“You tell me what happened!” I demanded as I walked over to fall into a chair at the kitchen table with Kira not far behind. “I don’t even know how to begin wrapping my head around all of this!”
“Seeing as I wasn’t there with you two, I can’t. Just start from the beginning and I’ll try to help you fill in the hows.”
“The how is the easiest part,” I mumbled, and rubbed a temple with my fingers. “He works for Uncle Eli—”
“No shit?”
“That’s exactly what I said. But, yes, he does. Apparently he doesn’t just work there . . . they’re really close. Liam said that Eli’s his mentor. Apparently Uncle Eli and Uncle Mason both approached him about us moving here and needing to meet people or get jobs. They wanted Liam to help—”
“So he already knew that you were here? I bet he jumped on that chance before they could get out the question!”
“Kira! Let me explain first, then you can cut me off however much you want to.”
Kira sat back in her chair with her hands raised in surrender, but her face still showed how eager she was to hear everything.
I finished telling her the rest of my conversation with Liam at the restaurant, and true to Kira’s personality, she didn’t let me get more than two sentences out at a time without interrupting and throwing in her own assumptions about what happened next. The entire playback of Liam’s explanations ended up taking about twenty minutes longer than it had when he’d been the one telling it.
“So that’s it,” I finished, and let my head fall into one hand while the other slapped down against the table.
“What?” she asked quickly, and sat up. “That can’t be it. Didn’t you guys talk about Vegas? Did he try to set up something to see you again? Don’t leave out the best part! I need juicy details in my life.”
“You don’t get plenty of juiciness from your phone calls with Zane?”
Kira’s eyes widened, then dropped to stare at the table. Back home we could never do anything to get her to shut up about her relationship with Zane, but I couldn’t remember her talking about him once since we’d been in California—unless it was to complain about their being apart. Just before I could ask what her solemn look meant, she shook her head and glanced back up at me.
“Come on, Kennedy! You can’t tell me that there was nothing else said. You talked about this guy for months, and suddenly he’s here? There’s no way you didn’t make plans to see him again.”
“Oh, I have no doubt I will see him again. Since we work at his dad’s gym, I know he’ll probably use that as a way to see me. But I told him nothing was going to happen with us. I said Vegas was just a night, and nothing more.”
“What? Bullshit; no, you didn’t!” She sat there staring at me in shock before stuttering out, “Ken—I don’t—what do—why would you say that?”
“I said it because nothing can happen. I cannot let a man like Liam Taylor into my life.”
“Well, why the hell not?”
“Speaking of Zane!,” I said loudly, ready to talk about any other subject, “you haven’t been talking about him much lately, and it is impossible to miss the way you’ve been staring down all the guys at the gym. It’s your turn to spill the details.”
“I have not been staring them down,” she said defensively.
“Ha! Yeah . . . yeah, you have. And you’re beyond smiley and happy when we’re there. I’m also pretty sure I heard one of the guys asking for your number today. Did you give it to him?”
“Of course I didn’t! I have a boyfriend, Kennedy.”
“Yeah, who is on the other side of the country and who you don’t talk about anymore. I agree with Mom, I think this is the perfect opportunity for you to see what other guys can be like.”
“No. I don’t want to know what anyone else would be like.”
I exhaled heavily and gave her a look that let her know I thought she was making a mistake.
“How about this? If you date Liam—and I mean date, as in relationship—then I will spend time away from my relationship with Zane for the rest of the time we’re in California to give other guys a shot.”
“That is not happening! I can’t be with someone like Liam!”
Kira shrugged and grinned victoriously. “Well then, I guess we can both stay just the way we are.”
“Kira,” I groaned as she stood up and walked toward her room.
“Good talk, sis!”
“I hate you too,” I called back, and grumbled to myself. I’d have to tell Mom and Dad I failed at the Zane thing again.