Chapter 34
Josephine
After my literal run-in with Kendrick in the hall, I was tempted to show up to family dinner in a bathing suit. Or maybe my birthday suit.
The gall of that man.
But now that I see the guests, I’m glad my rational side took over, and I pulled on a pair of leggings and a LCU T-shirt instead.
I slipped into my seat just as Locke and Decker brought the food out onto the deck.
I’m sitting between Kylian and Locke tonight, with Decker positioned at the head of the table.
Kendrick is directly across from me, and on either side of him are the two guests I wouldn’t have expected in a million years.
Emilia and Jade.
Emilia and Jade Taylor.
Kendrick’s little sisters.
“She has more meatballs than me,” the one on the right—Jade, I think—announces.
She’s eight, maybe nine years old, and I’m almost certain they’re twins.
They’re dressed in matching skirts and polos, obviously a school uniform of some sort.
Glittery purple beads adorn the end of Jade’s braids.
Emilia is rocking Crusaders red and white.
“Hush. I gave you both three meatballs. Eat those, and you can have more,” Kendrick tells her.
He plated their food with ease and wordlessly moved Emilia’s cup to the middle of the table when she almost tipped it over. It’s clear he’s used to caring for them.
I had no idea Kendrick could be anything but gruff and rude. But he’s smiled more in the last ten minutes than in all the time I’ve spent with him over the last few weeks combined. It’s mindboggling that I didn’t even know these girls existed until tonight.
That’s not the only thing that has me twisted. Despite my speed shower and the distance between us at the table, I swear Decker’s hands must have left permanent imprints on me. I’m too in my own head to make eye contact with him, although I can feel his onyx gaze flit to me every now and then.
I’m still reeling from my run-in with Kendrick. There’s no way I’ll push my luck by asking questions or engaging with his sisters right now.
I sit quietly and eat my pasta, focused on twirling the long noodles and dragging them through the sauce on my plate.
“This is really good,” I murmur to Locke, who acknowledges my comment with a smile.
“So, is anyone going to tell us why there’s a girl here?”
I lift my head, surprised, and meet Emilia’s assessing gaze.
“Yeah,” Jade chimes in. “Uncle Ducky always says no girls allowed except us!”
Uncle. Ducky.
When I tear my attention from her and home in on Decker, he’s already glaring. “Don’t,” he bites out, pointing his fork at me.
Uncle. Ducky!
I bite my tongue and stow the nickname away for future use, curious as to who’ll answer the question and how they’ll explain my presence.
Especially since there’s a no-girls-allowed rule that I wasn’t privy to.
Satisfaction sparks inside me at the idea that Decker broke his own rules for me.
I guess even almond daddies have to make exceptions from time to time.
“That’s Josephine,” Decker says. “She’s a friend of Kylian’s. And Locke’s.”
He cocks one eyebrow at me, hinting at the nature of my relationship with each of the guys. I return the look head-on. I won’t engage him. Not like this.
I haven’t talked to Kylian about Locke, or vice versa.
Until I figure out where things stand with Locke, it’s unnecessary.
I also refuse to participate in any sort of manipulation when it comes to sex.
I’m not in a committed relationship with either of them, nor do I have anything to be ashamed of. Decker has no right implying otherwise.
Emilia accepts Decker’s response, then turns to her brother.
“Why isn’t she your friend, K?” She’s laser-focused on him, with one elbow on the table and her chin propped up on her fist. This girl’s too smart for her own good.
I fight back a grin, but as silent seconds tick by, I’m more and more compelled to speak up and answer the question Kendrick is ignoring.
“We’re all friends here,” I offer, smiling across the table in a way that I hope smooths things over. “And you can call me Joey,” I add.
Jade beams back at me, but Emilia’s assessment is less friendly. Her lips are pursed, and she’s squinting as she takes me in.
“You can’t all be friends,” she counters. “Uncle Ducky only has five friends.”
Locke snorts.
Kendrick mutters “just eat” under his breath.
But Emilia’s not backing down.
“What?” she snaps at her brother. “That’s what he always says! You, Nicky, Kylian, me, and Jade. Uncle Ducky’s fab five.”
I can’t hold back my laughter. This is really not Decker’s day.
An awkward silence falls over the table, once again encouraging me to speak up. Maybe I’m trying to overcompensate for the face-off with Decker in the lake, or maybe I’m anxious to make nice with Kendrick. Either way, I push past the trepidation and go for it.
“I guess I’ve always thought of friends like sprinkles.”
“Sprinkles?” Kendrick challenges. His eyes meet mine, then he quickly looks away. Almost as if he let the question slip. Like he’s embarrassed to have spoken to me at all.
“Yep.” I pop the P and don a bright smile, silently daring him to shut me down in front of his sisters. “Have you ever had a cupcake or an ice cream sundae and thought ‘oh, that’s just too many sprinkles’?”
“Never,” Jade replies emphatically.
“Exactly.”
“I love sprinkles,” Locke adds, side-eyeing me as he runs the tines of his fork against his bottom lip.
“You never order sprinkles,” Kylian argues.
I press my lips together to stifle a smirk, but Locke reaches behind me and smacks his friend in the head.
“Trust me, bro. Me and sprinkles get along just fine.”
“Oh. Oh. You’re not talking about sugar confections, are you?”
“Anyway,” I interject before Kylian can connect the dots in front of Kendrick’s sisters, “what’s everyone up to tonight?”
The guys all mutter some version of the same: staying in, going to bed early to rest up for tomorrow. When I ask the girls if they’re going to the game, they wear matching smiles and explain that their aunt is taking them.
Jade, the little sweetheart, asks me about my evening plans, too. Unsure about how much detail to provide, I keep it simple. They don’t need to know that in addition to crashing their family dinner, I’m also one of their brother’s roommates. His unwilling, captive roommate.
“I thought I’d paint my nails. Maybe watch a movie and go to bed early, too.”
It’s Emilia who perks up this time. “You know how to do nails?”
“I do,” I answer cautiously, certain I know where her line of questioning will lead. “Before I came to Lake Chapel, I worked at a salon. I went to cosmetology school when I lived in Ohio,” I explain.
“I didn’t know that,” Locke murmurs, angling toward me, purposefully brushing my arm with his.
“I did,” Kylian declares.
Cocking my head, I turn back to him, but he’s focused on his phone, squinting at a jumble of numbers on the screen. I don’t remember ever telling him about my previous job.
“If you’re going to do your nails anyway, you could always paint ours, too.” Emilia’s delivery is cool and even. There isn’t an ounce of hopefulness to her suggestion. God, that prickly exterior is so much like Kendrick’s.
“I’d be happy to paint your nails. If you have time. And if it’s okay with your brother, of course.”
In a move I’m sure they’ve perfected over the years, both girls turn on Kendrick with wide eyes. A cacophony of pleases and Can we? Can we? tumble out of their mouths.
Kendrick looks like he’s going to blow a gasket.
The vein that runs along his temple is throbbing to its own rhythm, and his jaw is set in a way that has me concerned he’ll crack a tooth.
For the girls’ sake, I hope he doesn’t make this into a big deal.
Eventually, he lifts a finger to his lips, hushing his sisters.
“I can bring my stuff downstairs and set up in the kitchen,” I offer. I highly doubt he wants to leave the girls alone with me. Or be forced to hang out in my room.
He inspects me, his rich brown eyes assessing so long that I’m sure he’s formulating a way to reject the idea.
But finally, he glances away and nods.
The girls erupt into cheers, then gush about what colors they want and can they have an accent nail and do I have any glitter polish. They clear the table without complaint, talking a mile a minute while I excuse myself to grab my manicure supplies.
“I’ll be back in five minutes,” I assure them as I head for the stairs.
“Okay, Jojo!” Jade enthusiastically calls back.
Gah. She’s so sweet. I don’t think I’ve ever been on the receiving end of such innocent, unabashed affection before.
I turn back to give her a smile, but she’s already rinsing her plate at the sink. Beside her, Kendrick is supervising. His smile is soft—so different from any expression I’ve ever seen on his face. The tenderness radiating off him is beyond unexpected.
My heart catches in my throat as I secretly watch him watch them. Every child deserves to be looked at with that much love and adoration.
He may hate me for reasons unknown. He may relish the role of the moody bad guy in this house. But Kendrick Taylor can’t fool anyone when these girls are in his orbit.
He turns, his focus shifting my way, so I scurry up the stairs before we can make eye contact. Before he realizes I see his true colors, and I know his secret: Kendrick may have a hard exterior, but he is more than capable of being soft and sweet when he wants to be.