Page 149 of Your Last First Kiss
I watch Kai’s eyes go horribly wide right before he slams the box of condoms into my chest.
“H—Hi, Lilly,” he says, stepping around me.
Keeping the condoms at my back, I turn to see who he’s talking to.
A pretty girl with bright blue eyes and auburn hair is smiling up at Kai like he’s her hero, and something in me settles as I watch them.
Kai has had a hard few years, but I know in my heart he’s going to be just fine.
“Dillon, this is Lilly. Lilly Reid. Lilly this is, he’s my, he’s ah, this…”
What to call me is still something we’re working on, so I interrupt and introduce myself.
“I’m Dillon Henry. It’s nice to meet you, Lilly.”
“You too. Wow, Kai,” she says looking from him to me. “You look just like your dad.” Kai tenses next to me. I know there are still times he worries people will think he’s like Eddy, but she puts that idea to rest with her next words. “I mean, look at you two. You even have the same messy hair.”
“Lilly?” A low growl comes from the end of the aisle as Grady stalks toward us.
“Grady,” I say in greeting, and the connection hits me. “Is this your daughter?”
Grady’s lips press into a thin line before speaking. “No, she’s my baby sister. She was in boarding school in Maine until a few months ago.”
“Lilly goes to school in Hope Hollow now,” Kai says quietly.
I watch Grady’s eyes as he scans the shelves behind us and narrows his eyes. “Nope,” he says gruffly. “Nope, not gonna happen. Lil, we’ve got to go.” He grabs the girl by the arm and starts to drag her away.
I chuckle until I realize that might be me in ten years, and then I think I might be sick.
“I’ll see you soon,” she calls from under her brother’s arm.
When they’re out of earshot, I lean into Kai’s space. “That’s who you’re going to prom with?”
He nods, unblinking, as he stares down the empty aisle.
Now I do laugh and clap him on the shoulder. “Good luck with Grady. Let’s get these and get out of here.”
His face goes a shade whiter, and I take pity on him. “I’ll carry them to the register.”
Kai walks away like his pants are on fire.
* * *
We reachmy SUV and climb in. I turn on the ignition, but I don’t back out of the lot because something’s bothering me.
“Hey, Kai?”
He turns a weary expression my way.
“You wanna talk about what happened in there?”
Kai blinks and faces the windshield with a shrug.
“That’s not the first time you’ve had trouble introducing me,” I gently press.
Another shrug. “I just don’t know what to say. You’re doing all the dad things, and Dad is, well, he’s where he is.”
Eddy’s trial ended three months ago and now he’s serving a ten-year prison sentence.
