Chapter 16
I never thought I'd be packing for Martha's Vineyard.
"You're really doing this?" Liam watches me throw clothes in a duffel bag. "Spring break at the Walters' beach house?"
"Apparently."
"With me and my sister," Ace hollers.
I pause halfway through folding a shirt. "Problem?"
"Just..." He sits on my bed. "Never seen you like this over a girl before. It's weird."
Because I've never felt like this before. Never wanted to do things right instead of just doing them fast. Never cared about someone enough to be scared of screwing it up.
"It's not weird," I say instead. "It's Kennedy."
That seems to mean something to him because he just nods and helps me pack.
The drive to the Vineyard is a study in torture. Kennedy sleeps in the backseat of Ace's SUV, using my jacket as a pillow. She's wearing tiny shorts and one of my hoodies, and every time I look back at her, my resolve weakens a little more.
"Eyes on the road, Knox." Ace's voice carries a warning.
The beach house turns out to be exactly what you'd expect from the Walters family – sprawling white colonial, private pool glittering behind it, probably worth more than my entire life up to this point. The ocean stretches endlessly beyond, and something in my chest loosens at the sight.
"Guest rooms are downstairs," Ace says as we unload. "Kennedy's upstairs."
The message is clear: Stay in your lane.
But Kennedy has other ideas. The moment Ace disappears to shower, she crowds me against my new bedroom door.
"Want the tour?" Her fingers play with the hem of my shirt.
"Your brother—"
"Is using all the hot water." She rises on tiptoes to kiss my jaw. "We have at least fifteen minutes."
I catch her hands before they can wander. "Behave."
"Never."
She's still laughing when Ace returns, hair wet and suspicious eyes tracking between us.
"I'm starving," Kennedy announces. "Knox, help me cook?"
Which is how I end up in a kitchen worth more than my childhood house, watching Kennedy dance around in tiny shorts while she makes pasta. Ace sits at the counter, allegedly helping but mostly making sure I keep my hands to myself.
"Pass the garlic." Kennedy bumps my hip as she stirs sauce.
I hand it over, definitely not watching how she licks sauce from her thumb. "Need anything else?"
"Just you." She winks, and Ace groans.
"Can you two not? For like five minutes?"
"Nope." Kennedy pops the 'p' cheerfully. "My house, my rules. Speaking of which, I was thinking we could swim after dinner?"
The thought of Kennedy in a bikini makes my mouth go dry. "It's pretty late."
"Pool's heated." She gives me a look that has nothing to do with swimming. "Unless you're scared?"
"Children," Ace interrupts. "Dinner's burning."
It's not, but the moment breaks. We eat on the back patio, the pool lights casting blue shadows while Kennedy tells stories about childhood summers here.
I learn about secret passages in the old house, about the time Ace pushed her in the pool fully clothed, about their parents' gradual absence as campaigns took precedence over family vacations.
"Last one here was two years ago," she says quietly. "Before Dad's Senate run really kicked off."
I want to pull her into my lap, to kiss away that sadness in her voice. Instead, I settle for squeezing her knee under the table.
"Movie?" Ace suggests when the dishes are done.
We end up in the massive living room, Kennedy between us on the oversized couch. Some action movie plays, but I'm too aware of her to focus. She keeps shifting closer to me, her bare leg pressed against mine, her fingers occasionally brushing my thigh.
Ace notices. Of course he does. But he just turns up the volume and pretends not to see.
Finally, around midnight, he calls it. "I'm beat. Try to behave yourselves."
"No promises," Kennedy calls after him.
The moment his door closes upstairs, she turns to me. "Hi."
"Hi yourself." I brush her hair back from her face. "Your brother will kill us, Princess."
"Maybe."
But instead of the seduction I expect, she just curls into my side, head on my chest.
"Tell me something true," she whispers.
"Like what?"
"Anything. Something you've never told anyone."
I think for a moment, running my fingers through her hair. "I used to be scared of the ocean."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Never learned to swim properly. The waves terrified me."
She props her chin on my chest to look at me. "But you play hockey. On ice."
"Ice is different. Solid. Controllable." I trace patterns on her back. "The ocean feels... alive. Unpredictable. Kind of like someone I know."
"Like me?"
The question hangs between us, heavy with meaning.
"Yeah," I admit. "Like you."
She kisses me then, soft and sweet, before turning back to the screen. We lay like this for another hour and then she stands. "Get some sleep. Tomorrow's going to be interesting."
"Why's that?"
She smiles. "Because Ace is meeting his old high school friends for lunch. And I'm going to teach you how to swim."
She disappears upstairs before I can respond, leaving me with thoughts of chlorine and bare skin and all the ways this could go wonderfully wrong.
Morning brings fresh torture. Kennedy makes breakfast in a cover-up that keeps slipping off her shoulder, revealing hints of a red bikini underneath. Ace seems determined to never leave us alone, until his phone buzzes around eleven.
"I’m hanging with some of the guys," he says, grabbing his keys. "Going to meet them for lunch. Try not to burn the house down."
The moment his car disappears down the drive, Kennedy turns to me.
"Pool time?"
My mouth goes dry as Kennedy drops her cover-up by the pool's edge. The red bikini underneath is small enough to be criminal, but somehow innocent too – like she picked it just for me.
"Coming in?" She dips a toe in the heated water. "Or are you still scared?"
I pull my shirt over my head, watching how her eyes track the movement. "Not scared, Princess. Just cautious."
"The big bad enforcer? Cautious?" She slides into the pool gracefully. "Who would believe it?"
I follow her in, the warm water a shock against my skin. The pool is huge, with built-in seats along one wall and a deeper end that makes my heart rate pick up slightly.
"Relax." Kennedy glides closer. "I won't let you drown."
"Maybe I should. I need a little mouth-to-mouth."
She positions herself behind me, hands on my shoulders. "You don’t need to die for my mouth to be on yours… Okay. First lesson – floating. Lean back."
"Kenny," I say, not ready for this.
"Trust me."
I do. God help me, I trust her more than anyone. So I lean back, letting her support my weight as I float.
"See?" Her voice is soft and intimate. "Not so scary."
But she is. The way she makes me feel – weightless, safe, like I could drown in her and die happy – that's terrifying.
"Now what?" I manage as she guides me back to standing.
"Now..." She hooks her legs around my waist, water making her skin slide against mine. "We work on treading water."
My hands find her hips automatically. "This seems less like swimming and more like an excuse to touch me."
"Maybe." She kisses my jaw. "Is it working?"
Instead of answering, I walk us to the pool wall, pressing her against it. The water laps around us as I study her face – cheeks flushed, eyes bright, bottom lip caught between her teeth.
"Stop looking at me like that, Princess."
"Like what?" Her fingers trace my shoulders. Before I can answer, she says, "Good thing I like you."
The words hit harder than they should. Because she doesn't just like me – she loves me.
She's said it, shown it, offered her heart like it's something I deserve.
I kiss her. Slowly at first, learning the taste of chlorine on her lips, the way the water makes everything feel dreamlike.
Her hands slide into my hair, pulling me closer as the kiss deepens.
When she rolls her hips against mine, I groan into her mouth.
"Baby." The thin fabric of her bikini will be so easy to slide to the side, but I can’t take her virginity in a fucking pool.
She does it again, making me grip her harder. "I want you."
I feel like a fucking asshole, but I have to deny her. "We can't—"
"Why not?" Her voice cracks. "Give me one good reason why we can't. Why you keep pushing me away when we both feel the same?"
"Because—" The words stick in my throat.
"Because what?" She pulls back to look at me. "Because you think you'll ruin me? Because I’m a virgin? News flash, Knox – we already decided that I'm losing it to you. So why keep waiting?"
"You don't know what you're saying."
"I do." Her hands frame my face. "I know exactly what I'm saying. I want you. I love you. All of you – the enforcer, the scholar, the guy who learned to waltz for me. The guy who's so scared of becoming his father that he won't let himself be happy."
The words hit like a physical blow.
"Kenny," I whisper.
"I know." She kisses me softly. "You're a good person. Strong. Brave. Even if you don't see it. And I’m not afraid to tell you how I feel because I know you feel the same way."
Something breaks in my chest. I kiss her hard, pouring everything I can't say into it. She responds immediately, wrapping herself around me like she never wants to let go.
When we break apart, we're both breathing hard.
"Two weeks," I say against her lips. "Give it two weeks."
"What? No, I wanted––"
"Two weeks, Princess." I brush wet hair from her face. "Let me do this right. Let me show you what you mean to me."
She studies me for a long moment. "And after two weeks?"
"After two weeks, I'm yours." I rest my forehead against hers. "Completely. No more holding back. No more noble gestures. Anytime, anywhere, however you want it. You name it, and I’m running."
She smiles. "Promise?"
"Promise."
Her smile lights up my whole fucking world. "Seal it with a kiss?"
I do more than that. I show her exactly what she does to me, what she means to me, everything I can't put into words yet. By the time we hear Ace's car in the driveway, we're both breathless and wanting.
"Two weeks," she reminds me as we quickly separate.
"Two weeks." I help her out of the pool, trying not to watch water trail down her body. "Think you can handle it?"
Her smile turns wicked. "Think you can?"
No. Probably not. But god, what a way to drown.