Page 17 of Kennedy

I didn’t expect the flowers. No one ever gets me flowers.

Kennedy frowned.Why not?

Probably because I own a flower shop. Usually I get chocolate, which is fine because I love chocolate, but I always end up eating the entire thing in one sitting.

Kennedy snickered. He could see his mate doing that.I can buy you chocolate, too, he offered.

How about you come to the coffee shop and get me coffee instead?

I can do that. Now?

Unless you have something better to do.

Kennedy didn’t. He got to his feet, startling Jamison, who finally shut up. Kennedy liked mindless TV as much as anyone, but he really didn’t care about the twentieth season of a medical drama he’d never watched. “I have to go.”

Jamison frowned. “I wasn’t done telling you what happened in last night’s episode.”

“Jamie, I love you, but I don’t care what happened to these people. They’re not real.”

Jamison scowled. “So? It doesn’t mean it’s not entertaining.”

“I’m not saying it’s not, but I have a mate waiting for me at the coffee shop, and he’s a lot more interesting than fake doctors.”

Jamison waved Kennedy away. “Yeah, I get that. Go and be with your mate. My TV show isn’t going anywhere, and I can tell you all about the new episode when I see you again.”

Kennedy hoped he’d forget that promise, but he wouldn’t bet on it. When it came to the stuff he was interested in, Jamison’s memory was great. He could quote entire scenes, which usually amused Kennedy, but not today.

He texted his mate to tell him he was coming and rushed out of the facility. He was lucky that he wasn’t working anymore, but part of him was also worried. He needed to stay in town if he wanted to be close to Lewis, but Bennett hadn’t offered him another job yet. Maybe he could quit working for the council entirely and find something different. He didn’t have skills that would translate well, but he wasn’t ready for retirement, either.

That was something to mention to Lewis later. They should make this kind of big decision together, or at the very least, they had to know about the need to make them. They were in each other’s lives now. They had to act like it. It would take some adjustment, but Kennedy was positive they could make it work.

He wouldn’t have it any other way.

Kennedy didn’t exactly rush on the way to the coffee shop, but he didn’t quite stay under the speed limit, either. He was eager to see his mate, and there was a bounce in his step when he left his car in the parking lot and entered the coffee shop. He looked around, hoping that Lewis was already there, grinning when he saw him waiting at the same table where they’d first spoken.

It was hard to believe it had only been a few days. Kennedy realized that he barely knew Lewis, but at the same time, Lewis felt familiar. The bond was pulling them together, and Kennedy was eager to follow its silent order. He didn’t want to rush Lewis into anything he wasn’t ready for, though, so he kept an eye on him as he ordered a coffee.

Lewis looked nervous. He hadn’t noticed Kennedy yet, and he was bouncing his knee and kept glancing at his phone. It was almost as if he expected Kennedy to call and tell him he’d changed his mind. Kennedy wasn’t sure what had happened to him that made him feel like he wasn’t important, but whatever it was, it was in the past. Kennedy would make sure that Lewis knew he was the most important person in his life from now on. Even if he didn’t matter to anyone else, he would always matter to Kennedy.

“Hi,” Kennedy said as he slid into the seat in front of Lewis’s, coffee in hand.

Lewis jumped a bit and smiled. It was hesitant, but it was there.

“Hi. You got here fast. I hope I didn’t bother you at work.”

“I wouldn’t have come if I’d been busy, but I wasn’t.” Kennedy took a sip of his coffee. “We’re just waiting to see what happens next. I should probably start looking for another job, but I’m still hoping that Bennett will have something for me in town.”

Lewis frowned. “You might have to leave?”

“Not if I have anything to say about it. I know you can’t leave the shop, and I can’t leave you.”

Lewis’s jaw dropped open. He looked stunned, as if he hadn’t expected Kennedy to want to stay for him. “I could open a new shop somewhere else,” he offered hesitantly.

“You won’t have to. I’m not going anywhere, and neither are you.”

Lewis stared at Kennedy for a moment as if trying to read him. He nodded once, and while Kennedy was curious to know what he’d decided, he didn’t ask. If Lewis wanted him to know, he’d tell him.

“Thank you for the flowers,” Lewis said instead.

---