Chapter Fourteen
Nash sat by the pool, nursing a lemonade. The house was a dry house—at least, Kenzi’s wing was dry as a bone. Understandable, considering what she went through with her dad—was still going through.
He took a long pull from the can and let the tartness smack him awake. He and Kenzi were involved in some sort of dance; the carefully choreographed steps kept at least ten feet between the two of them. She was in the kitchen now, making a sandwich, and so he was stuck out here until she disappeared into her room again.
The dance started yesterday when Kenzi made it clear to Harrison that all the touching and long looks had been for show. Nash was filled with a mixture of shame and embarrassment, because it wasn’t all fake for him—some of it was very, very real.
Kenzi stirred up feelings he hadn’t felt in years—feelings of belonging, acceptance, self-pride, hope. Every time her blue eyes looked up at him for reassurance or strength, his chest grew warm and swelled. Despite his past, she accepted him and looked to him for her emotional needs. There was no way she faked her tears or the tremor in her hand. He was the only one who saw those things—at least, he’d thought he was.
The less time he spent alone with Kenzi, the better, especially if he was supposed to be close to her in front of others. Distance allowed him to shore up his reserves so that he might—might!—be able to resist her charms.
His inner conflict of interest in the middle of his marriage had him out here on the patio, killing time until he could get back to his computer.
The Hazel’s Dairy Delights website was informative and entertaining, with the cow named Hazel giving him a virtual tour of the factory and introducing the higher-ups. With his passwords in place, he’d taken his research deeper and gone into the database of personnel files, scouting the individual member of the executive team. The folders for those who’d worked for the company for most of their lives were like novels. The newer hires had great backgrounds, impressive degrees, and spotless reputations. He wasn’t so sure about Julia Lottes, head of marketing. She climbed the ladder by jumping companies and didn’t seem to possess an ounce of loyalty. Moving over to the ice cream business was a leap from where she’d been before in sports drinks, but it appeared she’d made the transition seamlessly right before Arthur took his leave.
The kitchen grew quiet, and he could feel Kenzi withdraw from the room as if there were a magnetic pull between them that got stronger the closer they were and weaker the farther they were apart. The feeling only increased his desire to steer clear of her. He got to his feet and stretched, taking one last moment to admire the beautiful setting. He would stay in the backyard all afternoon if he had his laptop. In fact, that wasn’t such a bad idea. He made his way inside to retrieve his computer, careful not to make too much noise.
Kenzi’s door was shut, as it had been for most of the day. He went into his room and paused, sensing a great deal of sadness coming through the open bathroom door.
Sniff. Sniff.
Aw, crap! She was crying.
She had a right to be sad, but this was more than a loss—this was loss mixed with regret. He stood in the middle of his room, staring at his laptop. He couldn’t go through the bathroom and enter her room. That was bold and invasive. She was his wife, and yet he hadn’t seen the inside of her bedroom—well, any more than the glimpse he’d gotten through the open bathroom door.
Without a word, he settled on the floor, his back against the wall, the open door to his right. He started typing, looking through product pages once again, and pretty soon the sniffling stopped.
Bedding rustled, and after a moment, soft, bare feet scuffed the floor and Kenzi settled with her back to the wall of her room, the open door on her left. He didn’t know how he knew where she was in the room, except that he could hear her movements and sense her position in relation to his, sense her accepting his rather pathetic show of support.
Maybe it was nothing. Maybe it was the start of something. He didn’t know and he didn’t want to push his luck, so he stayed there until his legs fell asleep. And then he stretched out and fell asleep on the floor.
