Page 27 of Starting Over with You
Her eyes are dark, like storm clouds, as she meets my gaze. “You look like a porn star cowboy.”
I bark out a laugh. “Damn, Kenni. Calling me a slut and a porn star in one night?”
She snorts, swaying in my arms. “You like it.”
I fucking do. I don’t say that as she asks, “How are you?”
“I’m all right,” I tell her, turning her out and then back in. “Though, I’m on call and having to come up here to get you three.”
“Who told you to come get us?” she challenges, her eyes full of playfulness.
“Y’all called,” I deadpan, and her laughter is lyrical as she throws her head back.
“No one told you to come,” she chides, and I give her a look.
“I’ll always come.”
Her smile slowly falls as her eyes stay locked with mine, and my heart beats out of control in my chest. I rub my thumb along her hip as we move with the crowd. She bites her lip, and I want nothing more than to pull her lip free and touch it with mine. The song ends, but I’m not ready to let her go. “How was the drive?”
She shrugs. “Long.”
“Did the boys get settled yet?”
Her eyes widen and sparkle with tears. She nods. “They did. They texted about an hour ago.”
I give her a smile. “That’s awesome. I can’t wait to watch them kick ass.”
Kenni’s lips turn down a bit. “I miss them, which is silly. It’s only been a couple days. They’ve left me for longer before.”
I shrug. “I miss Skyye when we’re not together, and we’re in the same town—hell, two streets over.” She gives me a wary grin, and I pull her in tighter. “You’ve grown, KenniLeigh.”
Her lips curve. “How so?”
“Drunk as a skunk but holding a good conversation.”
Kenni grins and then gives me an exaggerated wink. “I’m trying really hard right now to be normal.”
I guffaw. “Don’t. Normal is boring. Be you.” Her eyes widen a bit, and I realize I’ve said more than I should. Quickly, I add, “How are you?”
“Good. I’m divorced, or I will be once the papers are filed. I dropped them off at the lawyer on my way out of Wisconsin.”
“Congratulations,” I say, and I don’t feel bad for saying it. Fuck that guy.
She laughs. “Thanks.” She burps, then gags a bit. I eye her, but then she waves me off. “How’s chief life treating you?”
“Good,” I say. “Busy.”
“Congratulations on that, by the way,” she says, but then she pauses, swallowing hard.
I raise a brow, noticing she’s turning a bit white. “You okay?”
She nods, but then she pauses. “Yeah, a little dizzy.”
I mutter a curse and then start to lead her off the dance floor. “Will we make it to the bathroom?”
I look back as she grins. She’s fucking nuts. “Nope,” she says, popping the P, and then she gags. I look around for anything to catch what’s about to be expelled, but we’re in the middle of the crowd. So, I do what any guy would do. I take off my hat and hold it for her as she throws up the entire contents of her stomach into the crown of my favorite cowboy hat. I’ve had it since I was sixteen, but now it has all of Kenni’s insides in it. As she convulses and makes sounds that would attract gorillas, I tuck her hair behind her ears and shake my head as I grin.
“Welcome home, Kenni.”
