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I might have caught myself off guard by saying that, but the minute the words were out of my mouth, I realized just how true they were. I might have had some things I needed to get done before game night with Hanna, but for right now, I wanted to have this. I wanted to spend some time with a guy I liked being around, a guy who made me feel safe and showed me kindness like I’d never experienced before.
If Kane needed to get to work soon, I wouldn’t have known. Because he made no move to get up and leave. Instead, he reached over, opened the box of doughnuts, and asked, “Would you like one?”
“Oh, I already had one when I came in,” I told him.
He jerked his head toward the box. “You can have another. I’d like to share one with you while I tell you more about Harper Security.”
I was beginning to wonder if there was anything I wouldn’t ever want to share with this man, because once he put it like that, especially with his eyes sparkling the way that they were, I couldn’t stop myself from reaching into the box and pulling out a doughnut. Kane did the same, and only after we both took a few bites—bites that had the both of us exchanging some knowing looks—did he finally state, “So, Jake is my closest friend…”
With that, I settled in while Kane told me all about the guys who worked with him in the self-defense and tactical training unit. Not only did they already have a healthy number of men working there, but Kane revealed that Royce was always hiring new guys to work at Harper Security, so it was entirely possible someone else would join the ranks soon.
Maybe the conversation we were having was rather inconsequential in the grand scheme of things, but I loved it all the same. It was nice to just have a pleasant conversation with someone that didn’t have me wanting to do anything to get away. It was really nice to have that, and I was grateful that it was Kane who gave it to me.
My only problem was going to be accepting that it was just temporary. Because the likelihood was that no matter how much I was really beginning to enjoy so much about this town and the people in it, I probably wasn’t going to be able to stay.
Kane
I slammed the door to my truck shut.
Fuck.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
Jake had been right.
My closest friend knew it the moment he saw it, and though I attempted to deny it at first and finally just avoided discussing it at all, I had to at least be honest with myself.
I really liked this woman.
There was something about her that just pulled me to her like a magnet. Her beauty, of course. But it was more than that. She just seemed so enthusiastic about everything. She liked talking to me, even if it was about things I never thought anyone would be interested in.
The thing I liked most of all, though, was the reaction she’d had to hearing me talk to her about Tarryn. I couldn’t deny that it felt good to see her get so worked up. When she started rambling, attempting to explain the reason for her reaction, I found it adorable.
Plus, I couldn’t stop myself from feeling like she was reacting the way she was because she was feeling a twinge of jealousy. It was a nice ego boost, even if I couldn’t act on it.
And that was the reason why I was sitting behind the wheel and feeling frustrated now.
Because I was really beginning to like her, and there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it.
I took in a couple of deep breaths and slowly let them out. They did little to calm all that I was feeling over Ellery, and I suddenly started to think that perhaps I was going to have to go into Harper Security Ops today and find the time to spar with Jake.
It wasn’t as though I could do what I really wanted to do, because what I wanted to do involved Ellery, me, and not an ounce of self-defense training.
SEVEN
Ellery
My heart was soaring.
As I stared at my computer screen, having just finished reading one of my author’s manuscripts, something warm and sweet and utterly beautiful moved through me.
It wasn’t often that I managed to experience a feeling like that, so I was going to give myself the opportunity to fully take it in.
I was working.
As much as I might have wanted to just enjoy some of my newfound freedom away from Patrick, I still had to work. Today, I didn’t mind it at all.
Because this book was one of the most beautiful love stories I had ever read.
