Page 41 of Reckless Curves
Chapter Thirteen
“You slept with him, didn’t you?”
At Stella’s question, Kendra almost dropped the bottle of wine she was pouring from. “What?”
Stella came over to lean a hip against the counter. Her eyes zeroed in on Kendra’s face. “You slept with him. Did the nasty. Knocked boots.” She pointed at her. “Don’t you try to deny it.”
Kendra laughed as she handed a glass to Stella. “You have such a way with words. So romantic.”
“You have that after sex glow.”
Kendra left the kitchen and settled on the couch. They’d spent all afternoon packing her belongings, ready for the move on Saturday. Kendra was so excited. Tom had arranged it all, and because the house was furnished, she simply needed her personal possessions.
“The look suits you.” Stella followed her, sat down on the opposite end, and tucked her feet under her. “Spill it.”
Knowing that Stella had investigative skills that would impress the FBI, Kendra figured that it was useless to lie to her best friend. “Yes, I slept with him.”
Stella squealed in delight.
“Shh! You’ll wake Connor up,” Kendra admonished her.
“Sorry.” Stella lowered her voice. “I’m just excited for you. The fact he’s managed to get you to move some place more appropriate, makes him a hero in my book. And the fact he gave you an orgasm as well… I’m warming to him.”
Kendra’s mouth dropped open, but Stella just gave her a sardonic look. Her shoulders drooped. “You’re changing your spots.”
“Mmm hmm. You haven’t been with anyone since Tom got back to town becausehe’sthe only one you’re interested in,” Stella said.
“Shut up,” Kendra grumbled, but couldn’t refute her statement.
“So, now what?” Stella asked.
“He’s my boyfriend.” Kendra sat her glass on the coffee table. “He wants to give things between us a shot and it’s all I’ve dreamed about since I first met him, but…”
Stella nudged her knee with a foot. “But?”
“If it doesn’t work, I will have my heart broken again. He might be with me just because of Connor.” Kendra got up and paced across the room. “I mean, what if we wind up hating each other? I don’t want Connor subjected to that kind of fighting. And what if we have more kids and he walks out on us…? Do you see why I’m so twisted up about this? Love. He has to love me and this is all so sudden.”
Stella’s eyes filled with sympathy. “I do, but you’re driving yourself crazy for nothing.”
Kendra threw her hands up. “Nothing? How can you say that?”
“Chill, okay? You will never know unless you try. Are you going to throw away this chance because you’re afraid to fail? You faced a greater fear. Don’t lose something good because of fear. Maybe hold off on the sex—” Stella sputtered into laughter.
Kendra glared at her.
Stella gave an apologetic little wave. “I’m sorry, but I couldn’t say that with a straight face. I know you love Tom, but don’t you dare let him know that. You want him to declare his love for you. You both need to get to know each other again. Both of you have changed so much in the past four years. In the meantime, enjoy yourself.” She pointed at Kendra. “And don’t let Marcus interfere. He has no right to. I know he means well, but he has to let go of the… he doesn’t have apron strings, so what’s an appropriate analogy? Steering wheel! He has to let go of the steering wheel and let you drive your own car of destiny. Damn, that was good. I should write that down.”
They broke into laughter and Kendra sat back down. “I think you’re right. I’ll just try to take things a little slower.”
Stella patted her knee. “Good. Well, I have to get going, but I’ll come around and help christen the new house with a bottle of the best champagne.”
“Okay.”
Kendra followed her to the door, and they hugged goodbye. While she locked up for the night, she gave the situation a lot of thought and followed Stella’s suggestion to ease into a relationship with Tom.Easy does it,she warned herself, and hoped that she could heed that mantra.
* * *
The move went well, and Connor, goodness, he was in heaven. He loved the backyard and the grass. Tom had given him a soccer ball and Connor spent most of the day outside kicking it around.
