Beautifully Shattered (The Beautifully Series Book 1) (21 page)

“Connor’s taking
you back to his place while I get the food.”

I shake my head as I
walk into his open arms. When I turn towards Connor, he slides off
the hood of his car. He engulfs me into a hug. When I pull back, he
clutches me tighter to him, refusing to let go. I bite him on his
forearm.

He shouts, “Ow Addie!
Only in the bedroom! How many times do I have to tell you?” as he
rubs his chest. “Does Jax like it rough?” he whispers so only I
can hear.

I don’t know if I
should reprimand him for risking that comment or if I want to kick
him in the shin for bringing up Jax.

“Leave her alone,
Connor! I swear if you were anyone else you would be dead for talking
to her like that. Go with the jackass and I’ll get the burgers.”

I hug my brother.
“Don’t forget about Kohen’s burger.” I slide into the
passenger side and yank the door from Connor’s grasp to slam it.

Connor grins at me and
faces my brother. The window is down so I can hear everything he says
to Logan.

“She just sank her
teeth into me and you’re mad at me?” He claps my brother on the
shoulder. “Don’t worry, I’ll get her to fall in line with all
the others.”

We ignore him. My
brother shakes his head at Connor before leaving. I can’t believe
Connor has the nerve to say something about Jax in front of Logan.

“Love you too!”
Connor shouts at him.

Logan flips him off
before getting into his car and peeling out into New York traffic. I
love my brother.

I give Connor the
silent treatment the entire ride. He tries to make me talk by putting
on the worst pop music in the world. And I do mean the worst!
I
won’t let it get to me. I won’t let it get to me. Drown it out.
It’s just music.
I smile sweetly at him, not willing to
play into his games. He turns it up even more.
I
won’t let it get to me . . . I won’t let it—

“God you’re so
annoying!” I snatch his iPhone and switch it to actual music. “Why
do you even have this crap on here?”

“Just to annoy you,”
he says with a secretive smile.

“Right!” I go back
to ignoring him.

“Come on, Addie, it
was funny.”

I yank my hand away.
“Funny? Really? So telling all of New York your immature joke is
funny to you? Or saying something about Jax in front of Logan? Sorry,
your humor is lost on me.”

“Don’t be dramatic,
Addie, it wasn’t all of New York.” He laughs at me.

“And what about the
Jax comment?”

“What about it? Logan
didn’t hear me.”

It’s a good thing
he’s driving and not me. I wait for him to elaborate, ask more
questions, but he never does. I’m kind of glad. I don’t want to
hear about Jax right now. I made the decision to move on. Or at least
be distracted enough to attempt to move on.

“Gah I hate you, you
do know this, right?” I mutter because I can’t help myself.

He knows exactly what
he’s doing. He’s making me think of his best friend right before
I go out with someone else. As if I needed a reminder of Jax.

He stops at a green
light and leans over to kiss my cheek, not caring in the slightest at
the angry New Yorkers honking at us.

“Oh my God, it’s
green, Connor!”

“Tell me you love
me.”

How
does he even have a license?
“Fine, I love you, now
drive.”

“You wish is my
command, sis.” He pats my knee. “I’m sorry about that Jax
comment . . . Just don’t give up on him.”

“What does that even
mean?”

He shrugs and focuses
on not killing us. The rest of the drive, the only thing on my mind
is Jax. I hate that I can’t stop thinking about him and I hate that
it’s Connor’s fault for bringing him up. He tries to put his arm
over my shoulder as we walk into his building, but I pull away. I’m
still upset.

And then he gives me
his sad face, complete with pouting lips. Even though I’m still
irked at him for not explaining what he means about Jax, I lean
against him, loving how safe he makes me feel. As much as I hate to
admit it, I love Connor’s
unique
sense of humor.

Once we’re inside,
Connor marches over to his kitchen and makes a sandwich. The only
thing that he knows how to make without burning himself, or anything
in the near vicinity. I settle onto a barstool.

My eyes are glued to
his flat stomach as he inhales his turkey and roast beef sandwich.
Logan will be here soon with dinner, but no, someone can’t wait
that long. It’s amazing that Connor’s not a whale with how much
food he consumes. I’m about to tell him that he needs to watch his
diet when he opens his big mouth, filled with the bite he just took.
Someone didn’t learn their manners when they were younger. I make a
mental note to bring this up at Thanksgiving with his parents. It’s
always entertaining to watch Connor’s mom treat him like a small
child who needs his food cut.

“When are you meeting
the good doctor? I still can’t believe you haven’t told him
you’re coming back here and not going on a date.” He holds his
fist out for a fist-bump. I shove it away and check the time on my
phone.

“Crap, I have to go.
I’m late.”

As I scramble to stand,
I trip over the barstool and almost fall flat on my face. Luckily
Connor rushes to me and steadies me.

“The chair tried to
kill me. Be back soon.”

He chuckles as he walks
me out. “Oh yes, it was my murderous chair and not my sister who
can’t walk a straight line sober.”

“Be nice . . . so
basically don’t be you,” I say before the elevator doors close in
his face.

As I enter the coffee
shop, all the chaos overwhelms me. How the heck am I going to find
Kohen? I didn’t need to worry, his beautiful smiling face stands
out in the sea of people. He leans against the wall with two coffee
cups in his hands. I fight the urge to wrinkle my nose. I hate hot
coffee. I’m a frappuccino girl all the way.

As I make my way
towards him, I notice that the majority of women are stealing glances
at him or bluntly staring. Some women have no shame. Then again, I
can’t blame them. He’s easy to look at especially tonight. He’s
sporting dark jeans and a white button-up shirt with the sleeves
rolled up, displaying his muscular forearms. It’s simple, yet sexy
in a mouthwatering way.
Jax
looks better.
My subconscious is nice enough to remind me
of something that I’m very aware of. I don’t care, I’m not
comparing the two. I’m not that girl.

It isn’t until I’m
in front of him that I realize I’ve been gawking at him with my
mouth wide open. I promptly shut it. His grin is sinfully sexy, with
a hint of danger. I think it’s forced though, he doesn’t seem
like anyone who could be dangerous. He’s the boy-next-door. He
extends his hand. I accept the coffee without making a face. Go me!

“Thanks.”
Tentatively I take a sip and I’m pleasantly surprised it’s my one
and only favorite hot drink.

Mmm, I love this
chocolatey goodness. It seems too big of a coincidence for him to
just guess my favorite drink. I open my mouth to ask him about it,
but I’m struck speechless when he wipes a dab of chocolate from my
lip and sucks his thumb into his mouth. Holy-hotness. Talk about a
bold move. It’s been too long since I’ve flirted with anyone
besides Jax. I’m way out of my league when it comes to Kohen. Any
man if I’m being honest. Flirting? Me? Ha, what a joke!

Leaning in so his lips
brush against my ear, he whispers, “Mmm, Adalynn and chocolate . .
. my favorite.”

I would be lying if I
said he doesn’t affect me. I meet his azure eyes, attempting to
figure him out. No luck. I have a sinking feeling he’s not the man
that he appears. He’s wearing a mask, too. Can I make him take it
off? Will I take mine off for him and open up to him? I seriously
doubt it. I don’t want anyone to know me. I like being isolated.
You sure about that?
I
have no idea what I want anymore. I do know I need to make sure this
man is real. I reach out to touch him, but I’m pushed from behind.
I accidentally bump into Kohen and spill my boiling hot drink down my
chest.

I suck in a breath.
Fuck, that’s hot. In a split second Kohen has me behind him in a
protective gesture and is confronting some poor teenager terrified
for his life. I forget about my boiling skin and focus on the scene
in front of me. Kohen says something too low for me to hear and the
teenager’s eyes nearly bulge out of his head. Whatever it is, it
isn’t pleasant and is very unnecessary. I attempt to move in front
of Kohen to apologize, but he’s holding me behind him, trapping me.
It takes all my willpower to not smack the back of his head to get
his attention. He’s making a scene. People are staring.

He leans into the guy’s
face and says something else. The teenager and his friends
practically run out of the coffee shop. Kohen releases my wrist. His
body shudders with the effort to calm down before he faces me. I’m
expecting rage in his eyes, but he’s composed as if he didn’t
just make a scene and scare the crap out of some poor kids. What just
happened? If it wasn’t for my sore wrist, I would think that I’ve
imagined the whole thing. I look from my wrist, that has the clear
indentation of his hands wrapping around it, to his face. The sadness
I see there makes whatever nasty comment I was going to make die on
my tongue.

Caressing his face I
say, “Hey, it’s okay, it was an accident.”

He doesn’t say
anything. He lightly traces his index finger over the red mark on my
wrist.

“It was an accident.
Now let’s go eat some burgers and watch a movie.”

I nearly have to drag
him out of the coffee shop. When we cross the street, I can tell he’s
coming out of his sulky mood. We’re almost at Connor’s building
when he squeezes my hand, letting me know that he’s back to normal
and we’re gonna have a good night. The jury is still out on that
one, I still haven’t told him we aren’t having dinner by
ourselves. Maybe he hates surprises like me. Only one way to find
out.

I swipe the access card
to the penthouse. Once the elevator start its rise to the top, it’s
clear I’m not taking him to a restaurant.

“Since I already know
you don’t live here, mind telling me where you’re taking me?”
Kohen asks.

Well, there goes the
surprise. I wonder how he’s going to take the news. I square my
shoulders, preparing for battle. Here goes nothing.

“Connor’s,” I
respond in a voice that would make any cheerleader proud.

He doesn’t speak. I’m
gonna say this is good news. We’re almost at the top floor when
Kohen breaks the silence.

“Sure that’s such a
safe idea?” I give my what-the-heck look. “Last time we tried
this I’m pretty sure one of them was trying not to punch me.”

Instantly, I picture
The God’s too gorgeous face. I force out a laugh, pretending like I
have no idea what he means.

“You were the one who
assumed I didn’t have plans tonight, so now you have to suffer
along with me.” When the elevators open into Connor’s foyer, I
stand on my tiptoes and give Kohen a quick kiss. “Besides, nobody
wanted to punch you.”

Hand-in-hand, we stroll
through Connor’s penthouse while I hope that Jax shows up tonight.
That would be the last thing I need, but I’m mature enough to admit
that I want him to see me with someone else.

Before I give Kohen a
small tour of the main level, I kick off my shoes because I hate the
clicking they make on the marble floor. Besides, Connor’s cleaning
lady cleans too well; his floor is slippery. I may or may not have
broken my finger slipping on it one time. I point out one of the
bathrooms on the way to the kitchen. I fetch beers from the
state-of-the-art-fridge before leading him to the living room where
the noise is coming from.

From the corner of my
eye, I notice Kohen studying the pictures in the hallway. I slow my
pace but don’t stop. He admires a black and white painting before
striding to my side. He takes in the lavish decor as I lead him
around Connor’s bachelor pad.

The guys sit on the
black leather couch, playing some sort of shooting video game. Guys.
You would think at twenty-eight, Connor would grow up, but you’d be
wrong. His place hints at the playboy that I’ve always known him to
be. Connor settling down is as likely as me growing another limb.

Dinner runs smoothly.
It was a little touch-and-go in the beginning with Logan and Connor
interrogating Kohen. Once Twenty Questions were over and they were
satisfied I could be interested in a decent guy, dinner becomes
relatively normal.

Kohen jokes along with
the guys. He even thinks Connor is funny, which surprises me a
little. Connor’s sense of humor is a lot like mine. You either love
it, or you think he’s an ass. Stealing my last fry, Connor looks
innocently at me. Too innocently. Oh no, this isn’t good.

“So Addie must
really
like you,” Connor says at the same time Logan says,
“She’s trying to impress him, Connor.”

“Why do you say
that?” Kohen asks.

Logan and Connor wear
the purest expressions. I don’t buy it. I scowl at both of them,
silently daring them to say something. I have my foot ready. I
haven’t kicked either of them all night. That’s a success in my
book.
The night’s still early,
that voice in my head taunts. They nod at each other and have a
silent conversation. I hate when they do that. Connor’s grin nearly
breaks his face in two. This is bad, very bad.

“Well, she was able
to eat her entire burger while being a lady.”

Logan nods in
agreement. “Yeah, she didn’t even stuff her face like usual,
Connor.”

“She must
really
like you,” Connor says again.