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Miss yu Kenmedt.Why’d you have to rune evertng? - Unsent text message from Liam to Kennedy, after having had too many drinks
By Wednesday,I’d managed to go nearly two whole days in the same town as Kennedy Carter—Cox, or whatever she called herself—without seeing her again. Considering the size of Destiny Falls and the fact that she wasn’t making any attempt to keep to herself, that was a damn good effort on my part. Unfortunately, my streak came to an end when I walked out of the fire station at the end of a shift and found her standing outside, a cardboard box clutched in her hands.
“Hi.”
She hurried over to me, looking as drop-dead gorgeous as ever. Now that the shock of seeing her again had worn off, I noticed the regrowth of her brown hair beneath the bottle blonde she’d sported since becoming famous. I hated those dark roots. They reminded me of the girl I’d known. When she was perfectly styled and camera-ready, I could almost pretend she wasn’t the person I’d once loved with all my heart. Now, the past and present were coalescing in my mind, and it was ugly.
I ignored her greeting and moved toward my Ute. She trotted beside me. I glanced down at her feet and noticed she was wearing open-toed sandals with a sensible sole. Perhaps she’d suspected she might need to chase me.
“I have brownies,” she said.
I spun to face her. “Brownies?”
As if that could possibly make up for what she’d put me through.
She smiled, the expression so full of hope, it was painful to see. “They’re homemade.”
“I’m not interested in your bribery brownies.”
Since when did she bake? She never used to, and I couldn’t imagine Hollywood encouraging actresses to make junk food. She opened the container so I could see them. They smelled amazing, and my mouth watered.
“You don’t have to say anything,” she replied. “Just listen for two minutes, and if you want me to leave after that, I will. You can have the brownies either way.”
Could I really be bought by brownies?
Tempting, but no. Not when they came from a heart-breaking she-devil. I unlocked my car and got in, pretending not to see the hurt in her eyes. I wished I could take some form of petty satisfaction from her pain, but I didn’t, because even though she’d screwed me over, I’d never wished anything bad on her. Perhaps it would have been easier if I did feel that way.
I pulled away from the curb, making a concerted effort not to look in the rearview mirror, and breathed a sigh of relief as I rounded the corner. The relief was short-lived when I arrived home and noticed Summer’s Ute—emblazoned with the logo for Destiny Falls Veterinary Clinic—parked in front of my house. No doubt she was here about Kennedy. She’d been calling over the past two days, and I’d been dodging her. Summer liked to overanalyze. I preferred avoidance.
I got out of the vehicle. When I reached her Ute, she wound the window down.
“You haven’t called me back.” Her tone was deceptively casual. If not for the slight narrowing of her eyes, I might not realize she was annoyed with me. “What if it had been an emergency?”
“Then you’d have called emergency services.”
She scowled. “What’s the point in having a firefighter, a doctor, and a cop in the family if I don’t get to take advantage of that sometimes?”
I didn’t reply because we both knew that wasn’t what she’d come to discuss.
She studied me curiously. “Asher said he’d seen you and Kennedy together. He was worried about you.”
“So he messaged you?”
She grinned and got out of the car. “I’m the peacemaker. Everyone knows that.”
I rolled my eyes. “Max is the peacemaker. You’re just the one we love best, so you get away with anything.”
She shrugged. “Perhaps. Being the only girl has its perks.” She rounded the hood and leaned on the passenger door. “So, what did you and Kennedy talk about?”
“Nothing. She offered me brownies, and I turned her down.”
Summer looked disappointed. “That’s it?”
“Yeah. She wanted to chat, but I wasn’t interested.”
She made a thoughtful sound I didn’t like.
“What?”
