Chapter 24
Dae
“When can we go horseback riding?” Amelia asks as Kennedy carries her out of the aquarium. Those two have been attached at the hip all day.
Truth be told, the three of us have been because there’s no way in hell I’m letting Kennedy out of my sight, even for one of my favorite five-year-olds.
Amelia’s been obsessed with the topic of horseback riding ever since Kennedy first mentioned it over lunch.
“I don’t know.” Kennedy looks over at me. A mischievous expression covers her face. “When are we going horseback riding, Mr. Kim?”
I lean over so that my lips are right next to her ear. “You’re going later tonight. Bareback.”
The rhythm of that vein in her neck intensifies, but she side-eyes me. “In your dreams,” she whispers.
A chuckle spills from my lips. I’m sure she’ll be strapped to my bed before the night ends.
“When did he say?” Amelia brings our attention back to her.
“Soon,” Kennedy answers.
“Yay!” Amelia cheers as Kennedy puts her down so she can run and tell the other children. They all cheer in excitement as well.
“Now you’re on the hook,” Kennedy teases as she stares at the children, a warm smile on her face.
I pull her to me. “We’re on the hook.”
She peers over at me and raises an eyebrow. “You think I would miss Amelia’s first time on a horse?”
She shakes her head. “Oh, maybe I can get Stasi and Eve to come, too,” she says of her little sister and niece.
“The more the merrier.” I mean it. Though I hate the idea of my time with her being divided, a piece of me wants to see her with her family.
“Stasi loves animals, though she isn’t into horseback riding as much as I was at her age.” She presses a finger to her chin and wrinkles her forehead. “I don’t know if Eve’s ever been horseback riding.”
Her eyes swell as she looks over at me. “I’m a terrible aunt. How could I not know if Eve’s been horseback riding before?”
I bring her hand to my lips to kiss her knuckles. “You and the word terrible don’t belong in the same sentence.”
Her body relaxes, but she shrugs. “I’ve been so preoccupied with work that I’ve neglected many of my favorite hobbies and my family.” Her bottom lip pokes out.
I pull her into my arms. “Your family knows you love them.” I kiss the tip of her nose. “And we’ll make up for lost time with all of your favorite hobbies.” I then kiss her forehead.
Behind us a round of “Ewwws” and “Agaaains?!” sound off.
Kennedy and I both laugh at the group of children watching us. We wave goodbye to them as they pile into the Spring Days van.
“How long have you worked with this organization?” Kennedy asks as we walk to my car.
“I’ll tell you on the way to our next destination.”
She lifts an eyebrow but doesn’t ask the question out loud. She’s learned that I’ll answer when I’m ready.
On the drive, I share with her that when I first moved to Williamsport, I volunteered with a local children’s camp that worked exclusively with foster kids. Over the years, I continued to invest in the camp, and it eventually became Spring Days Community Camp.
“The president asked if I wanted to change the name due to how much I invested,” I tell her.
“Naturally, you chose Spring Days,” she finishes my sentence.
I nod and squeeze her hand because it feels as if she knows me and why I chose the name.
“Throughout the summer, they go to a three-week sleep-away camp and then an all-day camp here in Williamsport for the rest of the summer. Throughout the school year, we do activities with them two weekends out of the month. We’re in the process of starting an after-school program.”
Kennedy turns her body toward me and lays her head against the headrest. She doesn’t say anything as she stares.
I give her a sideways glance. “What?”
“You’re amazing.”
My hands tighten on the steering wheel. “You think so?”
Her lips capture my attention as they spread wide. “I think so. And I think you enjoyed that aquarium almost as much as the kids.”
Holding up a hand, she shakes her head. “No. Scratch that. You enjoyed it more than they did.”
A memory from my past comes flooding back. It almost drowns out the sound of her laughter, but I don’t let it.
“I love aquariums,” I say, my voice low.
“You think?” she asks, her voice going almost shrill. “You could’ve invited the children home to see your aquarium, and they would’ve had just as great of a time,” she jokes.
“I don’t have stingrays,” I remind her.
She laughs, and for the remainder of our drive, she talks about how funny the kids were when it came time to feed the stingrays.
“The farmers’ market?” Kennedy asks as I hold the car door open for her and take her hand into mine.
“We’re having dinner in,” I tell her. “I need to get the ingredients.”
Her eyebrows lift. “What are you making?”
“Who says I’m doing all of the cooking?”
She slaps my shoulder playfully. “You can’t invite me to your place and expect me to cook.”
I resist the urge to tell her it’s our place. That would sound a little too crazy, right?
“I didn’t invite you. I had to drag you kicking and screaming,” I remind her.
She rolls her eyes. “Because you’re a bully,” she grumbles.
I pause in front of her and take her face with one hand. The other hand wraps around her waist and brings her up against me, holding her in place.
“Only when you don’t listen.”
“What if I don’t want to listen?”
“Then your ass will end up sorer than it was this morning.”
She grimaces. “That wasn’t nice, by the way.”
“Want me to make it all better?” I slowly move my hand from her waist down to cup her jean-clad ass.
“That would be nice of you,” she murmurs, her eyes on my lips.
Her voice comes out breathily. She looks at me like no one else exists. This is the way I’ve envisioned her staring at me for years. Reality is far better than any fantasy I could’ve thought up.
I brush my lips against hers. “Let’s grab the ingredients for tonight’s dinner.”
Wordlessly, she nods.
I pull away but keep my hand at her waist. When Kennedy looks ahead, her body immediately stiffens.
“U-Uncle Brutus?”
My eyes land on the man who now has her attention. I recognize him immediately. Aside from a few more gray hairs and more lines on his forehead, he looks the same as that day.
Brutus Prince.
The Townsend head of security.
The same man Kennedy begged to search for me that day in the alleyway.
His hard stare lands on me, his eyes narrowing. I meet his glare right back.
“Kennedy,” the woman next to him greets. Mia Prince, his wife. I know all about the people around Kennedy.
“Aunt Kennedy.” A young girl comes from behind Brutus, runs to Kennedy, and throws her arms around her waist.
Mia and Kennedy laugh.
“Hey, LB,” Kennedy greets.
Despite the smiles from Kennedy and Mia, Brutus doesn’t crack a smile. His stern gaze remains planted on me.
I knew this moment was inevitable. From what I could tell in all of my years of watching her, Brutus Prince is more than their family’s head bodyguard.
He’s a part of their family.
“Who is this?” he finally asks. His question is directed at Kennedy, but his unwavering gaze is locked on me.
“Dae Kim,” I introduce before Kennedy can.
“He’s the owner of the Black Opal.”
I side-eye her as if that were the appropriate way to introduce me. I refrain from telling him I’m her future husband, which probably wouldn’t go over too well, but I won’t let that introduction stand as is.
“And the man Kennedy’s currently falling in love with.”
Mia’s eyes go wide, and Kennedy gasps.
That’s when Brutus looks over at Kennedy.
“I—”
I stare at her, too, daring her to say it’s untrue. Her mouth opens and closes a few times before she finally tells him, “We’re picking up some items for dinner.”
“What are you having?” LB, Mia and Brutus’ nine-year-old daughter, asks, her arms still wrapped around Kennedy’s waist.
“I don’t know,” Kennedy admits as she looks at me. “What are we having?”
“That’s a surprise.”
She snorts. “I should’ve known.”
“You’re letting him make you food, and you don’t even know what it is?” Brutus asks in a harsh voice.
I see his wife roll her eyes out of the corner of my eyes.
“Do you think there’s something she should be afraid of?” I ask.
“Oh no,” I hear Kennedy and Mia say beside me.
“Brutus, we have to get LB home before it starts raining,” his wife comments.
I don’t miss the way she tugs at his arm.
“What the hell did you say?” Brutus takes a step in my direction.
“It was great seeing you, Uncle Brutus.” Kennedy throws her arms around him in a hug before kissing his cheek.
My hands tighten into fists at the sight of her in another man’s arms. Yes, he’s basically her family. He’s known her since she was a little, so my thinking is absurd. But does that make me untighten my fists?
Absolutely not.
My hand only loosens when she’s back at my side. My arm around her waist, holding her firmly to me.
Brutus notices but doesn’t say anything, likely because his wife and daughter are busy reminding him that he promised to help them set up her new dollhouse tonight after dinner.
Kennedy watches as they walk away. Brutus’ glare is still evident even from twenty feet away.
She groans and turns to me. “He’s our family’s head of security, and … well, he’s family,” she says. “As overprotective as the rest of them.” Her voice is almost apologetic.
I kiss her nose because it’s getting harder and harder to keep my lips off her when she’s in my presence.
“You deserve nothing less,” I tell the truth.
Yes, I know how protective the men in her family are. Nothing I know about them is enough to scare me away, though.
“You have nothing to apologize for,” I tell her.
She snorts. “You haven’t met my father yet,” she mutters under her breath.
“What was that?”
“Nothing.” She glances up at the sky. “Aunt Mia was right. I think it’s going to rain.”
I offer to let her wait in the car while I go to the multiple stands and merchants to pick up the ingredients for the meal I plan to make. She turns down that offer and opts to stick by my side as I make my way through the vendors at the farmers’ market.
It takes half an hour before I can get everything I need. The rain started about halfway into our shopping, and the last few items required a trip to a few vendors in the market’s open-air section.
It’s pouring by the time we make it to the parking lot. Once we’re inside of the car, we’re both soaked.
“My hair is going to hate me,” Kennedy pouts, running her fingers through her soaked curls. “Why did I decide to wear it down today?” She groans.
“Because you know I like it when you wear it down,” I remind her.
She fixes me with a glare. “Yeah, you’re not the one who now has to spend hours washing, conditioning, and detangling it,” she gripes.
I cup the back of her neck and pull her to me. I bite her bottom lip, eliciting a groan from her. I run my tongue against her lip before pulling back.
“I’ll do your hair for you,” I tell her.
She throws me a dismissive wave as if I have no idea what I’m talking about.