A slow grin tugged at his lips, and I realized I was just standing there staring at him. Turning away quickly to hide my embarrassment as Jace left to answer the door again, I began gathering up the boxes to break down.
“So Jace said you just moved here?” Aiden grabbed the last two boxes off the table and followed me toward the kitchen counter.
I risked a glance at him as I nodded. “Yeah, about eight months ago.”
“Where are you fr—Oh, KC. I thought your name was Casey.” He looked at the top of the cupcake carrier for another second before flattening the box and moving on to the last one.
“No, it’s just my initials, but I’ve gone by KC forever.” If eight months could be counted as forever.
Before he could ask another question about my name, one of the other guys spoke loudly. “Oh, hell. Aiden, you need to try these.”
Aiden smiled and tilted his head back toward the kitchen table. “Which one do you recommend?”
My mouth popped open, then immediately shut. “The—” I worried my bottom lip as I looked over the four different cupcakes. “You really—” I started pointing toward the triple chocolate and quickly brought my arm back. “Well, this one—”
“That good, huh?” He chuckled and flashed that bright smile at me again.
“Well, I made all my favorites today. You can’t ask me to choose between them.”
“Then I won’t.” Grabbing one of each, he set them all out in a row in front of him and pulled another chair toward him. “All right, let’s do this.”
I laughed out loud and grabbed a knife before moving to take the seat next to him. “Trust me, you’d regret it if you ate all of them.” My cupcakes weren’t exactly small, and they were rich—he would go into a sugar coma in about half an hour if he finished those off. I grabbed the triple chocolate and cut it into fourths before handing him a piece and cleaning off the knife.
“Oh, damn,” he said with a groan. He kept chewing until it was gone. “Was that—” He looked at the rest of the cupcake. “Is that pudding in the center?” I smiled and started cutting the chocolate peanut butter one. “You put pudding in a cupcake?”
“Yeah, my ma—Um, my aunt Barbara and I wanted something different than the normal crème or custard that usually goes in the center.” I looked back into his brown eyes and shrugged. “It’s messier, but it works for that one. And that’s the only cupcake I do that with. All right, try this one. It doesn’t have a filling.”
He tasted the next two cupcakes, and after groaning or grunting his appreciation for each one, he kept pointing back to the “pudding cupcake,” saying it was still his favorite. But the red velvet was next, and it was a customer favorite, so . . .
“I thought you were going to be eating these with me. If I’m picking my favorite out of the bunch, you need to pick your favorite too—or at least your favorite for today.”
I laughed uneasily. “Uh, no, I’m good.”
Aiden nudged my side and pointed at the banana nut cupcake he’d just tried. “You’re this incredible baker and you don’t even eat your own food?”
“Oh, no, she does,” Kinlee spoke up for me. “She just doesn’t when other people are around. Well, people other than me.”
Aiden’s face fell. “You’re not one of those girls who won’t eat in front of guys, are you?”
“She’ll eat all right, just not sweets.”
“I’m really critical of myself—” I began, but Kinlee cut me off.
“Pfft, no you’re not. She just looks like she’s having an orgasm every time she eats something sweet.”
My breath came out in a huff and I couldn’t help but laugh as my elbow hit the table and my forehead fell into my hand.
Jace, Craig, and Aiden all burst out laughing, and Aiden tried to speak through his hysterics. “Oh, God, I have to see this now.”
“No, you really don’t!” I leaned back in my chair, eyes wide.
Aiden was still laughing so hard he could barely keep his arm up as he teased me. “I’ll even feed it to you—we’ll call it foreplay.”
A shot of desire hit my stomach hearing his deep voice say that, but I was able to maintain my sanity for the time being and dodged the piece of cake in his hands. “Kinlee! We are not friends for the rest of the day and no free cupcakes all next week.”
She gasped. “What? That is beyond rude! Jace, hold her arms down!”
I slipped out of the chair, darted past Jace, and took off for the living room. It was just like Kinlee to say something like that in front of guys I’d just met—one of whom she was trying to set me up with—but they didn’t understand, it was really embarrassing the way I reacted to my sweets. No way in hell I was gonna allow them to feed me!
I’d just rounded the corner leading out of the living room when I ran into a brick wall. The wall’s hands shot out and grabbed my upper arms to steady me at the same time I reached out and grabbed broad shoulders in an attempt to keep myself upright and looked up. I inhaled audibly, and his gray eyes widened as his lips separated. My chest was rising and falling quicker than normal, and it had absolutely nothing to do with running away from Jace or running into the most incredible-looking man I’d ever seen, but damn if it didn’t have everything to do with the man himself.
He was looking at me as if he’d just found what he’d been looking for—and the look was so open, so intense, it sent a shiver running down my spine. It should have scared me, but it somehow felt like what I was looking at was a reflection of what I was feeling.
And that just made no sense. I wasn’t looking for anyone. But this man? Yeah, I’d found everything I’d never even known I’d been looking for . . . in him. I could feel it in the way I felt like I needed to be closer to him than I already was, the way the tips of my fingers were tingling with a need to explore his body, the way I was physically aching to know everything about him. And yet, I felt like I knew everything there was to know about him, and we still hadn’t said a word. It felt like hours had passed before Jace’s voice sounded behind me.
“Kace, sooner you eat a bite, sooner this is all over!”
Eat a bite . . . what? I couldn’t remember why I’d even ended up in the entryway of Jace and Kinlee’s house, let alone make sense of his words right now. All I knew was that Jace had brought me back to reality, that I felt like I was home, like I was where I was meant to be for the first time in my life . . . and it was in a stranger’s arms. That thought—that realization—was scaring the ever-living hell out of me.
The stranger holding me blinked rapidly, and his hands tightened before he let go and took a step away from me. Even then, we still couldn’t tear our eyes away from each other . . .
“KC, you can’t hi—What the hell, you’re not even trying to hide. Oh, hey, Brody!” Jace said loudly, stepping between us to hug him.
. . . until Jace’s last word. I dropped my head to stare at the floor, my eyes wide with horror.
Brody? Oh, God, this is Brody? The married brother? I felt so stupid, I should have realized it the second I’d seen him. I didn’t have to look back up to notice that he was practically the same height as Jace, with the same black hair, amazing smile, and tan skin from their Italian heritage. It was obvious they were brothers, but at the same time they looked nothing alike to me.
Of course, Jace was attractive, hell, he was more than attractive, but Brody was . . . you couldn’t even begin to describe Brody as attractive. Perfection was a better word to start with. Though nothing about him was so perfect that he looked put together in the way Charles always did. His nose had a slight bump along the ridge, his white smile showed perfectly straight teeth, but was crooked . . . and I could look at that crooked smile all day long.
“Yeah, just walked in and I ran into . . .” I glanced up when he trailed off, noticing that his gray eyes were on mine, and his gravelly voice lowered even more. “. . . Uh, I ran into her.”
“Oh, right. Brody, this is KC. Kace, this is my brother, Brody.”<
br />
That crooked smile was back as he reached an arm out, only this time it was directed at me instead of his brother. And God it took everything in me to stay away from him when he directed it at me.
“It’s a pleasure,” he said quietly.
“Jace, it’s not fair if only you see KC’s O face,” Kinlee called out. “She has to be in the kitchen for all of us to see!”
My breath rushed out in a huff, Brody’s eyebrows lifted, and Jace started laughing along with Craig and Aiden as Kinlee came around the corner.
“Hey, Brody! I didn’t know you were here already! Good to see you.” Kinlee hugged his waist hard and looked up at him. “Glad you got to come out today. Can I get you anything?”
He smirked at her, and his eyes met mine again. “Well, apparently I’m here just in time to see KC’s O face.”
My shoulders slumped, and I dropped my head to look at the floor again. “Kinlee, swear to all that is holy no more free cupcakes, ever.”
“Oh, get over it, Kace.” She bumped my shoulder and smiled sweetly at me. “It’s funny and you know it is. Plus, we don’t have to worry about an icebreaker now, everyone’s having a good time.” She squeezed my hand and began towing me back toward the living room, but I pulled my arm free.
“I’ll be back.” I tried to avoid Brody’s eyes, but it was impossible as I turned and made a beeline for the bathroom to collect myself. I wasn’t mad at Kinlee, it had been funny at first, but I was beyond freaked out by my reaction to meeting her brother-in-law.
Turning on the water in the sink, I realized my hands were shaking. I made quick work of taking off my glasses, splashing water on my face, and turning the water off before gripping the counter. What was happening to me? And what happened in the entryway with Brody? My heart was still beating fast, and I swear I could feel his hands on my arms. The way his gray eyes had captured mine and held them, making it feel like time stood still, was unlike anything I’d ever experienced. This was fairy-tale shit, this kind of thing didn’t happen in real life.
Except, it just had.
And the man was married.
I groaned and shakily put my glasses back on as I stared at my reflection in the mirror. My blue eyes were too bright and my cheeks still too red. I looked excited. I was excited—I’d just found a man who changed everything I’d ever known. Taking a deep breath in, I held it for a few seconds before I blew it out as I realized that I’d found the one thing in life I would never be able to have. Why, after only two minutes of being near him, did that hurt so badly?
Brody
May 5, 2015
GLANCING BEHIND ME, I looked around for that Casey girl and came up empty. What the hell had just happened with her? She was beautiful, sure. Wide blue eyes, full lips that had been drawing me in, and the kind of body I’m sure a lot of women paid thousands for. But that wasn’t what got me. There was something else in those eyes, and it had taken Jace blocking her from view before I could stop looking at her. God, what was it about her? I could still feel her pressed against my chest. Now I was forcing myself to stay where I was instead of finding her to ask what had just happened.
“Man, I was surprised as shit when you called to say you were coming over, it’s been a long time. Too long.”
I smiled and took the beer from my younger brother’s hand, trying to be grateful for the distraction. “I know. It’s been kinda intense lately. Shift change at the department has really screwed with me, I’m still not used to the time changing on me, and then Olivia . . . well . . . you know how that goes.”
Jace grunted and Kinlee rubbed my arm as she passed me to go stand in Jace’s arms. “What happened now?”
“She drained our accounts again,” I mumbled. Looking around once more, I made sure no one was close enough to overhear our conversation. I took a long pull from my bottle and shrugged like it was nothing new—because with Liv, it wasn’t.
“Shit, how much this time?”
“Seven thousand on couches. I didn’t know couches could cost that much! And I only had five grand in savings before she bought it all, so you can imagine how that’s blowing over.”
“Jeez, Brody,” Kinlee said with a shake of her head. “We’ll help, how much do you need?”
I quickly swallowed my next gulp. “None, we’ll be fine. I save some money that she doesn’t know about for times like this, so the bills will all be paid. I’m not worried, I’m—God, I’m just tired of this shit, you know? And then she went and called her dad because I wasn’t happy about it, and it was after midnight. It’s just—I don’t know. Just same ol’ Liv.”
“Brody, you’re miserable. You can’t keep doing this, you don’t see Kinlee and me, you never see Mom and Dad . . . and you look like you’re dead. No offense, but my brother’s gone. She’s bringing you down, and I have no idea why you’re staying with her. I get it, divorce is bad, but there are exceptions, and Olivia is the damn exception! She’s doing this to you on purpose. She’s not struggling like you think she is. And I know you think you’re stuck, but you’re not.”
“I don’t think I’m stuck—”
“Yes, you do! And if you hadn’t married her psycho ass, you wouldn’t be stuck with her now that Tate’s—”
“Jace!” Kinlee smacked his stomach, her eyes and mouth going wide.
All the air left my lungs in a rush, and I mashed my lips together as I nodded my head in order to not lash out at him—or break down in the middle of their kitchen. I drained my beer, tipped the bottle toward my brother, and slammed it on the counter. “Thanks for the invite, Kinlee. Good seeing you guys again.” I took a few steps before grunting, “It’s Tate’s birthday, if you forgot.”
“Brody . . .” they said at the same time, but I was still stalking toward the front door.
I rounded the corner at the same time Casey hit the end of the hall, and my steps actually faltered. Her wide eyes behind those fucking adorable glasses got even wider when she saw me, and one of her hands went up to the wall as if to keep herself up. Without realizing it, I’d changed direction and taken two steps toward her before I could stop myself. What was it about her? I’d never felt anything like this before, and I wasn’t sure if I wanted the feeling to last forever or wanted to run far from it. Because no matter how addicting the feeling was quickly becoming, I knew I couldn’t keep her.
I’m married, I kept repeating to myself. To a woman like Olivia or not, I shouldn’t be thinking about another woman this way . . . and Tate—shit. I swallowed the lump in my throat and had to force my eyes shut before I could turn away from Casey and leave my brother’s house.
3
Kamryn
May 9, 2015
“THINGS ARE GREAT, Barb, I swear.”
She sighed. “If you say so, baby girl. You just sound off today.”
I am off. And I know exactly why. I haven’t slept since the barbecue at Jace and Kinlee’s four days ago because all I can think about is a certain brother.
“You’re sighing.”
“I am?” I kept myself from sighing again and looked around the coffee shop to make sure I didn’t know anyone there before hanging my head. “I met a guy, Barb.”
“You did? Oh, baby girl! Then why do you seem so sad about this? Tell me all about him! Is he handsome?”
I smiled and felt my cheeks get warm. “Yeah, you could say that. But nothing’s going to come of it.”
She tsked at me, and I pictured her pointing whatever cooking utensil she was holding in the air like I was there next to her. “Kam. I don’t know why you won’t let yourself date any of these men Kinlee tries to set you up with. It’s not like you got out of a long relationship that you were happy in. You were miserable with that preppy bastard. You deserve someone better, so let yourself be happy.”
“That’s not it, Barb. This isn’t one of the guys Kinlee tried to set me up with, although she tried that this weekend again. And if I hadn’t met this other guy, I actually think I would’ve really liked to get t
o know Aiden—”
“Oh, what a great name,” she whispered.
I laughed. “But then I met Brody . . . he’s Kinlee’s brother-in-law.” Even I could hear how pathetic I sounded now.
“There’s nothing wrong with that, I’m sure Kinlee wouldn’t mind—”
“Yeah, but I’d bet his wife would,” I mumbled lamely.
“Oh, baby girl. Don’t you go getting caught up in that. Nothing good can come from that, and I raised you to be above all that nonsense.”
“I’m not, Barb. I told you, nothing’s going to come of it. And besides, I only saw him for all of two minutes.”
“So then why do you sound like your mother when I hide her Xanax?”
I laughed out loud and covered my face with my free hand when people around the coffee shop looked at me. “Oh, my God, Barb . . . you’re the one who does that?” My mom didn’t suffer from anxiety—she just liked the effect Xanax and vodka combined had on her. She was always accusing my dad of hiding the pills and would go into a faux-depressed state until they reappeared. Knowing Barbara was the one hiding them made me love her even more.
“Course I do. Now explain. Two minutes knowing a married man and you’re acting like this?”
“I—I can’t explain it without sounding crazy.”
“Well, I’ve lived with Crazy One and Crazy Two for twenty-five years, I’m an expert on it.”
“True,” I huffed softly. “We just . . . had these moments. We couldn’t look away from each other, couldn’t speak to each other . . .”
“This is all my fault for letting you read trashy romance novels growing up,” she mumbled, and I laughed.
“I’m being serious! I swear I distinctly remember the way he smelled, and I can still feel where his hands were.” I looked down to see goose bumps spreading on my arms at the same time I heard the aforementioned cooking utensil hit the counter.
Sharing You: A Novel Page 3
