Don't Need You - Lilian Monroe Page 0,29

pie. Mom made it especially for you. Pumpkin. Your favorite. She thought you’d change your mind and come spend Thanksgiving with us and refused to let any of us even touch the damn thing.” She lifts the pie as her eyes flash.

“Lydia did that?” Surprise writes itself all over Kit’s face.

Esme snorts. “She does care about you, you know. Since I left home, I think she’s looking for someone to mother. You’re acting like a sulky teenager at the moment, so you’re a prime candidate.”

“Sulky teenager?” Kit snorts.

I fight back a smile as Esme thrusts the pie in Kit’s hands. Yeah, I like her.

“Damn sulky,” Esme repeats. “You’ve got your panties in a twist about me and Finn. He was pretty hurt you missed Thanksgiving.”

“I don’t care,” Kit says, leaving the pie on the dining room table. Judging by the curve of his shoulders and the gruffness of his voice, though, Kit does, in fact, care.

“Right,” Esme says. She jerks her chin in my direction. “Nice to meet you, roomie.”

“Serena,” I supply.

“Serena,” Esme repeats. She throws me a smile. “Come see me at the Woodvale Skydive Center in town. I’ll book you in for a jump. Family discount. And I promise Finn’s not as bad as Kit likes to pretend.”

“Okay,” I answer, even though I have no desire to go skydiving in November. Or any month, for that matter. But the ease with which Esme carries herself makes me pause, and I wonder if maybe in this new life of mine, I could be the type of person who does an impulsive skydive.

Esme throws us both a wave and walks back out the door, her black combat boots smacking on the hardwood floors. I glance over my shoulder to see Kit slicing the pie. There are two plates waiting beside the pie dish.

“How do you feel about pie for breakfast?” He grins. “It’s pumpkin, which is a vegetable, so it’s basically like eating a salad.”

I laugh and accept the outstretched plate. Digging a fork into the pie, I glance at Kit.

“So what happened between you and Finn?”

“Uh, Esme happened,” he explains, as if that answers anything at all. I stare at him until he lets out a sigh, finally dragging his eyes up to meet mine. “I went down to California to see my mother and while I was gone, they started hooking up behind my back. Then, Esme got hurt, and I quit the business and cut Finn out of my life.”

“Harsh,” I answer.

“Fair,” he corrects. “Finn was supposed to be my best friend. How am I supposed to trust him when he does something like that?”

“So you’d never hook up with your friend’s sister?” I ask, arching an eyebrow.

I didn’t mean to ask that question out loud. Blame the lizard brain.

Kit’s eyes darken. He stares at me, a forkful of pie hanging halfway to his mouth. He lets out a sigh, shaking his head.

“No. I wouldn’t.”

Those three words actually physically hurt me. They make my chest squeeze so hard it feels like my heart can no longer beat properly. My throat closes up, and the pumpkin pie turns to glue in my mouth.

I nod, managing to swallow the bite. “Noted.”

Kit puts his plate down on the table, combing his fingers through his hair. He lifts his eyes up to mine, and I see layers of pain I didn’t know existed. He takes a deep breath.

“Look, Serena, I’m attracted to you. You can probably tell. It’s impossible not to be. I mean…” He gestures at my body.

My cheeks flush. I definitely felt his erection pressing up against my stomach last night. It may or may not have resulted in my sneaking back into my room and using my vibrator while he was in the shower.

I shake my head and put up a hand to stop him. I don’t want to hear whatever he’s about to say.

“You’re right, Kit,” I say. “I know you are. I’m fucked in the head, anyway. I’m just trying to recover from Angelo, and the last thing I need to do is mess this up, too. I want us to be able to live comfortably, and I haven’t forgotten that you’re doing me a monumental favor by letting me stay here.”

But you’re hot as fuck, and I’d love to have your hands on me. Among other things.

I swallow back the words, staring at Kit. His lips pinch, and a deep breath shudders through his body. He nods. “Yeah.”

I leave my pie on the table next