“Okay, Brene Brown.” My quip was another attempt to lighten the mood and draw it away from the heart of what he was trying to say.
“So, you’re familiar.” I had found Brene Brown at a time when I was desperate. She hadn’t saved my life; I had done that, but she’d given me some nuggets of wisdom that helped.
“I am. I don’t just listen to smut at the gym. But that’s not to say I’m successful at following the principles.”
“Success isn’t something you find when you become the person you aspire to be and stop. It’s about continuing the work, even when it’s hard. It’s about being willing to evolve and become a better version of yourself.”
My stomach growled loudly enough for him to hear it.
“It snowed. Do you have your winter clothes and boots?”
“Nope. Bikinis, flip-flops, and a pair of sneakers.”
He reached for his phone. “What size shoes do you wear?”
“Seven.”
He tapped a few texts on his phone.
“Who are you texting?”
“My sister. Her apartment is on the floor below mine. She’s not home. I’m getting permission to raidher closet.”
“I can’tborrowyour sister’s clothes. We can stop at my apartment.”
He shook his head and then nodded at his phone. His varied reactions confused me.
“Yeah, you can. My sister wouldn’t know if she’d been robbed. She has more than what she needs and doesn’t care. See?”
I read through the text exchange, noting how he ignored her taunts about getting laid. Colby might have grown up with everything handed to her, but she was genuine, and the ease of their text exchange showed just how close they were.
Oh, and she insisted—no, demanded—that I make myself at home in her closet.
Moments later, we were there, and Hawk was tossing jeans, boots, sweaters, and all manner of luxury outerwear at me.
“Do you want me to call the Uber?” I asked.
“Our driver will be here in twenty minutes.”
There it was. The stark reminder that Hawk had drivers at his disposal. Billionaire, Kendra. Hawk doesn’t get in random Uber’s, he has a car service.
“What’s wrong, Ken?” he asked after clocking my silence.
“Your world is completely foreign to me.”
“Foreign doesn’t mean you don’t belong here. You belong in any world you decide to belong.”
“Okay.”
EIGHTEEN
hawk
“Ready?”I asked.
Kendra had grabbed one of Colby’s Canada Goose coats. But only after considerable prodding from me. I guess I had always known that my sister and I had different financial means than most, but it hadn’t really sunk in that everyone who worked hard couldn’t have the same. And Kendra worked her ass off.
“Yeah, I’m ready.”
