Good Girl Gone Plaid(71)

“I hope not. But I hope you’re not implying that you’d be better off having been—”

“Of course I wouldn’t be better off, I’d be a mess.” She gave a harsh laugh. “Hell, I’m still a bit of a mess. But maybe if I’d had more physical bruises, if somehow it were clearer what had been happening—”

“You’re blaming the victim, and if it wasn’t yourself you’d be agreeing with me. You had the cards stacked against you, Kenzie. This guy probably found a way to buy that jury. Or they were too blinded by who his dad was.”

Kenzie gave a small, sad shake of her head. “It doesn’t matter anymore. Really. I only told you so you’d know why Ian went to prison. I’m surprised he didn’t tell you.”

“No, he didn’t.” But then, I never gave him the chance. She’d been too busy judging him herself, just as Kenzie had pointed out. Ian had probably decided it wasn’t worth it to try and explain himself.

“You need to give each other a chance. Get beyond this.”

She went silent for a moment and then her head snapped up and she made a small gasp of excitement.

“I have an idea. Since your mom is gone for a few days, why don’t I come get Emily after you guys eat dinner and I’ll bring her back to my place for a sleepover?”

A night alone with Ian—time to talk about the future—suddenly seemed imperative. And yet…

“I don’t know. She’s only just met you, it might be too soon for her.”

“Yes, well, I’m her aunt. Besides, you know me and trust me. And Emily clearly adores me.” Kenzie grinned, her mood obviously lighter now with the change in topic. “Plus I’m her aunt. And she’s ten, not five, so I’m sure she’d love a slumber party. Did I mention I’m her aunt?”

Sarah let out a bubble of laughter. “Only about a handful of times.”

“Perfect. I’m activating my aunt privileges from this moment forward.”

“All right, all right. We’ll check with Emily and if she’s up for it, she’s all yours.”

“Fuck yeah. I’m going to head out and swing by the grocery store for candy, soda, marshmallows—”

“If you bring my child back to me hyped up on sugar tomorrow, I will hurt you.” She raised a hand in warning. “And you know you have to watch your mouth around her?”

Kenzie laughed and headed toward the door. “Heck yeah. Pizza. Chips. Chocolate. One Direction on repeat.”

“Barf. Have fun with that. You’ll win her over in a heartbeat.” Sarah turned back to the crockpot to check the food. “See you in a couple of hours.”

But even with her friend gone, Sarah couldn’t stop thinking about what had nearly happened to Kenzie.

And how Ian had been the avenging angel who’d saved her.

With a heavy heart, she blinked back tears. Oh, God. She had so many wrongs to make right.





Chapter Eighteen

Ian had only stepped into fatherhood about twenty-four hours ago, but as he watched Kenzie drive off with his daughter his stomach sank.

“She’ll be fine.”

Sarah’s soft comment had him closing the door and turning to face her.

“I know. Kenzie’s amazing with children, and Emily seems quite taken with her already.”

Folding her arms over her chest, Sarah gave a small smile. “She is. I thought she might be a little scared to go have a slumber party with someone she just barely knows, but she didn’t even let me finish my sentence before running to grab her suitcase.” She paused. “I think she loves the idea of having an instant family.”

“How long will she have that instant family if you pull her away from us again?”

When she flinched and took a step backward, he knew his words had been far more accusing than intended.

“I haven’t made any decisions yet.” Her gaze searched his, and she seemed to want to say more. Or maybe she was waiting for him to say something. “We have a lot to talk about.”

“Aye. We do. And it looks like we have the whole night alone.”

And yet, talking suddenly sounded like the absolute last thing he wanted to do. He couldn’t help but slide a gaze over her and take in the curves of her body beneath the sundress.

After the caber toss—that moment when he’d kissed her in front of everybody—he’d been filled with the need to have her again.

Having a whole night alone. It was something that had never even been an issue. He’d been a single man who’d never dated a woman with a child. Being alone with a woman was never a problem.

And yet now here he was. And this might just be one of the few times he’d have Sarah alone for a while. He didn’t want to take their time together for granted.