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“Come here.” I tug her by her upper arms so she’s sitting on my lap. “More than like.” I kiss her.
I wonder briefly if she’s figured out that I was talking about more than just her ability to give me head.
Once we’ve cleaned up and had some breakfast in our room, I present all the options to Kenzie as to how we can spend our day.
She opts for the horse-drawn carriage ride because apparently, it’s something she’s always wanted to do. When I ask her why she’s never done one of the rides they offer in Central Park, she tells me she doesn’t think those horses are taken care of properly. But out here in the country, she feels comfortable that the horses have better accommodations and don’t have to work all day long, dragging around tourists.
Like most things, she’s very passionate about it, and I really have no idea, so I just smile and nod.
We’re about to leave the room when her phone rings. She pulls it out of her coat pocket and looks at the screen, then worries her lip.
“Who is it?” I ask.
She looks at me. “My brother. Maybe I should let it go to voice mail.”
“He’s probably calling to wish you a happy birthday. You should answer it.”
She hesitates, then answers the call. “Hello? Oh hey… Thank you… Not much, probably just go for dinner and drinks with Tessa.” She widens her eyes at me because he’s clearly asking what she’s doing for her birthday. “Oh, that’s so nice, but I have so much work to do tomorrow and I’m not sure what time I’ll be done… Yeah, I have a couple of events coming up next week… Okay, I’ll give you a call after that… Thanks for calling, Finn.” She hits End on the call and pockets her phone.
“Did he want you to go over there tomorrow night?” I ask.
She nods. “It’s like he got engaged and now he’s the host with the most. We’ve never really hung out that much.”
I step closer to her and grip the edges of her open jacket. “Well, maybe with all the wedding stuff, he’s realizing how important family is to him.”
“Yeah, maybe. It was nice of him to call.”
“Have your parents called or texted to wish you a happy birthday?” I regret the question as soon as the words leave my mouth because some of the light leaves her eyes.
She shakes her head. “Not yet, no.”
She’s trying to act as though it doesn’t affect her, but it does, so I squeeze her hand.
“Some years they forget entirely, depending on what they have going on at work.” She shrugs as though she’s indifferent to the hurt.
I frown. “That’s not right.”
Kenzie shakes her head. “No, it’s not. But that’s the way it is.”
I sigh, wishing it weren’t, but there’s nothing I can do to make it any different for her. Since we’re already on an iffy subject, I figure I might as well use the opportunity to talk to her about something I’ve been thinking of since I woke this morning.
“Speaking of your brother…” I stop when she sighs.
“I know what you’re going to say. You want to tell him we’re seeing each other.”
“Don’t you think we should?” I ask.
She looks over my shoulder for a moment, then meets my gaze. “Can we just tell my brother after the firm’s holiday party next weekend? I have so much to do this week to finish getting ready for it, not to mention the Santa party I have midweek for the Mancinis. I don’t know how Finn’s gonna take it, and if he’s going to be upset, I’d really rather deal with that after these two big jobs have passed. I don’t need the distractions this week.” She steps into me and wraps her arms around my neck. “I have a feeling I’m already going to be distracted enough.” Then she rises onto her tiptoes and kisses me.
After we close the kiss, I say, “Fine. But we can’t put it off after that. He deserves to know.”
She nods and steps back. “Deal. Now let’s go enjoy the rest of our day.”
I take her hand and kiss the top of her head.
I don’t feel good about hiding the truth from my best friend, but I feel better than anything about this woman. What difference can one week really make?
ChapterTwenty-Eight
