Page 48 of The Only Shot that Mattered

Finally, his words came to him. He caressed her cheek and gazed into her eyes intently. “You are breathtaking, Kenna. Thank you for agreeing to come with me tonight.”

Her eyes found his chest as she spoke her next words. “I’m nervous.”

“I understand that, but you know what else you are?”

“What?” she asked, her gaze lifting back up to meet his.

“Brave.” He smiled. “I know I’ve thanked you a million times, but I need you to understand how thankful I am that you got both Skylar and Alanzo out of there safely. You’re brave for that. Shit, if I had been there, I probably would have froze up.”

Kenna shook her head while trying to hide a smile. He knew joking about the situation may not have been the best thing to do, but his words were tinted with a bit of seriousness. There wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do to keep the people he lovedsafe, but he’d never been in that situation before. Part of him wondered if he would freeze up or if he wouldn’t act quick enough or move smart enough to get them to safety. In his eyes, Kenna was superwoman.

“You don’t have to thank me.” Kenna turned toward the hook next to the door and grabbed her clutch and her keys.

He nodded before grabbing her keys and locking the door for her and then offering his arm for her to take so he could walk her to the car. “I do, and I’ll continue to do so. My bad ass daughter better be lucky she’s been struggling with what happened, otherwise she would be grounded until she’s eighty. I still don’t know what she was thinking buying tickets forthattheater.”

Kenna giggled as he opened her door. When she slid in, she looked up at him and said, “Teenaged girls do dumb shit all that time. It sucks that her dumb shit landed us in that situation. I can guarantee she learned her lesson, Damien.”

Damien’s face mugged up as he closed her door and walked around the car. When he found out Skylar had been dating some young nigga that ran the streets, his heart broke. Every good father wanted better for their daughters. Skylar was supposed to marry a surgeon or an accountant. He didn’t understand what her draw could have been to Big Len or whatever the boy’s name was—May he rest in peace.

After he got into the car and started it, he sat there for a moment, looking straight ahead. Without looking at Kenna, he said, “I don’t want to spend the night talking about the theater. I know you’ve been struggling, baby, and I want you to know I’m here to lift you up out of that. I won’t ignore the problem, and I won’t let you run from your trauma like last time. I just need to know you’ll let me help you.”

When he finally looked at Kenna, he noticed tears swimming in her eyes, but she held them back.

My strong woman,he thought as he grabbed her hand.

“I can’t promise that every day will be pretty, but I can promise that I’ll try. My therapist’s words from years ago keep ringing in my ear, and I know I can’t keep on like I’ve been. I also want to set a good example for Skylar. She has to be better than me in every way when it comes to dealing with her trauma, so I’ll accept your help. Just understand that every day might look a little different.”

Damien leaned over and kissed her lips softly before pulling back. “And that’s why I love you.”

Kenna’s eyes grew wide. “You love me?”

“If it ain’t obvious by now, then I’m not doing my job.”

“No, no… it is. It’s still a shock hearing those words from a man. I’ve never experienced that before outside of my father and Cam.”

He chuckled. “What? Ol’ boy you lost your virginity to didn’t say it?”

She had told him all about her one and only boyfriend a while ago. It amazed him that she was so green to all these experiences life had to offer, but it made him excited to be her first and only for a lot of things.

Kenna waved him off. “No, that wasn’t love. We liked each other a lot, and I thought it could grow into love, but it never did, so it’s crazy to me that I’m so sure about you.”

Damien’s brows rose. Though he admitted his feelings for her, he didn’t expect her to flood him with hers. The look in her eyes told him he might be in for a surprise.

“Sure about what, exactly?” His tone took on a flirtatious note as he eyed her curiously.

“Sure that I love you too.” Kenna didn’t break eye contact, and her words didn’t waver. His baby meant business.

“Come here, woman.” He pulled her into him as best he could with the center console between them. The passion each and every one of their kisses possessed should be studied. He’dnever felt anything like it before, and he knew this right here, wherever she was, would be home for him forever. When they pulled apart, they smiled at each other before he finally put the car in drive and pulled out of her driveway.

Kenna didn’t ask any questions as he drove, which told him just how much she trusted him. He understood that he needed to take baby steps with her, so he wouldn’t overdo it.

When they pulled up to the beach, he glanced over at Kenna, whose eyes lit up. It was completely secluded and the perfect setting for their night out. There shouldn’t be any worry about sudden loud noises or paranoia of harm coming their way. Just the sounds of the waves and their love flowing between them.

Damien got out of the car and swiftly helped her out before leading her toward the tent he hired a service to put up. It should have everything they needed for a romantic night.

“You could have told me we were coming to the beach,” she fussed as she tried to hold her mini dress down while attempting to walk in the sand with her heels. Finally, she gave up and stopped, bending to take them off.

“Let me do that,” Damien said, crouching so he could take her shoes off.

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