“Charlie, I admire . . . well . . . you! What you’ve done for CMI in the short amount of time you took control is amazing. I love to see a woman in the lead make something that was successful even more so.”
Charlie looked from Kaelynn to me, then back to Kaelynn. “Okay, I like you a lot. I think I want to keep you.”
We all laughed.
“So, Kaelynn, how did you and Morgan meet?” Terri asked.
“Mission trip last year. We sort of bonded while building a small school in Africa and really hit it off. We have a lot in common.”
My mind drifted to Mike, and I was positive Terri’s and Charlie’s had as well.
“I admire that you give your time like that. I work for a nonprofit here in Austin,” Terri stated.
“Really? What do you do?” Kaelynn asked.
Terri smiled. “I work for a company that partners with primary care physicians and other physicians. We help with providing care management through all stages of life and illness. Support tools, guidance with decision-making, as well as making sure patients and families are educated and have the support that they will need. I went to school for nursing and loved it, but when I found this job, it felt like where I needed to be.”
Kaelynn smiled warmly and said, “That’s amazing, Terri.”
Then Charlie jumped and gasped. When she held onto her stomach, I panicked.
“You okay?” I asked, standing. “It’s not time. Not yet!”
Charlie rolled her eyes. “Sit down, Nash. I swear, you’re worse than Tucker. The baby kicked me, hard.”
“When are you due?” Kaelynn asked, looking as though she was attempting to hold back the giggle she wanted to let out.
“Three weeks. Three very long weeks.”
Terri laughed. “She’s been a pain in our asses the last month. I think we’re more ready for her to pop that baby out than she is.”
“I seriously doubt that,” Charlie said with a sigh. “I love being pregnant, but man, these last few weeks have been tough. I feel like the little monster inside of me is fighting with all my organs.”
“I bet. My cousin had a baby recently, and she was two weeks overdue.”
Terri and Charlie both let their mouths fall open. “Two weeks?” They said.
Kaelynn nodded.
“I didn’t think they would let you go that long anymore!” Charlie said, a level of fear in her voice.
Kaelynn shrugged. “I don’t know; all I know is she was a royal bitch those last few days. Everyone pretty much steered clear of her.”
“I bet. God help us all if Charlie goes over.” Terri chuckled.
“Goes over what?” Tucker asked as he glanced around the table and landed his gaze on Kaelynn, then back over to me. He had a knowing look in his eyes. When he lifted his brows, I shook my head. I knew Tucker would read into this. All I was doing was entertaining my sister’s friend. That was it. Never mind the way she made my body feel. My reaction to this woman baffled me and honestly scared me a bit.
My eyes drifted over to Kaelynn, her face wearing a wide smile as she waited for Terri to answer Tucker.
“Her due date,” Terri answered.
Tucker visibly shuddered. “Shit, don’t say such things, Terri.”
Everyone laughed, even Charlie.
I looked at Tucker and began the introductions. “Tucker, this is Kaelynn, a friend of Morgan’s.”
Reaching his hand to her, Kaelynn shook it and said, “Kaelynn Dotson. It’s a pleasure meeting you.”
“The pleasure is all ours. Mine. Well, probably all of ours. It’s been so long since I think any of us has seen Nash actually talking to a woman, so him inviting you over to meet the best friends . . . seems serious.” Tucker waggled his eyes, causing me to groan internally. Jerk.
Kaelynn didn’t miss a beat, though. “Well, we were going to just bust out of here, head to his car, and get it on there before heading back to his place, but he insisted I had to meet the friends first. Old-fashioned, I guess.”
She rolled her eyes and shrugged. Then glanced at me and sighed dramatically. “He better be worth it; that’s all I can say.”
Charlie pointed to Kaelynn. “You have just moved into my best friend role. How would you like to be the godmother of my child?”
“Hey!” Terri cried out with a laugh.
Tucker slid in next to Charlie and kissed her on the mouth before giving me a quick look. Then he asked, “Where is Jim?”
“Jim?” Kaelynn asked.
“Jim is my fiancé. He had to step outside to take a call from his mother. Something about his father’s foot being stuck between the steps. Lord only knows with those two.”
Kaelynn turned her attention on me and raised her brows.
“Don’t ask,” I whispered, causing her to chuckle.
“So Nash said you own the bar. How do you like running a bar?”
Tucker grinned from ear to ear and faced Kaelynn. “I love it. It’s been a great experience, and it’s doing a lot better than I ever thought it would.”
“That’s a good thing, though,” Kaelynn added.
“A very good thing. Charlie and I moved out to the country a few months back, so I’ve learned to not be here every single night. It’s been a hard adjustment, but one I’m glad I’ve done. Especially with the baby coming.”
“Have you ever done a military night or anything, geared strictly toward those who have served and are currently serving? I’ve seen other bars do it and it’s a big hit. Some even do monthly game nights, and they play all of these board games. It’s kind of hilarious to watch. Especially when you see big bulky guys sit down and play Chutes and Ladders.”
Tucker looked at Kaelynn for a long minute. She cleared her throat. “I’m sorry; it was just a suggestion. I should probably get back to Morgan’s party.”
She started to slide out of the booth when Tucker reached over and placed his hand on her arm.
“No, no, wait. I was letting your words float around in my head and trying to think of all the reasons why I haven’t come up with that idea before.”
He turned to me. “Maybe even once Morgan gets going full time, she could come by, introduce herself. There might be someone who would benefit from talking to her.”
Kaelynn smiled as she looked between Tucker and me.
“I think that’s a great idea,” Charlie added. “A really great idea. We can have CMI sponsor it, buy all the games and donate them.”
Tucker gave Charlie a look that screamed how much he loved her. “That would be amazing, babe. I’ll have Maddie, my marketing manager, look into ways to making this work.”
“I’ll do the same with my team over at the office. This is such a great idea, Kaelynn.”
Kaelynn slipped out of the booth and reached into her purse. With a wide grin, she glanced between Charlie and Tucker, then handed Tucker a business card. “Great, I’m glad you like the idea. I’m more than happy to help. No charge, of course. Charlie, good luck with everything. It was great meeting all of you. Sorry I missed Jim.”
Charlie smiled. “It was our pleasure. I hope we’ll be seeing you around.”
Taking in a slight breath, she politely smiled then faced me. “Thank you so much for the lovely evening, Nash. I had fun.”
“Same goes for me.”
Before I even had a chance to slip out of the booth, she turned and walked away.
“What did you do to her to blow that?” Charlie asked.
I watched Kaelynn until she blended into the crowd before I turned back to the table. “What do you mean? I didn’t blow anything.”
They all huffed in their own ways. Tucker rolled his eyes. “Dude, you didn’t see the way the girl looked at you? I mean, you brought her over here to meet your friends, then let her walk off by herself back to the party.”
“She wanted to meet Charlie.”
“Me? Why me?”
“She’d heard of you and said it would be really great to be able to meet you, so th
at’s what I did.”
Terri folded her arms and glared at me. “Nash Barrett, when did you lose your manners? I mean, you didn’t even walk her back to the party.”
I looked around the table at the three of them before landing my confused gaze on Tucker and silently urging him to help a fellow out.
“Sorry, bro, I’m with the girls on this one. You kind of were a dick at the end there.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” I mumbled as I slid out of the booth and made my way through the crowd. I knew Kaelynn would already be back in the private room and most likely talking to Morgan.
When I spotted her, though, she wasn’t back at the party. She was talking to some guy. And smiling at him. Then laughing at something the dirtbag was saying. I wasn’t sure if I should walk up to her or walk by her. I opted for the first option.
“Hey, you took off so fast you didn’t give me a chance to walk you back to the party, but I see you’re okay.”
The guy gave me a once-over. “Yeah, dude, she’s fine. You can move along.”
I laughed as I looked at him. He couldn’t have been more than twenty-two, maybe twenty-three, if I was being generous.
“Move along?” I asked, glancing between Kaelynn and the guy.
“You okay here?” I asked, then took a step back.
“Actually, I’m feeling a headache coming on and was going to see about an Uber.”
“I’ll take you home, babe,” the younger guy said.
Kaelynn gave him a soft smile and said, “Thank you, but I’ve got some friends here who will most likely be heading out with me. Enjoy your evening.”
When she reached for my hand and tugged me along after her, I wasn’t sure if I should ignore the way her touch made my entire body shudder or ignore the urge to stick my tongue out at the bastard like I was eight years old.
In the end, I went for ignoring both.
The moment we got into the private room, Kaelynn dropped my hand and raised up on her tippy-toes as she looked for what I could only assume was Morgan.
“Are you really ready to leave?” I asked, leaning in from behind her and talking directly into her ear. She froze and slowly turned to face me. I took a step back when I saw the confusion in her eyes. “I didn’t mean to interrupt anything with that guy back there.”
Her eyes danced around on my face before she closed them, took in a deep breath, then snapped them back open. Something had changed in those pretty eyes of hers. She stood up a bit taller and let loose. “Listen, Nash, your sister already told me you’ve sworn off women. It’s pretty clear you and I had an attraction to one another, but this won’t work.”
“Had?” I asked, a smirk lifting at the corner of my mouth.
With a roll of her eyes, she sighed but couldn’t help the small smile that played over her face. “Fine. It’s pretty clear you and I are attracted to one another. I’m not looking for a casual one-night stand.”
My eyes widened in shock and she seemed to realize her statement might have been way off base, which it was.
“Oh God. You’re not attracted to me and not the least bit interested in . . .”
Her hands slapped over her mouth and she groaned. The sound made the lower half of my body come to full fucking attention.
“I’m so stupid,” she mumbled. At least that was what it sounded like she said. The music was now playing again, and it was beginning to get harder to hear.
“I’m sorry!” she shouted. “Let’s just forget any of this conversation took place.”
I could have just let her go. Let her think that I wasn’t interested in her. But I didn’t. Stupidly, I reached for her hand and gently tugged her closer to me.
“Kaelynn, I’m not interested in a one-night stand.”
Her cheeks heated and her eyes grew wet. Damn it.
“What I mean is, I like you. I enjoy talking to you and I would love to be . . .”
Everything inside of me screamed to tell her the truth. But something held me back at the last minute. That wall I had built around my heart was refusing to give way, no matter how much I wanted it to for this woman.
“I’d love to be friends.”
“Friends?”
It was hard to miss the disappointment in her voice. Hell, the moment the word came out of my mouth, I wished I could take it back.
Before I could respond, she nodded, stepped away from me, and repeated the word again, as if trying to remind herself that that was all we should be . . . that it was ultimately the best thing.
“Friends.” Then she forced herself to smile. “Sounds like a plan.”
WITH A LONG sigh, I dropped the folder onto the desk. I couldn’t seem to focus at all this morning. A week had passed since Morgan’s birthday party at Sedotto and I had thought I would be able to forget about Nash. I was so wrong. So very wrong.
I stood up and walked out onto the private balcony I had at the Hotel Saint Celilla. I had been staying in one of their studio rooms for the last month or so. I really needed to find a more permanent place; hopefully today would be the day.
As if on cue, my phone rang with my mother’s ringtone.
Quickly walking back in, I swiped to answer the call.
“Hey, Momma.”
“Hello, darling. How are things down in the vast open spaces of Texas?”
I chuckled. “It’s Austin; nothing vast and open about it. It’s like any other big city.”
“Well, it’s still Texas. Not Utah.”
Rolling my eyes, I dropped on the small sofa and pulled my knees up to my chin.
“Later today I’m going to look at a few condos.”
“Oh, Kaelynn, darling why do you insist on staying there?”
“I like it here, Momma. I’m my own person here. It’s hard to explain.”
She sighed. “I honestly do understand, sweetheart. There was a time in my life I needed to be away and figure out who I was as well.”
“I know who I am and I know what I want. Right now, Austin is what I want. I love being here and helping Morgan get her business going. I’m going to be driving to Houston tomorrow to meet with a company who is wanting to set up a scholarship in one of their employee’s son’s name. He was killed in a helicopter accident during a military exercise a few months back.”
“How nice of them to do that. Poor woman, give her our blessings.”
I nodded, even though she couldn’t see me.
“You want to tell me what’s on your mind?” she asked in a hushed voice. I could hear a door click behind her.
“What do you mean?” I replied with a light chuckle.
“Kaelynn Shae Whitaker, I know when something is wrong. I hear it in your voice.”
My eyes widened in shock. It was sort of scary my mother knew me so well. It was also weird hearing her use my full name. It caused a pang of guilt to rip through my body. I introduced myself to everyone as Kaelynn Dotson. My mother’s maiden name. It wasn’t my legal name, but it had been useful when I was back in Utah, where our family name was known by most. The moment you mentioned Whitaker, people started plotting ways to use you. At the time I had met Morgan, I had already been using Dotson as my last name. I had meant to tell her the truth; it just never came up or seemed necessary. Now it felt too late to say anything, and honestly, what did it matter? My fear was Morgan would think I was doing this to help her because money wasn’t an issue, not because I truly believed in the work she was setting out to do. Or course, deep in my heart, I knew that was not true.
You’ve dug your hole, Kaelynn. Figure out how to climb out of it.
“Nothing is wrong. I’m simply ready to get out of this hotel. Well, this studio in the hotel. It was cute and charming at first, but that wore off quick. I need my own space.”
“Your sister said you were keeping your place here. I was glad to hear that.”
“Of course I am. It’s home. I may still move back if things don’t . . .” I let my voice trail off.
I could hear my mother�
�s head spinning with that little bit. “Please tell me you haven’t fallen for a boy.”
Laughing, I replied, “A boy? Mom, you do know I’m twenty-six. I’ve long since moved on from boys.”
“Ha ha. You know what I mean. I hope this melancholy I hear in your voice is not caused from a boy. I mean, a man.”
“It’s not. Like I said, I just need to get out of this hotel and into my own space. I’ve asked Jack to send me a few things once I get settled.”
“You mean you won’t be coming back home to get your things? Oh, Kaelynn, this is going to break your father’s heart.”
Needless to say, my parents were not thrilled when I told them I was moving to Austin, Texas. My brother and sister, on the other hand, thought it was a great move. Me being the middle child and all, not much attention was drawn on me. With this move to Texas, though, it threw all of my parent’s attention on me. Freeing my brother and sister for a bit from the watchful eyes of our parents.
“I promise I’ll be up to visit. With Morgan getting started, I really want to be here for her. Besides, I need to go dress shopping with Millie. Is she getting more excited?”
“That was a clever change of subject. Yes, she is getting excited; we all are. Now, are you coming home for both holidays?” my mother asked in a hopeful voice.
“Christmas, for sure.”
“Kaelynn, I know it’s hard, but you don’t have to run from who you are.”
My chin wobbled. “Mom, I’m not running from who I am. It’s just, it’s nice that no one knows who I am here. For once in my life I’m meeting people who like me for me. Not for my bank account.”
“Not all of your friends were that way.”
“No, that’s because they had big banks account too. The whole thing with Jason threw me.”
“Does Morgan know though? You two have seemed to become really close friends.”
I chewed on my thumbnail.
“Kaelynn, darling, you haven’t told her?”
“Would it make a difference, Mom?”
“Not to her, and that is what you need to realize. You’re holding back a part of who you are, and it’s going to come out, and not in a pleasant way. It’s always best to be truthful.”
Entice Me ~ Kelly Elliott Page 4