“What’ve you been reading?” Kiernan pointed to the tablet in my lap. I picked it up, flipping back to the front cover. And there he was, a picture of him in a kilt looking like my dirtiest fantasies.
Kiernan grabbed it from me. “It’s already out?”
I nodded. “The author was done with the book but was having trouble with the perfect cover until you came along. That’s what Daphne told me anyway.”
“Am I any good?” Kiernan asked, leaning forward and skimming his lips along mine.
“Definitely,” I said. “Very good.”
He made a noise low in his throat and wrapped his hand around the back of my neck. He kissed me thoroughly, and I was so lost in him. Then Pepper Jack came and laid his heavy body on his lap and nudged Kiernan away from me. I laughed.
“Don’t encourage him.” Kiernan scowled.
I rubbed Pepper Jack’s ears and he grumbled low. That noise made me smile every time I heard it. It was so close to a growl, but he always did it when he was happy. He was the funniest dog I’d ever met. And absolutely perfect for Kiernan.
“Want to go get some lunch from the food truck park?” Kiernan asked. This was one of my favorite parks in the Austin area. There were trails, a river cutting through it and, on one edge of the park, food trucks always waiting to serve.
“Sure,” I said and stood. I started wiping the dirt from the back of my jeans, but Kiernan stopped me.
“I’ll get it,” he said, smirking, and brushed his hands along my ass for far longer than was necessary. He squeezed my butt. “Let’s go, sweetness.”
I grabbed Pepper Jack’s leash. “Heel, Pepper Jack,” I said. He came to my side and walked with me. Kiernan shook his head.
“You make it look so damn easy.”
“It’s easy unless I’m trying to walk him in a neighborhood. Though the last time I tried, I got him to go four houses instead of three,” I said chuckling.
Kiernan kept his hand on my lower back as we walked along the trail, staying near the edge to let runners and bikers pass us easily.
“Uncle Ki Ki!” A little boy with dark hair shouted and sprinted toward us as fast as his little legs would carry him. I smiled and looked for the person he was running toward.
My brows arched when Kiernan bent and scooped him up, hugging him to his chest. “What are you doing here, little man?”
“Miss Ava is taking pictures of Mommy!”
“Caden!” a man shouted, scanning the area until his eyes fell on Kiernan and the little boy in his arms. He had dark hair like his son, tan skin, and dark eyes. He was as tall as Kiernan and fierce. I hadn’t met Roman but, somehow, I knew that this was him. The man that Kiernan had served with and considered a brother.
I smiled fully. “Kiernan,” Roman said.
“Roman,” Kiernan replied, confirming my suspicions. Kiernan’s voice sounded strained. Roman closed the distance between us, and Kiernan let Caden down on the ground. Kiernan stayed silent, and my gaze bounced back and forth between him and Roman.
The smile was slowly slipping from my lips. Two women walked up as I was trying to figure out the intense silence and silent conversation happening between Roman and Kiernan. They were both blond and two of the most gorgeous women I’d ever seen. One was hugely pregnant, and the other had a camera around her neck—I guessed she was Ava. And I knew Roman was married to a woman named Harper.
“Kiernan,” Harper and Ava said while smiling and leaning forward to kiss his cheek. He returned the sentiment and smiled back at them.
“Guys, this is Caroline. She’s Pepper Jack’s trainer.”
Pepper Jack’s trainer. I plastered a smile on my face, but it wasn’t my full one and it wasn’t real. Kiernan glanced at me for a moment and something flashed in his eyes that I couldn’t read. I turned my attention back to the group.
“Hi, it’s nice to meet you…”
“I’m Harper. And this is Roman and Caden.” Her hand went to Caden’s shoulder. She was grinning at me and almost bouncing on the balls of her feet. I inched away from Kiernan, putting a little distance between us.
Pepper Jack’s trainer.
“I’m Ava.”
I reached out, shaking each of their hands, fighting to keep the smile on my face. My grip tightened on the leash, And Pepper Jack stood up, feeling the tension. “Sit, Pepper Jack,” I said quietly but firmly.
Pepper Jack’s trainer.
These people in front of me were among those Kiernan considered family, and he’d introduced me as Pepper Jack’s trainer. Not even as a friend. His promises that he was my man floated through my mind, and I batted them away. My heart was hammering in my chest as we stood in an awkward circle. Kiernan was quiet and tense.
He’d said he wanted to introduce me to his friends, but here was the opportunity and I’d been shuffled into the position of a worker. I could feel my cheeks heating. My hair was down and straight, fresh from getting a trim and blow out. I had makeup on. But the thoughts I’d been successfully locked away came back full force.
He was embarrassed by me.
He didn’t want to be seen with me.
I was only filling time for him.
I straightened my spine and pushed my shoulders back slightly, taking in a quiet breath and trying to suck in my stomach. This was worse than how my family made me feel, because it was Kiernan, with his words that had promised I was beautiful. It was Kiernan, and his words and his touch, that had finally made me see I was worth something.
Until now.
Until it was all exploding in my face, and I was able to see that I’d naively believed a man I
