“Kira!”
I laughed loudly and nodded. “Of course. Just dinner tonight.”
“Well, my work here is done. Have fun, you two,” she called out in a singsong voice as she walked past me and out the doors.
Kennedy was staring at her retreating figure like Kira had just betrayed her. When long seconds passed without her acknowledging that I was still standing in front of her, I cleared my throat to break the awkward tension that had formed between us.
“Just dinner. I need to—”
“I left, Liam, that’s it.” Her dark blue eyes finally landed on my face, and her head shook faintly. “There’s no reason for it other than you were a nameless stranger who I thought I would never see again . . . and I just had to go. You won’t get a different answer if you take me to dinner.”
“I’m not taking you to dinner to get an answer. You told me you couldn’t give me a reason this afternoon, I figured that would be the end of it. But there are still things I need to tell you.”
Kennedy was mid sigh when her eyes widened and her body went rigid. “Do you—oh my God, did—” She looked around us quickly and leaned closer. “Did you give me something? Do you have diseases?”
My head jerked back and I barked out a short laugh. “I’m sorry—what? No. No, I didn’t give you anything . . . I don’t have anything to give you!”
She exhaled in relief, and her body seemed to sag. “Okay, I’m sorry. I just thought—never mind.” With another glance around us, she nodded once. “We can go to dinner, and you can tell me whatever you need to. But other than seeing each other here, nothing will be happening between us, Liam. This isn’t one of those moments when we finally find each other a year after a night of—well, the night we had—and we decide that we’re meant to be.”
“You’re saying you don’t want to fall in love with me?” I asked, my tone teasing to try to ease some of the tension, but her glare hardened at the question.
“If there was such a thing as love, I’d still say no.”
I stared at her, part of me wondering why she actually looked like she believed what she just told me, the rest trying to force myself to say that I’d been joking—but nothing came out. I didn’t know what to think of her words. I knew Kira was the one with the boyfriend, but that didn’t mean Kennedy hadn’t met someone in the last year. For all I knew, she could’ve been in Vegas to get over a relationship and I’d been a rebound. But that night—our unexplainable connection—there was no way for me to have that memory of her, and then piece that together with the girl standing in front of me. The girl who looked like me showing up today had been the last thing she’d ever wanted.
I took a step away from her and toward the door. “Understood. Let’s get out of here. We can talk and then I’ll take you home.” Not waiting for her response, I turned and walked to the door, only stopping to hold it open for her. Thankfully, she had been following me rather than remaining where I’d left her.
We were seated at a little mom-and-pop Italian restaurant within fifteen minutes, and although the tension between us had been gone since we got in my car, we hadn’t said a word to each other. But unlike before, she wasn’t avoiding looking directly at me; she was now staring intently.
“So, we’re here. Talk to me,” she demanded as soon as we’d ordered.
I wanted to tell her I would after we’d finished eating, but knew I couldn’t. It wasn’t fair to her. Only problem was now that I had her in front of me, the speech I’d run through at least a dozen times in my mind suddenly didn’t seem like the right way to tell her. Nothing seemed like the right way, it all sounded wrong.
“I—well, I knew—I was asked to—”
“Whatever you need to tell me, just say it. Really, I’d rather it just be out there than sitting here trying to figure it out myself.”
I looked at her cautious and expectant expression, and exhaled roughly. “I’ve known you were here. I knew the day you interviewed with my dad.”
Kennedy nodded slowly. “I figured.” When I didn’t go on, her eyebrows rose. “Is that really all you needed to say?”
“No. No, it’s not. I’m just struggling with finding a way to tell you this without it sounding . . . how it sounds. And besides the fact that I’ve known for days that you were here, I’m still having trouble actually grasping that you are here.”
“That makes two of us,” she muttered. “Well, like I said, I’d rather it just be out there. So say it any way you can, and we’ll figure out a way for it to sound better than however it comes out.”
My mouth curved up in a smile. “I’ve known you were here since Friday, but I knew you were here a few days before. I mean, I didn’t know it was you, but I . . . knew.”
“You’re right. This is sounding bad.”
I rolled my eyes at her teasing tone, and decided to just say it rather than slowly building up to it. “I work for your uncle Eli.”
“No shit,” she breathed in disbelief, her wide eyes growing even larger.
“He’s been like a mentor to me for years, and I’ve worked for him since before I even graduated college. He called me into his office last week to tell me about you and Kira. There was another guy there, Mason—”
“Wait!” Kennedy sat up in the booth and leaned over the table. “Mason was there? My uncle Mason?”
“If it’s the guy who looks like he takes steroids, then yes.”
She stared at me for a few seconds before relaxing, but her confused expression deepened. “I’m sorry, I can sort of understand you working for Uncle Eli. I mean, it’s weird; don’t get me wrong. Way too coincidental given our past, but things like that happen, I guess. My uncles hate each other, though, I can’t imagine them in the same room to talk to you . . . especially about Kira and me.”
I laughed softly. “Yeah, the hatred was clear in the office. And trust me, you aren’t the only one who finds this weird. Eli was telling me about the two of you and how you weren’t happy you were here. They wanted someone to introduce you to people, they were hoping you’d make friends and enjoy California a little more.” Kennedy scoffed and I sent her a look showing my agreement. “I said no at first. But Eli’s never asked for anything from me, and he’s helped me through a lot. I told them my dad was looking to fill a few spots at the gym, and I would try to get you two an interview, but I still wasn’t happy about any of it.”
“I don’t blame you. We’re kind of hard to handle individually. Both at the same time? I almost feel bad for you.”
My lips spread into an amused grin, but I stopped myself from commenting on the fact that I’d handled her easily enough a year ago. “It wasn’t that. It was the way they were talking about you two. They made you seem . . . like you didn’t know how to socialize. I kept looking at it like they wanted me to babysit you.”
“Hmm. How sweet of them,” she said sarcastically.
“I was at the gym when you came in for the interview, but I’d been in my dad’s office and left when you were still interviewing. But then you came in to work, and I walked out of my office when you were both standing there with Eli in the hall. I thought I was losing my mind when I saw you. I couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that you were the niece that I was supposed to help meet people.”