Zenith in Love (Zenith Series #5) - Leanne Davis Page 0,6

liked his attention.

Oh, my God, Kathy blushed and grinned and flushed with desire. Something she never did with Jim. None of that came from Kathy before. Kayla hoped Kathy could feel passion but honestly doubted it until she saw it. And there it was, with Eric.

But it sure as shit wasn’t with her fiancé. God damn.

If Jim were watching her body language as the weekly announcements were made at the start of the service, he didn’t notice or seem to care about the obvious connection between his fiancée and her bodyguard.

Did he ever sense sexual connection?

Maybe not.

For Jim wasn’t in love with Kathy. Not enough to sustain a marriage. Not the right way. He loved her more like a sister or a teacher he truly admired and wanted to learn from. Kayla wasn’t sure that Jim understood that. And Kathy was just now starting to because of her attraction to Eric.

Their damn relationship was undeniably odd. Kayla never ceased to wonder why they were not tighter. Why they didn’t do anything more than kiss? She knew that for a fact because Kathy told her. Jim never tried to peek at her boobs, much less, touch them.

That seemed abnormal to Kayla. What was it with Jim? She could only wonder. Finding this studious, negligent, anal man kind of interesting to her was more alarming to Kayla than learning that her good, lovely sister picked Eric to be sexual with.

Eric. Sure, he was hot and all that. He was kind to Kathy. He watched her incessantly, like she was the moon and stars and sun, all rolled into one. Any idiot could see he wasn’t doing it professionally to keep her safe anymore. Nope. Eric could kill anyone who said hello to her sister in a mean way. Yep, Eric was over the moon in love. Kayla wondered when he would act on it. But she was sure he would. Even if the kiss led to nothing but cold feet, Kayla knew nothing could stop or prevent the depth of feeling Eric so obviously harbored towards Kathy. It was just a matter of time until they worked through it.

And Jim had to be dumped. Hurt. Maybe. But in the long run, it was better for all concerned.

Kayla sometimes felt sorry for Jim. He couldn’t connect with her family or even his own fiancée. Yet he earned so much reverence, respect, and admiration from all the congregation and those who worked with him at the church.

Whom did Jim have? Other than Kathy, was anybody close to Jim? There were no friends he entertained. She grilled Kathy often enough to know that. He was an orphan. His parents died when he was younger and he had no siblings. No cousins or aunts or grandparents. No family at all.

Kayla shuddered, thinking of her grandma and aunt and uncles and cousins galore. Many with whom she was extremely close, as well as her best friends, and their kids, whom she considered her cousins. Imagine having no one? Except Kathy? Sure, he had the love of all his parishioners, being the pastor, but that wasn’t the same as a family. Being able to just flop down on the couch in a bad mood or feeling bloated and wearing the ugliest lounging clothes without any cares or worries were small luxuries of family life. Kayla couldn’t think of all the things you did with family. And with your loved ones. The things you kept from the outside world. The only people who got to see the full, unpolished version of yourself. Even prim and modest Kathy was different around the family. She told hilarious jokes no one expected from her. She laughed at silly things and probably wouldn’t if anyone else were around.

But Jim had no one. Not even Kathy. What would he do now? What woman could he have? Would he turn into a cold, mean, bitter bachelor whose interest in humanity slowly eroded?

It was fated to happen, and only a matter of time before Kathy realized the obvious. The duh of why she didn’t love Jim. Why she could never love Jim. They were great co-workers and loyal members of the same congregation. But lovers? Never. No. And married? It would be a miserable, loveless, unfulfilling marriage and they would suck all the joy and fun from each other. There was no doubt in Kayla’s mind of that. And if Kathy still had no clue, Kayla would have to simply freaking tell her. One way or