Page 20 of Known By You
Kenny’s voice pierced through the fog of grief and frustration I’d let myself drown in for a few seconds. I lifted my head, knowing I had to look as wrecked as I felt.
“Just dandy.”
His smile-prone lips did their thing, sliding up while his eyes practically sparkled. “Dandy, huh?”
I nodded, still breathing heavily.
He studied me, eyes only on my face and not falling tothe now sweaty T-shirt or running shorts I wore. After a moment, he dipped his chin.
“Okay then. Let’s get to bed.”
He held out his hand and gestured for me to lead the way and I went, no argument. Bed was what I needed. A reset with some sleep, and then we’d meet the people for the mission and we’d do what we were here to do. Another few days and I’d feel better—I’d have clarity, and I’d know what I needed to do.
And in a few weeks, I’d be ready to get back to it.
CHAPTER TEN
Kenny
Liz had been quiet this morning. She’d said goodnight once we got to our doors last night, but nothing else. Something was going on in that head, but we hadn’t breached any real, personal topics again and I’d sensed last night wasn’t the time to push.
I wolfed down breakfast in the small café at the hotel, head on a swivel in case she arrived. Did I want to talk to Liz for more than a few minutes before we picked up the clients?
Sure did.
Did I man up enough to invite her to join me for breakfast?
Sure didn’t.
But the thing was, it would’ve been weird. We’d planned to meet this morning so any additional communication would seem over the top. I didn’t want to come acrossas anything but friendly and professional. Yes, I’d quite enjoyed the pinch of a blush that rose to her cheeks when her gaze tracked down my torso last night, and that she didn’t seem to hate the way I looked, but I also didn’t want to seem sleazy.
I just… wanted more.
It didn’t make much sense considering she was here temporarily and had a shell she had no intention of cracking. But I’d also seen flashes of her that called out to some part of me I wasn’t used to, and all I could figure was I should roll with it and not overthink it.
A small group of businessy-looking people shuffled out the doors and my watch buzzed to alert me of the time. I polished off the last bite of my breakfast and piled the utensils onto the plate before hustling out of there. I had ten minutes to clean up, pack, and get back here so I could be a few minutes early to meet Liz.
Ten minutes later, Liz stepped off the elevator looking?—
My heart swooped and sputtered in my chest.
“All good?” she asked, tipping her head to one side.
“Great. You?” Thankfully, I recovered from the swooping, and we walked out the sliding glass doors with bags in hand.
She confirmed she was all good as we approached the vehicle. Our legs moved in sync, and being the cheese ball I was, I loved it.
A small smile crept into the corner of my mouth.
“Do I want to know what you’re smiling about?” She popped the trunk.
Not about to reveal the depth of my nerdiness or how inordinately pleased I was she’d keyed in on my expression, I gestured dramatically at the sky. “Gorgeous day.”Gorgeous woman.“Good mission. It’s a good day.”
Her eyes softened and I could swear her lips curled into a smile even though her face appeared unchanged. She wasn’t as broody as Stone or straight up grumpy as Beast, but her natural tendency was not smiling. Any hint of one gave me a hit of victory and only amped up the internal voice that said,more, more, more.
We loaded in and she navigated us onto the roadway.
“I admire that about you,” she said, her voice so quiet, I thought I’d hallucinated it.
