“Ovary fucking explosion,” Dawn says.
“Right?”
“So, you going over there today?”
“That was the plan, but I don’t know. I didn’t tell him I was.”
“Do it. See how he acts. I mean, damn, Kendall. He told you he wanted you—not that it was a surprise to anyone. Hell, even Reagan said she thinks he’s interested.”
“Wait, she did? When? How did you not tell me this?”
She laughs. “The same night as your epic phone call. She did my manicure, which I wasn’t expecting, and we talked.”
“What did she say, exactly?”
“Just that she thinks her brother is into you. She wanted to see if you were seeing anyone and if I thought you were interested.”
“And you told her what?” It’s like pulling teeth to get her to talk.
“That you were available and you were interested as well.”
“Dawn! Shit. Do you think that’s what the phone call was about?”
“No, definitely not. She and I went to dinner after and we closed the place down. It was after eleven by the time we left the restaurant parking lot. You said you talked to him until a little before eleven, right?”
“Yeah.”
“See, that was all him. No outside influence, but honestly, I want to see you happy, so I hope she tells him.”
“Gah!”
“Relax. You’re interested, right?”
Hell yes! “Yeah,” I say instead. “But I can’t be a rebound. I won’t be.”
“Talk to him. He said he wanted to tell you about Knox’s mom, right? Don’t assume, Kendall.”
I study her. “What do you know?”
She shrugs. “I’m willing to plant the seed, but I’m not about pulling the damn weeds. You have to talk to him. Open up, tell him about Cal.”
“I already did,” I say, shocking her.
Her mouth drops open, but she quickly recovers. “Good. Now, you need to let him tell his story. After you’re both informed of the other’s past, you can decide together what the future holds, if anything. Just don’t push him away until you know the facts.”
I don’t reply, because there really is nothing to say. That’s exactly what I was trying to do. She knows me all too well.
“What are you going to do with all of these? If I eat them all, I’ll have to live in the gym for the next month.”
I look over at the double batch of cinnamon rolls. “I guess I’m going to see if the boys of Beckett Construction are hungry.”
“Boys?” She scoffs. “There isn’t anything boyish about any of them. Those five are all men.” She winks. “I’ll help you wrap them up so you can go get yours.”
“He’s not mine.”
“Not yet.” She smirks.
Twenty minutes later, I’m pulling into my grandparents’ driveway. The guys aren’t here yet. I grab the cinnamon rolls and the gallon of milk and paper cups I picked up on the way here. It’s a nice morning, so I set it all up on the back deck. Once it’s ready, I sit in the lounger and scroll through the texts between Ridge and me. I save the picture of him and Knox and add it to his image in my contacts. That’s what I’ll see anytime he calls or sends a message, which makes me smile.
“That smile is something to start the day with,” Ridge’s deep voice startles me.
“Hey,” I say, jumping from my seat.
He surprises me by stepping toward me and wrapping an arm around my waist, hugging me to him. This is how the rest of the guys find us.
“About fucking time, brother. I was worried you’d lost it,” Tyler says with a smile.
I expect Ridge to retaliate, but he doesn’t. Instead, he leans down and kisses my temple. If his arm weren’t holding me up, I would’ve melted into a puddle of goo right here on the back deck.
“What’s all this?” Seth asks.
“I, um . . . I couldn’t sleep, so I made cinnamon rolls. This is more than Dawn and I could eat, so I thought you all might enjoy them.”
“You good?” Kent asks Ridge, who just looks at him in question. “Because if you’re not, I’m fucking calling dibs, my man.”
Ridge’s grip on my waist tightens. “Mine” is all he says, but the guys seem to understand what that means. Mark, Tyler and Seth are grinning, while Kent looks a little amused and possibly disappointed.
“Thank you,” Ridge says, his lips next to my ear.
He holds on to me as long as he can, but I’m set on putting distance between us, eventually stepping out of arm’s reach.
Mine. I assume he means me, but we’re not really to that point . . . are we? I mean, we just started talking, and I really need to know about Knox’s mom before I let myself get any further invested. I need to know that what he says is true, that I’m not just a rebound.
I really hope I’m not.
Chapter 25
Ridge
When we pulled in and I saw her car parked in the driveway, I knew. I knew in that moment that she was with me in this. When I spotted her on the back deck, I just had to touch her. It’s a new need for me. Yes, need. Yes, I wanted to touch her, but the need to do so was what pushed me to wrap my arms around her, witnesses be damned.
I watch her as she talks to the guys. Kent made me show my hand, but that’s fine; I was going to anyway. The more I talk to her, touch her, spend time with her, the more the need grows. I don’t understand it; it’s fast, and it’s . . . not normal. I’ve had so many changes in the last month, that I’m just rolling with this. Dad always said, “Trust your gut, son. When you find her, it’ll let you know. Don’t fight it; it’ll just make you both miserable.” That was part of his speech on my sixteenth birthday. That, along with wrapping it up no matter what. My son is proof that even when you do, things can happen.
“I should get going or I’m going to be late for work.”
I watch as she starts to clean up after us. “We’ll get that, Kendall,” Seth tells her. “That’s the least we can do.”
“I’ll walk you out,” I say, holding my hand out for hers. She only hesitates for a few seconds before linking her fingers through mine. She waves over her shoulder at the guys as I lead her back into the house then out to her car.
“Thank you for that.”
“Like I said, I couldn’t sleep, and Dawn was cussing about having to spend the next month in the gym.” She laughs.
She stops and leans against the side of her car. I stand in front of her, moving closer, removing the distance between us. I cup her face in my hand and run my thumb over her bottom lip, just like before. “I’m glad I got to see you.”
“Me too.” She blushes.
This girl. Sweet as hell. “When do you think I might get to do that again?”
She shrugs. “Not sure. I have plans with my parents’ this weekend. They’ve been gone for two weeks.”
“Can I call you, at least?”
“I’d like that.” She smiles up at me. I know she has to get to work, but I need just one more second with her. Every second counts—at least with her. I drop my hand and pull her into a hug, breathing her in. She melts into my hold. Perfect.
Reluctantly, I pull away, even though I could stand here all day. I’ll analyze that thought later. Instead, I block the feelings she evokes in me and kiss her forehead. “Have a great day, sweet girl.”
She surprises me when she stands on tiptoes and kisses my cheek. “You too,” she says softly. I step back, reaching around to open the door for her. I wait until she’s strapped in before shutting the door, watching her pull out of the drive until I can no longer see her. It’s my ringing cell phone that finally breaks my trance.
Tyler.
“Yeah,” I say, turning to go into the house.
“Just want to make sure you weren’t running off into the sunset,” he jokes.
“Not yet, man, not yet.”
“Wow, okay. Not the answer I expected.” I can hear the others in the background wanting to know what I said.
“Get to work.” I laugh. How can I not? Life has a way of shaking things up until you feel like you can’t breathe, but then it settles into a calm where it feels like all that pain brought you to this point. Maybe it’s Melissa—hell, I don’t know if I even believe in all of that—but I know this is coming fast and hard, and for some reason, I don’t want to stop it. I want it, all of it . . . all of her. I want to see where this unexpected reality leads me this time. I’ve lived it the last month. It gave me my son, and I wouldn’t change that for anything. Maybe, just maybe, it will give me Kendall as well.