Huge Deal - Lauren Layne Page 0,50

“Knock it off. Maybe she doesn’t want to hear from you.”

Matt said it jokingly, but the words clawed at Kennedy all the same. Was his friend right? Was Kate avoiding him?

The other guys were right. It didn’t seem like her. He could see her taking yesterday to think things over. Hell, he’d needed a beat to sort things through himself, and he still wasn’t completely there. He had no idea what was next for them or how to make any of this work. He didn’t know how to reconcile that they wanted different things out of a relationship—that he would never be the wild, passionate lover she wanted, and she would never be the uncomplicated woman he wanted.

And yet, he did want her. He wanted her more than he’d ever wanted anything.

“Voice mail,” Matt said with a frown.

“That’s it,” Kennedy said decisively, standing.

“That’s it?” Ian repeated. “What is this, a Nicolas Cage movie? What are you going to do, go scale her building? Sit down, Dawson. Let’s make a plan.”

Kennedy ignored him and headed to the door.

“Hold up,” Matt said. “What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to her place to check on her.”

“That’s an HR nightmare, dude. A boss can’t go storming over to his assistant’s apartment because she’s late.”

“I’m not going as her boss,” Kennedy said. “I’m going as her friend.” He suspected they all knew that he was really going as a hell of a lot more than that.

Kennedy had been to Kate’s apartment in the Village only once, right after she’d moved in a couple of years ago and thrown a housewarming party. And even then, he’d been only on the rooftop deck.

Privately, he thought they should pay her more if the best she could do was a small studio atop a SoulCycle building, but from what he’d been able to tell, she loved the place.

And he had to admit, as he climbed the stairs to the fourth floor, it wasn’t without its charms. The hallway was tiny, there was definitely no air-conditioning, and there was a baby stroller outside one of the doors, through which he could hear baby screams. But it was clean and smelled vaguely like cookies, and almost everyone had a welcome mat.

He stopped outside door 402, and if he wasn’t so worried about her avoiding him, he might have smiled at her doormat, that said WELCOME. PRICE OF ENTRY: and then a wine bottle.

Next time. Next time, he’d bring wine. And there would be a next time. He’d make sure of it.

Kennedy lifted his hand and knocked, feeling a little nervous in a way he hadn’t since senior year when he’d asked Regina Morris to prom, even though he wasn’t entirely sure she hadn’t been interested in the far more popular Pat Delaney.

She’d said yes to Kennedy. Then spent most of the dance trying to make Pat jealous.

In hindsight, Kennedy realized it was a double win for him. He’d gotten the cute date, and he’d been right about her and Pat.

But right now, he wanted to be right about Kate. Right in thinking that they’d just barely scratched the surface of the chemistry between them.

No answer. The knot of dread that he’d been trying to ward off all morning doubled in size.

He pulled out his cell phone to call her, even as he lifted his hand to knock again—

The door opened, and Kennedy started to close his eyes in relief, only to freeze when he saw her face, red and streaked with tears.

“Kate. What’s—”

Acting on unfamiliar instinct, Kennedy stopped talking, sensing that words weren’t what she needed. He stepped into her apartment, shutting the door with one hand and reaching for her with the other. She came easily, her face pressed to his chest, her arms wrapping around his waist as she let out a sob.

His throat knotted as he slid one hand to the back of her head, the other wrapping around her, trying to absorb her shaking.

For long moments he just held her, absorbing her pain as best he could, even as he bit back demands to know what was wrong so he could fix it.

“Sorry,” she said around a hiccup. “I keep thinking I’m all out of tears, but they just keep coming.”

He bent his head lower, his lips brushing the side of her head. “What’s wrong? What can I do?”

“Nothing,” she whispered. “Just hold me a little bit longer.”

He did. He held her a lot longer, through another round of tears, until finally, all cried out, she