Page 44 of Seaside Cowboy's Marriage of Convenience

His gaze moved to Rachel. She appeared engrossed in her phone, but she must be paying close attention to everything around her. She discreetly glanced at the person in the cap before refocusing on her phone. Austin relaxed a bit. Rachel was aware of her surroundings.

“Do you think that person in the cap might’ve followed us?” Kennedy whispered. Apparently, so was Kennedy.

“I don’t know.” He wanted to be the one to protect Kennedy. But he knew when to admit he was out of his depth. “I trust Rachel to figure it out.”

Kennedy’s hand moved to her phone on the table, but she didn’t touch it. Instead, she brought the tiny cup to her lips. Plump, kissable lips covered in pink lip gloss that smelled faintly of vanilla... Heat crept up his neck, and it wasn’t from the ridiculously small amount of coffee he’d drunk. Yes, he’d much rather drink her lips. His pulse skyrocketed just from the thought.

He didn’t want to push her, and so far, despite them being married, he sensed an invisible wall between them. He couldn’t complain. He knew she was a recluse before he’d married her.

Being around her and not being able to touch her, to kiss her was a sweet torture. Would she ever let him inside her mysterious soul? Now he could understand Kai, who’d hidden his feelings for Marina while they’d just been friends. Austin’s hand moved toward Kennedy’s, but he stopped himself halfway.

Better find a neutral topic. “Do you miss your job?”

She probably itched to check her work emails. The waiter brought two more cups of coffee, and Austin drained his immediately.

“I do. But I’ve learned a valuable lesson.” Her gaze met and held his, igniting a fire in his blood. “The company won’t collapse without me. The hotels are still standing.”

“That’s a good thing, right?” he asked carefully as he devoured his airy, sweet éclair.

He sensed her need to be needed, though without letting anyone into her personal space that was a delicate balance. He had no clue how to walk that tightrope. Everyone in his family spoke their minds, but he could read cats’ minds easier than Kennedy’s.

Then, that could be part of the attraction.

A light breeze threw strands of honey-blonde hair into her face, and before he could stop himself, he reached out and tucked it behind her ear. Her eyes widened, but she didn’t move away. His fingers lingered on her skin, the soft contact sending a jolt straight to his heart. He traced her cheek’s delicate outline, lingering on the tiny birthmark, his heart beating faster. But then she shifted back.

Disappointment cut through him, and he edged back, as well. He couldn’t be mistaken about the attraction in her eyes. But he had to be patient with her, which was difficult for a man falling in love.

Lord, please give me patience.

“Yes, that’s a good thing.” But she didn’t sound persuaded. She finished her éclair absentmindedly. “I have good managers and an excellent executive assistant. That’s why I hired them. But maybe I was micromanaging them?”

“That’s understandable. You want your family business to do well.” He beckoned the waiter over and requested a large glass of tea, though he suspected his and the café’s definition of large wasn’t the same.

Kennedy shook her head when he asked if she wanted anything else. She waited until the waiter left before speaking again.

“Not just that. I want to make my uncle proud.” She slumped against the back of her chair.

“That’s admirable.” Everyone in Port Sunshine knew she’d greatly expanded her parents’ business and helped her uncle expand his. She was a brilliant businesswoman, and Austin was still in awe that such a woman was his wife.

The waiter arrived with his drink. Yep, the local definition of large was much smaller than his own. Austin thanked the waiter, and the guy disappeared into the café.

“Well, I partly wanted to make my uncle proud because I owed him—you see, I sort of stole his daughter’s place,” she whispered.

He winced, his gut wrenching, and he nearly jumped to hug her. But would she accept that contact? He settled for reaching out for her hand, and even then, he hoped he wasn’t breaking some invisible boundary.

Yet he couldn’t just sit there and let her suffer. “You know that’s not true. It’s not your fault she went missing.” Now he better understood her drive behind trying to find Zoey. More than the love he’d thought propelled that urge. Misplaced feelings of guilt also goaded her.

Her gray eyes darkened like a proverbial ocean in tempest. “You don’t know everything. It was my fault. It was all my fault. And, well, if she hadn’t disappeared, she could’ve done things better than I did. First, I lived in the shadow of my gorgeous socialite mother. Then in the shadow of my adorable, sweet cousin.” She pulled back her shoulders. “I don’t want to live in the shadows anymore.”

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