Page 37 of Tempting

Caitlin walks out of Sweet Temptations, looking as fierce as ever, just as I’m walking in the next morning. Sky-high black knee boots, a black leather pencil skirt, and a black cardigan that only has three buttons buttoned in the center. Her black hair is artfully tucked up in a messy bun, which I’m sure took her fifteen minutes to look as perfectly imperfect as it does, and chunky diamond studs dot her ears. She rocks her confidence like she’s never had a doubt in the world, and even though she’s my little cousin, I think I want to be her when I grow up.

“Little overqualified to be doing coffee runs, aren’t you?” I hold the door for her as she balances a bakery box and a cup carrier with what I bet are Lindy’s, Everly’s, and her coffee orders.

Cait’s crystalline blue eyes look me over from the top of my head to the tips of my purple Jimmy Choo’s. “We take turns. What’s your excuse? Because seriously, Kenz. Those shoes belong somewhere more fabulous than Main Street.”

“I promised Juliette I’d meet her before I need to be in the office. Is she inside?” Jules’s office is across the street, so she may have stopped in there first.

“She’s inside talking to my mom. Good luck. They look like they’re conspiring.” She turns toward Everly’s shop before I call out to her.

“Conspiring about what?” My heart races in my chest. The Kingstons conspiring is never a good thing.

Cait looks over her shoulder and winks at me. “Good luck, Kenzie.”

“Luck with what?” I ask as she heads two shops down to Everly Wilder Designs, ignoring me.

Damn it. Good luck with what?

If I don’t go in, I could walk into my office in three minutes. It’s only around the corner, right off Main Street. What can Jules say if I tell her I bailed for an emergency? I look through the huge picture window to see if I can make a clean escape, but I can’t. I’m totally busted. Jules and Amelia, Caitlin’s mom, are both staring at me from the table in the corner of the shop.

Time to pull my big-girl panties up, I guess.

I push through the door and wave at the two of them, then make a pit stop at the counter for a cinnamon pumpkin cappuccino with a shot of espresso and extra whip, because really, can you ever have too much whip? Once the extra-caffeinated goodness—which I’m fairly certain I’ll need to get through what’s beginning to feel like a strange ambush—hits my system, I square my shoulders and brace for impact.

Okay, I’m not generally a drama queen, but whenever Jules and any of the aunts get together, it’s like you’re going to war with a coven of powerful witches, each with their own special brand of magic. It’s always safer to approach them carefully. That thought makes me smile. “Hi, ladies.”

“Kenzie...” Jules stands and squeezes me in a tight hug, like it’s been months since she’s seen me instead of a week. “I swear I miss you more now that I get to see you all the time than I did when you were in DC.”

Probably because Juliette called every other day during my residency. She’d leave me five-minute-long voice memos if I didn’t answer, and sometimes Becks, Blaise, and she would send me a quick video just so I could see their faces. And she’d always stop by my brownstone whenever Becks and she were in town for any senate business.

She’s a special kind of woman, and I’m so unbelievably lucky to have her in my corner. But I’m still a little nervous right now.

“Hey, Jules. How was DC?” I sit down between Amelia and her and side-hug Cait’s mom. Amelia’s not nearly as touchy-feely as the rest of the family.

“It was good. But I’m glad to be home. More importantly, how was your weekend?”

Amelia snickers and rises from her seat. “Real smooth, Juliette.”

Jules rolls her lips in, holding back a smile.

“Kenzie, don’t leave without taking some scones for your office. I’ll go box them up.”

“Thank you,” I tell her as she walks away, and I turn all my attention on Juliette. “Go ahead. You know you’re dying to ask.” I inhale my cappuccino as she watches with hopeful eyes.

“I really am.” Excitement is coming off her in waves. My cousin is one of the most beautiful women in the world. A former supermodel who’s as stunningly beautiful today as she was twenty years ago. And right now, she looks like she’s a teenager trying to get her friend to spill the beans. “What is happening with you and Nixon Sinclair? Sawyer called Becket and said you two were together at the gala last week.”

“Sawyer has a big mouth for someone who wasn’t even there,” I murmur under my breath.

“Be happy the Kroydon Kronicles didn’t run with it. Then you’d have the whole town talking. So... are you going out again?”

“It was one time, and it wasn’t a real date. When am I supposed to find time to date, Jules? I’m building my career. If I’m not at the office, I’m at the hospital or at home studying charts.” I break off a piece of her pumpkin muffin and pop it into my mouth, buying myself an extra minute or two.

The excitement she had a minute ago changes. “Are you still considering applying for the gynecologic oncology fellowship?”

“I’m thinking about it,” I admit, still not sure I want to commit to a three-year fellowship at this point in my life.

“Kenzie... I worry about you, sweetheart.” She reaches across the worn whitewashed table and covers my hand with hers. “I don’t want to see you hide behind your career forever. Take it from someone who spent a decade doing exactly that.”

“I’m not hiding, Jules.” I temper my voice so she doesn’t hear my frustration. Jules and I have had this conversation before, and it rarely ends well. “I love my job. I’m proud of it, and I’m damn good. Specializing doesn’t mean I’m hiding—it means I’m helping.”

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