Chapter 2
Two
Tate
My heart thundered against my ribs as Kellan’s family swarmed around us. His arm stayed wrapped around my waist, fingers splayed against my hip like they belonged there. Like we did this every day. Like I hadn’t lost my freaking mind.
I tilted my face up toward his ear to whisper, “We need to talk.”
His lips brushed my temple, the gentle touch sending an electric current straight down my spine. “Later,” he murmured, his warm breath fanning across my skin. I fought the urge to lean into him, to chase that fleeting contact that felt far too natural for my scrambled thoughts to process.
Later? How was he so calm about this? The kiss still burned on my lips, the memory of his mouth moving against mine lighting little fires in my blood. Who knew Kellan Fox could kiss like that? The way he’d caught on, pulled me closer, taken control...
“Let me get a picture of the happy couple!” His mom waved her phone.
I opened my mouth to protest, but Kellan turned me into his chest, his hand sliding up my back. “Smile, sweets.”
Sweets? My knees went weak. Why were my knees weak? This was Kellan. My best friend. My partner in business and crime for… basically ever. Had I ever noticed that husky quality to his voice before? Damn it. This was not helping my ability to think straight.
“Kellan, I really need to—”
He steered me toward my quad cab truck with Mountain Laurel Landscaping emblazoned on the door. “Tell me how things are really going with the company. Any problems you didn’t want to worry me with while I was overseas?”
I stumbled. Did he really somehow know?
Before I could say anything, his sister intercepted. “I’m riding with y’all.”
Cornbread bounded between us, nearly knocking me over. Kellan steadied me, his chest pressed against my back. His touch felt different now. Everything felt different.
“We should head to the house,” his mom called out.
No, no, no. I needed five minutes alone with him to explain. Maybe fifteen to clean up the mess when his head exploded. But Kellan was already guiding me toward my truck, his family following behind us, and all I could think about was that kiss. How right it had felt and how much trouble I was in.
I worked to regulate my breathing. It was fine.
I’d just corner Kellan at his parents’ house.
Although if I dragged him back to his old bedroom, they’d probably think we were trying to squeeze in a welcome-home quickie, and then I’d never be able to face his parents again, even if the truth somehow ever came out.
Maybe I could get him outside with the dog…
Sadie scrambled into the front seat with me, while Kellan and Cornbread took up the back.
She kept up a running commentary on the drive across town, updating him on all the latest gossip.
Kellan cuddled his dog and listened, but his eyes periodically found mine in the rearview, and I’d have sworn there was heat in them.
But that made absolutely no sense. Because despite the snowball of a lie I’d caught us both in, that wasn’t how we were together.
The ghost of that kiss seemed to whisper liar in my ear as I drove.
I could still feel the tingle where his tongue had swept across my bottom lip and the press of his arm against my back as he’d hauled me closer to him.
No. Stop it. This isn’t helping.
My fingers tightened on the steering wheel as my traitorous mind kept replaying the moment. The way his chest had felt against mine. How he’d made that small sound in the back of his throat. The heat that had pooled in my stomach when he’d taken control of the kiss.
“Turn left here.” Sadie’s voice jerked me back to reality.
“I know where your parents live.” My voice came out sharper than intended.
Kellan’s low chuckle from the backseat sent another wave of warmth through me.
I caught his eye in the rearview again, and my breath hitched.
There was something different in the way he looked at me now.
Or maybe I was just seeing things that weren’t there because I couldn’t stop thinking about how his fingers had threaded through my hair, how his body had curved around mine like we were made to fit together.
But we weren’t. We were friends. Business partners. This whole engagement thing was just a massive misunderstanding that I needed to clear up before it got even more out of hand.
Even if my lips still tingled from his kiss.
Even if my skin burned everywhere he’d touched me.
Even if, for just a moment when he’d kissed me back, I’d forgotten it wasn’t real.
The scent of pot roast and fresh-baked rolls hit me the moment we walked through the door into the kitchen that had been as much a part of my childhood as my own home.
Mrs. Fox had clearly been cooking for days.
Every surface in the room groaned under the weight of casseroles, pies, and dishes I couldn’t even name.
“Sit, sit.” She shooed us toward the dining room table. “You must be starving.”
Kellan’s hand settled on the small of my back as he guided me to a chair. “Mom, we’ve got the cookout at the MacAvoys’ tonight.”
She waved that off and began loading plates. “That’s hours away. You need to eat now.”
I knew his mom was on some kind of mission to make up for all the home-cooked meals he’d missed over the past year. She did this every time he came home from deployment. But I had to talk to him.
I grabbed Kellan’s wrist. “Can we—”
“Who wants sweet tea?” Sadie breezed past with a pitcher.
Kellan brightened. “Oh, hell yeah. I haven’t had good tea in a year.” He reached out with an empty glass.
Fresh guilt pricked, but I didn’t waver. “Actually, Kellan and I need to—”
“Did you hear about the Hendersons’ youngest?” His aunt cut in from across the table. “Got herself arrested last week.”
My fingers tightened on his arm. “Kitchen. Now.”
But he was already being drawn into the conversation, dropping into a chair and reaching for a dinner roll. “What happened?”
I slumped in my chair as platters made their way around the table. Every time I opened my mouth to suggest we step out, someone appeared with more food or another story or another question about the wedding I hadn’t actually planned because there wasn’t actually going to be one.
“When’s the big day?” His cousin asked.
“We haven’t—”
“Let them breathe.” Kellan’s dad laughed. “He just got home.”
Thank God for Frank Fox.
“I need to use the restroom.” I stood. Caught Kellan’s eye and jerked my head toward the hall.
He nodded slightly. “I should probably—”
“Oh! Before you go anywhere.” His mom disappeared into the kitchen. “I have those wedding magazines I promised to save.”
Wedding magazines. Dear God, his mother had been collecting wedding magazines.
My stomach dropped like a stone, twisting into knots as I stood there, frozen. How long had this been going on? How many people knew? I felt lower than low about lying to everyone. These people had been as much my family as his over most of my life. How could I ever make them understand?
She came back in, magazines in hand. “And Linda next door wants to host the shower.”
I forced a smile to my lips that I prayed didn’t look like a grimace. “That’s so nice of her.”
Kellan’s hand found mine under the table and squeezed. What did that mean?
I knew what I wanted it to mean. That I just needed to be patient, and he’d help me find my way out of this scrape that didn’t make absolutely everyone in his family hate me forever. But as the lunch wore on, I wasn’t sure that even my ever capable best friend could perform that kind of miracle.