Page 46 of Pillowtalk

“Love,” Austin repeated, and Aaron’s neck ran warm. “I knew you liked her, but how you were looking just now…” He shook his head. “So, do you?”

“We met a week ago, Austin.” Aaron let his voice come out as matter-of-factly as possible. “No one falls in love in a week.”

“Some people are known to do it in a day,” Austin countered.

“Not this person.” Aaron pointed to himself jokingly, but underneath the bravado he could feel the heat rising up from his neck onto his cheeks, and he’d be a fool to think that he could flat-out lie to his twin brother and get away with it. Because honestly, within the week, he had transformed into a person whowouldfall in love so quickly, all from meeting a particular woman.

He shook his head. “Even if you’re right—and I’m not saying you are—I’m not sure it matters.”

“Why’s that?” Austin asked.

“Because it’s Kennedy.” His gaze drifted past Austin to the picture he kept on the wall of the three of them—him, Austin, and Jared—covered head to toe in mud after a day of four-wheeling. “I’m not sure if she’s ready.”

Austin cranked his neck to the picture, then slowly turned back around. “Ready for what? To let go of Jared or to reciprocate feelings for you?”

Aaron scratched at his eyebrow. “Both.” The memory of her hesitation prodded at his mind, and he remembered her green eyes flipping through several conflicting thoughts and emotions like a slot machine before it settles on the winning lottery. He had every confidence that she’d been with him and only him during the majority of the night, but there were small glimpses after and before that while her body had been wrapped next to his, her mind was with someone else. Aaron had no right to feel envious of it, to even request her to ignore her internal tug-of-war. He could only embrace the moments when it was his turn, and be grateful for the fact that she felt even a sliver of the way he felt.

His back straightened and he pushed up out of his chair. The urge to see her, tellherall of this instead of bottling it up, as his brother had put so bluntly, overwhelmed him. He’d be okay with her response; he had to be, no matter what it was.

“I gotta go,” he said, heading back toward the door, forgetting the shower completely.

Austin swiped up the remote and pressed play. “Take your dog with you this time.”

—

The B&B was unusually quiet, especially given all the guests who were there for the weekend. Aaron supposed most of them were in town, impromptu get-togethers being held right before another storm would come rolling in. He took the stairs two at a time to Kennedy’s top-floor guest room, Charlie bounding up next to him, tripping him every time he hit a landing.

Her door was open, and he felt a grin pull at his lips with the anticipation of seeing her, only to have it fade the moment he peered in and saw the room completely empty.

His brow furrowed, and he foolishly checked behind the door in case she was waiting to jump out and say, “Boo!”

Charlie went immediately to the bed, jumping up and making himself comfortable. Aaron was halfway to scolding the pup before he paused mid-sentence, his eyes settling on the urn resting on the nightstand, a small piece of notepaper propped up against it.

He crossed the room in two long strides, confusion wrinkling his forehead as he read the words in her loopy handwriting.

I love him, too.

His head jerked a little, and he flipped the paper around to the empty backside before putting it back in place. His knuckles gently nudged the urn, and he assumed with the weight that it was still full. Kennedy couldn’t have gone back home already; she’d never leave without Jared’s ashes, but truthfully, Aaron hoped she wouldn’t leave without at least telling him goodbye.

But the fact that he couldn’t see her luggage, her toiletries in the bathroom, her laptop open to a redlined manuscript, anything that belonged to herotherthan the urn, had his gut twisting so hard that it nearly brought him to his knees. Charlie sniffed and shuffled on the bed, rolling over with his tongue hanging out and his belly on display to be scratched. Aaron shook his head and turned toward the closet, sliding open the doors to an empty space.

She wouldn’t leave,he told himself, trying to calm the panic rising in his chest, squeezing at his heart. His fingers fumbled for his phone, slightly shaking as he scrolled through and found Chelsea’s number.

Is Kennedy with you?he typed, then tapped his phone against his leg as he went to the window to check the docks—which were also vacant.

Nope. She said she was going to take a nap. LET HER SLEEP, AARON! We all know you kept her up late;)

He would have smiled at the joke if he weren’t in Kennedy’s room at that moment staring at a very empty, very made bed.

She’s not here,he typed back, then slumped down on the mattress and put his head in his hands. It had been too much for her; that had to have been it. She just needed space, that’s all.

Or maybe he’d missed her heading tohisplace, needing to be with him as much as he needed her. He held on to that hope and sent a message to Austin.

If Kennedy shows up there, will you have her call me?

He didn’t even have her number. He’d fallen in love with a woman, and hadn’t asked for her phone number. She’d hypnotized him to the point that he had no idea what was up or down, and as the time ticked by in silence, the realization that he had no way to get hold of her directly sank deep into his soul and glued his feet to the floor.

His phone buzzed in his hand, the vibration causing Charlie to roll and push at Aaron’s knuckles.

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