“Yeah?”
She finished shaking the coffee and found a clean glass on the counter.
“She had this way about her that piqued my interest immediately, and we worked. She got what it meant to be in this business, didn’t give me a hard time for having to work late or stay the night in my trailer because it was easier, and she understood that I had to travel a lot because she had to do the same. She’s also funny and kind, and I fell hard for her.”
“She seemed nice when she met us at the door,” River said as she finished pouring the coffee into the glass and slid it across the counter. “Not my best work. I usually make it from scratch.”
Kennedy took a drink and said, “Better than it was hot. Thanks, River.”
“Sure.”
“So, what about Lacey?” Kennedy asked. “When didyouknow that she was the one?”
“Oh,” she said, realizing that she hadn’t been ready for the turnabout to be fair play scenario. “I guess I realized that I liked her right away.”
She then also realized that Kennedy hadn’t exactly answered the question that she’d asked her and that River had avoided it, too. Kennedy had told her about why she’d fallen in love, but not when she’d known that Cameron Levine was the one for her, and River had just done the same thing.
“You’re in here?” Jessie asked, looking slightly horrified when she walked into the kitchen. “I mean, that’s totally okay; you can go wherever you want.” She turned to Kennedy. “Oh, you’re drinking coffee. Thank God.”
“I am not an alcoholic. I feel like I should tell you that now,” Kennedy said to River.
“Kennedy!” Jessie exclaimed.
“She’s fine, Jessie. Chill.” Kennedy took a drink of her coffee and added, “And I’m sober. All good, okay?”
“She’s not an alcoholic. You heard her say that?”
River laughed a little and said, “I did, yes. All good, like she said. We were just talking. She saved me from jalapeño cheese that I didn’t know had jalapeños in it.”
“Crap. Are you allergic to jalapeños?”
“No, but now Kennedy Gannon thinks I can’t handle spice, so my reputation might be ruined.”
Kennedy laughed and said, “I can have them bring in the hottest chicken wings in the city or something; see what you can do with those.”
“Have milk on standby,” River replied.
Kennedy laughed again, and River liked it. She liked making her laugh. She looked away from Kennedy then because, yet again, she shouldn’t be thinking about liking making another woman laugh how she was thinking about it, when that woman wasnother girlfriend.
“We need to get an intro shot between the two of you,” Jessie said. “Then, Kennedy, you’ll take River here on a short tour of the house while the chef sets up and starts cooking.And I’ll get something with the four of you maybe outside or downstairs.”
“There’s a downstairs?” River asked and looked over at Kennedy for some reason.
“I’ve only seen it in pictures,” Kennedy told her.
“Cam and Lacey are down there now,” Jessie said. “So, we’ll start with the whole meeting thing. Then, tour the upstairs. We’ll go downstairs later.”
“I have to pretend to meet her? We’ve already met,” River said.
“Welcome to Hollywood.” Kennedy clanked her glass to River’s beer bottle. “Where even reality TV is fake.”
“Kennedy, how about you stand up away from the collection of alcohol bottles, shake River’s hand, introduce yourself, and tell her that you’re happy to have her here.”
“Iamhappy to have her here,” Kennedy returned, and it sounded almost like she was surprised.
“And Lacey.”
“Oh,” Kennedy said. “Right. Need to meet her, too.”
