33. Kingston
33
KINGSTON
Katherine’s mouth is set in a neutral line. Not frowning. Not smiling.
I want to kiss her. Again. But that didn’t go over well last night, so I’ll keep my lips to myself.
For now.
Her eyes rake me up and down, slow and thorough, as I slow to a walk and suck in a lungful of air.
“Hey,” I say, still not sure of my welcome.
“Hi.”
There’s an uncomfortable silence as we stare at each other. Things have never been awkward like this before.
My gut tightens.
Snagging my t-shirt, I mop the sweat from my face and glance up at the house. A quintessential Hamptons style that has seen better days.
Why am I so freaking tongue-tied? I’m not exactly the silent type. And definitely not around her.
Her phone vibrates, and she tips it up, reading, her lips curving into a smile. She swipes and types for six heartbeats. I count them. My pulse is roaring in my ears.
“Shon says it’s too early for running,” she says, giving me a quick once-over.
I blow out a sigh. Okay. This is good. She’s still talking about me. To me. That’s a start.
“It’s never too early for a workout.” I give her my most dazzling smile.
She scoffs. “Spoken like a man with zero percent body fat.”
Her gentle teasing is a balm to my anxious soul.
“So kind of you to notice.”
She smirks, gaze raking over my chest in a way that makes me stand taller. “Of course I noticed. I’m not blind.”
And now I want to puff up my chest and give her my best flex.
“Wanna sit?” Katherine pats the sand next to her, and I drop like a stone, hugging my knees so I won’t be tempted to touch her again.
Who am I kidding?
She’s like candy, and I’m going to need a dentist.
Seriously, man. Get a hold of yourself.
I take a deep breath. Last night was a royal fuck up, and it was entirely my fault. Katherine turns her head ever so slightly, glancing at me from the corner of her eye.
“You okay?” she asks at the same time I say, “I’m sorry.”
She angles toward me, her regard open. Curious. It feels bright and warm and like all the good things in life rolled into one.
“I’m sorry I lost it on you,” she murmurs. “You didn’t deserve that.”
She worries her lower lip, and the uncomfortable silence slides between us again, making me twitch. From the start with her, there’s been an ease that I haven’t found with anyone else. She’s always been mature beyond her years. We were two kids growing up in Manhattan, surrounded by anything money could buy and a tacit understanding that sometimes, privilege comes with steep costs.
I fight for that even keel I’ve always felt around her.
“I’ve missed you,” I say, not that it’s a surprise.
She knocks her shoulder against mine, and I breathe a little easier. “I’ve missed you too.”
We stare out at the ocean and I know I owe her more of an explanation. You don’t just walk up to your best friend and devour them without some sort of reason. But I guess I’m chicken because I can’t face the music yet. After last night, I don’t want to rock the boat .
“So, two million dollar girl, how’s your weekend been going?” I try for humor.
“I’ve had better.” Her phone vibrates again, but she doesn’t check it this time. A tiny tendril of pleasure winds through me, knowing I have her full attention. I’ve been greedy for her time, eager to see her.
“What’s going on with your mom? Vic said she’s been showing her colors.”
“You saw Vic?”
“Yeah, of course. I went to your apartment, but you weren’t there.”
“Oh.” She sounds disappointed. But then her expression shifts, and I know what she’s thinking.
“Your menagerie is fine,” I tease. Gah, she loves her plants.
She lets out a happy sigh but then sobers and fills me in on everything I missed, from the auction to Alexander Hunt whisking the three of them out of the city on his helicopter.
“Must have been intense.” I hunt the sand for a shell fragment because if I don’t keep my hands busy, I’m going to reach for her.
“It was crazy. Walls of people and camera flashes.” Her lips part like she’s trying to find the right words.
“I hate that you had to go through that.”
She rubs her hands up and down her arms. “I’m just glad Alex and Gabe were there. I’ve never been that frozen before,” she says, a shudder in her voice.
I glance over my shoulder, wondering if they’re watching. What’s their game? Is Rothburn hoping to get close to Katherine for information about Chanler & Cort? And what’s Hunt’s angle? I’ve always known him to be a straight shooter. Keeps his fingers clean. Has an excellent reputation.
Whatever their reasonings, I am glad that someone was there for her. Looking out for her. “I’m glad you weren’t alone.”
“Same.”
I swear I feel eyes on us. “Want to stretch your legs?” I ask.
She glances at the house and then down the beach. The ball of unease tightens in my chest.
“Everything okay?”
“Yeah. Let’s go.” She holds out her hands.
I vault off the sand, brush my hands against my thighs to get rid of the sand, and pull her up. She comes up to my chest, so fresh-faced and achingly gorgeous. Her fingers are icy in mine, and I wish I could warm them. Press them against my chest. Take her inside and?—
Not now, Saint. Focus.
She glances over her shoulder at the house again and takes a tiny step away, her hands falling to her sides. Then she tucks her phone up the sleeve of her sweatshirt as she starts up the beach. “Alex’s worried about security. Don’t be surprised if we have a shadow.”
I fall into step beside her, processing that nugget of information. “I thought you got rid of your security team.”
After she graduated college and moved into her current building, she’d been adamant that the security at her apartment and the office were enough. She didn’t need the team of men who’d followed her around all her life.
“He pointed out that betting on me at the auction put a target on my back.” She licks her lips and wraps her arms around her waist.
“Hell.” He’s not wrong, which chaps my ass. Both of them should have known better. They’re old enough and wealthy enough to know how obsessed the media can be. How crazy people can become when they smell money. Or weakness.
Now Katherine will be seen as their weakness. She’ll be vulnerable.
I clamp my hands over my hips and glance at our surroundings with fresh eyes, looking for anyone or anything out of place.
“Don’t worry about it,” she says, as usual, brushing things she doesn’t want to deal with aside. “Tell me about you. How’ve you been? What are you doing in the states? I didn’t know you were coming h?— ”
She bites off the word, but we both know what she’d been about to say.
Home.
Except, she knows that the city never felt like home to me and she’s careful to not call it that.
Even as I’m appreciating that small detail, I feel my world spinning out.
I want to take her away from here. Far away. Where she’ll be safe and none of these whackos will be able to find her.
Am I really thinking about kidnapping my best friend? Just throwing her over my shoulder and hauling ass up the steps of my family’s private jet?
Hell yes.
So I take another deep breath and grit my teeth. She needs my friendship and protection, not me losing my mind again and doing something stupid.
She tucks her arm through mine and leans in close, uncaring that I’m a sweaty mess. Gosh, this is perfect. She’s perfect. She feels like heaven.
With her chin propped on my shoulder, it’s like I was never away. This thing with Hunt and Rothburn never happened. “You okay?”
I close my eyes, soaking her in. Now everything feels right.
“I was hoping to see you in the dress,” I murmur.
“Really?”
“Of course.” I blink down at her. How could she doubt me? “I bet you were ravishing. ”
She giggles, hiding her face against my bicep. “No one says ravishing.”
“I do.” When it comes to her, there’s no better word. As we all do, she had her hard times during her teen years, battling hormones and skin that was never happy. But then she’d figured out a routine and gone away to college, freaking blossoming like the elegant orchid that she is.
“You really tried to come to the auction?”
We stroll down the beach, dodging errant waves as gulls play in the surf. “I had a ticket and my tux.”
Her gasp is soft, and she stops, looking up at me with wide, confused eyes.
“I don’t understand.”
Glancing over my shoulder, I note we do have a shadow. I don’t want to waste a second with her.
Marko’s words whisper through my mind as they have done several times over the last few days.
What are you waiting for?
Not a damn thing. I don’t know how to make this work, but I know I have to try.
“Five years ago, I didn’t leave because I didn’t want you. I left because I did.”