Page 21 of Until Kendal

My heart beat faster, but then I turned and saw Joel had finished his ice cream and had pulled out his credit card to pay the bill.

I finished mine and said, “That wasn’t long.”

The waitress left, but he reached for my hand. “No. Maman has never embarrassed me like my other brothers all complained.”

I was protective of my mom, but I thought having their parents embarrass them was a teenage rite of passage.

I raised my eyebrow. “Really? Never?”

His lips curved higher, and he nodded. “I was fourteen when I came to her house. As I never had a mom before, I liked having someone care how I dressed or go to parent-teacher conferences for me. However, I don’t need her to sell me to you.”

“She just wants you happy.” Loneliness struck me with a nudge that Joel might have felt that too. I’d been that for a long time, always watching my back.

Joel was so open, I wasn’t sure how to respond, but I asked in a whisper, “What happened to your birth mom?”

He lowered his head. “She died when I was young. My sister raised me for a while, though she was only four years older than me, but when she died, I had no one.”

I swallowed, wishing I could take away his pain. We were so different, but somehow, for a second, we were together. And it was enough. I whispered, “I’m so sorry.”

He put away his card and shrugged. “It’s life.” Then he reached for my hand. “So lets’ get out of here.”

Bubbles grew inside me, and it had nothing to do with champagne. “What’s next?”

As we walked outside, he said, “You said to keep it real, so I hope you like my next idea.”

“Lead the way,” I said.

There was no waiting limo, so I wondered how to fulfill that promise I’d made. Real wasn’t exactly Joel’s style.

ChapterThirteen

Joel

The moment we stepped into the bar, where a band was playing old country songs I hadn’t heard in years, my muscles tensed. This might have been a mistake. I wanted to grab Kendal’s arm and head right to the door.

However, she put her hand on her hip, and her eyes were wide as she glanced around the Nashville five-star country bar. I swallowed and squared my shoulders.

As we were going in, I said, “Dessert wasn’t enough, and I figured a country bar worked.”

"This is still on the fancy side," Kendal said as the waitress showed us to our seats.

I pressed my hand on my heart in mock hurt. “So I failed?”

She cupped my face and shook her head. “I doubt you know how.”

As we neared the table, another man tapped her shoulder. “Hey, sugar, want to dance?”

For a second, my heart thundered. My fists curled like I might hit someone else. I’d never been jealous in my life, but I wrapped my arms around her and said, “She’s with me.”

The other guy left. We found our seats and ordered snacks for the table.

Holding her was probably a mistake. I let her go then she bounced. “Are you taking me on the dance floor?”

I’d wanted to show her I was interested in more than a few days with her at my side, as tonight, she was magical. But now, I took a deep breath and said, “Sure, if you want.”

She took my hand, and we headed to the dance floor instead of our table.

“I'd hoped meeting my maman would let you lighten up with me.”

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