Page 79 of Defending her Heart

“Guess you don’t want to know what I know then.”

“For fuck’s sake, Bankes. You’re gonna get your ass kicked if you don’t just come out with whatever the fuck your wife sent you here to tell me or ask me.”

Finally, he pushes his bowl aside and rests his elbows on the table. “Riley’s worried about Kendall. She was hurt pretty bad by a shitty ex and has trust issues.”

She alluded to as much, hence our friends with benefits relationship. “I know.”

Bankes’s brow lifts again. “Do you?”

“A little.” Not enough.

“This arrangement you two have.” Fuck. So he knows. I don’t want anyone to think less of Kendall because of it. “You good keeping things status quo or...?”

I tip my chin up. “Or.” Not a question. A statement.

He holds out his fist across the table and I stare at it. “Dude. You want my help getting your girl?”

Christ. I’d love to tell him to fuck off.

“Jackass.” I bump his fist.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

KENDALL

I’m on my lunch break when my cell phone vibrates with an incoming text. I swipe open my messages and bite my lower lip when I see Nash’s name.

NASH POTATO: If you don’t already have plans tonight, can you come over around six?

Like the lame ass I am, I don’t have plans on a Friday night. Before two of my three best friends were married, I’d be pulling them out to a club or planning some other event. Rowan would join us if she wasn’t working. Riley and Jackson were always a sure thing for a night out.

Now it’s just me, myself, and I, because more often than not, Rowan has a shift or she’s sleeping because she just worked a twelve-hour or because she has an early morning shift.

I read the text again. Six o’clock is early. Paisley will still be up. Unless she’ll be with her grandparents, which means Nash and I would have the house to ourselves and I wouldn’t have to restrain myself. I still don’t know what I want to do about my growing feelings or my ongoing trust issues.

The tingling sensation between my legs is my answer. Even if I can’t trust myself, I’m still a woman with needs, and Nash is a man who can deliver.

He’s the only man I want to deliver.

I squeeze my thighs together and respond.

ME: Sure. Can I bring anything?

He responds instantly.

NASH POTATO: You’re all I need.

Well, hell if that doesn’t ruin my underwear.

At the end of the day when Joe and Beth pick up Paisley, I’m tempted to ask them about their weekend plans, but I chickenout and distract myself by putting my classroom together instead of making conversation.

Needing an outlet for my nerves, I pop into an afternoon Pilates class, then take my time showering and shaving at home. Mom and Dani assume I’m hanging out with the girls again, which is fine by me.

At two minutes to six, I pull into Nash’s driveway. I sit in my car until Shinedown finishes their song and I mentally suit up my armor. I’ll flirt, tell him my period is over, we’ll have sex, and I’ll leave.

Easy peasy.

I leave the comfort of my car and wrap my arms around my middle to ward off the bitter chill in the air. When I reach the door, I press the doorbell with my gloved finger and bounce on the balls of my feet to get warm.

---