Unwanted Heat

I did expect something more to have come up on her ex’s background report, though, but at least I finally have a fucking name to go with the little that she has told me about him. So many times I’ve wanted to ask her what the fuck she was doing with a slime ball who wanted to control her life and who hit her, but I don’t. I know that asking her that wouldn’t bring me any answers; I can picture her closing up the moment I raise the issue. I also want to know about her childhood: what happened that she talks so little about that time in her life? I’m tempted to ask Carter to dig into that too, but at the same time, I want Kenzie to open up and tell me herself.

Before we leave to pick her up for dinner, I call the venue we decided on for the wedding and speak with the manager. I have signed NDAs by all their staff within the hour-hearing that they will have the opportunity to host my wedding has the owner moving very quickly. I contact my travel agent and provide him with the details of the honeymoon that I want booked. If all goes as planned, in just over two weeks, PFS’s PR department will release a statement announcing our marriage, complete with a picture from the ceremony as proof.

“Good evening, Kenzie, you look… stunning,” I can’t help but struggle with the words when she answers the door in a deep blue wrap dress that seems to hug her curves just perfectly, before becoming much looser at her waist.

“Thank you,” she blushes and moves to close the door.

“Hunter, Ben and Julie will be down shortly to move your boxes and take care of the kitchen. If they miss anything, they will get it tomorrow morning for you.”

“Thank you.”

With my hand on her back, we head to the parking garage where the SUV is waiting to take us to my parents’ house. Looking at the ring on her hand has reality setting in-I, Nicholas Parker, will be getting married in less than two weeks. Even if the marriage is arranged, and not for love, the idea that I’m letting a woman back into my personal space is frightening.

Before the weekend I was sick, I swore I would never let a woman into my space; that I would never put myself at risk again. I learned with my ex that an NDA means nothing; for the right price she was willing to risk it all. I’ll never know if her motive was simply money or if it was to actually ruin me. I have no doubts that Kenzie is different, but the risk still remains nonetheless. I trusted my ex; I let her into my life, never expecting her to end up being a complete fake who only used me. I never expected to fall for her to the point of practically blinding me; although looking back, I think the attraction was more lust than anything else. The realization of just how blind I was has me second guessing this entire arrangement with Kenzie-what if it backfires on me again? Kenzie has proven to me that she isn’t like my ex, but what if it’s all an act? What if she is just a better actress than Harper was? What if-

“Are you okay?” Kenzie pulls me from my near anxiety attack.

“Yeah, fine,” I lie.

“I’m glad you are because I’m a nervous wreck,” she admits with a small laugh.

“You are? Why? You know my parents adore you,” I turn my focus back to her, relieved to not have to go down memory lane, analyzing all the mistakes I’ve made in my life.

“I worry what your parents will think about our engagement-that maybe they will think it’s all too soon. Most people take months to plan a wedding, yet we’re doing it in less than two weeks. Don’t you think they will be suspicious about that?”

“Kenzie, calm down,” I squeeze her hand reassuringly. “My parents knew each other for less than one week before they were married so-”

“What? Less than a week?”

“Yes, they were married six days after they first met,” I chuckle recalling the story my parents have told us so many times. “They met at some type of a conference they were both attending. My mom was there as part of a med school class, while my father was there because a friend dragged him along to keep him from being bored. It was in Vegas, of all places. Over lunch on the first day, they were in line next to each other, and when my father realized that my mother was there alone, he invited her to join him for lunch. The story goes that they hit it off immediately; they spent the next few days spending all their free time together. Even though they lived near each other, when the time came to leave Vegas, neither of them wanted their relationship to end. Personally, I think a little alcohol was involved in the decision, but according to the both of them after the final day they were walking around the city one last time and walked past a wedding chapel. My father joked that they should get married and when my mother turned to him to say yes, they walked right into the chapel.”

“Really? Wow… that’s so sweet!”

“They’ve been married 35 years now and love to tell the story of how they met every year on their anniversary. They both said after spending so much time together they just knew that they were meant to be. When they returned home, they moved in together and finished their degrees while supporting each other.”

“So, you don’t think this will sound suspicious to them?”

“I think they are going to be surprised; I can almost guarantee that. They probably expect something like this from Cara, but they will definitely not expect it from me. I think it would raise more concerns if they hadn’t met you already, so that’s definitely going to work in our favor.”ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

“I hope so.”

“Don’t be nervous; my family adores you and they will be happy with the news.”

“Sir, ma’am,” Carter alerts us that we are parked in my parents’ driveway. I hadn’t realized the car had stopped since my focus was on easing Kenzie’s concerns.

“I should take this,” I slide the ring off of her finger before we leave the car. “I’ll put it back on at dinner right before we share the news.”

She nods and I slip the ring into my jacket pocket before sliding out of the SUV; she follows after me, and we walk into my parents’ house with my hand on her back. We are immediately greeted by Cara who quickly lets Kenzie know how much she loves the dress she is wearing tonight. I watch as she takes Kenzie’s hand and leads her into the great room where everyone is waiting for us. I sit down next to Austin who, unlike the last time we were here, looks much more like himself and immediately starts talking about the baseball game that was on yesterday.

“Everyone, dinner is ready,” my mom announces a short time later.

Kenzie waits for me before heading into the dining room. As we sit down I can sense the nervousness returning to her as her leg shakes under the table.

“Stop worrying,” I lean over and whisper to her before placing my hand on her knee, trying to calm her down. She smiles at me although the tension doesn’t leave her body; I leave my hand on her knee, under the excuse to comfort her, even if it’s more because I don’t want to not touch her.

Small talk is made while we pass around the plates of food; once again, Kenzie comfortably joins in on conversations, and my family does everything they can to include her at dinner. One of the first times I brought Harper here for dinner, it was beyond uncomfortable; I swear you could cut the tension in the room with a knife. At the time, I chalked it up to her being nervous about meeting my family, but looking back I realize how little of an effort she even made to get to know them.

I can’t picture her ever going shopping with Cara like Kenzie did, and she certainly never would have let Cara dress her in those awful outfits that Kenzie wore. Watching Kenzie comfortably chat with my family, eases my earlier worry and leads me to think that perhaps, I am making the right decision.

When dinner finishes, I take Kenzie’s ring from my jacket pocket and slip it under the table. While Kenzie is talking with my mom about something, I bring her hand beneath the table onto her lap. To anyone who is paying any attention, I’m sure this just looks like I want to hold her hand. However, once our hands are hidden by the table cloth, I slip the ring back onto her finger and give her hand a gentle squeeze preparing her for the announcement I’m about to make.

“I have some news that I would like to share,” I take a deep breath and say during a lull in the conversation. All eyes are immediately on me; I’m sure everyone expects me to share some news about a company PFS has brought on or something like that. I doubt anyone expects what I’m about to say. “Earlier today, I asked Kenzie to marry me, and she said yes.”

“Wow…” My mom leans back in obvious surprise. “I’m thrilled for you both; this is so exciting.”

“Never thought I would see the day, bro but congrats,” Austin slaps me on the back.

“Congratulations, Son,” my dad said.

“So, have you picked a date yet?” Cara asks. “I can’t wait to start planning!”

“We will be getting married two weeks from yesterday,” I reply and watch everyone’s jaws hit the floor for the second time in only a few minutes.

“Oh my God! Are you pregnant, Kenzie?” Cara asks loudly.

“No! Definitely not,” Kenzie quickly stammers.

“Cara!” mom scolds her.

“I’m sorry… I just thought…”

“It’s okay, Cara. No, we are not planning a quick wedding because Kenzie is pregnant,” I confirm, almost chuckling to myself at the irony of that question, given that Kenzie and I haven’t even had sex.

“Two weeks… that’s not much time, Nicholas,” my mom points out.

“It’s not a lot of time, but we both want a very small wedding so there won’t be a lot to plan. The venue for the wedding has already been booked-”

“Where are you getting married?” Cara interrupts.

“On a beach on the coast of the Carolinas,” I answer.

“Wait until you see the pictures, it’s absolutely beautiful there. The beach is very private and is surrounded by rocks and the ocean,” Kenzie describes the pictures we viewed online almost perfectly. I can see the smile in her eyes as she describes the beach where the ceremony will take place.

“You’ve already booked the location?” my dad asks, his eyes questioning.

“Yes, we’ve been talking about getting married for a couple of weeks now, so we knew the type of wedding we both wanted. Before I proposed today, I found a few venues that I thought Kenzie would like and afterwards we both chose one that happened to be our favorite.” “How did he ask you, Kenzie?” my mom asks.

“He completely surprised me,” Kenzie goes on to tell how I picked her up this morning, took her horseback riding and then proposed over a picnic lunch.

“Nicholas, can I speak to you for a moment?” My dad asks.

“I’ll be right back,” I whisper to Kenzie before kissing her gently on the cheek and following my dad into his office. I was expecting him to ask to see me, no doubt to ensure that I have had Kenzie sign a prenup.

“Let’s have a drink to celebrate your engagement, Son,” he pours me a small glass of scotch. We clink our glasses before taking a drink.