Standing, Kelly looked down at the cats again. “I would take another one to keep her company, but I don’t think my little apartment is big enough for two cats.”
“She’ll be fine as long as she has you to play with.”
Kelly drew herself away from the cats. “We’d better get those drinks. Cassie will wonder what’s taking us so long.”
Shane led her into his kitchen and opened the refrigerator. He had left a large, wheeled plastic cooler chest waiting to be filled with the extra canned drinks Cassie had asked him to store for her. He and Kelly filled it quickly, and then he closed the cooler and fastened the latch. “That should hold everyone for the rest of the day.”
Kelly nodded and took a step toward the door. “Well, then, let’s...”
“Kelly, wait.” He stopped her with a hand on her arm. “There’s something I want to talk to you about.”
Her previously open, relaxed expression changed instantly to vague dismay. He could feel her stiffen beneath his hand, as if she were bracing herself for something. He wondered in exasperation why she was so darned skittish around him lately. Just because he had kissed her once? Had it really been that big a deal for her?
“I overheard some of what you said to Emilio in the barn,” he said. “I wasn’t deliberately eavesdropping. I didn’t realize you were having a personal conversation until it was too late.”
Her expression changed to surprise, as if she’d been expecting him to say something else. “I, um...”
When she hesitated, he continued. “What you said to him was really nice. I think it helped put him at ease.”
“He seems like a nice boy who’s had a difficult time. I hope things work out so he can stay with Lindsay and Nick.”
“Nick told me everything looks good so far. He and Lindsay want to keep Emilio until he’s eighteen and then help him get into college.”
“He’s lucky to have found them.”
“I want to ask you about something you said to Emilio.” Shane chose his words carefully, needing to clarify something that had been bothering him. “Do you really feel like an outsider with us? You told Emilio you’re always aware that you aren’t really a member of the family. Have we—has anyone in particular made you feel that way?”
Her eyes went wide. “Of course not. Everyone in this family has been incredibly kind to me since the first day I met them. Even before they knew Brynn was Miles’s daughter, they took us in and made us welcome.”
He wasn’t satisfied. “Then you didn’t mean what you said to Emilio?”
Kelly hesitated, then shrugged beneath his hand. “Sometimes, on very rare occasions,” she emphasized, “I am aware that I have no real connection to the family, neither by blood nor by marriage. It’s just an old insecurity, I guess, left over from my childhood. Don’t worry about it.”
He couldn’t let it go that easily. “Kelly, you must know that you’re as much a part of this family now as anyone. Most of the kids probably think you are a cousin, and the rest of us never even give it a thought.”
“It’s okay,” she assured him, smiling a little now, her voice soft. “I was only reassuring Emilio that I understand his feelings. I love every member of your family and I’m quite confident that they are genuinely fond of me, too. Don’t let my old baggage worry you. As much as I appreciate your concern, I’m really okay with this.”
“You’re sure?” he asked, searching her face.
“I’m sure.” Still smiling, she reached up to touch his cheek. “You can be awfully sweet, you know that?”
The gesture was impulsive, entirely natural, similar to others that had passed between them. A couple of weeks earlier, he might have given her a big, cousinly hug in response, maybe even a friendly kiss. Now he found himself hesitating.
Kelly’s eyes locked with his. Her smile faded. Her hand lingered at his cheek, as if she’d momentarily forgotten it was there.
Moving very slowly, he reached up to take her hand in his. He drew it to his lips, and brushed a kiss across her knuckles. Her heard her catch her breath, saw her pupils dilate.
“Shane,” she whispered, her voice thin.
She was so pretty. Her mouth so soft. So close. And something about the way she’d said his name just then made his knees go weak. “Kelly,” he murmured, and lowered his head, thinking he could give her a little kiss without getting carried away. Just a nice, friendly little...
His mouth settled over hers, and he was lost.
During the past week, Shane had wondered if he’d overreacted to the kiss he and Kelly had shared before. Maybe he’d only imagined that there had been something special about it. Something entirely unexpected. It hadn’t really lasted long enough for him to know whether it was different from any other kiss, he had told himsel
f.
This one lasted longer. And he knew immediately that kissing Kelly was not something he could easily dismiss as casual and comfortable.