Chapter 23
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Elizabeth
L iving with the knowledge I’d kissed Kenny Carmichael against his wishes stung, but I’d prepared to deal with it at work today.
Being unable to get over the awkwardness sooner rather than later and potentially apologize again because Kenny didn’t show up to work?
Highly unanticipated.
“Did you have a good day off?”
The man everyone lovingly referred to as Cookie asked me this casually as he perused a selection of, as it happened, beautiful-looking cookies on the table in the break room. I finished filling my mug full of mid-afternoon coffee and turned to him.
Cookie was a deeply laughable name for this man—Luc fit far better. But so far, I’d rarely heard anyone call him Luc, whereas other people consistently got called by their real name. It seemed to vary, and I hadn’t been here long enough to know who preferred what.
Luc looked far more like a dark fairy prince than he did a baked good, though I could recognize not everyone’s nicknames were given based on appearances.
For example, Barbie failed to catch any of Kenny’s ridiculous good looks. Also, was that a L. Leroy watch? I’d had an asset obsessed with watches and he’d droned on about them. I didn’t recall much other than they were a French company and most of their watches started around fifteen thousand euros.
Again, it wasn’t as though these people were working for scraps, but that was extravagant by any measure. Maybe it’d been handed down?
Anyway…
“Uh, yes. Yeah. I—” The awkwardness of how I’d pushed myself on this man’s friend struck me and if I’d been walking, I might’ve tripped. “Kenny showed me around a bit. Silverton is a cool little town.”
This was likely the lamest way I’d ever described a place, but what else could I say? I loved spending time with your bff and I’m falling for your town, but I also foisted myself upon a man who’s been nothing but friendly and generous to me and I’m pretty sure I flushed all the good feelings between us down the toilet. Oh and, I’m gnawing my cuticles off as I wait for news from my real life and real job so I can get back to it, which makes all the rest of this irrelevant anyway.
No. Of course not.
“It is. I like it far more than I imagined I would.” Cookie smiled, his gaze softening as he finally selected an item from the tray and slipped it onto a napkin.
I wanted to ask him if he’d talked to Kenny—if he knew why his friend hadn’t shown up today. But if I did that, it would be obvious I’d been wondering, which was too much attention to draw to myself and how much I’d been thinking about Kenny, so I gave him a polite nod and headed out.
“Did you meet the kitten?”
This halted my steps, and I turned, completely perplexed. “Kitten?”
Cookie dipped his head in this subtle way he had, far more French than any other gesture I’d seen him make thus far. “Kenny found a kitten last night. He took the day off to track down the owner. Turns out it’s an orphan so he’s keeping it.”
This hit me like a water balloon to the chest—impact and then an instant spread of water except in this case it was warmth and delight.
“I didn’t realize. I’d wondered where he was today.” So much for not mentioning that little gem.
“I’m sure he’d love a visitor if you have time after work.” He held up his cookie. “Have a good afternoon.”
“You, too, and thanks.” Not sure what I was thanking him for, exactly. The knowledge Kenny wasn’t avoiding me outright? Maybe.
Although did people really stay home from work when they got a new pet? As a non-pet-owning person, I didn’t know.
I did know, however, that I’d be texting Kenny after work. There’d never been a better excuse to stop by and clear the awkwardness than to see a kitten.
So that’s what I did. Although it’d come not hours later, but minutes, because I’d grown restless and since I wasn’t a full-time employee, I didn’t really have work to do at my desk. Bruce and Wilder had been nice enough to provide me an office, but so far, I’d done every bit of paperwork from the Jack McKean mission and we’d had no updates from them. I’d made it clear I’d be happy to assist if they needed in-person help, and I’d hoped Evie or Jack would reach out if they needed anything.
So far, nada.
Also a big fat zero news from my real job, boss, or organization as a whole, which was just super annoying. I should at least be getting updates weekly and I’d had no news. The catch-up I’d be playing for weeks after returning—whenever it happened—would be mind-numbing thanks. Fun.
And therefore, I found myself leaving work at three that afternoon, anxious to see the man I’d kissed and clear the air.
I was not, however, prepared for him to jog up to the house behind me as I approached his porch.
“Hey,” he called out.
As though struck by lightning, I jolted and turned with a far-too-dramatic gasp.
“Hey.” I blew out a breath. “Crap, that scared me.”
Half his mouth quirked up into a smile and he was just… oof. He looked good.
Gray sweatpants and sneakers with a hooded sweatshirt on top, a beanie pulled low over his ears. He yanked that off as he and his long legs strode toward me, his cheeks a dark red.
“Sorry. Didn’t mean to. I snuck in a jog while he was conked out. Got a little restless, so I took my chance.”
Our eyes met as we passed and he set a hand on my shoulder, a gentle squeeze there that made my insides tumble around in a spin cycle before he let go and practically leapt up the stairs.
“Come on in. If he stays asleep, I’m going to run to the shower but I’ll be super quick,” he said, dropping his voice to just above a whisper once inside.
Following his lead, I inched the door closed quietly. “Sounds goo?—”
In the few seconds I’d painstakingly closed his front door, he’d stripped off his sweatshirt—and whatever he’d worn underneath—and was holding them at his side as though the sight of his ruddy cheeks, bare chest, dark tattoos that would never not be a little bit of a thrill, and low-riding sweatpants wouldn’t summarily off me when flashed around so spontaneously.
Our gazes snagged and I could’ve sworn there was heat flickering in his bright eyes, but he tsked, breaking the moment.
“Sorry, I overheated. I’ll just be a sec.”
Clearing my throat, I mumbled, “Yep. No problem.”
I did not say, “Why stop at the pants?” or “Need any help in there?” or anything else that felt like rolling off my tongue because I’d already crossed a boundary with him once.
Although honestly, he now clearly knew I was interested so why would he go parading around flashing his abs all willy nilly?
Willy nilly ab flashing was not acceptable or helpful for this little… crush I’d developed.
That was really all this was, too, and I needed to remember it.
Sure, Kenny was the nicest human being I’d met in a long time and had a way of seeing through my protective quiet and pulling out things I normally would never talk about. He was caring to those around him, gentle with people, but still so magnetically masculine in an effortless way. He was encouraging and positive, but not because he ignored hard things—because he’d learned from them. I admired him.
And yeah, he was the most physically attractive person I’d ever met, and fine, maybe he had a kind of abrupt cheeriness I normally would be repelled by. But for some reason it felt like a complementary magnet…
None of that mattered to my real life. I could admire his good looks and positive attitude and the incredible way he’d handled the challenges of his past, but it needn’t turn into anything more than a basic crush. I didn’t know how to handle this particularly well since I wasn’t a woman who had crushes. That was why it all felt so novel, anyway.
And also nothing here felt real or normal because it wasn’t my real or normal life. So… also that.
I’d convinced myself of this quite thoroughly, right up until he came down the hallway with something tucked against his chest. He stopped when he met my eyes and grinned, moving one hand to reveal a tiny pitch-black kitten snoozing away in the literal palm of his hand.
“Ms. Liz Malcom, please meet my new cat, Kit.”
And there it went. Another piece of my flimsy resistance to this man evaporated into thin air, just like that.