Kissing Kendall (5 page)

Kendall smiled and stepped out onto the porch. “That was thoughtful.”

“I have my moments.”

“You always did.”

“I can’t believe you’d remember, considering how long it’s been since we’ve hung out.”

She pondered that, surprised how easy it was to slip back into their old friendship. “I guess I have my moments too.”

“I’m glad.” He startled her by reaching out and stroking her cheek. It nearly set her on fire. His touch was whisper-light but that didn’t stop goose bumps from rippling up her arm. “Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked huskily.

“I…” Gazing into his blue eyes, her mind suddenly floundered. He was ridiculously good-looking in his wind-blown hair, ripped jeans, leather jacket sort of way. An appeal that went deeper than looks alone.

What was wrong with her tonight? She definitely wasn’t okay. Her response to him came so swiftly, she took a step back. Even in the dim light, Brad’s smile managed to kick her pulse up a few extra beats. She had always thought Brad was an attractive man, but never in all the time she had known him had those thoughts gone further than that. But now, this magnetic pull toward him made her want to do things she hadn’t done with a man in a very long time.

Wonderful.
She had become a walking stereotype now: lonely widow turned hussy
.
Poor Brad just wanted to say hi and now she wanted to jump him. It was her grandmother’s fault, asking all those questions about Brad and whether she thought he was handsome or not. She was completely losing it and figured it was in both their best interests not to invite him in. Hopefully he would take the hint that it was a bad time to come by.

“All right then,” he said with a sigh, handing her the sample booklet. “You seem busy, so I’ll leave you to whatever you were doing. See ya later.” He then turned on his heel and jogged his way down her steps.

Good. He got the hint and he’s leaving
. But as soon as he left her porch, she felt a strange sense of loss and it jerked her to her senses.

What was she doing? Brad was so wonderful to help her with her repairs and then she had to go and shut him out. Hadn’t she just told him the other day that she missed his friendship and he should stop by more? She was such a fool. Brad was her friend—a good friend—and he was more than safe from being jumped by her tonight. After all, she was a grown woman, not a teenager with her first crush. Plus, she could use a friend tonight—a friend who was not of the canine variety, for a change.

“Wait!” she called.

Brad stopped a few feet from his car parked in her driveway. He slowly turned, inhaling a deep breath, almost as if he dreaded hearing what was going to come out of her mouth next. Obviously she had hurt him by not being friendlier when she’d answered the door, but Brad kept a lot of things to himself—including his feelings—and she always respected his privacy.

He folded his arms, tall and straight, reminding her of a towering spruce as he waited for her to continue. A stance like that probably made him a formidable-looking police officer to would-be thugs. But she knew the toughness he portrayed on the outside had nothing to do with what was on the inside, so she had to smile.

Say something, stupid
.
He’s waiting
. “I made pie,” she squeaked.

Not the most eloquent olive branch she’d ever extended, but it was safe. Pie was a neutral, friendly kind of thing to share. No sexual connotations could be inferred from pie. You had champagne and strawberries with a lover, but you sat down and had a nice piece of pie with a friend.

Brad shifted his stance and seemed to consider her offer. “
Blueberry
pie?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

She swallowed. Goodness, why was she so nervous? She was only offering pie, not a one-night stand. But she was so used to pushing people away, it felt foreign for her to reach out to someone now—even in friendship. “Yeah, I, uh, was wondering if you wanted to come in and have some. You said it was your favorite, and you’ve been so great about agreeing to help me that…I kind of made it with you in mind.”

Brad hesitated, then his lips slid into an easy grin. “Well, since you put it that way, I might be able to have a small piece with you.”

Air rushed out of Kendall’s lungs. Deuce’s paw scratched at the screen, so she opened the door so he could greet Brad. “Thank goodness you agreed. I think Deuce would have been heartbroken if you’d said no.”

“Would
you
have been heartbroken?”

The question made her blink, and she looked at him more closely. The huskiness in his voice held an underlying message, but when she studied his face, his expression showed nothing more than friendly teasing. She let out a relieved breath. It was silly to think Brad was flirting with her. He never had in the past.

She shrugged to hide her confusion. “Naturally, I would have been heartbroken,” she teased back. “And I’d be stuck with all this pie.”

“Using me for my stomach, huh?”

“It always was a black hole.”

He winced, pretending to be offended. “Lucky for you when it comes to food, I’m not too proud
or
averse to begging.”

She laughed. “Well, try to keep the begging to a minimum. The neighbors might complain.”

Brad’s eyes lit with amusement before he scooped up Deuce and carried him into the house. Her puppy squirmed in Brad’s arms, his tail wagging with excitement.

Kendall had to shake her head at the way her puppy had grown so attached to Brad in such a short time. “I see I’ve got a little traitor on my hands,” she said, wagging a finger at her dog.

Brad scratched Deuce’s chin and grinned. “Dogs are excellent judges of character. And, well, you know the old saying—
man’s
best friend and all.”

“That saying wouldn’t have applied to Jake. He hated dogs and dogs hated him.”

“Really? Is that why you guys never got a dog before…” Brad seemed to realize his slip and let his question trail off. He was going to ask if that was the reason they hadn’t gotten a dog before he died. She turned away quickly to hide the hurt.

“Would you like whipped cream on your pie?” she asked, her voice cracking.

“Not a chance,” he said, taking a seat at the kitchen table. “I’m a total purist when it comes to your baking. I want to savor every bite unmasked.”

After slicing the pie, she went over and set a plate and a glass of milk before him. Even though she had no appetite, she placed a piece of pie on the table for herself and sat down with him. Brad immediately picked up his fork and dug in like a man who hadn’t eaten in a month, while Deuce sat on his lap eyeing every forkful.

“Best pie I’ve had all day.”

The wink he sent her threw Kendall off-balance for a second, but she managed to cover it with a wry smile. “Thanks.”

Brad went back to eating, and she picked up her fork and nonchalantly pushed her own pie around on the plate while he made appreciative sounds. For several minutes nothing else was said, but she didn’t mind. His mere presence in her kitchen was comforting enough. It was nice having his company again, the way they could joke with each other. She’d missed this, the easy camaraderie they used to share.

He inhaled the last bite of his pie and finally looked up. “So what does your grandmother think of the whole bakery idea?”

Kendall gave up the pretense of eating and set down her fork. “Oh, she’s completely behind it. Everyone is, actually. Why?” she asked, biting her lip. “You think it’s a mistake, don’t you?”

A flash of humor crossed Brad’s face. “Kendall, relax. You didn’t make a mistake. What you’re doing is admirable—it takes a lot of guts to open up your own business. I’m proud of you. Jake would be proud of you too.”

Kendall’s gaze dropped to her lap as she thought about that. She’d often discussed her bakery dreams with Jake before they were engaged, but he had always talked her out of it. Jake hadn’t wanted her opening up a business because of the risk and money involved. He’d convinced her that it would have been too early to put such a time strain on their marriage. Plus, there was the hope that they would immediately start a family and he didn’t want her devoting so much time to her work.

Brad reached out and covered her hand with his own. “Hey, where did you go just then?” he asked gently. “You’re not worried about the start-up costs, are you? Because if you’d rather pay me in pies, I’m totally okay with that.”

She laughed. “I assure you I
will
pay you in money. The loan from the bank went through without a hitch.”

“Whew.” Brad ran his free hand over his forehead, pretending to wipe sweat off his brow. “That’s a relief. I’d hate to put a warrant out on someone so pretty.”

Her face flushed. Had he ever called her pretty before? She couldn’t remember. Funny how such a little compliment could fluster her. She realized Brad was still holding her hand, and a warm tingling began to grow in the pit of her stomach—flustering her even more. She looked away.

Don’t go there
, she warned herself. Brad wasn’t holding her hand for any other reason than to be comforting and supportive. Only trouble could come from reading anything more into it than that. She slowly withdrew her hands and placed them on her lap—away from his reach—pretending not to be affected by his touch.

She became aware of his strength and the warmth of his flesh, and a little shiver of wanting ran through her. She had to admit it felt so good to have that male contact again, even in such a simple way. It had been so long. But she shouldn’t encourage these thoughts. Deep down inside she knew she wasn’t ready to open her heart again. And even though she’d always liked Brad, she couldn’t jeopardize their relationship because of her physical needs, especially now when she needed his friendship and support more than ever.

“Well, enough about me,” she said, brushing imaginary crumbs from her lap. “Tell me about what’s going on in your life. Are you seeing anyone?” She winced as soon as the words left her mouth.

For goodness’ sake, why in the world would she ask him about his love life? Georgie had just mentioned to her that Brad wasn’t seeing anyone and was up to his neck in work. Besides, friend or not, it wasn’t any of her business if he was dating anyone. But for some strange reason, she held her breath, waiting for him to answer anyway.

Brad ran a hand over the top of his silky brown hair. She found it extremely charming that he seemed embarrassed by her question.

“No, I’m not seeing anyone,” he answered. “Yet. Not that this is any big news flash, I’m sure. Georgie has been loudly lamenting the state of my confirmed bachelorhood to everyone and anyone within the tristate area for the past year and a half.”

Kendall tried but failed to hide her laugh. “Uh, yeah. I might have heard her mention something about that in passing.”

He rolled his eyes. “Exactly. But I actually do have plans tomorrow night—nothing serious, only a first date. Maybe this will satisfy my sister and she’ll finally pipe down and quit trying to broadcast my availability to every single woman who comes through her pharmacy.”

It took a few seconds, but then what Brad had said finally registered in her brain.

Brad had a
date
.

Tomorrow night.

She cleared her throat and tried to sound nonchalant. “A first date? That’s…that’s…”
What is it exactly?
“Good,” she finished lamely.

Isn’t it?

Brad was smart and kind and…hot. He
should
be dating. Still, that little tidbit of information didn’t sit well with her.

Brad shrugged, then finished off the last bit of pie remaining on her plate. “You didn’t want that, did you?” he asked with a grin, pointing to her now-empty plate.

She shook her head. The one bite of blueberry pie she had eaten began to churn anyway. In fact, she had a feeling her already nonexistent appetite was pretty much shot for the rest of the evening.

“Do you want to go out?” he asked.

Her chin snapped up. “What?”

“You know,” he said, waving around his fork in a circle. “Do you think you’re ready to move on and go out on a date again with someone? I mean, it’s been nearly two years since Jake…”

She blinked and her pulse began to slow down. Brad wasn’t asking her out on a date. Why in the world would she think that? He already had a date. And they were just friends.

She reached up and rubbed her forehead. Why was she so hung up on the topic of dating and Brad’s good looks, anyway? She didn’t want to go out with Brad. She didn’t want to go out with
anyone.
So why was this discussion bothering her so much?

Frustrated with herself, she abruptly stood and started gathering the dishes. “I haven’t really thought about dating,” she lied.

Maybe she
should
think about it. A little bit. Her sudden reaction to Brad would indicate she was a grown woman with needs. But she wasn’t the type of person who could have a casual fling, so in her mind it was better to lasso those thoughts and shove them away until she was ready to commit to someone.
If
she could find someone…safe.

“The timing is all wrong for me,” she went on, unable to stop herself from babbling. “I just got Deuce and I should probably wait until I have the bakery on some kind of stable footing first. It wouldn’t be fair to whomever I was seeing. And I—”

Brad placed a hand on her arm and smiled. “It’s okay; I’m not Georgie or Dee. You don’t have to justify how you feel to me,” he said in a soothing voice. His words were supportive and understanding; however, his smile held a trace of sadness.

“Thanks.” She chewed on her lower lip as she glanced down at her arm. The mere touch of his hand sent a shiver through her body. Okay, so that tingly feeling wasn’t a fluke. It seemed that whenever he touched her, he upset her balance. In her mind, Kendall was convinced she wasn’t ready to move on with her love life, but her
body
seemed to voice a different opinion every time Brad touched her. Maybe she
was
ready. But she could only risk her heart with someone she deemed safe. And Brad was obviously not someone who was “safe”—for more reasons than just his career choice.