When I got to the kitchen, everyone was chatting over tea and what looked like a smorgasbord of breakfast delights. Piles of waffles, pancakes, muffins, fruit, and potatoes were arranged on the island. Cade and Kai were deep in conversation, Ava and Mrs. Hart were steeping their tea, and Mr. Hart was at the stove cooking something in a cast-iron pan.
“Good morning, Kate!” Mrs. Hart exclaimed, initiating greetings from Mr. Hart, Ava, and even Cade, who smiled and nodded in the middle of his conversation with Kai.
My gaze snagged on Kai. He was so damn sexy with his dark curly hair glistening as if he just got out of the shower, his black T-shirt stretched over broad shoulders. Whatever he was talking to Cade about had his lips curving up and his eyes crinkling with humor. I waited… and waited for him to look up, for his eyes to drink me up like a glass of fine whiskey before resting on my baby bump—what he had done every time I entered the room the day before.
He didn’t look up, didn’t acknowledge me, not even when everyone else did. He just kept talking to Cade, and his dad drew my attention by asking if I’d like some eggs. I didn’t realize how much I enjoyed that look he gave me, how much his attention made me tingle with delight, until that very moment. It was disconcerting.
With my stomach in my throat and my tongue coated in disappointment, I opted for a small bowl of fruit and a cup of Earl Grey. I couldn’t pinpoint the cause of my frustration. It was only logical for Kai to distance himself after my declaration the night before. What I hadn’t accounted for when I basically told him we could raise the baby and not be together was that I’d grown to love our conversation, and banter, and flirting.
Over the month before his term was up, we’d talked almost every day. We’d laughed and joked, and I’d come to know him better. Something had grown that I didn’t mean to allow. I had come to treasure our friendship—too much. I enjoyed him way too much, and now I wanted him more than anything else. I wanted a relationship with him, a future with him.
And I couldn’t have it.
Dread filled my stomach, making it impossible to eat or drink. The one piece of strawberry in my mouth now tasted too acidic. I swallowed a mouthful of Earl Grey to wash it down, but the bitterness only made things worse. Mr. Hart gave me a questioning glance right before I bolted for the bathroom. Bile took on the taste of humiliation.
No one questioned whether I was okay when I returned from the bathroom, as if they knew it would only embarrass me more. Mrs. Hart fussed over me a little, getting me a cup of ginger tea and having me rest on the couch. I didn’t have the heart to turn her generosity down, even though it hurt my bones to allow it. Kai had switched to conversing with his dad. He didn’t check on me or ask if I was okay, though I did notice his posture was rigid, his jaw clenched. So he was paying attention but trying not to. I didn’t know how I felt about that. Mostly pissed.
Ava and Cade sat by me in the living room, talking about what they were doing for the day, how they had to go see Cade’s parents for a little, and then Ava wanted to go shopping before we were supposed to go to Mia’s for dinner. Just talking about more socializing—even if it was with people I didn’t mind—exhausted me. No one protested when I opted to take a nap, not even Kai, who was still acting like I didn’t exist.
We rode in Mr. Hart’s Jeep with Ava and Cade to Mia’s. Kai was driving, and Ava had insisted I sit up front, as if she saw the funk between Kai and me and was determined to fix it.
Nothing was fixed.
This was the closest I had been to him since the night before. The air between us was charged with frustration, disappointment, sadness… lust.
The anger and disappointment were from him; I could feel it prodding at me like someone nudging me to move. But I didn’t know where to move to, and I didn’t know how to erase this problem. Well… I did, but I wasn’t willing to cave, to give in to his magnetism.
Enter lust.
My hands itched to hold his, to touch him, to run along his tanned skin and sexy tattoos and drool-worthy muscles. I wanted him. I couldn’t have him. That made me want him more.
He didn’t even try to acknowledge me on the short drive to Mia’s, which allowed me to keep my hands and thoughts to myself. Our tension was so thick, Cade and Ava didn’t even try inserting themselves in it. Which was for the best. I didn’t need or want anyone’s opinion on what I should or shouldn’t be doing in this situation. By the time we got there, I was frustrated and ready to go home. At least there I could get back into my routine. Immerse myself in my schoolwork and work and ignore my raging emotions.
After Murphy alerted Mia and Pierce to our presence from the fenced-in front yard, they welcomed us inside their little red house. It was perfect and adorable and smelled of garlic, oregano, and fresh baked goods. My mouth watered for the first time that day. Lasagna, breadsticks, salad, and tiramisu took up a good portion of the counter.
Dinner was noisy, everyone talking at once. Kai and Pierce gave each other shit and joked around. They acted as I imagined brothers would. Cade even joined in with them when Pierce picked on Kai for smoking. Ava was flabbergasted by the news, which Mia thought was hilarious, since it took Ava so long to catch on to their brother’s habit. Although,
