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“I have. Do you mean the lady with the hairdo that makes her five inches taller?”
Kay laughed. “Yes. I bet she latches onto you whenever she can to pump you for good gossip.”
He smiled because he remembered Jeannie quite well. She had done just what Kay had predicted the last time he’d seen her. She justlovedthat he was a naughty Brannigan boy. “I haven’t been in the store recently, but I’m pretty sure she could rattle off my social security number if I asked her.”
“Or your dating history.”
Damon looked up from his cards at Kay. “Is that your clever way of asking about my past love life?”
Kay lifted her shoulders a bit as if to say maybe, but Damon liked that she cared. He figured if he shared his past that meant she’d share hers. And he was very curious about why such a captivating witch was single.
He said, “Not much to tell. I’ve had a serious relationship or two, but only one woman has ever captured my heart.”
Kay snorted. “Please.”
Damon set his cards down and held out his palm. “Kay.”
She glanced down at his hand and then back to his eyes. “You’re serious.”
He nodded, and she set her cards down, too, and put her hand in his. Damon wrapped his fingers around hers and squeezed tight. “Don’t you ever wonder what might have happened with us if my brothers and I hadn’t pulled our stunt and divided our families?”
“I— The rule thing.” Her face flushed making Damon think she wasn’t being entirely truthful. “You were no longer viable. Besides, Damon, we were fourteen when we had our brief summer fling. If you can even call it that.”
“It was more than a fling to me. I’ve used the way I felt about you as the yardstick for every other woman, and no one has ever measured up.”
Her lips parted as she looked at him, and he noticed her glance to his mouth before she spoke. “I’m flattered. Thank you.” She pulled her hand away and took a sip of her beer. “I’ve had a couple of serious relationships, but there isn’t anyone who lingers in my heart. I’m as free as a bird to see where this goes.”
Damon was pleased that he’d flustered Kay, and while she may not want to admit she’d thought about him over the years, he was confident she had, just like he was sure they were finally ready to be in love.
14
Kay
Kay wonderedwhat she was supposed to say to a guy who’d just admitted he’d been in love with her since they were kids. They hadn’t spent time together in years. She was certainly attracted to him, and it was nice to feel that way about a man again, but she was struggling with the idea that she was letting herself fall for a Brannigan. DamonHawkeBrannigan, whose whole career was based on charming people enough to follow his every move.
Kay stared at the cards in her hand as she tried to determine what to discard. But she couldn’t concentrate on the game, because her heart was doing a little jig over what Damon had just said, despite her fears.
“Kay?”
“What?”
“You need to discard.”
“Oh, sorry.” Kay grabbed a ten to throw away and immediately regretted it when she noticed there were already two tens in the discard pile, leaving thirty points sitting there for the taking, which Damon did.
He set the tens down with a sly smile. “I don’t think you’re concentrating on the game.”
Kay knew she had two choices. She could let what Damon admitted slide and wonder about his sincerity and what it meant for them. That would lead to hours of angst that weren’t necessary, because she could also address the situation head-on. She let out a sigh and set her cards down. “I’m not. Damon, I don’t know what to do with what you just told me. Part of me wonders if you’re charming me the way you do everyone else.”
“That’s fair. But that part of you is wrong. I’m not lying about my feelings for you. I wouldn’t.”
“But how can you be in love with someone you’ve barely spoken to in the last fifteen years?”
“I wasn’t sure I could. That’s why I finally came to see you. I’ll admit I was afraid there wasn’t anything between us, but after all this time, I had to know. And Kay, once I saw you again—” He let out a small noise that made her heart skip a beat. He leaned on his forearms to be closer to her and spoke softly, “You’re even more beautiful than I imagined, and I’m talking about more than your looks. You have a kind, generous heart and a sense of humor about life that drew me in. I want to be near you, and when I’m not I can’t stop thinking about you. It is my hope you feel the same way about me.”
She was beginning to. The truth was that she had been thinking a lot about Damon since he’d asked her out. But was she in love? Kay could be, she supposed, if she dared to open her heart, but she needed more time to know if he was worth the risk. And there was that trust problem she knew she had. How could she give their relationship a fair chance if she refused to trust him? She couldn’t, but she was going to have to try.
Kay smiled at Damon. “I think about you a lot as well, and I’m willing to open my heart to you. Please, don’t break it.”
