Page 27 of Known By You
There. Spick and span.
And the swirling sensation left on my skin where Kenny’s warm, rough fingers had gripped my wrist? Also tucked away. Somewhere, probably not as neatly. Basically just shoved in between other stuff right along with the way my heartbeat quickened and my throat went dry at the sight of his wet hair curling at his neck and ears.
He was so boyish in one second and so… not in the next. Honestly, he was unlike anyone I’d ever met.
My book recaptured my attention by which I meant Iforced myself to read the same paragraph six times until it finally latched into my flittery little brain and the hours ticked by. I stretched, walked the room, and checked the door every half hour. It was likely overkill, but it helped me stay awake.
At three, Kenny emerged. He scrubbed at his eyes and stretched, his undershirt rising to reveal a few inches of that firm abdomen I’d glimpsed at the gym last night. I did not appreciate the stunning architecture of even this part of him and instead turned to pour him a cup of coffee.
“That for me?” he said, crowding into the kitchen and making the fairly spacious area feel, well, crowded. He didn’t seem like a large man, but that might’ve been because he was so often standing next to actual giants like Beast. Even Jack McKean had an inch on him, but Jack was known for being one of those people who was actually as tall as they said and not secretly five-foot-seven masquerading as a six-foot-three god.
I extended my hand to him, and he reached for it, taking it with the three fingers of his left.
“How did it happen?” I asked, instantly hoping it wasn’t the wrong thing.
His brow furrowed, and my stomach dropped.Crap.He hadn’t seemed all that sensitive about it, but his face…
“It was a gorgeous day. I didn’t see it coming. The deer took them right off.”
I jolted, rearing back to examine his face.
A hint of something… challenge? Mischief? glimmered in his eyes.
“A deer?”
He nodded, cupping the mug of steaming coffee with both hands, then shuddering dramatically. “I don’t like to think about it, but yes. Mistook my pinky and fourthfinger for early spring rose buds and chomped them right off.” He fluttered his lashes.
I snapped my mouth shut and shook my head. “You are odd.”
He shrugged. “Fact.”
I laughed at that, the long day pulling at my shoulders and lower back. “Okay, then. I’ll see you at seven.”
“Sweet dreams.”
After a few hours of sleep, I readied myself and packed, eager to get on the road and make it to Silverton. Weather reports showed the snow should hold off until this evening, so we should be able to get Evie and Jack settled before it hit, barring any major issues.
Jack exited his room looking every inch the movie star he was with his dark hair swooping elegantly and yet somehow haphazardly and his clothes casual but overtly more expensive than anything I’d ever owned. Curiously, his wardrobe reminded me of Cookie’s, which was odd. Saint Security paid well, but surely not A-lister movie star well.
Evie was already sitting at the bar in the kitchen chatting with Kenny. She laughed in an open, broad way I never would’ve imagined coming from her when we met yesterday, and especially not with Kenny, whom she’d innately distrusted by virtue of his male status. She’d eased in last night, but now she seemed genuinely comfortable.
He really was a remarkable person.
“I told him he’s never going to get her attention thatway,” Kenny said, beaming at Evie with an expression that held so much amusement and joy it was blinding.
“But… can’t he just talk to her?” Evie asked, clasping her hands like she was fully invested.
Kenny shook his head. “Right? Can’t he? But apparently no. For all his experience and advantages, he is an absolute chicken.”
Evie giggled. “Sounds like he just needs to take up eating donuts for a living.”
Kenny laughed. “I mean, he basically has. I’ll get you some tomorrow morning and then you’ll understand that part is not a hardship.”
Evie leaned back in her chair. “I will accept that offer.”
“Yeah? Does this mean we’re friends?”
Kenny’s voice was so full of hope, I could taste it.
