Chapter 10 #2
Kenna watched with interest as Lexie turned back to her unconventional friend and put the supplies on the table in front of him. “Can you draw me something?”
“Yes.”
“Maybe the ocean, with a pretty beach, some buildings off to the left and a mountain.”
“Like Diamond Head?” Theo asked, looking up at her.
“Yes, exactly! And maybe a bright rainbow in there somewhere too. Everyone likes rainbows. They’re happy.”
Theo nodded and bent over the paper.
Lexie stood and backed away from the table, giving Theo room to do his thing.
“Do you really think he can draw?” Carly whispered as Lexie came back over to where the women were standing.
“I sure as hell hope so. Otherwise the walls are gonna be super boring in here,” Lexie said. “We don’t have the money to hire an artist right now.”
“We could ask Aleck,” Elodie suggested.
Kenna blinked in surprise at the seemingly out-of-the-blue statement.
“We could,” Lexie agreed. “But he’s already donated so much, I hate to ask for anything else.”
“He can afford it,” Elodie said nonchalantly.
“I know, but I don’t want to take advantage. Especially if I need to hit him up for help with something else later.”
Elodie and Ashlyn nodded in agreement, but Kenna just looked at Carly in confusion.
Elodie caught the look and asked, “What’s wrong?”
Kenna shrugged. “I guess I’m just confused about why you’ve singled out Marshall to donate money.”
“He’s loaded,” Lexie said casually, already unstacking chairs.
“You’d never know it by looking at him or talking to him.
He’s one of the most down-to-earth millionaires I’ve ever met.
I swear I’m not taking advantage of him though.
That’s why I wouldn’t ask him to pay for an artist to come in and paint a mural on the wall. He’s been more than generous as it is.”
Kenna was still stuck on the first part of what she’d said, struggling to wrap her mind around the fact that Marshall was a millionaire.
“You didn’t know? I’m sorry if we let the cat out of the bag,” Elodie said gently. “He doesn’t go around bragging about the fact his parents made a ton of money in real estate and set up a trust fund for him.”
“And he’s even paying them back for his penthouse at Coral Springs too. He told us they bought it as a vacation place, but when he was stationed here, they insisted he move in. They switched it over to his name and everything,” Lexie explained.
Kenna froze completely at hearing where Marshall lived.
God, she was an idiot.
No wonder it had been so easy to get onto the private beach. Marshall freaking lived there. And he hadn’t said a word.
Humiliation swept over her like an ocean tide.
And just like that, the best date she’d had in her entire life was tainted.
Carly obviously saw how upset she was, though she didn’t know why. She put her hand on Kenna’s arm in support.
Kenna knew she should say something, but she was still processing the fact that in all the conversations they’d had, Marshall hadn’t said one word about being rich. It stung. Bad.
She was saved from the awkward silence by Theo saying, “Done.”
Everyone’s attention turned to him as he put the pen down on the table. Lexie walked back over and picked up the piece of paper. Her shock was easy to see on her face.
“Can you draw this again? But on the wall? Really big?” she asked him.
Theo nodded.
Kenna turned to the women with a huge smile on her face. “Looks like we found our artist,” she said.
Elodie and Ashlyn cheered and rushed over to see what Theo had drawn. Carly took the chance to ask Kenna quietly, “You okay?”
“No,” she replied honestly. “But I’m not going to think about that right now. We’ve got stuff to do and I want to get to know everyone here. I can’t do that and think about how Marshall lied to me.”
Carly frowned. “Okay, but I’m here if you want to talk.”
“Thanks,” Kenna said. “That means a lot.”
Carly nodded and pulled Kenna toward Theo and his drawing. She went willingly, wanting to put what she’d just learned about Marshall out of her mind. It was too hurtful to dwell on right now.
The rest of the morning and early afternoon went by quickly.
Elodie ordered lunch for all of them and they pigged out on burgers, French fries, and malasadas for dessert.
Theo turned out to be amazingly talented.
He might have a mental disability and questionable hygiene, but it certainly didn’t affect his artistic talent.
He finished drawing the beach scene on the wall and they all got a good start on painting it in by the time Kenna and Carly had to leave.
Since Carly had to work that night, she needed to get home so she could change and drive to Duke’s for her shift.
They hadn’t gotten a ton of work done on organizing the space, but Kenna was thrilled with how well everyone got along.
Elodie and Lexie were just as fun as they had been the night they came to Duke’s.
Kenna heard abbreviated stories of both their dramas, and was suitably horrified.
She wasn’t all that surprised to hear how Marshall and his SEAL team banded together to rescue the women.
She also couldn’t help but be interested in hearing about the missions they were on when they’d met Elodie and Lexie in the first place.
It was hard to visualize Marshall in full-on SEAL mode, but she had a feeling it would be impressive.
Hearing about Marshall and his friends was also a little painful. It reminded her of his deception. It didn’t help when Lexie went on and on about the ocean view from his penthouse condo at Coral Springs.
But every time he was brought up, Kenna refused to dwell. She’d have plenty of time tonight to think back over everything they’d talked about and to pick it apart.
Ashlyn was just as nice as the other two women, and when Lexie started to tease her about Slate, Kenna was surprised.
The man struck her as impatient and not all that interested in a relationship.
Then again, she didn’t know him very well.
Ashlyn, however, was outgoing and bubbly, and Kenna had a hard time picturing her with Slate.
Of course, talk had then turned to Carly, her ex, and Jag.
Carly had opened up and talked about Shawn and how good things had seemed at first, until his personality had completely changed.
Lexie and Elodie told Ashlyn all about what happened at Duke’s, and how Kenna had shoved him, trying to get him to let go of Carly, before Midas and Marshall had tackled him.
By the time Kenna and Carly left, all five women were fast friends. They’d gotten Carly’s phone number, and Ashlyn had shared hers. Kenna felt good about having a new group of friends. While she enjoyed the women she met at work, it was nice not to talk shop all the time.
After promising to get in touch soon so they could figure out another time to hang out, Kenna walked with Carly toward her car.
Neither spoke until they were on their way back toward Waikiki.
“You want to talk about it?” Carly asked.
Kenna didn’t need to ask her what she meant. She knew. Sighing, Kenna shook her head. “I had no idea. I feel like an idiot.”
“I’m sorry,” Carly said.
“The thing is, I told him more than once that I hated being lied to. And here he was, keeping such a big secret from me.”
“Did he lie to you though?” Carly asked.
“Of course he did. I didn’t know he was a millionaire!” Kenna exclaimed.
“But did he come right out and say that he wasn’t?” Carly pushed.
“Why are you on his side?” Kenna asked. “You’re supposed to be my friend. Be supporting me.”
“I am,” she said calmly. “But trust me, I know how a liar operates. Shawn was really good at it. And it seems to me that not telling you he has a truckload of money is way different than flat-out lying about it.”
“I feel like an idiot. I was so excited about sneaking into Coral Springs—and he lives there! He was probably laughing his ass off at me.”
“I doubt that. If I had to guess, I bet he was panicking.”
“About what?” Kenna scoffed skeptically.
“Did you tell him what beach you wanted to try to sneak onto before he picked you up?”
“No. I wanted it to be a surprise.”
“Right. So when you directed him to pull into his own parking lot, I bet he was shocked.”
Kenna sighed. She could see that. But she wasn’t ready to let him off the hook yet. “He had plenty of time after that to tell me,” she insisted. “We spent all day there. He could’ve told me at some point.”
“Look, I’m not saying you don’t have a right to feel embarrassed or even let down, but, Kenna, you’re kind of a bons.”
Kenna frowned and looked over at Carly. Thank goodness the traffic was light. She could handle both driving and this intense conversation as a result. “A what? What the hell is a bons?”
“A snob spelled backward. You’re a reverse snob. Instead of looking down on people who don’t have money, you judge them harshly for being wealthy.”
Kenna snorted. Her friend’s observation was kind of ironic, since she’d called Marshall a snob that first night on her break at Duke’s. “No, I don’t,” she said.
“You do,” Carly said gently. “I’ve noticed it before.
Anytime someone comes in who looks like they have a lot of money, you kind of look down your nose at them.
You’re much more comfortable with people who you think are middle to lower class than you are with the rich tourists or locals who come into the restaurant all the time. ”
Kenna wanted to protest. To say that wasn’t true. But she knew it kind of was. “I just…people look down at me because I’m not interested in being in the corporate world and making six figures a year. I’m happy being a waitress.”
“Fuck them then,” Carly said.
Kenna couldn’t help but laugh. Her friend didn’t swear that often, so it was somewhat surprising to hear her do so now.
“I mean it. You’re an adult and can do what you want.
And if you’re happy, who cares what others think.
But seriously, girl, you’ve got a boyfriend who’s loaded.
Why are you mad about that? Most women would be jumping for joy.
If things work out between you two, you can live in a penthouse with a kick-ass ocean view and still be a waitress.
You just maybe won’t have to work as much or worry about pesky things like rent and grocery money. ”
Kenna sighed. She knew Carly was right, but she couldn’t get over the fact that Marshall had spent the entire day with her, at his own damn private beach, and hadn’t said a word. “I know,” she said after a moment.
“I’ve never seen you as bubbly and happy as you’ve been the last couple of weeks,” Carly said. “And it’s because of him. Not because of his money, but because of his texts. Because of your late-night conversations. A man like that doesn’t come along very often. Trust me, I know.”
“Carly—” Kenna began, but her friend interrupted before she could continue.
“I’m not bringing up Shawn to turn this conversation to me. I’m just saying…I don’t want to see you end what’s so far been an amazing relationship before it even truly begins. Not over something as silly as him having money.”
Kenna didn’t think it was silly, but she still understood Carly’s point.
“Talk to him,” she urged. “Hear him out. You’re a really excellent judge of character, you’ll know if he’s blowing smoke up your ass when he explains why he didn’t tell you. But you have to give him a chance. Don’t blow this.”
Kenna couldn’t help but snort-laugh. “You sound invested in our relationship,” she quipped.
“I kind of am. I mean, Jag is becoming a good friend. And it would be awkward for me to talk about him or even to see him if you break up with Aleck.”
Kenna grinned. “So you’re admitting you like Jag?”
“Of course I like him,” Carly said.
“Like-like him,” Kenna clarified.
“No,” Carly said stubbornly.
But the fact that she was talking about seeing Jag in the future was a big deal. They both knew it, even if Carly wouldn’t admit to being interested.
As the conversation waned, Kenna sobered as she thought about what she had to do later that night.
She remembered what Marshall had said. That if she ever heard something about him she didn’t like, that he wanted her to talk to him about it. She’d promised. She hoped like hell this was what he was talking about. If he had some other deep dark secret, she wasn’t sure she could deal.
Kenna had forgotten to drive though Kakaako on the way home to look at the murals, but figured she could do it another day. She pulled up outside Carly’s apartment to drop her off and her friend turned to her once more.
“Thank you for inviting me today. I had a good time.”
“Anytime.”
“I haven’t made a ton of friends here, and hiding from Shawn in my apartment has been lonely. I’m going to try to make an effort to start living my life again, thanks to you.”
Kenna smiled. “Just be careful, okay?”
“I will. I have no desire to run into that asshole again. All I’m saying is that I really liked hanging out with the women today, and I hope I’ll get to see them again.”
“I’m sure you will. They all got our numbers, and I have a feeling it won’t be long before we get roped into some scheme with them soon.”
“I hope so,” Carly said with a smile. “See you tomorrow at work.”
“See ya,” Kenna said. She idled at the curb until Carly was safely inside the lobby of her apartment, then pulled away and headed for her own place.
She wasn’t looking forward to what she needed to do, but she had a few hours to think about what she wanted to say to Marshall.
She wasn’t happy he’d lied by omission, and she didn’t want to be a bons, as Carly had called her, but the embarrassment Marshall had made her feel lingered just below the surface, and she hated that.
If she and Marshall were going to be able to continue with their relationship, she had to find a way to get over that feeling. But she wasn’t sure how. And that worried her.
So, she’d try to sort out her feelings that afternoon and would call Marshall later. They’d talk, and then she’d make the decision of whether or not she wanted to keep seeing him.
Just the thought of not talking to him, not getting to hang out at the swap meet as they’d made plans to do, was painful…which said a lot about her feelings already. She didn’t want to break up with him. But she also didn’t want to feel as if she was the butt of one of his jokes.
A pit formed in her belly when she thought about their call. This time tomorrow, she and Marshall would either be completely all right, or they’d be done.
She wanted to throw up.