Page 51 of Bittersweet Redemption

Kai raises his eyebrows. “Could’ve fooled me. He looked like Jake from State Farm.”

At that, I pinch his shoulder. “Be nice.”

“Well, anyway,” Kayla continues. “It’s all water under the bridge now. But you better not hurt Willa or Roman. They’re too special to have their hearts broken again.” I feel my eyes burn with tears and try to hold them back. She’s right. It’s not just my heart we’re playing with here. It’s Roman’s too. He’s head over heels for Kai, and it would be devastating if this didn’t work out. But I have to be positive. I have a good feeling about this. Kai and I haven’t spent the last decade being in and out of each other’s lives for no reason.

“Don’t worry,” Kai assures her, but he looks at me in the mirror. “Willa and Roman are my family now, and I’d do anything for my family.”

I sniffle and rub my nose because I refuse to cry right now. I won’t do it. Even though they’d be happy tears, I don’t want Kai to see me overwhelmed with emotion a day after he asked me to be in a relationship. But he just said we were his family, and I’ve been looking for one of those for a long time. It just feels like a dream come true.

The door dings again, and Kayla shoots me a big grin before heading back to the front.

“Sorry about her,” I tell Kai as I run the clippers along the back of his hair.

“Don’t be sorry. She cares about you. Friends like that are irreplaceable.” I lean down and kiss his cheek before finishing his hair. I don’t take off too much because I want enough to still run my fingers through it later.

When I’m done, I try to refuse his money, but he doesn’t listen. Not only that, he leaves me a one-hundred percent tip. I walk him to the door to say goodbye.

“Can I see you later?” he asks in a hushed tone.

“I hope so.” My mind is already picturing everything I want him to do to me later.

He tilts my chin up and kisses me softly. These soft kisses are killing me. I’ve gotten used to the passionate, fiery kisses, but these gentle ones make my heart want to explode with happiness.

“See you later, beautiful.”

He winks at me, and with that, he’s gone. I turn back to my coworkers, who are both currently with clients but apparently don’t care.

“Oh my god,” Michelle says as she swipes some color on the roots of the woman sitting in front of her.

“Seriously, Willa. He is. . .” She fans herself, which makes me laugh.

“I know, right?” Kai is gorgeous and all mine. It feels so weird to say that.

Thankfully, my next client walks in, so I get to avoid any more awkward conversation about the fact that I finally have a boyfriend. Not that I don’t want to talk about him, but I’ve always been uncomfortable talking about myself. I guess it comes with being an introvert.

The day goes by pretty quickly once I get started. Women move in and out of my chair, and we chit-chat about their vacations and kids. It’s not a bad day, but I’m counting the hours until I can go home. I want to play with Ro. I want to see Kai. I want to be with my family.

When it’s finally time to head home and get Ro off the bus, I’m almost giddy. I tell the girls to have a good night and that I’ll see them in the morning as I skip out the front door.

I get home a little early, so I put my stuff down and get a glass of water before the bus comes. I’m slipping my sweater off when there’s a knock at the door.

My stomach instantly tightens, and an eerie feeling washes over me. Why would someone be knocking on my door? I walked in and shut my door less than twenty seconds ago and didn’t see anyone out there. I don’t remember seeing any cars on the street either, but I wasn’t paying much attention. Damn it. Why didn’t I pay more attention? Kai has been lecturing me about being more aware, but I’m still working on it.

I walk to the door as silently as possible, look through the peephole, and am instantly relieved. I unlock the door and open it.

“Hey, what are you doing here?”

My smile fades when I look at his face. Something isn’t right.

Then everything goes black.

Chapter 26

Kai

Pulling into my driveway, I’m met with a sight I wasn’t expecting—a crying Roman sitting on my front steps.

I’m in front of him in seconds, leaving my grocery bags in the car. “Hey, kid. What’s going on?”