Kenna laughed. “You’re such a child. You do realize you’re in this predicament because of thelastbet you made me, right?” She plucked one of the peeled peaches from the bowl and took a bite, her lips wrapping around the juicy fruit. He’d never been more jealous of a piece of food in his life. “Are you sure you wanna go down that road again? I figured you’d be tired of me wiping the floor with you.”
He shook the dirty thoughts from his mind, rested his hands on the counter, and leaned toward her. “Something you should know by now…”
She cocked a brow, popping the last half of the peach into her mouth. “What’s that?”
He stared straight into her eyes, putting as much conviction into his tone as he could. “I’ll never be tired of you, Kenna.”
She stopped chewing, her eyes widening slightly as she stared at him. Her gaze tracked every inch of his face, as if trying to get a read on him. As if weighing his sincerity. Good thing he was sincere as a motherfucker when it came to this. When it came to her.
Finally, she dropped her eyes, seeming to shake whatever thoughts she had right out of her head. She cleared her throat. “Name your terms.”
He couldn’t stop the grin from spreading. She was coming back to him. Slowly and reluctantly, but she was peeking out. The Kenna he knew and had fallen in love with was still there under the cynic she hid behind. He couldn’t wait to keep peeling back her layers.
He couldn’t lie—gettingwalloped by Kenna twice in as many days was hard on the ego. He’d thought he’d have a hand up in this particular competition—what since he’d baked approximately seventeen thousand pies in his lifetime—but it’d been a long time since he’d been home. Even longer since he’d baked a pie. And apparently Kenna hadn’t let her expertise in that area wane.
He glanced at her neatly laid-out pie tins in front of her, each with a perfectly formed and pinched crust, then narrowed his eyes on her. “Did you hustle me?”
She wiped her hands on the dish towel hanging over her shoulder. “I’m sure I have no idea what you mean.”
“Imeanyou just finished your sixth crust, and I’m barely on three. You get a job over at the shop that no one filled me in on?”
The corner of her mouth lifted. “Not technically, but I may have helped a time or two.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah. When Marianne had her surgery and they’d needed someone immediately. They couldn’t train anyone fast enough to fill in while she was out for recovery. So, I jumped in. Started that day and worked for a couple weeks till they got things sorted.” She shrugged like it was no big deal, but it was a hell of a big deal to him.
He’d never forget receiving the call that his momma had been in a serious car accident. He’d been stationed overseas, in Germany, unable to come home on leave. He hadn’t been able to do a damn thing but wait for updates from Lilah, angry at himself that he hadn’t been home to help either of them. And Kenna’d been here, ensuring things ran smoothly for his family.
“Thank you,” he said, his voice full of gravel. He leveled his gaze on hers, making sure she saw the sincerity in his eyes. “For taking care of them while I’ve been gone.”
Her face softened, and she placed her hand on his forearm. “They’re pretty good at takin’ care of themselves, Hud.”
“I know.” He nodded. “They are.” Turning to face her, he propped his hip against the counter. “But you’re pretty good at takin’ care of people and then not takin’ credit for any of it.”
Her brows shot up. “Seems everyone loves tellin’ me that. You been talkin’ to Will since you’ve been home?”
“Nah. I just know you. And some things might’ve changed, but not that. You proved as much last night at the bar with Darcy and Atticus.”
Kenna hated having the spotlight shined on her—always had. Still did, if her uncomfortable squirming was anything to go by. If he were a betting man—and he was—he’d lay down money on her deflecting next.
“You remember our last bet before you left?” she asked.
Annnnd, there it was. The deflection. As was his damned erection, back with a vengeance. Did he remember? Of fucking course he remembered. It’d only been one of the best and worst days of his entire life. Finally being with her how he’d fantasized about for so long, but also revealing the secret he’d been keeping from her for months and nearly tearing them apart in the process.
As it turned out, he tore them apart anyway.
At some point, he’d stepped closer to her because suddenly there wasn’t any space between them. She stared up at him, her eyes glazed and lips parted. His cock was rock hard and aching, remembering exactly what that bet had led to. A kiss in a fishing boat, an impromptu dry-hump where she’d come in his lap so hard,he’dnearly seen stars… Then the fight, the tears, the anger. Before, finally, their resolution. A promise of not right now but someday and spending the rest of the weekend getting lost in each other’s bodies.
He’d taken so much of it for granted. He’d been hungry for it and had gone after it like a ravenous wolf, but he hadn’t savored it. If he could go back now, he’d do so many things over. Starting with taking his time. Cataloging every inch of her. Spending an entire evening with his mouth between her legs just so the cadence of her moans would be trapped in his subconscious for the rest of his life.
“Hud,” she whispered, her tone a little worried and a lot breathy.
This was probably a bad idea. Actually, there was no probably about it. This was a terrible fucking idea. Their friendship had barely survived the last time they’d done this, and their ending was still the same—he was leaving in less than three weeks, and Kenna had made it perfectly clear she didn’t want a long-distance relationship with him. Didn’t matter. He had no hope of stopping himself. Even less when Kenna reached out, tucked her fingers into the front waistband of his jeans a mere centimeter from his throbbing cock, and tugged him the slightest bit toward her.
That was it. All bets were off.
Cupping her face in his hands, he leaned down, maintaining eye contact—waiting for her to say no while silently chanting a prayer she wouldn’t—until her lids fluttered closed a moment before he pressed his lips to hers.
