Page 31 of Falling For The Enemy (The Gilbert Curse)

Elle flushed. “Yes. I was trying to be professional and all and just help you get your memories back.”

Rory shifted on the couch and hugged the other woman. “I know you were but there was something between the two of you. Something that I saw before you two did.”

“Well, I’m glad you did,” Elle said, hugging her back. “But enough about me. What’s up with you and Kit?”

Rory tried not to flush when she thought about what it had been like to make love with him on his couch. She’d felt different since he’d left and she’d gone back home. Awake but in a different way than she’d been before.

“Wow. That good?” Indy asked with a soft smile. “I saw you two drive by the shop earlier today.”

“He took me for a driving lesson,” she said.

“Oh, is that all?” Indy teased. “I mean you’re blushing pretty hard for someone who just learned how to steer and brake.”

“Not just driving,” she said. “I think I’m falling for him.”

“Really?” Elle asked, her eyes widening.

Rory thought she heard a note of concern in her friend’s voice. “Why? Is it too soon?”

“There’s no clock on emotions,” Indy said. “I mean with Con... I think I fell the first time I saw him on the promo for his show. I mean I got hot all over when he looked into the camera and the voiceover guy asked, ‘Who is willing to challenge the beast?’”

“Hot and bothered isn’t falling,” Elle pointed out. “Is it lust, Rory? You’re not on the pill—”

“Elle, be my sister, not my doctor,” Rory said. “And yes, it’s lust but it’s also so much more. He just sees me. Not someone who’s been in a coma for ten years like Dash, Con and you two do. Or that freaky Gilbert girl like the town does. And through his eyes, I’m starting to see who I want to be.”

“Sorry, Rory, just looking out for you. I’m glad he sees you. Just make sure you keep being Rory and not Kit’s version of Rory,” Elle murmured.

Rory smiled at Elle, knowing the other woman had her best interests at heart. “I will.” She turned to Indy. “So how’s Con...?”

Indy chewed her lower lip and then rolled her eyes. “A diva as always. Ever since we decided to share a studio and build it here in Gilbert Corners, I’ve been seeing another side to the man.”

Rory let the conversation flow around her as the other women talked about the two men who’d always been so influential in her life. But she was only half listening. She knew that Elle was just being protective, sort of like Dash was, but the other woman had raised some concerns for her.

She knew she’d been struggling to find herself since she’d woken, and moving out on her own had been step one. If that escort/life coach she’d hired had shown up...would she even have met Kit? Had she poured herself into being what he wanted because she didn’t want to be alone?

She hoped not. But how could she know for sure?

They chatted for a bit longer and then a push notification from the Gilbert Corners Chamber of Commerce came through announcing the clues for the speakeasy for that night. They were going Goth since Halloween was just around the corner and were having a My Chemical Romance tribute band.

They were one of her favorite bands, and after tonight’s thoughts about being Rory or Kit’s version of Rory, she wanted a chance to test herself. She messaged Kit to remind him about their upcoming date. He texted back that he couldn’t wait.

Goth night sounded like just what he needed. All those angsty emotions he’d outgrown during his twenties were back swirling around inside. Kit pulled on his black jeans and old black biker boots, black tee and his favorite leather jacket. He put on kohl eyeliner that he’d picked up earlier and realized when he looked in the mirror that he missed this part of his life. Back before tragedy hit his family hard, leaving him with nothing but emptiness.

Aunt Mal tried, but his father and brother and he had been a tight threesome before Declan’s death. She couldn’t fill the gap that his drunk father and dead brother had left.

Pushing all of that back into the past, he locked his door and walked down to Rory’s house. He was going to pretend he was just Kit and she was just Rory. She was the woman he’d made love to that very afternoon and he hoped to do it again soon. He wanted more with her and that had nothing to do with her being a Gilbert.

He knocked on her door, and when she opened it, his heartbeat pounded in his ears. She had on dark eyeliner, too. Her lips were bright red and she’d twisted her blond hair into two ponytails that she’d colored the ends of black. His eyes drifted over her appreciatively. She wore a pair of tight leather pants and a black see-through blouse with a black bra underneath.

He got hard just looking at her. He loved it. Loved the fact that everything between them felt new and fresh. None of the past obligation or responsibility he had to his family could get in his way. The more they connected, the more Kit treasured getting to know who Rory was without the Gilbert name.

She cocked her head to the side. “I like this side of you,” she said.

“Same. Are you ready to go?” he asked.

“In a rush?”

“Not really, but I can’t help noticing you put a bench in your hallway and now I’m thinking about what we can do there,” he said with a smirk.

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