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“Nice.” She nodded to herself. “Summer is young to be a primary vet. Your parents must be proud.”
“They are.” Of course, with a doctor, a cop, and a veterinarian in the family, they had a lot to be proud of.
“Park ranger suits Connor. He always did like his own space. Being a ski instructor sounds perfect for Toby too, if he’s the same as I remember. It means he can have fun all day and flirt with any pretty girls staying at the resort.”
I grinned. “Spot-on.”
Our breakfast arrived, and we fell silent for a few minutes while we ate.
“This is amazing.” Kennedy moaned, and my body perked up in response, recalling how fantastic it felt to be buried inside her while she made that same noise. “They have the best food here.”
“It’s pretty good.” I sounded breathless. Shit. I swallowed a mouthful of coffee and told myself to calm the fuck down. Back to the sibling talk. No way could that be sexy. “Are any of your siblings partnered off?”
“No.” She licked her lips, missing a fleck of cream above her cupid’s bow. “The twins are probably working their way through the freshman population at U.C., but they never mention it to me. Mina is married to her study. Blair dates, but he’s not seeing anyone at the moment. Yours?”
“Nah. Nate was married briefly, but it didn’t work out. He’s got a beautiful daughter though.”
“Nate has a kid?” For some reason, that seemed to surprise her.
“Yep. Her name is Tess. She loves to read.”
Kennedy’s mouth twitched. “Must take after her mom.”
“You’d think so, but Maddy isn’t much of a reader either. Not sure where Tess got her love of books from. Grace, maybe.”
“Tess is the only grandchild?”
I nodded. “Max is chronically single. Same with Connor, but I don’t think he cares, whereas Max would like to be with someone if he could find the right person. Summer dates occasionally, and Toby always has a new flavor of the month.”
She looked like she might ask more. Perhaps she wanted to know if there had been anyone special for me. But she didn’t, and I swallowed my disappointment. She was right to be cautious. We were taking baby steps. It wouldn’t do to jump into things before we’d had time to work out where we each stood with each other now.
We talked for a while longer. But when breakfast ended and Eden cleared our plates away, I didn’t want to say goodbye. On impulse, I reached across the table and took her hand.
“I’m going hiking on Sunday,” I said. “Would you like to come with me?”
Kennedy’s mouth curled into a shy smile. “I would.”
“Good. I’ll see you then.” God help me if I wasn’t enchanted with her all over again.
ChapterThirty
KENNEDY
Hi Liam,
This is going to be the last email I write to you. I don’t think it’s healthy to hold on the way I have been. I’ve used my imaginary letters to you as an outlet for too long. Years have passed. I’m a different person, and my life looks nothing like it used to. You can probably say the same. It’s time for me to accept the way things are.
I’m going to keep these private communications in case I ever want to look back. This has been cathartic. Like a journal, almost. I like to tell myself that maybe one day I’ll see you again, and I’ll share everything I’ve written to you, but I doubt that will happen.
So, for now,
Goodbye.
K xx
When I got backto the cottages, the door to the other one was open, and Blair and Tyler bounded out. Tyler grinned, and it lit his square-jawed face.
“Hi, Kennedy,” he said. “It’s good to see you.”
