“I am happy for you, Bro, I hope you know that,” Jace said quietly once we were grabbing beers out of the fridge.
“I know you are. I am too.”
Straightening, he shut the fridge and took a step in the direction of the living room before looking back at me, his face reflecting the sincerity of his next words. “But I wasn’t lying when I said Kinlee and I love that girl in there. You hurt her again, I won’t think twice about beating the shit out of you, big brother.”
Laughing, I nodded and bumped his shoulder as I passed him. “Noted. But you won’t have to carry out that threat.”
“I better not have to.”
Looking at Kamryn talking to my sister-in-law, a calm I hadn’t felt in years settled over me, and I knew I would go through hell and back to make sure I gave that girl the forever I’d promised—the one we both deserved.
18
Kamryn
July 26, 2015
I RELAXED DEEPER into Brody’s side and smiled as we walked through the marketplace downtown almost a week later. Brody had been trying to make up for the time we’d lost in the beginning, so while I’d been working during the weekdays, he’d randomly show up at the shop just to say hi, bring me coffee, or steal a cupcake and a kiss before running errands as he tried to sell his house and everything in it. At night we’d done everything from grocery shopping to going out for coffee to going for a run together, and tonight we were on our first real date.
After a long dinner followed by a movie, we were walking through downtown Jeston looking at the shops and just enjoying being out together. We’d done everything so backward from the very beginning. These dates should have been done then, but they hadn’t been. And somehow, after all we’d been through, it made them that much more special.
Knowing we didn’t have to hide made an indescribable feeling swell inside me. Like I was happier than I’d ever been. Like I was on some high you couldn’t even get from drugs. Like I could do absolutely anything in the world . . . and like, if I stopped touching Brody, all of it would come crashing down around me in a second. This feeling made me want to scream in excitement—and then cry because all the hiding and stress was finally behind us.
“You want to do anything, or do you want to go home?”
I smiled up at Brody and tried to not roll my eyes. “I love b
eing able to be in public with you just as much as you love it,” I said, “but I kind of just want to go back home.” I kissed him quickly and skipped a step ahead of him so I could turn to face him. “I was thinking we could curl up on the couch and watch another movie, or maybe you could feed me something sweet . . .” I trailed off, and his eyebrows rose. “Maybe a shower together . . .”
He grabbed at my waist and pulled me back into his arms, his lips falling lightly onto mine. “All of the above,” he said against my mouth. “Come on, let’s go.”
Brody turned us around to walk in the opposite direction, picking up the pace as we made our way back to his SUV. The entire time we walked he whispered into my ear what he wanted to do when we got home, and by the time we got to the car I was practically running to get inside—and was almost positive we would be skipping the movie and couch time.
“Eager?” he asked, and I winked as I laughed, but the laugh stopped short when I noticed Brody’s expression fall.
“What?” When he didn’t respond, I rounded the front of his Expedition. “Brody, what is it?”
He swallowed hard and looked around us as he tore off the note that had been taped to the driver’s side window.
“What is this?”
“Get in the car, Kamryn.”
“But what—”
“Get in the car first, then we’ll talk about it.”
His tone left no room for discussion, but even still, he put his arm around my shoulders and walked me to the passenger door to let me in before going back to his side and getting in.
“What—” I cut off quickly when he handed me the paper, and I hurried to put my seat belt on when he started up the car and tore out of the parking spot and onto the street. “Jesus, Brody.”
“You know what Olivia looks like, right?”
“Uh, yeah . . .” I said uncertainly, drawing out the word like it was a question. I knew exactly what she looked like, but I didn’t understand. Flipping over the paper, my mouth fell open and I felt dizzy when I read the words.
“Have you seen her at all in the last week when we’ve been out?” Brody asked when we stopped at a light. “Kam, baby, have you?” He turned my head so I was facing him, and then pointed down at the letter. “Don’t worry about the lawyer and court bullshit. I’m not. It’s just, until I saw that, I forgot she’d been to your bakery, and I don’t trust her not to pull some stupid shit with you.”
“I haven’t seen her,” I said breathlessly.