Page 8 of Kane's Fake Relationship

“Is your family here too?”

“My uncle is. I moved in with him when I got here. I used to love coming to spend summers with him when I was a girl. The city amazed me back then, and I told my mom a million times I was going to live here one day. It didn’t matter how well I prepared her, she still cried like a baby the day I left.”

“Where are you from?”

“Upstate, close to Whitewood, really. When Beckett referred me to Nick, I did some research on you all. It surprised me to learn our hometowns were so close to each other.”

“Ahhh, so that’s what you meant the night I met you. You said you knew me, but you didn’t tell me from where.”

I shook my head. “No, that’s not what I was referring to at all. I know you Kane. I’ve met a million men just like you. The ones who want to push the limits, break the rules. Men who are so consumed by themselves that they have an utter lack of self-control and they think the world should bow down to them. I heard all the stories when you three hit the scene here in the city, and I kept my distance for a reason. You and your brothers are three very good-looking men and there were subs lining up for you without proper vetting and without you all having the training you needed. It’s always been best for me to keep my distance from situations like that.”

“Wow. Okay… give me a second to process all that.”

I watched as he put his sandwich down and leaned back in the booth. “If I did the math right, I have spent maybe a total of two hours with you in my entire lifetime. Yet somehow without even knowing who I am, you’ve created this person in your mind and decided he was me. Is this common for you or should I be flattered I’m this special?”

“Be flattered,” I said with a smile.

“Well, you did say I was good looking,” he said with a wink.

“That’s what you got out of it all?”

“No. But I’d rather remember that over the rest of it. How about we start over?”

“New beginnings are bullshit.”

“I don’t want to start from the beginning,” he shifted in his seat, “Okay, maybe I’d like to redo my first interaction with you, but I’d rather just start from right now. I am not who you think I am, Trinity. Some of what you said is true, of course it is, but that’s not who I am as a person. Jack and Nick both had way more experience than I did in this world when we got here. We aren’t even in town that often, and I saw the same thing you did. A ton of people offering themselves up to me, but do you know what? I didn’t really care. I’m a Voyeur, Trinity. I like to watch. Don’t get me wrong, I like to fuck too, but watching is my thing. Most of the time I took women home, it was to watch them, not to play with them. I understand a lot more about your world than you may want to believe.”

My phone rang, making me jump. When I looked down and saw it was my mother, my heart dropped. She never called this late. I held up a finger to silence Kane and answered.

“Mama, what’s wrong?”

“Oh, nothing dear, I just had a quick question about Christmas.”

“At midnight?”

“It’s not nearly that late, is it?”

“Yes mom, you need to get some sleep.”

“I will. I just want to confirm that you aren’t bringing anyone, right? Because I met a lovely gentleman at church tonight and his son is single. I thought I’d invite them for Christmas. Maybe you two will hit it off.”

“No, mama, do not set me up with another friend from church. Do you remember what happened with Robbie?”

“Oh, you can’t blame me for that. It’s not my fault Rita didn’t tell me her boy was underage.”

“Mama, can we talk about this later? I’m out with a friend.”

“A friend? Is it a man?”

“Mom, please.”

Kane’s phone rang, and I cringed inside when my mother heard his deep voice say hello to whoever was calling him.

“It is a man! Oh Trinity, I’m so happy. Listen, tell him I’ll make whatever dessert he wants for the holiday. You’re bringing him, right? What’s his name?”

I closed my eyes as she continued asking me a million questions. Kane cursed something terrible at his brother, then hung up and she was still talking.

“Mama, I’m going to go.”

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