Page 44 of Companion Required

Chapter Nineteen

Kennedy

The sudden loss of warmth from Kieran’s body took Kennedy by surprise. During the kiss—from a supposedly straight man, no less—something strange had happened inside him. A simple truth had come to light, something that had been so obvious, so fundamental, that he had been blind to it all these years.

“We need to talk,” came the voice of his ex-lover.

Nine years, to be precise. He had spent nine years of his life with the man in front of him. Pretty much all of his thirties. And in all that time, they had never been in love. Not really, if they were both going to be honest. Maybe they had loved each other once, in a brotherly kind of way. Kennedy had provided a financial security blanket while Patrick had brought domesticity and continuity. But they’d been nothing more than a partnership of convenience.

“Kennedy! Are you listening to me?”

“Yes, Patrick,” he replied calmly, peering up at Patrick instead of looking through him. No doubt about it, his ex still looked good—a little heavier of frame perhaps, but still handsome and in good shape. Over Patrick’s shoulder, he noticed Joey rush into the bar, but on seeing them together, he moved to one side of the room, a few metres away.

“First of all, what’s with snogging the rent boy? Was that show put on just for me?”

“Okay, enough, Patrick. Let’s put a few things straight, shall we?”

“Straight? Fine. Let me start. In case you didn’t know, your boy’s got a girlfriend back in England.”

“Yes, I know hehada girlfriend. Just like you and Ihadgirlfriends back in university.”

“You don’t get it, do you? Just like the last one, this little cocksucker moron’s taking you for a ride—”

“No!” said Kennedy, standing and meeting Patrick’s gaze. “You do not get to slag off Kieran! Have a pop at me all you want, but leave Kieran alone. He’s been nothing short of heroic for standing by me and putting up with this whole stupid charade. Yes, Richmond told me in no uncertain terms what everyone thinks of me, but Kieran deserves none of it. Only one man on this ship has defended me through all of this, and that’s Kieran.”

“Yeah, because you’re paying him to.”

“Not true. I’m paying him to be a companion, not a defender. The lot of you managed to turn Ewan against me last year, and I was paying him, too. But unlike the rest of you evil bastards, Kieran has a good heart. And he’s the first person who has evergotme. Understands why I do what I do, what I’ve achieved despite everything and everyone. Someone who sees the things I’ve accomplished without being jealous or judgmental.”

“Like me, you mean?”

“If we’re going for honesty, then, yes.”

“Fucking unbelievable,” Patrick spat out, turning his head away. “Still reinventing history much? You always did put your work before us. Never put any time aside for me. You alone were the one responsible for ruining us.”

“No. It takes two, Patrick. I admit I spent a lot of time getting one deal after another off the ground. I was single-handedly trying to salvage my uncle’s company from going under. You knew that. But you never gave me any encouragement or support. All you ever did was either whine endlessly or nit-pick everything I did, especially when I got home dog tired. Berating me for where I dropped my jacket, or if I slept the night on the sofa, or what channel I watched on the television. You made life in that house unbearable. And now Richmond tells me you thought I was cheating on you all that time, while I was away at weekends working my ass off. That is not only untrue, but monumentally unfair and, frankly, unforgivable. You know what? The day you stormed out, I felt as though I could finally breathe again.”

Patrick stood unspeaking then, but a change occurred in him. His eyes became teary, the revelation having clearly hit home. Kennedy didn’t want that. From the start, he had only wanted to clear the air, but not at the expense of hurting Patrick’s feelings. When he looked around, he noticed Joey had left.

“It’s been five years, Pat. You need to let this go. For both our sakes.”

Patrick unfolded his arms and thrust his hands into his pockets.

“Richmond told me you’ve barely left the cabin the whole cruise,” said Kennedy. “Is that true?”

Oddly enough, Patrick smiled at that comment.

“Rich has a tendency to exaggerate. Of course we’ve left the room for meals. But Joey can be very demanding in the bedroom.”

Kennedy’s spluttered laughter, which had Patrick chuckling too, finally dissolved any remaining tension between them.

“We’re never getting back together, are we?” asked Patrick, as though he already knew the answer.

Kennedy smiled sadly and shook his head very gently.

“Joey’s nice, Pat. And he clearly worships you. You two suit each other.”

“He’s young, and messy. And a bit of a scatterbrain where finances are concerned.”

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