Chapter 7
BOONE
After dropping Kennedy off, I went to my workshop. This was my happy place, where I could block out the rest of the world.
Around nine, I stood and stretched. Then I checked my messages.
Beck: Your girl is here.
I shouldn't care what he was talking about, but I couldn't resist responding.
Boone: I don't have a girl.
Beck: Kennedy? You're supposed to be her tour guide, but she's here all alone. Maybe not so alone.
Boone: Why is she at the brewery?
Why was he saying she wasn't alone? Was someone hitting on her?
Beck: Clara had dinner with her and then brought her here. I guess she wanted to see the brewery when it was open.
It wasn't my responsibility to spend every moment with her, but I didn't like that she was there without me. Which was ridiculous because my sister was there and so were Beck and Rowan. She wasn't alone. But what if one of my brothers was flirting with her? I didn't like the idea.
I went upstairs and jumped in the shower. At the very least, I'd go and see that she was okay. Thirty minutes later, I walked to the brewery, arguing with myself the whole way. I didn't need to be here, so why was I?
I was losing my mind. There was no other explanation for it. I couldn't get past last night. Even the threat of her messing things up with my family wasn't deterring me.
The lot was full since it was the second night. I opened the door, laughter spilling out.
Every table was full, and I was sure most of the baths were too. This was exactly what Rowan and Beck dreamed about when they were planning the brewery, and I was happy for them.
I scanned the room for Clara or Kennedy.
Beck approached. "They're in the bath."
My muscles tightened. "In the bath?"
He grinned. "Yeah, Kennedy wanted to try it out and get the full experience."
I wasn't sure why his tone was making me mad, but it was. "I'll head over there."
"You don't have a suit here."
That was a good thing. I wouldn't last long in the same bath as Kennedy. Everyone would know how I felt about her in two seconds. "That's okay."
"You have a thing for her." It wasn't a question.
I glanced at him. At least he wasn't related to me. He was probably the best person to talk to about this. "I saw her last night. On the balcony at the inn. We hit it off."
He raised a brow. "I need a drink for this conversation."
I followed him to the bar.
He went behind the counter and poured two beers, one for each of us.
I took a long swig of mine.
"You're telling me that you hooked up with the woman who is supposed to be giving your parents advice on the inn's renovation?"
I looked around to make sure no one else was listening. "I didn't know who she was when we hooked up. We only exchanged first names."
"That explains everything," he said like it explained nothing.
"There was something there, and I planned on seeing her again. At least as long as she was in town. But then she showed up at breakfast with my parents."
Beck chuckled. "That's similar to my situation with Clara."
I knew he'd had a secret relationship with my sister, but I didn't need to know the details.
"I met your sister before I came to that family dinner."
"You just said you dated in secret."
"Yeah, well that's the truth. I met her on my first night in town. I saw her walking away from the winter ball, and I invited her to take a ride on my motorcycle."
I held up my hand. "I don't need to hear anything more. That's my sister you're talking about."
He nodded. "I wanted to see her again too, but we hadn't exchanged names at all. I never thought she'd be at Malcolm's house. We tried to stay away from each other, but it was impossible."
"It was different because your future wasn't in her hands. Kennedy has the power to ruin everything."
He frowned. "How important is it to have your furniture at the inn?"
I made everything in the brewery. It looked nice, and the customers loved it. "It would mean I'd made it. That I was successful. Anytime someone asked about the furniture in the inn, they would direct guests to me."
"It's your definition of success."
"You know how much I hate traditional marketing. I don't do any of it. It's all word of mouth."
"It would be good for your career, but it won't end it."
"I'd have to do something else to build my business, things I never planned on doing."
He chuckled. "I don't blame you for feeling that way."
I looked around for Clara and Kennedy before I said, "It would be a bad idea to get involved with her, and I have a feeling she wants to forget about it."
"Maybe she's thinking that if people found out, it could hurt her career."
I sighed. "I could see that."
He moved out of the way of the other bartender. "You have to respect her wishes."
"I don't even know what I want. The logical part of me wants to forget about her and deal with her on a professional level. That would be the smart thing to do."
"The problem is that you don't always think with your brain."
"Tell me about it." I sipped the brew, barely tasting it.
He considered me. "You really like her."
I lowered my glass. "Last night surprised me. I've never felt anything like that, and it was with a virtual stranger no less."
"You're going to have to figure out if you want to risk everything for her. Is it worth it? Is that what you want?"
"I want my furniture at the inn." It had been my dream forever, and I couldn't see any other path to success. Not unless I wanted to go out on my own, create a website, and hire someone to help with my marketing. I would rather build furniture than do any of that other stuff.
"Sounds like you have your answer."
I nodded, draining the rest of my drink.
"Just make sure you can live with your decision." Beck moved down the bar to help another customer, and I was left wondering what he meant by that. Was he advocating for me to focus on my business or Kennedy? Hadn't he just said that hooking up with her was a bad idea?
My head was starting to ache. But I couldn't forget that Kennedy was in one of the brew baths. What if she was with another man?
I stood and threw a bill on the bar top to cover the drink and stalked toward the other side of the brewery.
I found her at the last section where she was in the tub with some other women: Clara, Belle, Meg, Hattie, and Reina. I stood at the entrance, wondering if it was creepy to spy on her like this.
Kennedy took that moment to pull herself out of the water. Her hair was sleeked back, and the water sluiced off her skin. She wore a tiny black bikini that barely contained her breasts. One wrong move, and she'd have a nipple slip.
I was keeping a close eye on the situation. I was here to protect her, not stalk her.
She grabbed a towel and wrapped it around herself. When she saw me, she moved to where I stood. "What are you doing here, Boone?"
"I'm supposed to be the one to show you around. You didn't say you wanted to come here."
She rolled her eyes at me. "Clara invited me. I don't need you to babysit me twenty-four seven."
I arched a brow. "Are you sure about that?"
She huffed out a breath. "What are you insinuating? That I can't handle myself?"
"You can handle yourself." Inside and outside the bedroom. And even in a hot tub. I just didn't want anyone else to know those details about her.
She blinked. "So what are you really doing here?"
"Making sure you're okay."
"You can see that I'm fine. You're being ridiculous."
"Am I?" There was plenty to see. Her towel had sagged, and the globes of her breasts were visible. I wasn't a fan of her walking around half naked in front of other men, especially when they were my brothers. I sensed that I was being irrational, but I couldn't seem to rein myself in.
She licked her lips, and my gaze tracked the movement.
The lust shot straight to my groin, and my pants felt tight.
"I'd say we could meet in my room, but I can't chance anyone seeing us."
My heart rate picked up. I hadn't planned on this happening tonight, but I wasn't going to say no. Reason and my conversation with Beck fell away. There was only the sight of her in that bikini and the memory of last night. "My place is so close you can walk."
Her eyes flashed with desire. "Well, isn't that convenient."
"I'll meet you at the back door. When you get dressed, just take a left out of the dressing room and go through the door at the end of the hall."
"No alarm will sound?"
"Not the one on that door." My warning bells were ringing, but they were a dull sound. One I could easily ignore. My dick certainly had no interest in them.
"I'll see you later, Boone."
My gaze dropped to her ass as she walked away from me.
Rowan sidled up next to me. "You still pissed about Mom and Dad hiring Kennedy?"
"Of course I am." Had he seen our exchange? Did he know something was going on between us?
"It might work out."
"It's going to be a disaster," I mumbled, thinking more about how our physical relationship was going to destroy everything.
"Way to keep a positive attitude."
The dressing room door closed, and I glanced at him. "You're just happy because you made up with Hattie."
He flashed me a grin. "She's great, and I'm so happy to be with her for real this time."
I snorted. "Not everyone is in love. Or has even found a woman where they could see themselves falling in love."
"You have to be open to it. I'd been waiting for Hattie to come back to me for years. And even when she did, she wasn't open to the idea of us, but there was chemistry that we couldn't ignore."
I had chemistry with Kennedy, but it didn't mean that she was the one. What did that even mean anyway? That you only fell in love with one woman in the entire world? What if you never met them? The whole idea of a soulmate was kind of ridiculous.
I wanted Kennedy, and she wanted me. Simple as that. If I didn't think about the implications to our professional life or anything else, I'd be fine.
Rowan touched my shoulder. "I'm going to join Hattie in the hot tub. Have a good night."
I grunted as he walked away, not that he was listening to me anyway. He dropped the towel and climbed into the tub with Hattie. Maverick was already inside the tub with Belle, Reina, and Morgan, Reina's partner. At some point, it had turned into a couple's thing. That was my cue to leave.
I didn't want Kennedy to walk outside by herself. I hurried down the hall and outside, hoping that no one saw me disappear.
The lot was on the other side, and the brew baths faced away from the path that led to my place.
A few minutes later, the door slowly opened, and Kennedy slipped outside. She wore a jacket over jeans and boots.
My heart was pounding. "You tell Clara where you're going?"
"I said I was going to my room because I was tired from traveling yesterday."
"She believed you?"
"She seemed to."
I held out my hand to her. "It's dark, and I don't want to use my flashlight. You could trip on a tree root."
She slid her hand into mine, and I led the way down the path, carefully avoiding obstacles. "I feel like I'm going camping."
"You ever do that?" She didn't seem like that kind of girl, and she was from Miami. Not exactly the outdoor type, unless you were talking about sand and sun.
"My parents sent me to one of those camps that lasted all summer when I was a kid."
I looked over at her in surprise and tripped over a rock. "Did you like it?"
She nodded. "I made some good friends over the years. One ended up being my college roommate, Jodi."
"Was it like a boarding school, or did you stay in tents?"
She laughed softly. "It was cabins with bathrooms, so not exactly roughing it. But yeah, it was fun."
We'd already been together once. What difference would it make to be together one more time?