. You didn’t have to get off.”
“It’s fine.” I wanted to ask how he was, or if he’d been able to get any sleep since this weekend. But we hadn’t even said anything to each other at Kinlee’s house. I wasn’t some old friend who could ask how the family was. Wife, Kamryn. He has a wife. Like a bucket of ice-cold water had been thrown on me, my mind cleared and I straightened in my chair. “So, police officer, huh?”
That crooked smile crossed his face, and his eyes bore into mine. “Yeah.”
“Y’all’s family is really covering all the bases. Jace is a firefighter, you’re a cop. Do you have another sibling who’s an EMT?”
He huffed softly, and I tried to focus on anything other than his face. “No, no other siblings, but my parents really should have thought about that one when they were having kids. Would have rounded it out well.”
“Right?” I said with a laugh. His eyes were locked on mine, and I felt myself wanting to get lost in them. Clearing my throat, I broke the connection for a moment and shot him a grin. “So you left kinda quick the other day. Everything okay? Or do you just not like slumming it with the firefighters?” I instantly regretted teasing him when a wave of some indescribable emotion passed over his face. Whatever it was, it wasn’t good.
“I’d just forgotten I had somewhere to be.” He looked around the shop quickly before his eyes landed back on me, but that crooked smile was gone. What did I say? “Are you meeting someone here?”
“Um, just Kinlee, but she’s—”
“Late? Figures.” He shook his head, and that perfectly imperfect smile was back. “Well, I need to get back on patrol. Can I buy you a drink?”
“Oh, no, that’s fine. You have a good night.”
“I insist. I mean, it’s the least I can do. I interrupted your phone call.”
That had to be the last reason for needing to buy me coffee. But that stupid crooked smirk was there, and his gaze was holding mine intently, and to be honest, I was starting to forget why I wasn’t supposed to be attracted to this man. “Okay.”
He stepped back and waited for me to stand before silently leading me over to the registers. After ordering a large coffee for himself and a caramel latte with whip for me, he walked over to the side with me to wait for my drink, and I tried to hide my smile.
“What do you do, KC?”
“I own a bakery.” His eyes widened, and I stupidly pointed in the direction of the strip where my bakery was. “It’s right next door to Kinlee’s boutique.”
“How old are you?”
“Um, twenty-three?” It came out sounding like a question, but I didn’t understand why he was looking at me the way he was. “Why?”
“You’re twenty-three and you own a bakery. That’s just really impressive. Something like that obviously has to be something you love, and not many people get to say they do what they love for a living. To be that young, own your own business, and be doing what you love—like I said . . . it’s impressive.”
“Th-thank you. I guess? Um . . . huh.” I turned back toward the counter and waited for my drink to appear. I could feel the heat in my cheeks and felt it get worse when I saw him watching me from the corner of my eye. I didn’t know how to respond to what he said. That was a compliment, right? You say “Thanks” to compliments . . . don’t you? My mind flashed through different instances with Charles and my parents, and I quickly shook my head to get rid of any thoughts of them. Those people wouldn’t know how to give a compliment if their life depended on it.
“How long have you been in Oregon?”
My head snapped to the right, and Brody laughed softly at my question-mark expression.
“Well, it’s obvious you’re from the South.”
I always went back to talking normal—well, normal for me—after a phone call with Barbara, and I hadn’t even tried to hide it. I cursed silently and smiled as I reminded myself to talk as not-normal as possible. “About eight months.”
“Where’d you move from?”
“Don’t even try it, Bro. She won’t give it up to me, she’s not about to tell you.”
Brody and I both jolted away from each other at the sound of Kinlee’s voice, and I grabbed my latte as she kissed his cheek and grabbed me for an awkward hug. I hadn’t even realized how close Brody and I had gotten to each other until then, and from the way he was looking in between his sister-in-law and me, he hadn’t either.
“Sorry I’m late, there were people on the road, and they were in my way. You know how it goes.”
I nodded and laughed. “Other drivers? Yeah, they do tend to get in the way sometimes, Lee.”
“Whatever, they should’ve known I had somewhere to be. There’re other roads they can be on.” She turned toward Brody and grabbed his hand before whispering. “You okay? I’m sorry about Jace, don’t let him . . .”
I quietly stepped back and walked over to the table where I’d been sitting. The way Brody’s face instantly shut down when Kinlee asked if he was okay let me know I was not meant to be there for that conversation. I wanted to know what Jace had done, and I figured that must have been why Brody left their house so suddenly last weekend, but I kept my life private. I wasn’t about to go snooping through theirs. The hair on the back of my neck stood up, and I looked up from my coffee cup to see Brody standing there looking down at me.
“Why won’t you tell her where you’re from?”
“It’s a part of my life I’d rather forget about,” I whispered before I could stop myself.
His brow furrowed and his mouth opened, but it snapped shut and he leaned away as his eyes got a faraway look. After a few seconds he grabbed the radio on his shoulder. “Unit four-eighteen, go ahead—unit four-eighteen, ten-four en route. I have to go,” he stated, but he didn’t move away, in fact he moved closer, his gray eyes pinning me to my seat.
My heart began racing impossibly faster as I once again felt something I�
�d never experienced with any other man but the one standing less than two feet from me. It felt like I was being pulled to him, and I wanted to give in so bad.
“Have a good night, KC,” he said in a low voice, and I shivered from the warmth and roughness of it. “I enjoyed seeing you again.”
“Be safe tonight.”
One corner of his mouth pulled up, and he knocked his knuckles against the table twice before backing away with his eyes on me. When he got a few more feet away, he turned, called out a good-bye to Kinlee—who was tapping rapidly on her phone as she waited for her coffee—and walked out the door.
I tried not to, but I followed his movements as he jogged out to his patrol Tahoe and pulled open the driver’s door. At the last second, he turned to look at the window where I was sitting, and I swear I could feel the heat from his gaze even from that distance.
“Okay!” Kinlee exclaimed, and I jumped. “I’m here. Sheesh, I really need to start driving with you so I won’t be late anymore.”
“That would just make both of us late.”
“Exactly, but then technically we’re both on time because we get here at the same time.”
I shook my head and took a sip of my latte. “I don’t understand how your mom trusts you to get the boutique open on time.”
“Easy, she told me a long time ago that we open an hour before we really do. I know now that we don’t actually open at eight. But I still get ready like we open at eight, so I usually make it there in time to open by nine.”
“Huh, makes sense.”
She pointed at the cup that was pressed to my lips again. “What I still don’t understand is how you can drink something that’s sweet and not be affected by it.”
“Espresso and coffee have the perfect amount of bitterness. Putting something sweet in it is the only way it’s drinkable, and the bitterness overrides my enjoyment of the sweetness.”
“Uh-huh. Whatever.” Her phone chimed, and she replied before looking back at me. “Did Brody say anything to you about last weekend?”
Just hearing his name had my heart rate increasing and my body warming. “No, he actually kinda changed the subject when I brought up him leaving so soon.”
Kinlee groaned and sat back in her seat. One hand rubbed at her temple, and she grimaced. “Poor Brody. Jace was such a dick to him when he came over. I want Brody to leave his wife just as much as the rest of his family, but really, Jace crossed a line this weekend.”
I waited to see if she’d add anything, but she just sat there worrying her bottom lip in between sips of coffee. “You really love Brody, don’t you?”
Her eyes darted over to mine, and she smiled. “I grew up next door to those boys. Brody’s like my older brother.”
“Lee, I didn’t know that.” I crossed my arms over my chest and sat back. “So you married the boy next door, huh?”
She laughed. “I did. He told me when I was five years old that he was going to marry me, and he kissed me on the playground.”
“What? How have I never heard about any of this? That is the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard!”
“Not at the time it wasn’t! He was gross, and my older brothers told me all boys had cooties or something. I don’t remember, but I punched him in the nose and got sent to the principal’s office.”
I forced down the sip I’d just taken and burst out laughing. “Oh, God. That’s amazing, I’m bringing that up next time I’m over.”
Kinlee’s phone went off again, and I watched her smile grow even wider. “Aiden is asking if he can have your number.”
“What? No.”
“KC!”
“Kinlee.” I mimicked her whiny three-year-old tone.
“Why not? What was wrong with Aiden?”
“Nothing, he just—” Isn’t Brody. Brody is married . . . married, Kamryn! I thought about the way Aiden made me feel. It’d been more of a response than I’d ever had for even Charles. More than any guy, really. Why did I have to meet him on the same day I met Brody? Why did I have to meet Brody at all? Barbara’s words from our call came back to me, and I uncrossed my legs and sat straight up. “You know what? Give it to him.”
Kinlee’s jaw dropped. “What?”
“Have Jace give him my number.”
I’ve never seen Kinlee move that fast. She dropped her phone twice because she tried to pick up her phone and begin texting simultaneously. “Oh, my God, Kace! I’m so excited right now! I can’t believe you’re actually letting us give a guy your number. Does this mean you liked him? You looked like you were having a good time, but I didn’t think—” She cut off and started cracking up before showing me her phone. “Jace doesn’t believe me.”
I glanced over the screen.
HUBBY:
Aiden’s asking about KC, he wants her number
You know she won’t let you give it to him. But I’ll ask.
HUBBY:
Thx baby
HOLY SHIT SHE SAID GIVE IT TO HIM!!!!!
HUBBY:
Ha. Fuckin hilarious babe. You actually had me for a sec
I smiled and grabbed my phone.
Seriously. Give Aiden my number.
JACE:
No fucking way! I feel like a proud older brother or something. My lil KC is growin up n gon’ get her a boyfran.
Whoa buddy. I said give him my number. Let’s start there.
And stop making fun of my accent over text. Ass.
“There, all taken care of. Now will y’all stop trying to set me up with every single man you know?”
Kinlee happy-clapped and took a long sip of her drink. “As long as things work out with Aiden!”
I groaned and let my face fall into my hand.
4
Kamryn
May 10, 2015
“WHERE IS AIDEN taking you tomorrow?”
I stopped going through different tops and turned to look at her. “I thought you were supposed to find that out, Lee!”
“You know Jace doesn’t know these things. And besides, they’ve been busy this last shift. I haven’t talked to him much.”
“Well then, why am I here looking for an outfit if I don’t even know how to dress?”
Kinlee stopped pulling boxes of shoes out of a shipment that had been delivered and walked over to where I was standing. “Well, Aiden’s just Aiden. He’s kind of a ‘what you see is what you get’ guy. He won’t try to impress you with fancy restaurants or something just to get you to like him.” She turned quickly and pointed at me. “That doesn’t mean he won’t treat you well and show you a good time. It just means he’s not going to shell out for some crazy expensive dinner on the first date to get you to think he’s loaded.”
“Thank God.” I’d had enough of people who were loaded to last me a damn lifetime.
“So don’t be too fancy, but don’t go in yoga pants, and you should be fine.”
I made a face. “Because that really narrows it down. That’s basically your entire store and 90 percent of my wardrobe.”
“Make sure the shirt is blue, or has blue in it. Or dark gray or black! We need your eyes to pop.”
“Yes, Mom,” I mumbled and walked around more when she went back to putting the shipment away.
Aiden hadn’t wasted time, that’s for sure. By the time Kinlee and I left the coffee shop the night before, he’d already texted me to see if Jace had given him a fake number, and after talking for a while when I got home, we’d set up a date that Saturday.
“How’s this?” I held up an electric-blue see-through top.
“Perfect. I just got in these black shorts, where did they go? Anyway, they’ll look great with that and your legs.”
“Yay,” I said unenthusiastically.
“Well, don’t try to sound excited or anything.”
“I am excited.” Wasn’t I?
Broad shoulders, gray eyes, and a crooked smile filled my mind. No, I was so not excited.
THE NEXT NIGHT with Aiden was going much better than I�
�d thought it would. We had the same humor and had spent practically all of dinner laughing to the point where I’d started crying. But everything about the date and Aiden screamed friendship to me. Those few flashes of attraction the weekend before at the barbecue had been it for me when it came to him.
All I could see was Brody. And I hated it.
I was still barely sleeping, and the few hours I did sleep he starred in every dream. If that wasn’t enough, I spent all my waking hours going over every detail about him while simultaneously trying to get him out of my mind.
When Aiden gave me a smile and I wished for it to be crooked, I realized it obviously wasn’t working. And this wasn’t fair to Aiden.
We were walking to a little coffee shop around the corner from the restaurant when he grabbed my hand in his, and my mind instantly went to Brody.
“Aiden,” I began, pulling my hand back.
“I’m sorry. Too fast?”
I stopped walking and shut my eyes tightly before looking up at him. “No, it’s not . . . it’s just—”
Understanding and disappointment came over his face, and I wished I could give him something more. “I pushed you into this, I know,” he said. “I’m sorry.”
“I belong to someone else,” I blurted out, and no matter how impossible that seemed, the moment the words were out of my mouth I knew it was true. I belonged to a man who I didn’t know and who would never belong to me. Aiden was the kind of guy I needed—deep down I knew that, but I just wasn’t into it.
“You’re seeing someone? Jace swore you were single.”
“I am single.” His eyebrows drew together, and I shook my head. “I’m not seeing him, but right now, I belong to him. And it wouldn’t be fair to lead you on when he’s all I can think about.”
“Huh. I, uh—well, I guess I have to be thankful for that kind of honesty.” Aiden rocked back on his heels and looked around embarrassed. “Does he know?”
“What?”
“This guy. Does he know that you feel this way?”
“Oh, God, I hope not.”
Surprise and confusion flashed through his eyes before he smiled widely at me. “Then I’ll wait.”
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