Page 56 of Token

With her ex and current date acting like two cowboys facing off at a showdown at dawn, it was clear introductions were long overdue. Smiling, Kennedy performed the thankless duty. “Nate, this is Aidan Anderson. Aidan, this is Nate Vaughn, Aurora’s brother.”

Curt nods of acknowledgment and cool stares were the extent of the men’s responses. Kennedy tried to ease out of Nate’s hold, but his arm remained firm around her waist, not allowing an inch between them. It was funny because when they’d been sleeping together, he hadn’t come across as the possessive type.

“I didn’t realize you and Aurora’s brother were—so friendly,” Aidan said in a low, growly voice, his meaning unmistakable. “As a matter of fact, I got the impression you barely knew him.”

Nate’s arm contracted around her waist. Aidan had hit a nerve. He recovered quickly, exclaiming in mock disbelief, “Barely know me? Are you kidding? Nothing could be further from the truth.” He then flashed her an adoring smile. “No, Kennedy and I gowayback.”

Oh dear lord, she was in for it now.

“Now that we’ve established how well I know Kennedy, how do you know her? I’m usually good with names, but I don’t remember her ever mentioning yours,” Nate said, casually slipping the metaphorical knife between her ex’s ribs.

Aidan’s eyebrow rose, his gaze briefly meeting hers. “Then you can’t have been around much the last two years. She’s my girlfriend.” Given the sharpness of his tone, one would expect he possessed fangs instead of incisors.

“Ex-girlfriend,” she was quick to correct. “Aidan and I are not—not together anymore.”

Kennedy silently fumed at how two intelligent grown-ass men resorted to snark and innuendo at the slightest provocation. Had neither of them ever heard the sayingnever let them see you sweat? She didn’t find their passive aggression remotely appealing and resented the fact that neither appeared to care about the position they were putting her in. She didn’t wear discomfort well and it didn’t go with her outfit.

To prevent the situation from deteriorating—someone had to be the adult in the room—Kennedy sought to reduce the rising tension. “Nate has been away. A lot. In France. He only recently got back.” Good lord, she sounded like an automaton, her words stiff and disjointed.

“Yes, and now I’m back, and as you can imagine, Kennedy and I have a lot of catching up to do.”

Nate’s tone may have been cool, but his statement possessed the heat of a flamethrower’s blast. Aidan’s eyes narrowed. Nate’s arm contracted around her again, practically plastering her to his side. Kennedy worried that if she didn’t hurry and get away from him, he’d transform into an alpha dog and pee a circle around her.

Aidan’s expression darkened as he turned his attention back to Kennedy. “Don’t forget to tell him all about me, then.”

Nate made a sound in his throat, and she sensed this had just been turned into a penis-measuring contest, and as every woman knew, no man could stand to lose that.

“Kennedy, may I have a word with you...alone?” Aidan said, the sentence ostensibly a question.

Dear lord, why?She was here with Nate. She’d moved on. Why couldn’t Aidan just let it go and move on too? What was the point of dragging this out?

But what choice did she have? The last thing she wanted was a scene, and right now, Aidan was more than capable of embroiling her in one. Kennedy looked at Nate. “I’ll be right back. Why don’t you get us something to nibble on in the meantime?” she said, praying he wouldn’t give her a hard time. Having to deal with Aidan was stressful enough.

Nate’s jaw worked as if he were grinding his teeth. It took a few moments, while he faced off in a staring contest with her ex, but eventually his hold on her loosened enough for her to smoothly extricate herself and regain complete autonomy of movement. She held her near-empty glass tight in her hand.

“I’ll be back,” Nate said, his words sounding more like an ominous warning. But if she’d expected him to saunter off quietly into that good night, she could kiss that dream goodbye. Because he was who he was, he had to get the last word. Or in this case, a kiss, which he planted lightly on her lips.

Someone growled, and for a moment she didn’t know if it was her or Aidan.

It wasn’t her.

Nate was gone before she could impale his foot with her stiletto. The kiss itself, however, had been potent; the jolt it sent through her stirred up too many warring emotions. The euphoric high of coming together versus the precipitous fall back to reality of going their separate ways.

Damn.Why after all this time was it the same?

“If this is some sort of joke, I don’t find it funny,” Aidan growled the second Nate was out of earshot. “You can’t honestly expect me to believe you’re datingthat guy.” He spit the latter as if it were an expletive.

Kennedy’s back went up, suddenly unaccountably protective of Nate. “Whether I am or not is none of your business.” Then, attempting to bring the temperature of the situation down, she tagged on a gentle reminder. “We aren’t together anymore.”

Aidan gave her a pointed look and then shot a glance to the side, the equivalent of rolling his eyes. “Do you want to know how many dates I’ve been on since you turned down my proposal?”

At this point, she didn’t care to know.

“Nate is a good friend and he’s going through some things right now,” she said, annoyed at herself for offering an explanation. But she was willing to do and say anything to keep the peace. She took after thelet’s not air our personal business out in publicside of the family. Her sister, Cheryl, was a whole different story.

“Right, the poor rich white guy is being sued because his company was caught screwing over people like us. Yeah, I read all about it,” he sneered. “Then, suddenly, you’re his biggest champion. Don’t you get it, Ken? He’s using you. And you’re letting him.”

That got her back up again. And her chin, which rose perceptibly. “You don’t know anything about my relationship with Nate.”

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