Hard Edge - Tess Oliver Page 0,44
the list.” He looked over at me. “I was hoping you’d be sticking around Mayfair for awhile. Maybe we could use the time to sort stuff out, see where this is heading.”
“I know my mom could use the help. I have to get back to New York soon though.” I laughed. “Jeremy has probably already shoved all my stuff in the elevator and sent it to the parking level.” I leaned back against the lounge. “I’m going to have to find a place to live in New York, and that is no easy feat. School starts mid September.”
“So you’re going to finish law school?”
“I’ve put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into it already. Not to mention the huge loans,” I said, abruptly mostly to convince myself that it was what I needed to do.
“Hey, not judging. You need to do what you think is right, Kenna. I know that’s how you roll.”
Without lifting my head from the lounge, I faced him with a scowl. “Yes, I know. I always choose the right thing to do, but not necessarily the thing that’s right for me. It seems like we’ve been down this road before. I can’t be like you, Caden, and just throw all reason to the wind to do what I feel like doing.”
He looked over at me. “I guess I should just take the job at the lumber yard because it’s the reasonable thing to do.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“Not in so many words.”
I sat up with a laugh. I turned my legs around on the lounge to face him. “I just realized something. You know that sparkly, feel good time in the beginning of a new relationship where two people are just getting to know each other and everything is peachy, only the sex can be questionable because—well, because two people are just getting to know each other? I guess our long history has made it so that we skipped that sparkly period and went straight to the bickering like an old couple.”
Caden laughed. “Fuck, if that doesn’t take the fun out of it all. But the sex?” He lifted a brow at me.
“Oh, the sex is spot on, like we know each other so well, we skipped any awkwardness.”
“Except, up until this week, we’d never even kissed.”
“No, but good sex comes from in here.” I pressed my hand against my chest. “From the heart. We were already connected there.”
Caden smiled. “You will make a good lawyer, Trinket. Maybe the fact that we’re different in our approaches to life is just what we need. We can balance each other out.”
“Well said.” I pulled my sweatshirt closed. “That fog is cold. Let’s go inside and see if I can do something to make you forget that pain in your leg.”
He rubbed his thigh. “Yep, it’s hurting something fierce right now. I think I’ll definitely need some tender loving care.”
Chapter 19
Caden
Kenna and I carried the plates into the house. My phone rang. I pulled it out of my pocket. I smiled when I saw it was Tanner, the army buddy who’d gotten me into racing.
“Hey, Tanner, what’s up?”
“Stratton, dude, I heard about your brother. I just wanted to express my condolences.”
I sat on the stool at the kitchen counter. “Yeah man, thanks. Life can really kick you in the ass when you’re least expecting it.”
“How is your dad doing? I imagine this hit him hard. He’s a good guy, your dad.”
“Yeah, he is. He’s hanging in there. It takes time.”
“Yeah, so right. Well, let him know Tanner is thinking about him.”
“I will. So, what’s new? I’ve been following the team. That new rider, Benson, he looks strong out there.”
“Yeah, he’s showing a lot of promise. Not as much as our rookie of the year, Caden Stratton, but he’s good. He’s got some hard headedness to overcome. He can be kind of a dick sometimes. But, hey, you’re at Chantry’s Pointe, right?”
“Yep, kickin’ it at the beach and getting some surfing in . . . and stuff.” As I spoke, I looked up. Kenna was standing in the doorway of the hall. She’d pulled off her t-shirt and was teasing me by slowly lowering her bra straps.
Tanner’s laugh rumbled through the phone. “And stuff. I know damn well that you’ve got plenty of stuff going on. Never any shortage of stuff when it comes to Caden Stratton.”
“Yeah, yeah, don’t beat the dead horse.” My last statement caused Kenna to stop lowering the straps. She creased her smooth brows in