Page 79 of Known By You
I groaned, swallowing the creamy, salty-sweet morsel. It was honestly the perfect texture, flavor profile, and something I would never encounter in Europe.
“This is so good. I’m not even a dessert person normally, but I feel like I could eat this every day forever.” I opened my eyes to find his gaze fixed squarely on my mouth.
I bitmy lip.
“I would happily watch you eat it every day forever.” His gaze flicked up to mine, then held.
We’d talked non-stop as we ate—first appetizers, then dinner, and now this glorious cheesecake. There’d been the usual pull between us, but something about Kenny had an edge tonight. I couldn’t place it, but he felt more intense in a way that made me ignite and smoke curl in my belly.
“Do you want any more?” I asked, my voice a touch breathless.
He shook his head once, eyes not leaving mine. “All yours.”
The pleasure I’d taken from dessert seemed fleeting compared to the simple act of meeting his gaze and the heat rippling between us. Since our talk in which I’d assumed we’d agreed to date, we’d hardly touched. Small moments of contact, maybe occasionally holding hands and pecks or kisses on the cheek, but nothing more. Part of that was because we were often with other people since Kenny had overtly stated his mission to help me feel at home and invested in Silverton.
But even the nights when we watched movies together, we sat apart and stayed there. I’d run around and around in my head about it—should I make a move?
Kenny was so straightforward with everything thus far, so the physical dry spell seemed purposeful. I couldn’t guess what the purpose was, exactly, but I’d resisted pushing him, especially after all the upheaval with his family.
I was nothing like his ex, but he’d been hurt by a romantic relationship in the past and seeing his family very well may have thrown all of that in his face again. He’d seemed to be doing well in that regard, not mentioning it, no more drunken nights. But who was to say he would tell me if he were struggling with it?
He cleared his throat when I took my next bite, gaze skipping to the large brick oven that provided a centerpiece to the kitchen just visible around the corner from our table.
“Did I tell you my nephew texted me? Never even realized he has my number, but he popped up a few days ago, saying thanks for the money.”
Kenny’s comment felt both completely out of nowhere and also somehow exactly on time since I’d been thinking about the interaction with his family.
“That’s good, I guess? What did you think?” If it was a regular point of contact, then hopefully it was good, but I worried it was a matter of time until they had the child requesting more money now that they knew Kenny was doing so well.
He shrugged one shoulder. “I don’t mind having it acknowledged, but I have a feeling it won’t be the last time I hear about it.”
And what he wasn’t saying—it wouldn’t be the last time they’d ask for his help.
“I’m sorry, if that’s what happens.” I hated thinking of him hurt again. If I had his brother’s number, I’d call him up and give him another piece of my mind.
His lips quirked. “I’m not. I’ll handle it. Plus, every time I think of them, I then think of your heroic speech in my defense, and I’m happy again.”
His smile was shameless, just like his words, and I couldn’t hold back my own smile. “I’d do it again, you know. They needed to hear it, even if it didn’t get through their thick skulls enough to stop short of what they did.”
My teeth ground together at the thought, but when his right hand reached for mine across the table, his touch instantly soothed some of the irritation.
“Enough of them. Do you want to take the rest to go?” He eyed the remaining half of the cheesecake slice.
“Yes, please.”
In a matter of minutes, he’d paid, received the boxed dessert, and we were walking home. I loved that in Silverton I didn’t have to drive everywhere. It was something I’d worried about having to give up if I moved back stateside because even in DC, I’d ended up driving regularly. I’d avoided it in most of my European postings, and now I was realizing I could potentially avoid it, at least to some degree here.
In the dream scenario where I spend more time here, I corrected. And that was exactly the issue—I’d been having more dream scenarios and it simply wasn’t realistic. Talk about setting yourself up for heartache.
The walk from Silver Ridge Brewery’s pub was a chilly five minutes, but soon, we arrived at my building’s door. I fumbled with the keys, my fingers raw. I should’ve worn gloves, but I’d wanted to hold his hand and feel his skin against mine.
A girl had to get her thrills someplace, right?
“Invite me in,” he said, his low voice gruff and demanding.
Twist my arm. I’d planned to anyway, though I hadn’t even thought I needed to. I figured our destination was my couch to watch a movie. We often went to his place so we could play with the cat, but tonight, we were right here.
“Want to come?—”
