the leopard!” She laughs haughtily.
Mackenzie Kingston. Kenzie. How did I not recognize that horrible, vile creature on the yacht? Also, how did I not know I had that horrible nickname?
The magic.
“Ye speak of her one more time in that manner and all those connections ye gained last night will be gone in the blink of an eye.”
“You wouldn’t.”
“Do ye not ken me at all, Kenzie? I say what I mean, and I mean what I say.”
“Did you fuck her?”
He doesn’t answer, and the budding badass in me wants to call down the stairs, Yep, twice last night! Yet I don’t because, let’s be honest, he did take her on that date and all.
“Of course you didn’t. No condom, right?”
What the hell? I think.
“Ye’ve got five seconds to get yer ass off this porch and get yer car out of my drive.”
“You’re joking, right?” she snaps.
“Three … two—”
“Don’t ever call me again!”
“Hadn’t planned on it.” He shuts the door and looks up the stairs. “Ye all right, Elizabeth?”
I nod, because I am okay as I start coming down the stairs.
“Ye need a soak or —”
Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!
“Ye’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”
He throws the door open and she looks past him, directly at me, disgust twisting her face. “My Prada.” She continues to look up at me. “Not Frada—fake Prada. Real leather, not the rip-off.” She looks back at him and continues, “Said bag is in your house and the code isn’t the same as it was when I sent it to you the other day.”
“For good reason,” he mumbles.
“Just give it to me, and you can go back to your …” She lifts her chin in my direction. “Her.”
The use of her makes me laugh out loud, and she glares up at me.
“You can dye it red and give it a little bit of silicone here and there, but you still can’t make someone like you pretty on the inside.”
“You little—”
“Ye watch yer tone with her or I swear to ye, Kenzie, I will—”
“You will what?” she snaps.
“Ethan, just walk her off my property, please.”
“Of course.” He nods. “And she won’t be here again, or ye’ll call the cops.”
“A waitress, EJ?” she snarls.
“A teacher, actually,” I snarl back. “Now get her out of here or I won’t wait to see if she comes back.”
He looks back at me curiously, and then a smile gradually grows on his face.
“What?”
“I’m proud of ye, Elizabeth Bloom.”
“Oh my God, gross.”
When he walks back in, I’m making French toast and bacon.
“Ye all right?” he asks.
“I’ve dealt with her and her kind most of my life.”
He walks around the counter, takes the spoon out of my hand, turns me to face him, grabs my face, and then kisses me so sweetly and deeply that I’m glad I brushed my teeth.
Stepping back, he looks at me in a way that could only be described as adoringly. It causes tears to build and my racing heart to feel a comfort it hasn’t felt in many years.
“Was it the French toast?” I whisper.
“Yeah.” He laughs, pulling me into a hug. “It sure was.”
After a couple moments of being hugged the way in which he hugs me, I smell something … different.
“Ethan?”
“Elizabeth?”
“I think I’m burning the bacon.”
“I tried to talk him out of it, but—”
“Why would you try to talk Doctor Delicious out of a date?”
I want to laugh, but this situation calls for the utmost sincerity. “His daughter is coming to live with him tomorrow. I’m sure he has a lot to do.”
“I’m sure he has it all under control.”
Control … Yeah, he definitely has that.
“Yeah, well, maybe I don’t,” I admit.
“Oh, babe, you like more than his penis.”
“I like a lot of things, so many things … Basically everything. I can’t even fault him for honoring his word with that —”
“Cunt,” Tonya interjects.
When I don’t say anything, she laughs. “Still hate that word?”
“I wouldn’t say I hate it as much as I used to.”
“Oh my God, did he use it between the sheets?”
Nothing like the C-word to remove seriousness from the situation.
“He totally did.”
“Oh my God, anyone who can make that word sexy is definitely a keeper.”
And nothing like the word “keeper” to bring it all back around.
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” I sigh. “That term comes with a lot of power, and I’m not sure I ever want to go back to being that vulnerable again.”
“Do you allow him to have his way with you in bed?”
“Oh my God, Tonya!” I laugh.
“Well?”
“Let’s just