by Ivy Smoak
“Are you sure?” He asked. “I could…”
“I’m sure.” I was also positive that I didn’t want to hear the end of his sentence. “See you in the morning.”
“You don’t want me to check on the swelling?”
Are you kidding me? “No, Nigel, I don’t need you to look at the swelling. I’m fine.”
He sighed. “As you wish, Mr. Caldwell.”
I opened my eyes to make sure he was retreating. If I was being forced to stay here for three months, I’d need to set some boundaries. What am I even thinking? I wasn’t going to stay here for three months. Tanner would sort it out.
I sunk lower in the bubbles. Nigel was weird, but this place did have its perks. I lifted up the snifter of cognac that Nigel had promised. The life of a billionaire, I guess. Or was it? James was the only other billionaire I knew, and I was pretty sure he didn’t have a weird little servant trying to examine his cock all the time. I’d have to ask him about it. When I crossed that line into being a billionaire, I wouldn’t be hiring a houseboy.
My phone buzzed and I looked down, hoping it was another text from Kennedy.
Poppy’s name showed up. I pushed the phone away. I didn’t want anyone to disturb my bath.
Chapter 37
Friday
We were all hanging out at James’ place tonight. I was waiting outside for my surprise guest. I’d been looking forward to seeing Kennedy all day. We had a reservation at a hotel within walking distance of James’ place. Not at my usual hotel. Because I knew she wasn’t just some random hookup. And I’d never treat her like she was.
Not that the hotel or anything about tonight mattered until I told her what was going on with Poppy. I didn’t purposely keep Kennedy in the dark. I was just looking for the best possible way to explain the situation. Because I hated how it was all tied up with Brooklyn. Kennedy and I needed a fresh start. And this was the exact opposite. Tanner had helped me with a good plan though. A simple one that involved flowers and the truth.
I looked down at the bouquet in my hand. I had no idea what kind of flowers Kennedy liked. Maybe this was a bad idea. I should have brought her French fries. Relationship advice from Tanner couldn’t be that great. I’d never seen him with the same woman more than twice.
My phone buzzed in my pocket. My mom was calling. I still hadn’t called her back. Kennedy wouldn’t be arriving for another few minutes. I could use the distraction. And I honestly owed my mom an apology too. “Hey, Mom,” I said as I answered the phone.
“Matthew!” She sounded so relieved. “I’ve been trying to reach you.”
“I know. I just…”
“I know.”
We were both quiet. I thought about what Mason had said. That my fake smile may have fooled mom, but not him. I wasn’t so sure that was true. If it was, she wouldn’t always be so worried about me during this time of year. “I’m really sorry, Mom.”
“For what, sweetheart?”
“For lying to you for years about being fine. I don’t even know if half the time I realized I was lying. But…I realize it now. Because I’m actually happy.” I took a deep breath. “I met someone.”
I heard her inhale.
I didn’t want to make her guess. “Or rather, ran into someone I used to know. Do you remember Kennedy?”
“Kennedy Alcaraz? She was so sweet.”
My parents never bothered with tabloids. They wouldn’t know about Poppy. And I didn’t want to go into that. I just wanted my mom to know I was okay. “I really like her, Mom. And I know I shouldn’t because…”
“No.” Her voice sounded so firm. Like when she’d yell at Mason or me for fighting. “Don’t do that. Don’t push away a good thing. You deserve happiness. I know how much you loved Brooklyn. But that doesn’t mean your heart isn’t big enough to love someone else too. Don’t you think you’ve tortured yourself enough?”
I blinked fast, hoping I wouldn’t start crying in the middle of a busy Manhattan sidewalk. “So does that mean you like Kennedy?”
She laughed and sniffed at the same time, and I could tell she was laughing through tears. “I liked her when she was a teenager. But I haven’t seen her since you two graduated. You’ll have to bring her by for dinner.”
My mom would definitely still like Kennedy. This was just her way of getting me to come over. “I can do that.”
“We miss you.”
“I miss you too, Mom.” My phone started buzzing. It was probably Kennedy. I needed to take it. “Tell Dad I miss him too. Text me and we can set up a time for dinner.”
“Alright. I love you so much. I don’t think I have to tell you how happy this call has made me.”
I smiled. “I love you too, Mom.” I hung up and looked down at my phone. But it wasn’t a call from Kennedy. It was several texts all in a row from Poppy. She’d been messaging me all day, trying to get me to go to some stupid event. And she wasn’t taking no for an answer.
I quickly responded. “I told you, I have plans tonight.” My phone started ringing. Shit. I made sure Kennedy was nowhere to be seen and answered the call. “Not now, Poppy.”
“This was part of the deal, Matthew. For you to come when I need you. And I need you tonight. Uncle Richard is going to be there. I wanted tonight to be our big society debut.”
“We’ll have to do it another night.”
“You know he doesn’t go to many events now.”
I actually didn’t know that. I made a habit of not being in the same social circles as that monster. “Just tell him we’re dating.”
“He’ll want to see us together for himself. Talk is just hearsay. You know this. You know him. Why aren’t you coming?!”
“I’m sorry, Poppy. You should have given me more warning.”
“I only just found out last night that he’d be in attendance. And you’re supposed to be my boyfriend. Which means you’re supposed to want to hang out with me on Friday nights.”
“I can’t pretend tonight,” I said.
“But why?” Her voice was even whinier than normal.
“Because…” I couldn’t tell her I had a date. That was exactly the kind of excuse that would not get me out of this last-minute obligation. “Because tonight I’m telling my friends about the fact that I’m dating you. If we want this to work, they need to know.”
“Oh. Well, that’s good.” She sighed. “But can’t you meet up with me after though? Please.”
“Guys’ night usually goes until at least midnight.” It didn’t. But I had other plans tonight involving Kennedy naked.
“We had a deal, Matthew. And I don’t want to have to break my side of it.”
Fuck. I ran my hand down my face. That hotel room was calling to me. But Poppy had me, and she knew it. I’d have to postpone my alone time with Kennedy. Again. “I’ll see if I can get away.”
“I’d say make sure of it. See you in a few hours. And wear a tux. If you bring flowers it’ll certainly be a bonus.” She hung up.
I looked down at the flowers I’d brought for Kennedy. What was I doing? Flowers definitely weren’t Kennedy’s thing. But I didn’t have time to go get her some French fries because her taxi pulled to the curb and she stepped out. She leaned in and told the taxi driver something, and when she closed the door, he didn’t drive off.
I met her in the middle of the sidewalk. I could tell something was wrong because her normal smile was nowhere to be seen. And I just hoped to God I wasn’t too late to tell her about…
She slapped me hard across the face. “I can’t believe you.”
Shit. “Kennedy…”
Before I could say anything else she slapped me again.
Damn, she was stronger than I thought she was. I rubbed my jaw.
“I’m such an idiot,” she said. “No. Actually, you’re the idiot. What the hell is wrong with you? Why are you still playing the same games you did as a teenager? We’re not in high school anymore!”
“I can explain.”
“You made Brooklyn feel like a dirty little secret, Matt. And I won’t give you a chance to make me feel the same way.” She turned back to the taxi.
I caught her hand so she couldn’t leave. “Please just let me explain.”
She turned around. It looked like she wanted to slap me again but she didn’t. “Explain how you were making out with someone else on the cover of every tabloid in the city? Or the fact that I found out because I overheard two of my employees gossiping about the city’s most eligible bachelor being taken off the market? What could you possibly have to explain? Because it seems quite simple to me. You’re a cheater. You’re disgusting. And I want nothing to do with you.”
I’d been called a lot of bad things over the past 16 years. But never with such vehemence.
“Kennedy, please just let me explain what’s going on. This is a huge misunderstanding. Can I just talk to you inside for a minute?”
“Why? Because you can’t let anyone in the city know about your mistress?” She grabbed the flowers out of my hand and whacked my arm with them like she was brandishing a sword.
“Would you stop yelling for one second?” I grabbed the flowers from her and threw them on the ground.
She pulled the taxi door open, ignoring me.
I slammed it shut. “Kennedy….”
She shoved my chest. “Puta mierda.”
I grabbed her hands so that she’d stop hitting me. “Look, I agree with you okay? I’m an idiot.”
“You’ve got that right.”
I tried to lower my voice so that no passersby would hear us. “But that kiss in the tabloids? It wasn’t real.”
“Your lips were on hers.”
“Just so the photographers could snap a stupid picture to spread the rumor. I swear it meant nothing. I had to enter into a fake relationship with Poppy Cannavaro in order to ensure the safety of James’ daughter. It’s a verbal contract that will expire when Poppy acquires Mr. Pruitt’s business holdings.”
“What are you even talking about?”
“Poppy is Mr. Pruitt’s niece. And she thinks being with me will somehow show Mr. Pruitt that she’s serious about taking over the company. That’s it. It’s basically a business transaction. And believe me when I say that there is nothing real about the relationship at all. Because I’m falling for you, Kennedy. I can’t stop thinking about you.”
She just stared at me.
“You changed everything, Kennedy. I was fucking drowning before you came crashing back into my life.”
A tear slid down her cheek.
I risked her slapping me again and reached out to wipe her tears away. “So please just come inside. And we can talk this through.”
She opened her mouth and then closed it again. She shook her head. “I can’t do this with you, Matt.”
“Do what?”
“Get tangled up in whatever you just said. If you owe some kind of debt to Brooklyn’s dad…”
“I don’t. I swear I don’t. Scarlett was in danger. And I’d do anything to keep that little girl safe. This was the only way. I swear if I think of something else, you’ll be the first to know.”
“So James has a kid?”
I smiled. “Two actually.”
“I can’t picture him being a dad. When did we all get so old?”
“You look anything but old.”
She looked down at her shoes.
“That’s what the date is, by the way. Mason, Rob, and James are all inside for guys’ night. I was kinda thinking I could surprise them with…you. And the fact that we’re dating.”
“So they don’t even know I’m coming?”
I shook my head.
“And they don’t know that we’re dating?”
“Not yet.” I smiled down at her. “That’s kind of what tonight was for.”
She took a deep breath. “I think maybe we should keep it that way.”
“You want to do something else tonight?”
“I mean the dating thing. We’re not dating, Matt. Not anymore. I’ve been in a toxic relationship before. And I’m not putting myself in a situation to get stepped all over again. I can’t.”
“Kennedy…”
“We’ll be friends. Until you get this sorted out with Poppy. Okay?”
“Just friends?”
She nodded. “Just friends.”
I was so close. So close to getting to be happy. So close to getting the girl for once. I didn’t know how long this shit with Poppy was going to take. Days? Months? Longer? I tried to ignore the sinking feeling in my stomach. But I had to respect Kennedy’s decision. I’d never force her to be with me in secret. Despite what she’d said, I’d learned my lesson on that. “Okay.”
“Okay.” She exhaled slowly. “So I’m just going to go then.”
“You can still come up, Kennedy. All the guys are going to be thrilled to see you.”
“I don’t really feel like hanging out with everyone when I feel like I’m about to start crying.”
“I’m sure Rob will make you smile.”
She laughed. “That’s true. I have to admit, I kind of miss his jokes. But won’t it be weird?”
“Why would it be weird? You and I have always been friends. Nothing will change that.” But it was a lie. Everything changed as soon as I kissed her. I didn’t want to go back. I didn’t know how to go back.
“Right.” She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
I could already feel her slipping away. “Come on. It’ll be fun.” I put my hand out for her.
She ignored my offered hand. But she leaned in to tell the taxi driver he didn’t have to wait any longer. “I’m sorry about the flowers,” she said as the taxi sped off.
“It’s okay. At the last minute I realized you’d probably prefer French fries anyway.”
She laughed. “Very true. But for the record, when you’ve done something wrong and want to bring flowers, my favorites are tulips. I can’t even remember where my mom and I were going. But we were on a trip and we passed by this huge field of tulips. It was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen.”
I didn’t say a word as we walked side by side into James’ building. But if she thought she wasn’t getting a tulip every day until she took me back, she was sorely mistaken. We got on the elevator and I could feel the distance between us. She leaned against the wall on the opposite side of me. And all I could think about was closing the distance between us.
Chapter 38
Friday
“Stop looking at me like that,” Kennedy said.
“Like what?”
“Like more than friends.”
“I don’t know how to not do that,” I said.
Kennedy shook her head. “You’re making this harder than it has to be. It’s like you said earlier, we’ve always been friends.”
“That was before I kissed you.” I watched as her cheeks grew rosy.
“Cut it out,” she said.
“I’m not doing anything.”
“Yes you are,” she said with a laugh. “You’re over there looking all sexy, staring at me.”
I smiled. “You think I’m sexy?”
“Try harder to look at me like we’re just friends,” she said, ignoring me.
I closed the distance between us in the elevator.
She looked up at me. “Matt…”
“You can’t deny that you feel this too.”
“Of course I feel this.” She put her hand on my chest and then quickly removed it. “I didn’t say this wasn’t hard for me. I just…I don’t want to be with someone that isn’t all in. And you can’t be all in right now.”
“I am all in.”
“Except in public where you’re all in with another woman?”
I pressed my lips together.
“We’re just hitting pause,” she said. But her words didn’t fit her actions, because she drew a fraction of an inch closer.
I didn’t say a word. I just stared down at her.
She leaned
forward, her lips stopping by my ear. Her hand rested on my shoulder.
It took every ounce of restraint I had not to hit the emergency button on the elevator to bring it to a halt. I couldn’t remember the last time I wanted something so badly.
“Try harder,” she whispered and then took a step back.
Kennedy Alcaraz was a tease. And I was pretty sure I was falling in love with her. “Maybe you should try harder to keep your hands to yourself, Alcaraz.”
“Don’t call me that,” she said with a laugh.
“You know the alternative.”
She rolled her eyes.
And the elevator doors dinged open, ending our conversation. Because Tanner was standing there.
He looked at us standing on opposite sides of the elevator.
“I guess the conversation didn’t go as planned?” he asked.
Kennedy stared at me.
“Not exactly,” I said. I didn’t try to take her hand as I stepped off the elevator. “Kennedy, this is Tanner.”
“Matt’s best friend,” he said. “It’s lovely to finally meet you.”
“From one of Matt’s friends to another, it’s nice to meet you too, Tanner.”
“Friends?” Tanner looked at me. “Oh, it really didn’t go as planned then.”
“I thought you said no one knew about us yet?” Kennedy asked me.
I smiled. “Don’t worry. Only Tanner knows.”
“Okay. Well, Matt and I decided to just be friends until he sorts out whatever he needs to do with Poppy. So, maybe just don’t mention that we dated for all of two seconds to anyone else?”
Tanner smiled. “Luckily for you, I happen to be an excellent secret keeper.”
“Now which apartment is James’?” she asked.
There were only two doors on the floor. One for James’ apartment. And one that led to his security team. I knocked on the closer door. “Why hadn’t you gone in yet?” I asked Tanner.
“I was waiting for you two. You know how uncomfortable Robert makes me.”
Kennedy laughed. “Please don’t tell me Rob goes by Robert now?”
“Only I call him that,” Tanner said. “Because he hates it and we’re sworn enemies.”
“Why?”
“He loves to claim that he’s Matt’s best friend when that title clearly belongs to me. And his jokes are rarely funny. And his haircut is stupid.”
