Page 2 of Worthy of Sunsets and Second Chances

“The party is here!” I sing-song, eyes searching for my favorite tiny human.

“Hey, Kendra! We are in here,” Sutton calls out.

She is in the open kitchen, working at the stove. It smells amazing, which makes my stomach rumble. Carefully I set down my dish. On the opposite side of the island, my eyes land on the most terrible, adorable, sexy, frustrating image alive—Eli Hargrove playing peek-a-boo with Kinsley, who’s sitting up in her high chair, clapping her hands, enraptured by him.

Me too, girl, me too.

I shake my head, snapping myself out of staring at him just in time to see Eli look over at me and wink. Freaking wink! The audacity of this man.

My traitorous stomach flips.

“Hey, Kenny,” Eli says.

“How many times do I have to ask, no demand, you to not call me that da—rn nickname?” I catch myself before I let a swear word slip out in front of tiny baby ears, much easier said than done, especially for me. I love a four-letter word mixed into my daily life, and flinging them at Eli feels extra good.

“Ha! Fine, fine we can come up with something muuuch better.” Eli uses one of his baseball mitt–sized hands and taps his pointer finger on his chin, as if he’s really contemplating it.

“Careful, Hulk, thinking that hard is going to pop something vital inside your tiny brain.” I snag a cracker and cheese slice off the pretty charcuterie board Sutton has on the island, and I hear her laugh at the stove, her back still turned away from us as she cooks.

“Got it!” Eli snaps his fingers. “Barbie.”

I roll my eyes, looking at Sutton who peers at us over her shoulder and says, “Typical.”

“What? That is a great nickname for her,” Eli defends.

“No, it’s not! First of all, I’m way too short to be Barbie, I am only five-two . . .” I pop a hip, placing my hand there, and try to ignore the way Eli’s eyes drag slowly over my movements.

“Okay, right. You have a point,” Eli says as the front door opens.

“We’re here!” Lainey exclaims, coming into the kitchen with a beautiful fruit salad, followed closely by Rem.

I hug both of them. Eli fist-bumps Rem and then scoops Lainey into a big hug. I take the opportunity to scoot over to Kinsley, sneaking a snuggle to the top of her head, the soft, blonde waves of her hair warm on my cheek.

“Okay, back to the matter at hand . . . Skipper.” Eli turns, looking at me, popping my happy bubble of Aunt Kendra time.

“Skipper?” I question.

“Yeah, Barbie’s little sister.”

“And how do you know so much about the world of Barbie?” I sneer at him.

“Three little sisters, remember?” Eli looks pointedly at me.

“I try to remember as little as possible about you, Eli,” I say evenly, though it’s a total bullshit lie. I remember every little detail about him, even if I have tried as hard as possible to forget.

“Well, Skipper, you might not have the actual height for a Barbie doll, but you sure have the tits for it.” Eli gives a cheeky grin, like his joke was only silly fun . . . but it isn’t. Not to me.

The whole kitchen is silent—it could be heartbeats, or it could be seasons.

Then I choke on a gasp and a little sob works its way free. The fingertips that were gently stroking Kinsley’s hair tremble, matching my lip. I don’t want his words to penetrate my thick walls, but he just shoved C4 at the base and lit a match, unknowingly.

Rem explodes, a rare thing, especially when it’s pointed toward his best friend and the man he considers his brother. “What the hell, Eli? That is way too fucking far!”

“I’m so sorry, you’re right. It was crass and stupid. I was joking, but it wasn’t funny. Wait! Kendra. Kendra, where are you going?”

But I’m already moving. I grab my bag and hug Sutton and Lainey as fast as I can. Each of them rubs me on the back, knowing I need space and are willing to give it to me because they’re not just my best friends, they are my chosen sisters.

“I have to go.” I rush out the door, ignoring Eli’s pleading calls trailing after me.