Tarnished(6)

“Thanks again, Kenz. You’re the best. Some guy is going to be very lucky to get you.” He clicked off, leaving her holding the phone to her ear while praying the last few minutes had been a joke. April fools.

What the hell had happened today? She’d woken up this morning with the world in her palm, and it had slowly turned out to be made of sand, which was now slipping between her fingers until soon not a grain would be left. Would her boss call and fire her in a minute?

She tried to catch her breath. Great. Now she had to go back inside and play nice to make her mother happy. No way was she going to fess up anytime soon about Darrell. The last thing she needed was gloating sisters.

Suddenly the door opened, making her flinch. She tipped her head up and covered her eyes against the bright sun. Her private reverie had ended. A man stepped outside.

Christ. Not just any man. It was him. The guy.

He stepped around her and sat on her other side, his back skimming down the side of the building as he landed.

They sat in silence for a minute.

Kenzie froze, staring at the ground between her legs. What the hell was going on?

“I saw you slither out the side door,” he finally said.

“I didn’t slither,” she refuted.

He chuckled. “Snuck. Slinked. Slithered. What would you call it?” He turned his head her way and smiled.

She sucked in a breath and held it. She’d only seen him twice now. Once two years ago from across the room and then again about ten minutes ago in the hall. Both times she’d been on the move. Neither time had done her memory justice.

He was so gorgeous. Dark blond hair with natural highlights. Deep blue eyes that stared directly into hers. And his smile lit up his face. He was mocking her. But not in a menacing way. Just … teasing.

“Yeah. Any of those words pretty much sums it up, I guess.” She looked back down. Holy shit. She couldn’t hold his stare another second. He sucked the air out of the day.

“Hiding from someone?”

Yeah, you. And the rest of the world. “I had to take a call.”

“And it wasn’t pleasant.” He didn’t ask. He knew.

“Not only do I have to eat crow when I next see my sisters, but my boyfriend is gay, and I didn’t know it.” Why am I telling a stranger all this?

He started laughing, a low, deep sound that spread to her and made her smile. It was contagious. “That is bad.” He crossed his legs and situated himself better. “I mean, his loss.” He paused. His voice grew much more serious on the next muttered words. “My gain.”

She didn’t move. Kept looking at the ground. Her head spun. What the hell was happening, and why did she get the feeling her life was about to take a sharp veer to the right … or the left?

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to laugh.”

“It’s okay. If it weren’t my fucked up life, I’d be laughing too.”

“So, where is this guy? I didn’t see you with anyone when I ran you down in the hall a while ago.”

He knew. Of course he’d known it was her. And then he’d followed her. Now, why did that make her cheeks flame? Two minutes ago she’d had the perfect boyfriend. On a dime, she was all aflutter about some stranger without a name.

Except she knew better. He was a wolf. She was a wolf also. She’d always heard this was how it would happen, but she’d never paid attention to anything anyone said about mating.

And she needed to distance herself now before she made a fool of herself. If she didn’t start slobbering, she would soon stick her foot in her mouth as she swooned like a gangly teenager. She’d never even felt faint when she was a teenager, and she wasn’t about to start now.

She scooted a few inches closer to the door. It was all the space she had before she’d get smashed if someone opened it.

Subtle, Kenz. So smooth. “He’s with his family, I guess … or his new boyfriend.” She shivered just saying the word. She was no prude. It didn’t really matter to her whether he’d found another woman or a man. She still had the same predicament. No boyfriend.

“Why isn’t he here? At the gathering?”

She turned her face toward him. Oh. Realization dawned. “He’s human.”

“Ahh, I see.” He paused. “Do I make you nervous?”

She followed his gaze as he glanced down her body. She’d scooted even farther and crossed her arms over her chest. Her body language screamed stay away from me. She knew it. That was her goal.

“I suppose.” Oh, hell. Who was she kidding? “Yes.”

“I don’t mean to.”

“It’s not you…” Fuck. Had she not just cringed minutes ago over the same line coming from Darrell?