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“Thatisgood,” he says, handing it back to me. I take it wordlessly. My energy has been spent looking over the messed-up inventory. I don’t have any left to argue with him today.
That makes me feel vulnerable. I have no walls up against him.
“Okay,” Gia says with finality as she makes her way over to us. “So, as it turns out, this investor is really riding my ass to meet certain quotas, so I have to get my butt up in the office and make a plan to do that. Crunch the numbers and all that. Talia and Kay are going to have to help you plan your party.”
“Nooo,” Nyla drags out the word with a pout. “This was always going to beourthing.”
“And I’ll be there for the party and do whatever I can along the way. But I’ve got a business to run, babe. I’m sorry.” Gia gives her best friend a solemn look.
Nyla sighs. “Alright, alright… go be girl boss.”
Gia skips toward her and plants a kiss on the top of Nyla’s head. “Love you long time!”
“Love you more!” Nyla shouts as Gia disappears into the elevator, already punching another number into her phone.
Once the elevator doors close, Nyla’s shoulders slump substantially, clearly upset that her best friend isn’t helping her through this as closely as she would have liked.
To my surprise, Kay reaches forward and rests his hand on hers for a moment. “Hey, we’re going to throw you the best damn party you’ve ever seen.” Nyla smiles sheepishly at his words, and Kay looks between me and Nyla. “So, how are we doing this thing?”
At that, she beams.
After Nyla spills the gloriously fleshed out details of everything she wants for her party, she leaves, informing us she has reservations with Kieran at a new up-and-coming restaurant which I’m sure costs an arm and a leg to eat at.
Kay and I have moved to sit on the upper patio of the club in the sunlight to begin planning the party, notes from Nyla spread out in front of us.
“I hope my brother has a big budget, because I’m about to charge him out the ears for this,” Kay laughs, already looking up ostentatious flower arrangements online. Which feels… wrong. An oddity for him. Kay Beckett looking up flower arrangements for his future sister-in-law’s party?
I can’t help but feel…softat the idea thathehas a vulnerable side.
“You and Nyla seem close.”
The words are out before I can stop them, and I bite down on my bottom lip before I can say anything more.
Kay’s eyes shift to me from where he sits. He sets his phone down on the table and eyes me curiously. “I haven’t heardthattone from you before.”
“You have mytonesmemorized?” I say in disgust, even if physically, I’m feeling somethingverydifferent.
“I’ve memorized a lot of things about you, Talia.” His head cocks to the side, and the way his eyes burn into mereallyleaves me feeling something physically different.
Suddenly I’m keenly aware of the width of his broad shoulders, the corded muscle beneath his snug shirt, the subtle waft of his cologne on the ocean wind. A tightening in my core makes me shift in my seat, accompanied by a warmth that I haven’t felt yet around him. Usually he brings about a burning feeling, fiery and hot down the back of my neck, but right now it’s the opposite of angry.
It’s something else entirely.
“Well, stop.” I wish I had a better comeback, but I feel something slipping inside me, my resolve going out the window.
“I can’t stop, and I think you know that.” Kay reaches forward, his hand low, and for a moment I think he’s going to try and make a grab for my thigh, which I don’t think I would stop him from doing right now. I’m surprised when his fingers raise to my face, where he lightly traces my cheekbone and tucks a stray strand of hair behind my ear.
I inhale a sharp gasp at his touch, heat lingering where his fingers touched me.
Rising from his seat, he leans down to put his lips at my ear. In a low, husky voice, he adds, “I’ll never be able to stop when it comes to you.”
Drawn like a magnet, I turn my head to face him, his lips so close to mine, all it would take is barely an inch to reach them with my own.
“That’s a warning, Talia. So make your next move wisely.”
Chapter Seven: Kay
It takes me by surprise when she turns toward me. It surprises me evenmorewhen she begins to lean in. My surprise doesn’t end until she brushes my lips with hers, so softly that I wonder if she already feels doubt in the stroke of her lips on mine. The kiss feels like a question, and as she moves her lips against mine, I realize it isn’t a question of doubt, but a prod. A poke.
