“Let me check on the party planner extraordinaire. If you’ll excuse me.” I try to twist out of Kai’s grip, but he follows me and says back to Dane and Kendall, “Guys, I’ll catch up with you in a bit.”
“Umm…you don’t have to come with me.” I glance up at him as my feet slow.
His hand moves to my back, scorching my skin through the thin fabric of my dress. Opening the slider for me to step into the kitchen, he follows. It’s quiet; no one is here.
“I don’t think I can hold back with you.” His lips brush mine; sparks ripple over my lips and down my spine. To show him I can’t hold back either, I press my lips harder to his and swipe my tongue over his lips. He opens for me, and our tongues dance over each other with a frenzied energy.
When we finally break away, his pupils have taken over those blue eyes of his. He takes his fingers and tugs on my hair. “You are stunning.”
“Thank you.” More heat is making its way to my cheeks, turning them red again.
Dragging his fingers down my cheek and running along my neck, he says, “Now, I’ll let you get back to what you’re doing. I’ll be outside catching up with Dane and Kendall. When you’re free, come find me.” I run my fingers over my tingling lips, savoring this moment.
Once he leaves, I take a few deep breaths to ground myself after being lifted to heaven for a few minutes when my lips fused with his. Everything I’ve been worrying about drops to the floor, stuck in a daze.
When I finally leave the kitchen, I check the living room first. My sister sits on the couch.
“Hey, are you feeling okay?” I jog over to her.
“Oh, yeah. I’m resting for a few minutes before I head outside to mingle and entertain guests. I figured they are all eating now, then I’ll put on my host hat soon.” She leans her head on the back of the couch and lets out a big sigh. “Did you talk with Joan?”
I lower myself onto the couch next to her. “Yes…We’re meeting on Tuesday.”
Her head pops up off the couch, and a smirk tugs on her lips. “I love that for you.”
“I’m not making any decisions. I have to investigate it further, meet the employees, take a peek at the books, and see if there’s room for expansion that would include my bookstore.” I rest my head on her shoulder, and she rests her head on mine, like when we were younger and watched TV together on the couch. It’s comforting.
She rubs my arm. “Whatever will be, will be.”
I say nothing else on the subject. “I’ll keep you posted next week.” She’ll be the one I bounce it all off of, but today, today is for her, Logan, and my nephew to be.
What it does bring up is Kai. I say, “Kai’s here.”
Turning her head, she kisses my forehead. “And…did you talk to him?”
I recap what happened in the last fifteen minutes. She squeals, “He’s head over heels for you and you…” she giggles. “You’re so gone for him.”
NINETEEN
Kai
The moment I step onto the deck, I see her across the lawn sitting with a woman. I stare for a few minutes until she stands up and turns toward me. When our eyes lock, explosions set off in my chest.
There’s no way my eyes can tear away from her…until Dane slaps me on the back. “Take a picture, it will last longer.”
I shrug off his hand and turn to see him smirking at me. “Pound sand.”
Kendall whacks him on the shoulder. “Leave him alone…So Kai, whatcha looking at?”
I glance back at Ava for a couple of beats and turn back to both of them. Not giving either of them the satisfaction. “You two are perfect for each other.”
“We know.” Kendall pulls Dane closer to her and kisses his cheek.
The way they gaze at each other shows they are madly, deeply in love, which is a good thing since they were married in Aruba a few weeks ago.
Dane grabs her face and kisses her, feet away from me. “Can you two seriously get a room?”
All I see is Dane’s hand waving me off as he continues to kiss his wife. I’m not subjecting myself to their public display of affection, so I turn back to Ava and wave her over. When her lips tilt upward and I see her smiling face, it’s everything I need to have my pulse tick up.
