Page 66 of Seaside Cowboy's Marriage of Convenience

“Yes. I have some... some suspicions.” Her eyes darkened to the shade of the ocean before a tempest. “It concerns my parents’ story.”

Chapter Seventeen

TWO WEEKS LATER...

Kennedy rushed the dogs into her car. She managed to get Smiley in, who was the more reasonable—or maybe the better trained—of the two, but the playful puppy slipped away in the garage.

“Oh no you don’t!” Kennedy closed the car door after Smiley and chased down the puppy, who let out a loud squeal.

“Got ya!” She picked up the little one, carried the wiggling pet, and placed her in the car. Then she slid into the driver’s seat and took off out of the garage and along the ocean embankment where the beauty never ceased to amaze her. “We’re not going to the vet clinic for shots. Well, at least not today. I promise.”

Austin had asked her to help at the clinic before closing today, so she’d taken a couple of hours off. She’d stopped staying behind at the office, spending every evening with him instead.

They’d moved into his ranch house. Apparently, he didn’t like her house much and had only moved in with her to make her happy. She’d found she was ready for a change and a different place, and his home seemed cozier and more welcoming than her own. Maybe the reason she’d had her house designed and furnished that way was to have something as far away from the classic opulence of her unhappy childhood home as possible.

Kennedy was also glad to be just around the corner from Austin’s mother’s large ranch house where her uncle and her best friend seemed to be spending a lot of time these days. It was like all her favorite people were in one place now, and she was thrilled to be in that vicinity.

Oh, and she’d converted her oceanfront property into a rental that already had lots of interest. Her business mind wouldn’t just let it sit there.

Nowadays, Austin met her at the door together with pets every day, the delicious scents of something cooking behind him, and the dogs were her faithful companions.

As if understanding her, the pets quieted in the back seat.

Austin also said he had a surprise for her. Her heart skipped a beat. What could that be?

One thing he hadn’t said was that he loved her. Her fingers tightened around the steering wheel. He’d been showing he cared about her. After the fateful day when she’d nearly been poisoned, he’d prepared candlelit dinners, taken her on romantic beach walks, and danced with her to beautiful country music every evening. He’d showered her with compliments, and every morning started with breakfast in bed. She lived the newlywed dream, and then some.

But she’d told him she loved him in the text message that day, and he hadn’t said those words back. She’d longed for them—passionately.

Her hands-free phone rang, and she glanced at the screen, ready to tell Austin she was on her way. Hopefully, the call meant he couldn’t wait to see her. Her spirits lifted.

But the screen showed Marina’s name.

Kennedy stopped at the red light and hid her disappointment as she answered. “Hello, Marina.”

“Hi. I’ve got some news. You can probably guess what it is. But first, are yousureyou want me to defend Mrs. Dixon?”

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