Stolen Kisses

  How ironic would it be if after warning my whole family not to scare him off—I did?

  Dax remained outwardly calm even as chaos broke loose inside him. Kenzi loves me? She can’t. She doesn’t know me. She thinks she does because she met me during a rough time in her life.

  Love? I said I wouldn’t hurt her, but if she loves me, there’s no good way this can end. He didn’t have one good memory associated with the word.

  Kenzi’s mother cooed and seemed excited to meet Taffy. Kenzi left his side to show the dog to Sophie.

  Dale started introducing Dax to his sons. Dax shook their hands on autopilot, but his mind was still racing. Before coming inside he’d had a polite but strained conversation with Dale. Although Dale hadn’t apologized for anything he’d said the night before, he seemed sincere enough in his welcome. They’d carefully talked about nothing of importance until Dale had suggested Dax follow him in.

  While talking to her mother, Kenzi looked up and gave him such a sweet look of concern Dax felt like even more of an ass. Had he been the kind of man to retreat, he would have stepped backward out of the room, out of Kenzi’s life. Seeing her with her family brought home to him how very different they were.

  Ian cleared his throat loudly and sounded as if he were repeating a question for a second time. “How long will you be in town?”

  Dax forced his attention to the four men in front of him. “I haven’t decided.”

  “You’re based in London for the most part, is that correct?” Ian asked.

  “That’s correct.”

  “Was it business that brought you to town?”

  Dale interjected, “Ian, go easy.”

  “Dad, you might be fooled by his puppy-holding act, but I know too much about Mr. Marshall to believe he’s here just because he likes Kenzi. So, what is it, Marshall? Are you expanding your net beyond Poly-Shyn? Are you hoping that dating Kenzi will provide you with some kind of protection? It won’t. In fact, it will have the opposite effect.”

  Dax took a deep breath. Ian was pushing him, but Dax had his temper firmly in check.

  Lance nodded toward the door. “Ian, can we talk? Alone.”

  Grant put his hand on Ian’s shoulder and said, “This is what happens when you’re late, Ian. You missed an important memo. We’ll be right back.” With that, Grant and Lance escorted Ian into the hallway.

  Dale said, “They mean well. They love their sister, and they only want the best for her.”

  Dale’s explanation made him feel worse instead of better. He had no time to reflect on it, though, before Sophie and Kenzi walked over.

  Sophie held out her hand. “So this is the infamous Dax Marshall.”

  Dax shook her hand gently. “Most people just call me Dax.”

  Sophie nodded. “Kenzi told me Taffy was a gift from you.”

  Dax met Kenzi’s eyes briefly before confirming, “She was.”

  Sophie smiled. “You can tell a lot about a man by how he is with children and animals.”

  Dax shrugged. “I have next to no experience with either.”

  Sophie looked at her husband warmly. “My husband was pretty much the same. Dale, when we were dating, did you ever think you’d have six children?”

  Dax loosened the tie around his neck a smidge. He’d never imagined himself as a family man. Hell, he’d never been in a relationship that lasted longer than a month. He looked at Kenzi quickly. Is that what you want? To be married with more children than we could remember the names of? I’m not that man, Kenzi.

  “Mom, stop.” Kenzi’s face went a delightful shade of pink.

  Dale gave Dax a sympathetic pat on the back. “I could use some coffee, how about you, Dax?”

  “Sounds good.”

  Kenzi joined Dax as they walked into the other room. In a lowered voice, she said, “Is this as bad as I said it could be? We can leave.”

  Dax shook his head once. He’d come because he’d felt it was important to Kenzi, and he cared about her. Yes, she’d said she loved him, but did that have to mean relationship Armageddon was looming? Other women had said they loved him. They hadn’t been devastated when he’d moved on.

  Had they?

  Dax wasn’t the type to look back. He plowed forward in business and in his personal life. Most opportunities, like most relationships, had a peak value that diminished over time. Decisive actions optimized profit as well as they kept relationships simple. That’s why he was brutally honest. I told Kenzi I don’t do relationships. I told her I’m not the man she thinks I am.

  He took a seat beside her at a table set with coffee and pastries. Kenzi put Taffy on the floor beside her feet. Her parents sat across from them. Dax looked at Kenzi and found her watching him with that fucking trusting expression of hers. He wanted to slap his hands down on the table and yell, “Stop looking at me like that. When you do I feel badly about every relationship I ended without regard for how the woman felt, every company I bought out from beneath a family like yours. You make me want to confess to things I never considered wrong. Stop.”

  Because when you look at me like that, I hate who I am.

  Kenzi’s brothers took their seats around the table. Lance shot Kenzi a not-so-subtle thumbs up. Grant shook his head in amused disgust at Lance’s lack of tack. Ian nodded in acknowledgement, but his expression was guarded as he looked at Dax.

  It was obvious Kenzi had done exactly what he’d suggested she do; she’d had a talk with her brothers. Dax took Kenzi’s hand in his and gave it a supportive squeeze. No matter how tangled up he was about himself, watching Kenzi stand up for herself was amazing. He wanted to leave her better than he’d found her. If their time together could somehow strengthen her bond with her family, then he’d have done something right with her. That had to count for something.

  He thought over their last conversation about Dean. If he offered Dean advice on how to keep his company, he doubted there was a man at the table who wouldn’t be suspicious of his motives. Hell, if their roles were reversed he wouldn’t trust him either.

  Kenzi and her family were joking about something, but Dax wasn’t paying attention. He was deep in thought. Despite the issues they had, Kenzi’s love for her family was as clear as their love for her. The bond between her parents was equally unsettling. They’d been together for thirty-plus years. They shouldn’t look that happy with one another. The longest marriage his father had had was three years. His uncle had never married and had always called marriage legalized prostitution. Men gave up half of everything they owned for the dubious right to fuck a woman. According to his uncle, wealth was better than any marriage license; it ensured sex was always readily available without subscribing to the outdated practice of monogamy. Anyone who didn’t see that was a fool destined to be disappointed every time, as Dax’s father had been. Until now, Dax had agreed with his uncle.

  Dale, however, didn’t look disappointed. The warmth in his eyes as he listened to Sophie tell a story was real. As were the tender touches the couple exchanged.

  “How did you two meet?” Ian asked.

  Dax pulled himself back to the present. “Kenzi was staying at a resort I’d just purchased.”

  “The Atlantia?”

  “Yes.”

  Kenzi’s voice rose with wonder. “You own the Atlantia? I love that place. I’ve been going there for the past five years. Is that why you were there?”

  Ian continued without giving Dax time to answer Kenzi. “Before you get too excited, Kenzi, your friend isn’t known for buying anything he doesn’t intend to flip for fast profit.”

  Dale frowned at his son. “That’s enough, Ian.”

  “Is it, Dad? I know people who have had the misfortune of dealing with Marshall. Good people who didn’t deserve to wake up and see everything they’d worked for taken away just like that.” Ian snapped his fingers in the air. “There are businessmen and then there are sharks. Sharks don’t care about the wreckage they leave in their wake, they go in for the kill, then th
ey move on. I’m sorry, Kenzi. I can’t pretend to like a man I have no respect for.”

  Kenzi snapped, “How is any of what you described different from what Asher does?”

  Dax stood. He opened his mouth to say something then saw the distress in Kenzi’s eyes and changed his mind. “Dale, Sophie, thank you for the coffee.”

  Dale stood. “You don’t have to leave, Son.”

  “My presence is overshadowing the reason Kenzi came today.” So is the fact that I want to punch one of your sons.

  Kenzi picked up Taffy. “If you leave, Dax, I’m going with you.”

  Dax nodded curtly to the others who were also coming to their feet. He forced his features and his voice to remain calm. “Give us a moment.” He stepped into the hallway with Kenzi so their conversation couldn’t be easily overheard. “Kenzi, you came here to talk to your mother because she’s hurting just like you were. I’m distracting you from that.”

  “You’re not.”

  Dax touched her cheek softly. “I am. Stay and talk to them.”

  Kenzi shook her head sadly. “It wasn’t supposed to be like this, Dax. I talked to my brothers. I thought they understood.”

  “I told you about my job. What I do doesn’t always make me the most popular person in the room. I’m used to it. Meeting your family was—interesting.” He smiled. “They’re still better than mine.”

  Kenzi looked up at him with her half bald dog in her arms, and Dax’s heart did that crazy thudding that only happened around her. She went up onto her tiptoes and gave him a brief kiss that was so sweet he almost changed his mind about leaving without her. “Don’t go, Dax.”

  He rested his forehead on hers. He wasn’t a man who spent much time worrying about how others felt, but he wanted Kenzi to be happy so much it hurt. “If I stay this will be about me. It wasn’t supposed to be. Organize a fundraiser with your mother. Tell your brothers off again. But don’t do any of that because of me, do it because you want to. Call me later.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Kenzi hugged Taffy to her chest. She wanted to run after Dax, but she didn’t. He was right. The reason she’d planned the visit that day had been because her mother had learned about the talk she’d given to the students. Their mother-daughter relationship needed some repairing. Kenzi turned to face her brothers who had come to stand just inside the dining room door. And I have a few things I need to say to you, too.

  Her father came to her side. “Is he gone?”

  Kenzi nodded.

  Sophie gave Ian a sad look. “Ian, this was important to Kenzi.”

  Looking non-apologetic, Ian said, “Kenzi, you don’t need a man like that in your life.”

  Kenzi put Taffy down and waved her hand at Ian, advancing on him. “Ian, someday you’ll bring someone home, and I hope to God we treat her better than you treated Dax. I came here today because I wanted to make sure Mom and the rest of you were okay about what I spoke about at the school.”

  Ian instantly deflated. “Kenzi, when I heard what had happened to you—”

  Kenzi shook her head angrily. “Don’t. I am so angry with you right now. I wanted to leave with Dax, but he thinks a family like ours is worth fighting for. Are we? I understand that you think you can treat me the way you do because I’ve let you dictate so much of my life. Well, I’m done. I deserve to be treated with respect. I deserve to be heard. And I should be able to bring home anyone I want and not be afraid that you will drive him away.”

  Sophie moved closer and put an arm around Kenzi. “Don’t get yourself all upset, Kenzi.”

  Kenzi took her mother’s hand in hers. “Please don’t tell me how to behave, Mom. I love you, but I can’t pretend to be perfect for you. I won’t. I want you to know me, the real me.”

  A confused frown wrinkled her mother’s forehead. “Of course I know you, I’m your mother.”

  Kenzi couldn’t believe the conversation had gotten as far as it had without her father intervening. She met his eyes and realized he wasn’t going to. He heard me. He finally did. “Mom, ever since we were little we didn’t want to upset you. We knew how much Kent’s death had hurt you. We wanted you to be happy, but trying to protect you built a wall between us. Between you and me, anyway. I didn’t feel like I could tell you anything. All I could be was the perfect little daughter you thought I was. But that wasn’t me. I’ve made some bad choices and pulled myself through some tough times. I did all that without you, Mom, because I thought you couldn’t handle the truth. I want to be me, Mom. And I want to talk to you about what happened to my twin. I want to share everything with you like mothers and daughters do. Can we do that, Mom? Can we be ourselves? Can that be good enough?”

  Sophie pulled her daughter to her for a long, tearful hug. “I didn’t know you felt this way, Kenzi. I didn’t know.”

  “I know, Mom.”

  “Don’t ever think there is anything you can’t tell me, baby. I love you.”

  “I love you, too.” Kenzi clung to her mother and sought her father’s eyes over her shoulder. Her father was blinking back tears. She looked past him to see her brothers’ reactions, but they were no longer in the room.

  Kenzi stepped back and wiped the tears from her face. It hadn’t been an easy road home, but she felt like she was finally there.

  Emily walked into the room and stopped as soon as she saw Kenzi’s face. “Is everything okay? I’m sorry, I shouldn’t intrude. I’ll go back outside.”

  “No,” Kenzi said, surprising herself. Everything she didn’t like about Emily suddenly felt petty. It wasn’t her fault Kenzi’s relationship with her parents was strained. Emily had done nothing but encourage them to spend more time together. She’s going to be my sister-in-law soon—very soon if Mom is right and she’s pregnant. I can continue to resent her, but then isn’t the problem me? “Stay, Emily. You’re family.”

  “You don’t know what it means to me to hear you say that.” A huge smile spread across Emily’s face, and she wiped a tear from her own eye. Kenzi walked over and gave her a hug that Emily returned warmly. Kenzi knew Emily had endured many losses, but it wasn’t until just then that she realized how hard that must have been for her. Kenzi and her brothers had issues they needed to resolve, but she still had them in her life. Emily was alone—at least she had been before Asher had brought her home.

  Taffy whined and Kenzi picked her back up. “Emily, meet Taffy. She’s had a rough time, but she’s healing up fast.”

  Emily ran her hands over the dog lightly. “The poor thing. Did you get her from a shelter?”

  “Not exactly, she’s a rescue though by every definition of the word.” She briefly retold her story then said, “Now she’s with me and is going to be spoiled rotten. I told her she’ll have to find a way to pay it forward.”

  Emily tilted her head to one side and said, “I’d love to sculpt her. What do you think of a before and after work? It could be an exhibit at my museum and be lent out to others. It might be a nice way to get her story out there and help other rescues find homes.”

  What did I ever not like about her? “You’d do that?”

  Sophie chimed in. “Line up all those projects for before the baby comes. No time for much after that.”

  “I’m sure,” Emily said then her eyes rounded. “Wait, how do you know? We just found out today.”

  Sophie smiled up at her husband. He wrapped and arm around her, and they both said, “We’re going to be grandparents.”

  Emily looked at the door then back to Kenzi. “We weren’t going to say anything today.”

  Kenzi laughed. “We’re all in trouble now, Mom. Unless you think we could pull off looking like we don’t know when Asher finally tells us.”

  Dale looked around the room. “Where is Asher?

  Emily motioned toward the door. “We met someone when we pulled in. Asher said he knew him. It sounded like they were headed for a heated business discussion, so I came in. Your brothers are out there with them, though. Who is that any
way?”

  Kenzi’s stomach flipped. With Taffy still in her arms she bolted for the door.

  Dax.

  She flew down the steps of her parents’ house toward where Dax and her brothers were standing. Dax was on one side with Lance and Grant flanking him, looking as if they were trying to mediate. Ian was there, watching. Asher and Dax were facing off.

  Asher growled, “Stay the fuck away from my sister.”

  “I’m not here for a fight, Asher,” Dax said, but his tone implied that if one were coming his way he was ready for it.

  Lance put a hand up in his oldest brother’s direction. “Asher, Mom is in the house. Don’t do this here.”

  Grant calmly agreed, “Let’s all take this down a notch.”

  Asher shook his head in disgust. “Grant, you don’t know this man as well as I do. If he’s here it’s because he has an agenda.”

  Dax’s hands clenched, and his tone turned deadly cold. “This isn’t about your sister, is it? You’re scared. Rumor has it you’re overextended from your last few projects. New Hampshire, wasn’t it? Then trouble in Trundaie. No wonder you’re nervous. If your investors start thinking you’re indecisive, it could leave your company—vulnerable.”

  Asher lunged for Dax at the same time that Kenzi threw herself between them. The force behind Asher’s move sent Kenzi falling backward with Taffy in her arms. She used her body to protect Taffy’s and took the full impact of the driveway on her shoulder and the side of her head.

  For a moment everything went still. There was no pain, no sound, just the shock of it and fear when Taffy bounced out of her arms. She pushed herself up and fell back against the tar as pain ricocheted through her head. She brought her hand to the side of her head and recoiled from the wetness she found there. She held a hand up to her face and almost passed out from the sight of her own blood.

  A piece of Dax died when he saw Kenzi hit the ground. He cursed himself for not catching her, for allowing himself to lose his temper with her brothers. He and Asher had clashed over business in the past, but never over anything personal. Although he knew Asher hadn’t meant to hurt Kenzi, Dax could have killed him for it just then. Dax and Asher rushed to Kenzi’s side, but Dale was already kneeling beside her.