Page 151 of The Sweetest Devotion

Vino was quiet and only spoke when spoken to. He was a tall man, muscular like an athlete, with smooth olive-brown skin and fine jet-black hair with the slightest curl. Vino was handsome, but like Cain, he had a coldness to him, a darkness to his coal-black eyes that just readkiller.

What an appropriate person to hire as a bodyguard.

With Jadyn gone, and my mother and Irene helping my father back up to his room, I took Cain and brought him to my family’s living room where we sat at the grand piano. We sat side by side on the cushioned bench, and for once, I didn’t feel the need to scoot away.

“You said you just bought a piano,” I brought up as I glanced Cain’s way.

He nodded.

I gestured to my family’s Steinway. “Play something.”

Cain regarded the piano behind him and shook his head.

“No?” I questioned, partly bummed.

“I only play when I’m not in the best of moods,” Cain explained.

I nudged him, almost smiling. “So, you’re in a good mood?”

Cain peered into my eyes. “I’m moderate.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle.I’m moderate. Did he have to be so serious?

We were sitting so close, close enough to touch. So I did. I reached out, taking his hand into mine and entwining our fingers. I wondered if there was a part of Cain that had a heart.

“I wish we could be friends,” I said.

Cain squeezed my hand in his. “Why can’t we be both? Friendsandlovers?” When I didn’t answer, Cain let my hand go. “You hate me too much for that.”

I didn’t think I could ever love him, be attracted to him in that way, orwanthim. As I sat beside him, knowing he hadn’t always been this way, but rather, was made, I realized that I couldn’t hate him either.

Facing the piano, I went and pressed a cold key. A note sounded out. It was sad. Like the moment between us.

29

She didn’t call.

There wasn’t a hint of Kennedy all day Wednesday. After I got in from the community center I sat and waited for a call or a text—some sign that she was coming through.

By the time the sun went down, I’d given up entirely.

I could’ve called her, and ordinarily, I would’ve, but then I thought about the possibility of her being around her family. Aroundhim. She probably had me saved under an alias, but it was a chance I wasn’t willing to take. To potentially get her in a sticky situation.

Looking at my blank lock screen, I shook my head and shoved my phone back into my pocket.

It would always be this way. Operating onhertime. Something I’d known from the beginning and had so easily accepted.

The fact of the matter was, I was nothing more than a sidepiece. Convenient dick whenever Kennedy needed it. It was a bitter pill to swallow, but there was no other way to feel as I came to realize I’d be spending my Wednesday evening alone.

Fingering the pendant hanging from the necklace around my neck, I felt a slight sense of guilt overtake me as I wrote off whatever the fuck this was I had with Kennedy. I knew what I saw when she looked at me, and I knew what I felt when I was with her.

Maybe I wasmorethan a booty call, but that didn’t stop the irritation from stirring.

I still needed to cook, but I found myself grabbing my pack of Malboros and heading out to my back patio.

The first intake of nicotine calmed my nerves and curved my appetite. The second intake cleared my mind.

I was gearing up to jut out my second cigarette when I caught myself. Reluctantly I blew out a stream of smoke and stubbed out my cigarette before stuffing it back into the pack.

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