Page 77 of The Kings of Kearny

He stroked his thumb over my lips, gaze drifting down to watch the movement. “I didn’t know how long you’d stick around. No point in telling you anything if you only wanted a one-night stand, helped me get into Magnolia, and then bounced.”

Okay, when he put it that way, his initial silence made sense but not his continued evasions.

“What about later?” I asked. “Like, anytime since you brought me home.”

“I don’t have a good reason for that. At least not one that doesn’t make me look like an asshole, so I’m sorry.”

That made three apologies in five minutes. He must have set a new world record for men.

“Be open with me going forward, and I’ll work on forgiving you.”

“Deal,” he said.

The light turned green in my periphery, but I couldn’t pull my eyes from him. The way he stared at my mouth, the ease with which he’d apologized, the fact that every moment I spent with him, I saw some new side of him—it was turning me into an addict. I never wanted to look away from him. Because it meant I might not see the way the ice in his eyes melted when he turned to me, or I might miss out on another hint of the dark humor I’d glimpsed the other day or the goofiness of this morning when he’d crashed down on top of me and started snoring.

Someone behind us honked.

Jakob gave my cheek a slow, lingering stroke like he had all the time in the world.

The honking grew more persistent.

“Jakob,” I said, staring up at him.

Finally he let me go.

A few minutes later, we pulled into Daniel and Eva King’s long driveway. The house looked different in the light of day, smaller, a bit grungier. The beer cans on the front lawn didn’t help. A small army of people milled around outside, cleaning up. The front door stood open, young men and women moving in and out of it, carrying trash bags stuffed to bursting.

“New recruits?” I asked.

“Yeah, the poor bastards,” Jakob said.

I shuddered, feeling bad for whoever pulled vomit duty. They’d need industrial carpet cleaner and a stronger stomach than I had to face that dining room.

Jakob parked the car right outside the garage and then turned to me in his seat. “Daniel’s not like my dad. His temper gets the better of him sometimes.”

“You’re not going to try to provoke him, are you?” I asked.

He shook his head. “No, but his back is against the wall. And if he already thinks I’m in on it with my dad, anything might set him off.”

“Sounds like an injured animal,” I said.

“He is one. Let me take the lead?”

I nodded.

“And try not to get between us if shit goes down.”

“I’ll try not to,” I said.

Jakob pushed open his door. “Let’s get this over with.”

---