Page 59 of Token

Kennedy knew exactly what she meant. A white guy. Except for Nate, she’d never dated one before, and she hadn’t told Sahara about him.

Sahara peered out into the room and spotted him weaving his way through the crowd toward them. She murmured appreciatively, “But if you’re going to spread your wings, you definitely want to fly his way. He looks like he’s got the goods.”

Kennedy’s face grew warm. “Oh stop.It’s not what you think.” It was close enough to what she was thinking.

Sahara gave her the look. “How about you quit lying? You know you want his hands on a lot more places than your gorgeous ass,” she said with a knowing, impish smile.

There was no talking to her when she was in this mood.

When Nate reached them, he merely smiled and handed her another glass of champagne.

“Okay, now that your man’s back, let me run along. Duty calls. We’ll catch up later. And don’t you dare leave without coming to see me first.” Sahara departed with a swish of her skirts and more than a glimpse of a long, slim thigh.

A smile spread slowly across Nate’s face.“Your man?”he said, cocking an eyebrow. Her date seemed to be enjoying himself way too much for her liking.

“Ha ha, very funny,” Kennedy said, rolling her eyes. “That’s her idea of a joke.”

His glass was midway to his mouth when he paused and asked, “Don’t you think herjokehas a ring of truth to it?” He drank half the contents in one swallow, and the sight of his throat working was a surprisingly erotic one.

Oh shit, she was in trouble. The evening had just started and she was so tipsy that Nate swallowing was turning her on—on less than two glasses of champagne!Either she’d turned into a lightweight overnight or this man was making her crazy. He’d managed to spark a light under her libido that she didn’t know needed a spark. But if he thought flirting would make her forget the way he’d behaved earlier, he had another think coming.

“Don’t think you’re off the hook. I’m still mad at you,” she huffed.

His blue eyes widened a fraction. “Come again?”

There would be no coming once, much less again. At least, not with her.

“Aidan,” she said through clenched teeth.

“You don’t have to worry about him. He’s gone.”

“You know that’s not what I meant. I’m talking about that performance you put on for him.”

And then, because the timing gods obviously had her in their crosshairs tonight, they were interruptedagain, proving these kinds of events were not conducive to private, meaningful conversations. This time their interruption arrived in the form of Aurora accompanied by her date, the lieutenant governor’s pretty nineteen-year-old daughter.

Kennedy did her best to hide her surprise. Aurora hadn’t mentioned that Brittany Faulkner was her plus-one. Kennedy also hadn’t realized the two were that close. But then again, it made sense, considering the girl’s father had recently called trying to finagle a backstage pass to Sahara’s upcoming concert. To the teen, her favorite star’s glitzy launch party was probably ten times better. It certainly appeared that way by the gleeful look on her face.

When it was time to sit down to eat and for the fashion show to begin, Jonathan and Darrell joined them at their assigned table, thrilled to have met two of their favorite singers.

Nate, still not out of the doghouse, picked up the gorgeous Desert Queen gift bag from her chair and handed it to her. There were identical gift bags on the chairs at every table. Kennedy graciously accepted hers and peeked inside to find an assortment of perfumes, colognes, a box of Godiva chocolate, a smartwatch, and a Desert Queen five-hundred-dollar gift card.

How lovely.Her mother and sister would love the perfume and the smartwatch, and she’d give the cologne to her father and brothers. The chocolate and the gift card were hers. Closing the bag, she placed it on the floor beside her.

Nate pulled the chair out for her. As she sat, he brought his mouth close to her ear and whispered, “I’m sorry.”

Startled, Kennedy watched as he took the seat beside her. While everyone else wasoohingandaahingover their gift-bag goodies, she leaned over and whispered, “Why did you have to take the bait? I expected you to be the bigger man.”

When she saw he appeared to be struggling to prevent a smile from making an appearance, she could have kicked herself. It was a poor choice of words, but of course he’d take it like that.

“You’re not suffering from a broken heart,” she clarified. Although, after the things Aidan had said to her, she didn’t think he was either.

The only way to describe the look Nate gave her was piercing emotion simmering just under the surface. “Then what am I suffering from?”

“I didn’t say you were suffering from anything.”

Nate watched her for a beat, his expression shuttered. “What did he say to upset you?”

The table had quieted and Kennedy noticed Aurora giving her theis everything all right?look. In response, she flashed her a reassuring smile.

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