Page 26 of Banking on Love

Kensi’s words cause my entire world to stop. My heart skipped several beats. A huge smile tugged at my lips. All the negative emotions I had from my day were wiped away. I suddenly felt on top of the world.

The sound of bells from the lobby door brought me back to reality.

“I care about you too, Kensi,” I smiled.

She smiled brightly back at me but then she looked over my shoulder. Her expression fell to ice. I glanced back to see Cody, walking over to us. The same bastard who had turned my day to shit.

“Hey, Kensi,” Cody said in a flirty tone. He now stood beside me.

“I’ll see you later, Kens–” I replied, trying to keep my cool.

“Don’t leave,” she blurted. “Do you mind waiting? It will only take a moment with him.”

The wordhimwas coated in venom. Kensi despised Cody. Sounded like she almost hated him as much as I did. Curiosity rose in me. What had he done to upset her? Today he had shown his full colors at work. He had left nothing to the imagination on the type of man or lack thereof that he was– which was a snake.

“Sure, Beautiful. I’ll wait.” Kensi responded to my words just how I hoped she would. She smiled and blushed.

“Okay. It will only be a moment,” she nodded.

I walked across the small lobby and sat down. My eyes were glued to Cody and Kensi. I couldn’t make out what they were saying, but I was able to read their body language. Kensi was typing away at the computer. Her body was stiff and face emotionless. Cody leaned across the counter, invading her space. Each time, Kensi moved away.

Five minutes later, Cody was storming across the lobby. He flung open the door and looked at me. A smug grin crossed his face.

“Valentine’s Day she’ll be mine,” he whispered then left without another word.

“Thank God,” Kensi muttered. I stood and made my way back over to her.

“You okay?” I asked.

“Yeah. I just can’t stand him.”

“You and me both,” I chuckled. The front door bells jingled. Kensi and I both tensed. A groan left us. I looked over my shoulder and found one of my favorite people standing there.

“Hey, Grandma!” I smiled.

“Grandma?” Kensi shrieked. My grandmother laughed and made her way slowly over to us.

“Hello, Kensi,” my grandmother said sweetly.

“Hello,” Kensi whispered, “Mrs. Carter.”

Chapter Thirteen

KENSI

When Nick and Mrs. Carter had left the bank, I stood shell-shocked. Why hadn’t I figured it out sooner? I lived in a small town for goodness’ sake. Everyone knew everyone’s business, yet, no one seemed to know about Nick being Mrs. Carter’s grandson.

“Damn, she’s good,” I giggled as I laid down on my couch, wrapping myself in my new quilt that my Secret Valentine had made me.

The quilt came after Mrs. Carter and Nick had left. And for that reason, I sadly knew I needed to come to terms that Nick wasn’t my secret admirer. However, my heart wasn’t ready to accept that. Nick was everything I ever wanted in a man. He made me happy beyond words and no matter how bad of a day I was having, when I thought of him, I smiled.

My fingers lightly traced over the stitches of the quilt. The lines weren’t straight and the stitches weren’t even. It was clearly made by a beginner. There were other flaws throughout the quilt; however, it was still perfect in my eyes.

It was made up of fabrics with roses, hearts, teddy bears, and unicorns on them. All things I found adorable. A handmade card had also been delivered with the quilt. The front had a hand-drawn Earth, which was in the shape of a heart, and on the inside read:You make this world a better place. It was the cheesiest and sweetest card ever.

I kicked my legs in the air with excitement. Nick had to be my Secret Valentine. There was no one else who would put this much thought into a gift.

Knock. Knock.

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