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“Does that mean covering my apartment in pink?” I ask dryly.
“No. Just a few pops of colour here and there. Nothing permanent; don’t worry.”
The hell of it is, I’m not worried about that at all.
CHAPTER 18
Jazz
I WALK INTO THE COFFEE shop, my heart knocking against my chest. I’m a little late because I wanted to attend Emilia’s first class. She absolutely killed it, just like I knew she would. But now, that’s overshadowed by this meeting I’ve been dreading all day.
Leo insisted that he be the one to tell Kai about us, and I agreed, but my relationship with Kai is for me to handle. The two matters are separate, and yet are dangerously intertwined.
If Kai truly believes he’s in love with me then I’m about to hurt him, and that weighs heavily. Despite the terrible thing he did to Leo, I believe he still deserves kindness. I can only hope that Kai has changed for the better and that Leo can find a way to reconcile with him. I fear if Leo doesn’t do this before he reveals our relationship to Kai, it may ignite further conflict between the brothers.
I spot Kai sitting at a corner table, his dark hair falling over his forehead as he scrolls on his phone. He looks up when I approach, his gaze roaming over my fuchsia yoga set. “Hi, babe.” A big smile spreads across his boyishly handsome face. “Looking hot, as always.”
That comment in the context of this environment would normally give me the ick, but Kai has this flirty, almost goofball personality that reminds me of Joey fromFriends. He’s instantly likeable and just oozes such fun-loving charm that it’s hard to take him seriously, which is why I hadn’t. But no excuses; I could have handled this situation better and been more direct with him.
I inhale a deep breath and try to relieve some of the stress by pressing on the web-like area between my thumb and index finger. “Thanks for meeting me, Kai.”
“I’m glad you called. You beat me to it.” He stands, unfolding his long, lean body, and moves closer. I turn my head just in time for his lips to narrowly miss my mouth. A shadow of disappointment passes through his expression before he puts on an affable smile again. “What can I get you to drink?”
“Nothing, thanks.” I don’t want to drag this out any longer than necessary. “Can we just talk?”
“Um…sure.” He motions for me to sit across from him. I lower onto the wooden seat, going over in my head for the hundredth time what I’m going to say. After all, he’s Leo’s brother, not just some random guy I can reject and never see again. If I become a part of Leo’s life, that means being a part of Kai’s too.
“I think there might be a misunderstanding,” I begin, adding more pressure to that webbed spot. “I’ve enjoyed spending time with you. You’re charming and fun to be around, but I don’t want to mislead you into thinking I have romantic feelings for you.”
His mouth tightens for a brief moment. “Can I ask why? Did I do something wrong?”
“No.” I shake my head. “It’s not like that. Sometimes, there’s just no explanation. The chemistry doesn’t happen.”
“It happened to me.”
“I know. That’s why I wanted to be straight with you.”
“Is there someone else?”
Awkward, but expected. “Yes, there is.” I’m not going to lie. “But it doesn’t have any bearing on how I feel about you. I always saw you as a friend, Kai. This other guy didn’t cause that.”
“But you like him better.”
I feel awful, this is a show of insecurity that I hadn’t expected. “It’s not a matter of any comparison,” I try to reassure him, especially knowing that the other man is his brother. “I just developed romantic feelings for someone else.”
“When?”
“When what?”
“When did you start seeing him?”
“Um…recently.”
“Recently as in before or after you kissed me?”
“I should not have let that kiss happen. I can understand where that gave you mixed signals.”
“So that’s a yes? You were with him then?”
