Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 76232 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 381(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 254(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76232 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 381(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 254(@300wpm)
Kate froze, that night on the boat crashing down around her, remembering her outburst, her confession. Remembering that what had followed made the couple across the lawn look tame.
Every instinct in Kate’s body wanted her to flee, but she forced herself to face the situation like an adult, even as she swore she could feel her heartbeat at every single pulse point. “Yes, well. That was before.”
“Before your dad passed?” he asked softly.
Kate swallowed. Nodded.
Kennedy’s hand twitched as though he might reach for hers, but then stilled once more. “So the feelings . . . the ones I was so blind to. Gone?”
Her heart began to pound. “I thought we agreed to put that night behind us.”
“Actually, I didn’t agree to any such thing,” Kennedy said quietly, studying her. “I merely haven’t pressed the matter. But I do have questions. When you’re ready.”
“All right,” she said after a moment. “Hit me.”
His gaze never wavered from hers. “Ian told me I missed my window with you. That you had feelings for me early on, but then they stopped. I want to know why.”
She laughed. “No, you don’t.”
He frowned. “I do.”
Kate hesitated only a moment longer before deciding to come clean. He wasn’t her boss anymore. She was no longer in love with him. So why not clear the air?
“Fine,” she said, folding her hands in her lap and looking at him. “You know that night when you and the guys made that dumb pact to not date me?”
He visibly flinched. “You knew?”
“That you guys were childish morons? Definitely. But it wasn’t the pact that bothered me. It was what you said to convince them to agree to it.”
He shook his head, indicating he didn’t follow.
Kate took a deep breath. “You said, ‘The little thing’s hardly irresistible, but better safe than sorry in case any of us gets drunk and stupid.’”
His head snapped back. “I didn’t say that.”
“You did,” she said simply. “Trust me, a woman doesn’t forget hearing the man she loves say something like that.”
His eyes closed. “Loves.”
“Yeah, well.” She kept her voice light. “What can I say, I was young and stupid. But on the plus side, hearing your thoughts helped me get over it real fast.”
He rubbed his hands over his face. “I sure as hell don’t remember saying that.”
“It’s fine,” Kate said with a smile. “I’m well aware that I’m no femme fatale, especially not back then.”
“It doesn’t excuse me being cruel.”
“Well, you didn’t know I was there, so—”
“Would you shut up and let me apologize properly?” he said in exasperation.
She held up her hands. “Fine. I’m listening.”
He eased closer but didn’t touch her, his eyes intense on hers. “I don’t know what the hell that idiotic version of me was thinking. But I do know what the version of me now is thinking. Has been thinking for weeks.”
Kate swallowed nervously. “What’s that?”
His hand lifted as though to touch her face, then dropped again, his fist clenching. “That I can’t stop thinking about you. About putting my hands on you. About how we can’t seem to get our damn timing right, because you’re telling me that night on the yacht was the end of something, when for me, it felt like just the beginning.”
She tried to calm her racing heart and couldn’t. She’d waited so long to hear these words from him, and yet she couldn’t forget just how much that initial rejection had stung.
“I’m sorry, Kate—more sorry than I possibly have words for. Back then, the man you heard didn’t have the right understanding of the word irresistible, but the man sitting beside you right now does. And you should know—you must know—you are the most irresistible woman I’ve ever known.” His hand tentatively touched her cheek. “Do you trust me?”
Kate studied him, studied his every feature, determined to read the truth.
She’d be lying if she said she hadn’t been a little distrustful of Kennedy in the past. Or rather, maybe not distrustful of him as much as of herself when she was around him. That much was still true. He, of all people, had the power to hurt her. Not because he’d want to or ever intend to, but simply because she’d given him such a big part of her heart and hadn’t gotten all of it back yet.
But . . .
This was the guy who’d never let her down. Who’d driven her an hour to her family’s house, then handled the aftermath of her father’s death, all without expecting so much as a thank-you in response. He was the type of person who took care of other people. Who cared for his own. So yeah, she trusted him.
Which was why Kate gave in to an urge she’d been trying to stifle for years. She leaned forward and kissed Kennedy Dawson.
24
Sunday, May 19
Had he really gone years without kissing Kate Henley? Because right now, Kennedy couldn’t remember how he’d survived the past month since he last had his lips on hers.