34. Donovan #2
He was awkward and somewhat disheveled. I had no idea where West had found this kid. All I knew was that he had a shiny new backpack with reflectors on the zippers where he kept his laptop, and really, that was all I needed to know.
I showed him through to my kitchen island and offered him a drink, and after those very few words were spoken, he pulled up a seat and got to work.
“Where’d you find this guy again?” Preston asked as West kicked up his feet on my coffee table.
Sporting a shirt and socks now, West looked more awake than he had when I first called, and the charming smile he aimed Preston’s way said his brain was now fully functioning too.
“I tracked him down to help get intel on Golden Boy.”
I tossed a pillow at him. “You did not.”
“Did too. I mean, I wasn’t gonna go in unarmed so JT could shoot me down. So Harry got me some info, and, well, the rest is history.”
“I thought he just helped you get rid of your video of shame.”
West eyed me, his blue ones sparking with mischief. “ My video of shame? You’re one to talk, ‘mystery man.’”
“You know what I mean.”
“Yeah, yeah, well, he got rid of that too. Smart guy, that Harry. Gotta keep him close.”
“Uh huh.” Preston chuckled. “Because you knew you’d need him to get you out of trouble again at some point.”
“Careful, Mr. Perfect.” West wagged a finger. “You never know when you might need a little cleaning up yourself. Especially if you’re going into politics.”
I was about to agree when my front door opened again. But this time the person walking in had me on my feet and all but running over to greet him.
Looking as good as when I’d left him earlier, Kelly still wore his jeans, shirt, and jacket, and I couldn’t wait to get my hands on him again.
“Hi.” I wound my arms around his neck, and Kelly dropped his overnight bag to pull me into his embrace.
“Hi right back,” he said, then lowered his head and took my lips in a kiss I felt all the way to my toes. The touch of his mouth against mine felt like home.
“I missed you.”
Kelly smoothed his hand down my back as he nipped at my lower lip. “Good, ’cause I missed you too.”
My stomach flipped as I reached for his hand and led him into the living room.
“I swear, every time I come to your place there’s people everywhere,” he said.
I laughed and looked around the room to where West and Preston sat on the couch and Harry tapped away on his computer in the kitchen.“Oh, you missed most of them. They came and I threw them out. This is the cleanup crew.”
Not wanting to bother Harry, I led Kelly over to the couch opposite my friends.
“Hey, guys,” he said, smiling at the two of them as though he’d known them for years instead of weeks.
“Hi.” Preston waved as West looked between the two of us, his eyes landing on our hands where they were laced together.
“Hey,” he finally said, a smug grin stretching his lips. “You two have a good weekend away?”
“Yeah, we did,” Kelly said, turning in my direction, and I didn’t know why but my cheeks suddenly felt…hot. “It was perfect.”
“Aw, isn’t that sweet.”
“It is.” I reached out to trail my fingers down Kelly’s cheek. “And it was.”
West pulled a sappy expression and put a hand to his heart. “Look, Preston, Dad and Dad love each other.”
The comment was said offhand and in jest, but the way the room fell silent, you could’ve heard a pin drop—or the monotonous sound of Harry’s keyboard echoing off the walls.
In love ? Me and Kelly? That was crazy, right?
It was too fast, too soon. But I couldn’t deny the way I’d been feeling since I’d met him.
The way I’d felt this weekend. And I couldn’t deny the way my heart had stumbled over itself when he walked through the door just now and kissed me like he was home.
When Kelly said nothing, I tried to think of something funny to say, something to break the tension, but a loud pinging sound did it for me.
“Your phone.” Harry spoke for the first time since he’d arrived, and I quickly grabbed it off the coffee table and opened it. “I set it to go off if any articles with your name or Kelly’s hit.”
I quickly opened it up, and West said, “Read it out loud.”
A SIN FUL SECRET REVEALED
A close source has come forward to confirm that the heart-shaped birthmark on the masked man’s most billable ass et in Kelly “Sin” Sinclair’s videos with Xes Entertainment does belong to Donovan Truitt.
The two were recently spotted at a charity event for Elysium, and were said to be unable to keep their hands off one another once inside.
“Oh my God. I’m going to fucking kill him.”
Kelly got to his feet, taking the phone from me and reading the rest of the article. “Atticus?” he said, as the blood drained from my face. “It’s him, right? Has to be. The way they talk about us sitting together and—”
“He’s seen Van’s birthmark up close and in person?” West chimed in, and I cut a glare in his direction.
“So helpful, asshole.”
“What? It’s true. Kelly’s not stupid.”
“He’s also right here,” Preston said under his breath. “Jesus, West.”
West shrugged. I could feel the tension rolling off Kelly in waves, and couldn’t help but wonder if it was about the article or what West had said before.
I turned to Harry and held up my phone. “Can you get rid of this?”
He nodded. “On it.”
“Good,” I said, then turned back to Kelly and grabbed his hand. “You come with me.”