Perpetually. There wasn’t a person on the planet who deserved it more.
“Things are going swimmingly, especially since you’re about to grab Harlow and Lucas and meet me at The Pact—after I call Luc to fill him in on the plan.”
“Nice of you to let us all know.”
I grinned. “That’s me. Your classic Mr. Nice Guy. Just ask anyone.”
“Why do I get the feeling there’s more to this than hanging out with friends and family?”
Eyeing the clear, blue sky, I sat down on the front step and tapped the tips of my boots together. “Now why would you think that?”
“Joe. This is me you’re talking about. Don’t bullshit the one person in this world that knows you better than anyone.”
The man had a point, but I’d be letting him down if I admitted as much. “You know Maxine’s granddaughter?”
“The one you hate?”
“I never said I hated her.”
“I think your exact words were ‘I can’t fucking stand her.’”
“See? Not one mention of hate.”
“Whatever, dude.” Collin chuckled. “Am I to understand that you guys are getting along now?”
“You could say that.” Delores wandered onto her porch and waved her hello. I returned the gesture. “I want to take her out tonight, and it turns out she’s a huge fan.”
“And you thought ‘what better way to get into this woman’s pants than to introduce her to your famous brother?’”
I frowned. “Cut me some slack, here. I thought it’d make her night to meet you.”
“So she could turn around and make yours.”
His tone was lighthearted.
Joking.
Just two guys shooting the shit.
I bristled anyway. “Jesus, man. This has nothing to do with me wanting to sleep with her.”
Liar, liar, fucking pants on fire. I’d fantasized about getting Penny Dreadful into bed for weeks.
“Whatever you need to tell yourself.”
Huh. That was almost exactly what Kennedy said to me about asking her out. Was I really lying to myself so much? I didn’t think so.
“Just do me a favor,” Collin continued. “Tell her who I am before she figures it out in front of me. It’ll make the night easier on all of us.”
We said our goodbyes and planned to meet at the bar in an hour. I called Lucas and had an almost identical conversation. “I knew you were full of shit,” he crowed.
“Anyone could tell you that was true, so don’t count yourself a winner quite yet.” I raked a hand through my hair as I stood and paced into the driveway. “But what, exactly, are you calling bullshit on this time?”
“I knew you were getting caught up in this woman right around the time you called in the cavalry to redo her backyard.”
“It’s not her backyard, genius. It’s her grandma’s.”
As Lucas laughed, I leaned against my truck, studying the exterior of the house. The door swung open and the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen stepped out. Kennedy wore a simple dress. Short but flowy. Thin straps. Her hair billowed around her shoulders and those lips were a scorching red.
Hot damn.
A woman like that did not deserve to be going out with a certified asshole like me.
“Hey, look, I gotta go. See ya soon,” I said to Luc, then hung up the phone.
“You’re grinning awfully big,” Kennedy said as she ambled my way.
Who wouldn’t smile, with you, looking like that, coming his way?
“I think you’re gonna like what I have planned for the night.” I pushed off the hood of the truck and met her at the passenger door, prepared to open it for her.
Instead, I grabbed her wrist and pulled her into my arms. I swept her hair off her face, threading my fingers through those luscious locks, then pressed my lips to hers.
The kiss wasn’t planned.
It was as necessary as my next heartbeat.
She gasped—a feminine sound in the back of her throat that sent my pulse racing. Her hand slid up my back and landed at my neck, toying with the ends of my hair.
The moment was like a lightning bolt. Electric. Awe-inspiring. And over before I could fully appreciate it.
“If that was one of the things you had planned, I definitely liked it.” Her chest heaved as her blues met mine.
“I just needed to get that out of the way.”
She blinked, lips parted, eyes sparkling as a smile crinkled their corners. “Afraid you wouldn’t want to after a night out with me?”
“It’s not me I’m worried about. I needed to know how much you really liked me before you met my brother.” I yanked open the door to the truck and helped her