Page 69 of The Sweetest Devotion

We weren’t supposed to get too deep or personal, but still, I didn’t like being in the dark. Was she someone else in his orbit? I didn’t want to step on another woman’s toes, and I didn’t want to play second fiddle either. Ironic considering my engagement.

“Kennedy,” Keith’s voice danced on irritated.

I shrugged. “It’s fine.”

He sighed, going and running a hand over his waves. “Look, I don’t even know the name of your fiancé—and I don’t want to know. You’re the one who didn’t want to get personal, remember?”

I didn’t. “I do. But if there’s someone else…”

Keith made a face, a muscle in his jaw flexing. Leila was tough territory for him. “She’s my ex. She’s not around. It’s been done for over a year.”

Judging from his body language, I knew I was right in my guess of, “Sheended things.”

Keith nodded. “Wasn’t good enough for her.”

I felt the prick of rejection teeming from him. “You?”

Once more he nodded. “Me.”

There, in his dark eyes, I saw pain. “Keith.”

He moved away from me, forcing himself to shrug, I could tell. “I’m sensitive. I’d rather not talk about it.”

I didn’t know Leila, but right then Ihatedher for making him feel this way.

I knew men liked to bottle up their emotions, and it was probably for the best that we didn’t exchange a heart to heart, but still I pushed against our limits as I set my water on the coffee table and went closer. I sat on Keith’s lap, resting my chin on his chest as I peered up at him. He didn’t look sad or anything, just empty and alone.

Touching a tattoo on his bicep, I focused there as I began to talk. “She was wrong about you.”

“Think so?”

I followed the length of a stream of smoke with my finger. “Uh-huh.” I drew my gaze up to his. “When you were younger you joined a gang for whatever reason, made some mistakes I’m sure, but you turned your life around when your mom got ahold of you. You didn’t rebel, you didn’t fight—you changed. And now you’re here, strong, resilient, helping young boys who may feel like you did, and showing them the way. It seems to me, that you’re more than good enough of a man, Keith.”

Keith stared down at me, his forehead adopting a crease as he appeared lost in thought. He came closer and kissed my forehead and brought me more into him. “Thank you.”

The lines blurred and I didn’t care. I wanted him to know that his ex was wrong about him. That he was good enough. That he mattered and was making a difference.

Keith reeled back, pushing some hair behind my ear. “Why are you a pescetarian?”

A smile washed across my face at a distant memory of a much younger me. “My father, actually. Outside of the whole corporate thing, he’s a big hunter. One time, when I was like six or something, he, my mom, and me were on a trip—I forget where we went, but I just knew we were getting deer. The whole trip I sat in the back seat talking about how I was going to keep my deer as a pet and name him. I kept going on and on, and they let me.”

Slowly, Keith began to smile, coming back to me. “They did, huh?”

I nodded. “Yeah, and I was so excited.”

“And what happened?”

I frowned, remembering little bits of what happened next. “We got to this place, this meat market, and there’s no deer. Just packs of butcher paper wrapped meat. That’s when I realized I wasn’t getting a deer, that they were all dead.”

Keith didn’t laugh at me like my parents sometimes did when I told this story. Instead, as if to protect me from the vivid memory, he held me.

“I stopped eating meat shortly after that. My dad used to fish, but I didn’t mind that as much as the furry animals,” I said.

“I get it,” Keith said. “I don’t mess with animals like deer, rabbit, or lamb no way. I just stick to the basics, chicken, pork, and beef. I do love seafood, though.”

“Once in a while I may eat chicken when Jadyn gets some, but I try to stick to my diet,” I said. “After I quit meat, my dad never fussed with me. He and my mom were good about making sure I had fish if they were eating meat.”

My heart hurt just then, thinking of my family.

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