didn’t feel relaxed or comfortable, either. “Yes. You have very good tastes. Do you have a place with a room for the baby?”
“No,” she said in a small voice. “I wish I did.”
Leave it to Kendall to drop hints. Shaking his head, he allowed soft laughter to rumble from him.
She frowned at him. “What?”
“You’re still you, sweetheart,” he said quietly.
“O-okay.” Silence, and then: “Is that a compliment?”
“Yes.” Why hedge when Kendall needed reassurances that left no room for doubt? “You’re one-of-a-kind, and that is most definitely a good thing.”
“Can we—“
“I bought you clothes,” he interrupted, before she questioned him.
Could they try again? Could they start over? Could they talk?
Whichever question was on her mind, he couldn’t go there right now. He didn’t want to be angry with her. Nor did he want to argue with her. He just needed peace between them, always so elusive. From the moment they’d met, they’d been in turmoil with each other and outside influences.
Hurt flickered into her eyes, but instead of pushing the subject, she scooted down and grabbed two of the bags, dumping the contents onto her lap. She held up a black and white tie-dye maxi dress. Flushing and sidling him a glance, she checked the tags with the price and the size.
“Will it fit?”
She stiffened and sniffed. “Yes,” she said curtly.
In silence, she checked out the bra, panties, blouse, and slacks. Once she finished, Johnnie handed her the other two bags. He watched the various emotions on her face as she searched out the sizes of each piece of clothing and one pair of ballerina flats.
“I gave Roxy my choices for outfits I’d found online. She was nice enough to offer to go shopping for me,” she added in slightly defensive tones.
He rubbed his eyes. “Let me guess. I have to reimburse the cost of the shopping?”
“Um…well, I…we…I can tell her to take everything back.”
“What is everything?”
“I don’t know. She hasn’t returned yet.”
“Keep everything, if you’d like.”
“Johnnie, we need to talk,” she said quickly. “Instead of just dancing around each other and…”
“No.”
“Okay,” she mumbled. “Okay. Don’t talk then, but listen to what I have to say. Please?”
Clenching his jaw, he glared at her. Fuck her, but why couldn’t she let it go? Worse, why couldn’t he ignore the request entirely?
He gave her one, brusque nod.
“Someone once told me that there are some people we meet and we aren’t meant to have a long dialogue with them,” she began.
“They are walk-ons in our lives. We’ll have five hundred, one hundred, fifty words exchanged, and that’ll be the end of our association.”
Johnnie remembered these words. They were his, spoken in frustration when she’d refused to open up to him while he’d held her at his house. He hadn’t believed he’d gotten through to her. Apparently, he’d been wrong.
“Others, we spend years with and run out of words.” She licked her lips and waited for him to say something.
But Johnnie still refused to talk to her, right now. His frame-of-mind between yesterday and today had done a complete about face.
Kendall just had that effect on him.
“That isn’t the case with us,” she continued softly. “We have so much more to say to one another, an eternity of dialogue. You’re hurt and you’re angry, and I don’t blame you. Please, forgive me. G-give us another chance. D-don’t sleep with any other women. Let’s rediscover each other. We’ve both made mistakes, Johnnie,” she whispered. “We can get through this if we openly and honestly discuss everything.”
Her words rolled through his head, and he recognized all the… fear . Fear and vulnerability, emotions he’d never been in touch with, until he’d fallen in love. He hated both. It left him open to heartache, made him feel too human.
What could be loved, could also be lost, a fact he’d become
“No,” she said in a small voice. “I wish I did.”
Leave it to Kendall to drop hints. Shaking his head, he allowed soft laughter to rumble from him.
She frowned at him. “What?”
“You’re still you, sweetheart,” he said quietly.
“O-okay.” Silence, and then: “Is that a compliment?”
“Yes.” Why hedge when Kendall needed reassurances that left no room for doubt? “You’re one-of-a-kind, and that is most definitely a good thing.”
“Can we—“
“I bought you clothes,” he interrupted, before she questioned him.
Could they try again? Could they start over? Could they talk?
Whichever question was on her mind, he couldn’t go there right now. He didn’t want to be angry with her. Nor did he want to argue with her. He just needed peace between them, always so elusive. From the moment they’d met, they’d been in turmoil with each other and outside influences.
Hurt flickered into her eyes, but instead of pushing the subject, she scooted down and grabbed two of the bags, dumping the contents onto her lap. She held up a black and white tie-dye maxi dress. Flushing and sidling him a glance, she checked the tags with the price and the size.
“Will it fit?”
She stiffened and sniffed. “Yes,” she said curtly.
In silence, she checked out the bra, panties, blouse, and slacks. Once she finished, Johnnie handed her the other two bags. He watched the various emotions on her face as she searched out the sizes of each piece of clothing and one pair of ballerina flats.
“I gave Roxy my choices for outfits I’d found online. She was nice enough to offer to go shopping for me,” she added in slightly defensive tones.
He rubbed his eyes. “Let me guess. I have to reimburse the cost of the shopping?”
“Um…well, I…we…I can tell her to take everything back.”
“What is everything?”
“I don’t know. She hasn’t returned yet.”
“Keep everything, if you’d like.”
“Johnnie, we need to talk,” she said quickly. “Instead of just dancing around each other and…”
“No.”
“Okay,” she mumbled. “Okay. Don’t talk then, but listen to what I have to say. Please?”
Clenching his jaw, he glared at her. Fuck her, but why couldn’t she let it go? Worse, why couldn’t he ignore the request entirely?
He gave her one, brusque nod.
“Someone once told me that there are some people we meet and we aren’t meant to have a long dialogue with them,” she began.
“They are walk-ons in our lives. We’ll have five hundred, one hundred, fifty words exchanged, and that’ll be the end of our association.”
Johnnie remembered these words. They were his, spoken in frustration when she’d refused to open up to him while he’d held her at his house. He hadn’t believed he’d gotten through to her. Apparently, he’d been wrong.
“Others, we spend years with and run out of words.” She licked her lips and waited for him to say something.
But Johnnie still refused to talk to her, right now. His frame-of-mind between yesterday and today had done a complete about face.
Kendall just had that effect on him.
“That isn’t the case with us,” she continued softly. “We have so much more to say to one another, an eternity of dialogue. You’re hurt and you’re angry, and I don’t blame you. Please, forgive me. G-give us another chance. D-don’t sleep with any other women. Let’s rediscover each other. We’ve both made mistakes, Johnnie,” she whispered. “We can get through this if we openly and honestly discuss everything.”
Her words rolled through his head, and he recognized all the… fear . Fear and vulnerability, emotions he’d never been in touch with, until he’d fallen in love. He hated both. It left him open to heartache, made him feel too human.
What could be loved, could also be lost, a fact he’d become
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