Chapter 18
EIGHTEEN
hawk
“Ready?” I asked.
Kendra had grabbed one of Colby’s Canada Goose coats.
But only after considerable prodding from me.
I guess I had always known that my sister and I had different financial means than most, but it hadn’t really sunk in that everyone who worked hard couldn’t have the same. And Kendra worked her ass off.
“Yeah, I’m ready.”
“Oh, I forgot to tell you. This is our first official date.”
“Perfect, we won’t have to tell your grandparents that our first date was you carrying me home drunk after a date with another man.”
“No, we won’t. Because that wasn’t a date.”
“Huh, then what was it?”
“I think in romance books they call it a meet-cute.”
She snorted. “There was nothing cute about that night. And I didn’t deserve the headache I ended up with the following morning.”
I thought back to her confession that night and silently agreed with her. Kendra deserved the world to fall at her feet. She deserved a man who not only understood how fortunate they were that she shared her attention with them but also spoiled the shit out of her.
I planned to do that. Maybe it wouldn’t be something that worked in the long-term, but it would at least be enough to show her that she needed to expect more.
Ushering her onto the elevator, I pressed the button for the ground floor.
“Mr. Crosby, your car is here.”
“Thanks, Larry. Oh, this is Ms. Colette. Please add her to the guest list for the penthouse. She’s welcome to go up at any time.”
“Great. If you can have her send us a photo of her license, we’ll make her a badge to access the apartment.”
Kendra gave me a curious look.
“You’re ready for me to be able to access your apartment?”
“Trust me, it’s next to impossible to get up there without a badge. Are you planning to throw parties while I’m out?”
She shook her head. “That still doesn’t mean—”
“Ken,” I said, taking her face in my hand and turning her head to make eye contact. “It’s an elevator pass. It won’t get you into my apartment unless I open the door for you.”
“Okay.”
“Come on, the car is out front.”
Once we got into the car, she brushed the snowflakes off her coat and pants. One had dropped on her nose, and I was tempted to brush it off. It melted before I had the chance.
“Where are we going?”
“It’s one of my favorite brunch places in the city. What’s your preference? Sweet or savory?”
“Savory. I’m a classic Eggs Benedict girl. Though the cocktails are usually my favorite part of the meal.”
“I could go for some day drinking. How about brunch and then a brewery crawl?”
She nodded. “Sounds good to me.”
“Oh, I need to pick up a tuxedo. It’s ordered; just got to pop in and get it.”
Could I have the tuxedo delivered? Sure. But since I planned to ask Kendra to go to the event, I hoped to have her try on a cocktail dress or two.
“What’s the tuxedo for?”
“Charity event. Want to come?” I searched her face for a reaction. She gave nothing away.
“That depends—”
“On?”
“How will I be introduced? Who is planning to attend? And does the guest list include anyone from the team?”
I thought about the complications. And yes, there would likely be some players and possibly managers there.
We could always explain her appearance as professional rather than personal.
Usually, I would have no issue introducing her as my date, but I understood Kendra’s hesitation.
She wanted to be known for earning accolades on her own merits.
“I often attend these events with platonic friends and even my sister. I bought two tickets, and if you come with me, it will be far more tolerable than if I have to go on my own.”
“Dress code?”
“Black tie.”
“I have nothing to wear.”
“We can look for something when I pick up my tuxedo.”
She sighed. Fuck, I was losing this battle.
“I just returned from a vacation in the Caribbean. While Sam and Kelsey covered a staggering amount of my expenses, my budget is tapped. Does your sister have anything I can borrow?”
Colby definitely had something she could borrow, but that went against my plan to spoil her.
“How about this, let’s eat, get a little buzz on, and then you go try on dresses. If we find something, you can pay me back?”
There was no way I was letting her pay me back.
“You’re gonna need to get some booze into me before you ask me questions that set my anxiety off.” She shook her head, and I knew that she was at least willing to consider it.
“Noted. I’ll do better next time.” I winked, and she rolled her eyes.
“How do you even do that?” she asked.
“Do what?”
“Manage to be boyish and a man at the same damn time. You’re impossible to say no to.”
“Good. I don’t want you to say no to me.”
“Does anyone ever tell you no?” she asked as we pulled up in front of the restaurant.
I shrugged again. She had me there. I was used to getting what I asked for, always. Between my family, and work, the only one that kept me on my toes was Nonna. And she purposely made things hard for me to make up for everything that fell in my lap. Or that’s what she said, at least.
Once we were seated and had ordered cocktails, Kendra sighed.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“Nothing’s wrong, Hawk. Absolutely nothing.”
“You make it seem like that’s a problem?” I asked, confused.
“It’s not a problem.”
She crossed her arms in frustration. How was she even pissed right now? Was she pissed at me, or at herself?
“Here’s the thing, Kendra. I don’t think you’ve ever had a man treat you right.
And that’s a big problem for me. Not just because these fuckers disrespected you, but also because somewhere along the line you started to think you didn’t deserve to be treated well.
You accepted it. And now here I am showing you just a fraction of what you deserve—because this isn’t even all I plan to do—and you look at the crumbs I’m offering you as if they’re platters full of gold bonds. ”
“Gah!” She let out a sound of frustration just before our server arrived with our drinks.
We both ordered Eggs Benedict, and by the time the server left, the tone at the table had lightened.
“I’ll need shoes too.”
I didn’t flinch. “Done.”
She sipped her Hugo spritz while I drank an Old-Fashioned. Thank God the conversation shifted to lighter topics. If you think a pair of shoes is going to set me over the edge—think again.
She picked up her phone and read through her text messages.
“Interesting.”
“What?”
“Well, it looks like Kylie and Luc will be going public with their relationship. They’re waiting until Kelsey and Sam return from their honeymoon.”
“I don’t know why I didn’t notice this before. You’re all K names.”
“Yeah. My dad loves baseball and wanted a son badly. We were all strikes—Kelsey was the strikeout.”
“How does that make you feel?”
“You’d have to know my dad to understand him.
He was the best girl dad, and I don’t think he resented that we weren’t boys; more so, he resented that he couldn’t afford to have a bigger family.
They were tapped out with the three of us.
We aren’t all swimming with school debt because we were on athletic scholarships. ”
By the time our meals arrived, we had both finished two drinks, and Kendra was working on a good little buzz. Perfect. Maybe our day-drinking and shopping excursion would lead to a few extras.
By the time we finished eating and were in the car, the snow had begun to accumulate.
“Are you still sure you want to go shopping?” Kendra asked.
“Yup. If for no other reason, I will see you try on a gown or two.”
I had already messaged my shopper, and she was putting aside several dresses for Kendra to try on.
She’d also put together a selection of shoes and taken strict instructions to hide the prices.
Had I thought of everything? Hopefully. Kendra’s best qualities were her stubbornness and independence; any hint I had taken that away from her would be met with resistance.
“Huh.”
“What?” I asked.
She giggled, a side effect of the excessive alcohol we both drank at brunch.
“Oh, I’m imagining what we could do in a dressing room.”
I gave her a side-eye, purposely not biting on her suggestion.
Her mirth turned to frustration. “What gives?”
I slid toward her in the Suburban and cupped her face in my hand. “Don’t take my restraint for lack of interest, Kendra. I’m going to take you, but none of our firsts are going to happen when we’re drunk.”
“Not even a kiss?” She asked with a petulant pout.
Yeah, I had seen strong, confident Kendra. But this side of her was downright adorable.
“We’ll see. If you earn it.”
She sat back with a victorious grin. When the SUV pulled up in front, she waited for me to come around and open her door.
Twenty minutes later, Kendra was on her fifth gown, each one looking more amazing than the last. The shyness she had shown when she emerged from the dressing room with the first gown had disappeared.
Eventually, she stopped looking at labels and was having a blast modeling the dresses. When she came out of the room in the Givenchy, I was stunned silent, and her shyness returned.
“This is the one, Kendra.”
“Yeah, for someone else.”
“No. This is your dress.”
“Eh,” she glanced at herself in the mirror. “It’s okay. I think I like the BCBGMAXAZRIA one better.”
I approached her as she continued to search her reflection in the mirror.
“Kendra,” my voice sounded hoarse to my own ears. “Let me.”
I pulled her flush against me, sweeping her hair to the side and exposing her neck and shoulders. Her lips parted as I traced the delicate lines of her neck with my nose, purposely scratching her sensitive skin with my five o’clock shadow.
“God, you smell so fucking amazing,” I said, watching her skin as it erupted in goosebumps.
“Hawk—”
She sounded so fucking needy. I cursed the alcohol, because fuck if I planned to take advantage of her while she was still drunk.
“Give me five minutes,” I said, leaving abruptly to find my suit.
“Don’t let her change out of that dress,” I said to my personal shopper. “If she needs alterations, can you send someone in to help?”
She nodded, and I went to change. When I returned in my suit, Kendra had begun to fidget nervously. Her eyes went wide as she saw me, and her tongue flicked out to wet her lips.
“Look at us, Kenny.” I turned her back to face the mirror and watched her reaction carefully.
“This is the dress,” I said, nodding to her in the mirror.
“I can’t—”
“I can. Let me.”
She nodded, answering me in silence.
I spun her around and crushed my mouth to hers. Her lips parted first in surprise, but then her tongue licked into my mouth. Her hand wrapped around my neck, fingers weaving into my hair and giving a tug.
I groaned in response, reluctantly pulling myself away from her when I heard my shopper clear her throat.
“Excuse me, Janice is here for alterations.”
Kendra’s face bloomed pink with embarrassment as Janice rushed in to alter the dress.
She hummed as she worked, and Kendra kept making intermittent eye contact with me in the mirror. To lighten the mood, the next time she caught my eye, I spread my first two fingers in the shape of a V and flicked my tongue in a vulgar gesture.
Her shoulder shook as she held back a laugh, followed by making a circle with her fingers and poking her other index finger through the hole repeatedly. The universal gesture for a good old dicking.
I changed and left my credit card for the purchase, not even looking at the cost. I didn’t want to lie when I told Kendra I had no idea what the dress cost. Whatever that was, it was worth it.
Colby: You’ve been seen around town with a mysterious woman. Is this your ‘friend’?
Me: Kendra.
Colby: Again, your friend? Or more.
Me: She’ll be at the Winter Ball.
Colby: Wait! No. You’ve been my date for four years straight.
Me: Maybe you should think about bringing your girlfriend…
Colby: And I’ll get to meet your girlfriend…
Me: She’s not my girlfriend.
Colby: Yet…