Page 33 of Not In Love

“Think so. The result is she’s hounding me for donations,” she said, walking around the island and stopping near him.

His heart nearly beat out of his chest when she leaned in and the scent of her skin—rose and sweat—coiled around him like a leash. She lowered her voice conspiratorially. “I offered the house for the wedding instead.”

He laughed and nudged her shoulder with his. “You’re cunning.”

She nudged him right back, smiling broadly. “Your cousin is scary. No wonder you stick to her like glue. She’s a financial advisor and bodyguard in one.”

“And now she’ll be your lifelong sister-in-law,” he retorted.

Kash gave a mock shudder, and they burst out laughing.

A strange warmth unfurled in his chest at their easy back and forth. Even as other parts of him turned rock hard. He cleared his throat. “I’m flattered that you took an interest in my work.”

“I might know a couple of Simon’s old colleagues who could be helpful,” she added. “He worked with a lot of people who loved throwing money at community legacy projects. I can put together names if you want.”

Diego blinked. “You’d do that?”

“I wouldn’t have offered otherwise.” She looked away, her fingers dancing at the edge of the quartz counter. Then looked up at him. “This soccer academy is a behemoth of a project, Diego. I finally understand how much commitment and energy it takes.”

He blinked at her apologetic tone. “You thought I was goofing off, didn’t you?”

“Not exactly,” she said, color cresting her cheeks. “I assumed it was more of a vanity project you were doing because you missed the spotlight. I made assumptions without learning anything about it.” She looked at her laced hands and sighed. “Basically, I acted like an asshole and there’s no excuse. I’m sorry.”

He shrugged. “You don’t have a great opinion of me. Have been aware of that for a while.”

She grabbed his hands, her eyes shining with a wet sheen. “Mostly, I was just in my own world, chipping away at each day in survival mode.” Her fingers danced over the thick veins on the back of his hand before she loosened her grip and pulled away. Neither did he miss the fact that she didn’t deny her lack of a good opinion about him. As much as it still pricked, he could count on her to not lie to him.

“You’re building something solid. Something good. I’d be happy to even have a small part in it.”

He couldn’t help the warmth that bloomed in his chest. He hadn’t expected that from her—interest, validation, support. He swallowed it down before it overwhelmed him, morphing into something else.

“What about you?” he asked, forcing himself back to neutral ground. “What’ve you been doing while I was being publicly charming?”

Her eyes held his for a long beat. “Taking care of myself, finally.”

He raised an eyebrow.

“I’ve seen my friends. Had several checkups that were long due. Even let Mona set me up on a date.”

His smile dipped. “A date?”

“Three, technically,” she said, gaze sweeping over his features, lingering a second longer on his mouth. “One ended after appetizers. One involved a man who lectured me about how and why patriarchy is important for civilization. The last one... I left before the drinks.”

He stared at her, lips twitching. “Sounds like you’ve been busy.”

She lifted her glass in mock salute. “Healing takes a lot of effort. Including subjecting myself to inane men who automatically assume that I need to be explained how the world works.”

Smiling, he looked at her closely. Her eyes were tired but no longer hollow. Her mouth had curves again. There was color in her cheeks.

She was still Kash—sharp, cutting, self-contained—but there was something else too. A spark he hadn’t seen in years.

“You do look different,” he said, softer this time.

“I’m trying to make it stick. This whole looking after myself first,” she said archly.

“And where in that manual did it say to let your brother and his martial bride-to-be have their wedding in your house?” he retorted drily.

She frowned. “I thought you would be happy. Tia definitely is.” Her mouth twisted, as if she really wanted his validation. “Finding an available budget-friendly venue so that they can have the wedding immediately was close to impossible. Muriel was close to tears, and you know that’s not a small thing.”

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