In a week, Kendall was going to start filming, and my opinion hadn’t changed. Photos of her would drop in the media, and her following would double every day, her popularity soaring.No matter how I feel about her, I don’t need that kind of ride.And that was what I repeated in my head when I woke up the next morning, her face nuzzled against my chest while she slept.Damn it, she was gorgeous at this hour.Her makeup had long worn off, her locks untamed and wild. The tiny freckles on the highest part of her cheeks unhidden. I was just running my fingers through her hair when her eyes fluttered awake.“Mmm,” she groaned. “Hi.”“Good morning.”She pulled the blanket up to her neck, covering the body I’d been admiring.“Did you sleep well?” I asked.“Too good. What time is it?” She leaned over me, checking the clock on my nightstand. “Nine thirty. Wow, I can’t believe I slept this late. I’m usually up so early.”I traced her face, her skin so incredibly soft. “I think that’s my fault. I
“My answer to that question is always yes.”The app on her phone told me we were only a few minutes from her place. “I know you just moved in. Do you have food in your apartment?”“I haven’t been grocery shopping yet.” She laughed. “But ask me if I have tequila and wine because, of course, I have plenty of both.”“Priorities.”She lifted her cup out of the holder. “And coffee—I couldn’t survive without it.”“What are you craving?”“Pancakes.” Her stomach made a noise again, and she patted it. “I stumbled upon this little restaurant the other day that’s about a block away. They have the world’s best pancakes.”“Let’s go.”“Now?”I slowed as the light turned red. “Why not?”“I suppose I could delay my unpacking for an hour or so.” She glanced down at her lap. “But I can’t go like this. I have to change; I look like a walk of shame.”“We’ll fix that.” Her building came into view, and I pulled over, parking a few spots from the entrance. “Do you want to go up and change, and when you come
“Have you always worked with Brett?”“We went to law school together.”My brows rose, as I was surprised to hear this. “He’s an attorney?”“That’s what makes him such a good agent. He understands the legal parameters, which most agents don’t. You combine that with his fearlessness, and he’s unstoppable. That man isn’t afraid of a fucking thing.”“Are you?”He laughed again, the sound completely different this time. “Not when it comes to work. I blast right through every boundary in my way, and I believe everything should test me, so challenges are more like games.” A small smile was now on his lips. “Most would probably say I fear personal commitments.”My heart clutched, as I knew this was about to get interesting.“Because you’ve been hurt?”“Do you think I’d let that happen?” He paused to take another drink. “When I was growing up, my parents didn’t chat about the weather at the dinner table; they talked about the nastiness brewing between the husbands or wives and their clients, t
How could he have this endless faith in me but so easily let me go?How could he hold my face and hand, moments that weren’t sexual at all, but only want to fuck me?How did he not yearn for more time, smiles, laughter, mornings where I woke up in his arms?“Breakfast is served,” the waitress said, tearing me from my thoughts as she set our plates in front of us, the stack of pancakes so large that I’d never finish them. “Let me grab the coffee, and I’ll top off your mugs. Can I get you anything else?”I didn’t want to release Dominick’s stare, but I forced myself to take a quick scan of the table, noticing the extra napkins she had brought and the full carafe of creamer and that we had plenty of butter and syrup.“I think we’re good,” I told her.“Great. Enjoy.”I rested my fork on the side of my plate, watching Dominick cut into his first bite. “I have to witness this. My heart is telling me those pancakes are about to blow your mind.”He chuckled. “Don’t get your hopes up. Like I t
I knew my lips were smiling. “I see her a lot. I even babysit sometimes.”“Where’s her mom?”I took a deep breath. “That’s a complicated story.”She set her fork down and leaned into the edge of the table. “Keep talking about Everly. I like this side of you.”I laughed. “Listen, I’m not even close to being ready for kids, but she’s a hell of a lot of fun to have around. When Ford travels for work and his nanny is tied up, she usually stays with me.” I thought of our last sleepover and how we had stayed up until eleven, making sundaes, hours past her bedtime. “Uncle D—that’s what she calls me, and she crashes in my bed because there are monsters in my guest room.”“Naturally.”“When she wakes up, she has hair like yours, all wild and wavy.” I put my hand over my mouth as I chuckled again. “She has me put it into these side ponytails—I don’t know what they’re called.”“Pigtails?”“Yeah, that’s it.” I shook my head as I recalled our last morning together, how the goddamn elastics hadn’t
I held her gaze, flipping back through all the years I could remember in detail. “You’re the most interesting woman I’ve ever met, Kendall.”“That’s the best compliment you’ve ever given me—and lately, you’ve given me a lot.” She dug through the side of a pancake until she found what she wanted—what I assumed was the lemon curd—and surrounded her lips over the tines. “I definitely don’t want to be ordinary or trite. Most of all, I don’t want to be expected.”I exhaled. “You’re far from that.”When she set her fork down this time, I could tell how happy my response had made her.Before I could add to it, the waitress was back. “Can I get you anything else?”Kendall looked at me, and when I shook my head, she said, “Just the check, please.”The waitress went to drop the billfold on our table, and Kendall snatched it before it even hit the wood.“My treat.” She reached inside her tank top, removing a credit card that had been tucked in her bra.I held out my hand. “No.” When she didn’t b
She had clearly found someone to replace me. I was happy for her; she needed an assistant, and I obviously couldn’t be that person. But what my trained eyes saw were videos that were extremely choppy, the cuts not matching, the quality poor. The pictures hadn’t been taken in good lighting, and the digital mastering hadn’t been smoothed out; it appeared like she was trying to hide her imperfections and had done a shitty job.I returned to the post from a few hours ago.The one that was so unnecessary, so callous and self-serving.“Someone’s going for the sympathy vote, huh?”I sighed. “Yep.”“Should I tell that honey babe that jealousy isn’t a good look on anyone?”My hands began to shake, my stomach churning.“Do you think everyone knows she’s talking about me—but not really talking about me because we both know I didn’t stab her anywhere, especially not in the back? I mean, my God.”“I think her stalkers do, but that’s it.”I felt my eyes widen. “What does that mean?”“You just lande
EighteenDominick“Are you alive?” Brett asked as I answered his call. “Or half-dead, like me?”I rubbed my temples, staring at the coffee on my desk, wishing it were already down my throat and that the Tylenol had kicked in, this headache relentlessly throbbing. “What the fuck happened last night? I remember dinner and going to the bar. After about our third shot of whiskey, my memory becomes very hazy.”“That’s because we finished that bottle.” He sighed. “According to the receipt I’m holding, we polished off a bottle of vodka too.”“Between the three of us?”“I believe Ford showed up at some point, but I’m not entirely sure about that. I could have dreamed it.”“Fuck me.”He laughed. “How’s Jenner feeling?”I’d passed him about twenty minutes ago on the way to my office, his skin as white as the shirt he’d paired with his suit. “Same as us. I think he’s flying out in a couple hours—can you even fucking imagine? My head is turbulent enough right now. I certainly don’t need to be in