28
Kendra
It was awkward sitting at the same table as him.
He kept one eye on me and I couldn’t look at him without wanting to duck my head.
I’d dragged me feet when coming here. Hundreds of possible excuses played out inside my head on my journey downtown. But like everything else, it wouldn’t go away without first confronting it.
“They’re supposed to have the best burgers in town.” My uncle’s voice was much softer than I remembered from my childhood.
I glared at him out of the corner of my eye before lifting my iced tea and curling my lips over the rim. The cool drink moved over my tongue but did nothing to settle my uncomfortably dry throat. Setting my glass down, I picked up the menu to decide what I wanted to eat. After a quick browse, nothing sounded good. “The Tower Tavern has the best burgers.” I folded the menu and set it off to the side. “Not this place.”
“Then I guess I should have done my homework.” He lifted his gaze up off the menu he was reading and snickered. But I didn’t find it amusing.
When I knew he wasn’t looking, I took a minute to study the clothes he was wearing. He was dressed in a maroon button-down with an open collar. It wasn’t tucked into his blue jeans, and his leather shoes could use a quick polish. But other than those minor infractions, he presented himself better than I would have thought.
“Not funny?” His smiled touched the corners of his eyes.
Rolling my eyes, I refused to play into his hand.
My uncle was a large man and in his prime, had muscles to prove it. Though he wasn’t the same youthful man I remembered. His muscles that once stretched his shirts were now replaced by soft fat. He still had a shaved head, though I imagined that his jet-black hair—the same color as my own—would be salt and pepper now if he ever let it grow out.
“It’s in Beverly Hills. You probably didn’t even think to look past the city.” I rolled my eyes and turned my head away, annoyed by my having to be here. “Look,” I turned back to find his amber brown eyes waiting, “I know you’ve been in town for a while.”
Setting down his own menu, he lowered his gaze and nodded.
This time it was my turn to stare into his face without the fear of him looking back. His facial features reminded me of my grandfather, his lips and ears the same as his sister—my mother. “If you knew I lived here, why didn’t you come to me sooner?”
Glancing up at me from under his brow, I knew he was taking his time, choosing his words slowly. Resting one hand on top of the other, he sighed. “It’s been so long. I just wanted to make sure that the woman I was seeing,” he turned his head away, breaking eye contact, “was actually you.”
I leaned back into my booth, casting my gaze down at my fumbling fingers. “And now that you found me?”
He grinned hard enough to deepen his dimples. “It’s you.”
“No shit,” I mumbled under my breath.
The waitress came to take our orders. My uncle insisted that I order first. Not sure I was even hungry anymore, I ordered a regular cheeseburger with a side of fries. And as my uncle ordered his bacon cheeseburger, I felt sick to my stomach as I watched him be so kind to the woman—like he was free from the guilt I knew he should be feeling.
As soon as it was just us, he turned his attention back to me. “Your mom has been asking about you.”
Scratching my forearm with my nails, I let my gaze travel from table to table, looking for my way out. “Is that your reason for being here?” I turned to meet his wide gaze.
“They miss you, Kendra.” He leaned forward and lowered his voice. “You have no idea the kind of anguish you have put them through.”
My eyelids hooded as I fought back the urge to scream in his face. It was difficult for me to believe the bullshit he was feeding me. If my parents really missed me they would have come themselves. “Did they send you to come find me?”
His forehead twisted as his eyes pleaded with me to calm down. My blood boiled and my heart pumped the anger I was feeling through my entire body, spreading the fire threatening to explode on him. After what my parents did to me, they were the last people I wanted to see.
He turned his eyes to the same tables I was just looking at. Then he rolled his neck back to me and said, “I live here now.”
My eyes widened as I openly stared at him. He was serious. He lived here. In LA. The city I called home. How long? And why was I was just learning this? So many questions raced through my brain, it only scrambled the confusion I was already experiencing. This couldn’t be; was he serious?
He nodded as if seeing my own disbelief spread over my face.
My chin tucked back into my neck and I shook my head, feeling my last breath of air catch in my throat. Recoiling back inside myself, my brows pinched and my heart beat erratically as I thought that not only did he know where I lived but, now we both lived in the same city. LA wasn’t big enough for the two of us—let alone just me.
“Kendra.” He reached out and went for my hand, balled on top of the table in a tight fist.
Pulling it back before he could touch me, I held both my hands against my pounding heart. The diamond ring Kelly gave me caught the light and sent rainbow prisms scattering across the nearest wall. It was strangely beautiful despite the betrayal I was feeling inside.
I watched my uncle stare at the kaleidoscope of colors dancing over the wall before turning back to settle his eyes on the ring. “Someone special give that to you?”
I dropped my hands, hiding them beneath the table. I didn’t want to discuss Kelly, or anything about my personal life for that matter. He didn’t deserve to know—at least not until I understood what it was he was truly after.
Then his gaze moved to my neck.
This time it was the black diamond white gold necklace his eyes were after.
Feeling exposed, I lifted my hand to touch the necklace. But it was a mistake. I failed to remember that I was also wearing a family heirloom bracelet on that wrist. One given to me by my grandmother—his mother—and something I knew he would most certainly recognize.
“Well, regardless of who gave that to you,” he leaned back but kept his forearms on top of the table, “it looks like you’re doing well.”
Glancing down my front, I regretted not dressing more conservatively. Though I was wearing clothes that I would have worn any day of the week, my open shoulder collared shirt wasn’t enough to keep him from making me feel uncomfortable.
“What do you do for work?” His eyes were warmer now that they had traveled over every inch of my body.
Looking around, I knew that I was safe. We were in public and there were too many other people around for him to do anything. Yet I still closed the top button of my shirt, wondering if he even knew I’d gone to law school. “If it’s money you’re after you can go look somewhere else.”
His lips were wrapped around his straw when I said it, but as soon as he swallowed down his drink he began laughing. “That’s not why I’m here.” He wagged his finger at me. “Though, with our family history, I could see why you would think that.”
My body tensed as my mouth curled with distaste.
He continued to laugh, each one getting louder than the last.
Pulling my cell phone free from my clutch, I checked the time and said, “You know what, I’m busy, and can’t stop my life when you just show up out of the blue like this.”
He leaned back with a rosy face and wide grin.
Gathering my things, I scooted out from behind the table and said, “Don’t worry about lunch. I’ll pay for it on my way out.”
His cold hand clamped around my elbow, catching me before I got too far way.
The room spun as I stared into his beady eyes.
A glass fell from a table behind me and shattered when it hit the floor.
My feet jumped off the floor as my heart lurched up my throat.
Time all but stopped.
My heart pounded.
I tried to jerk my arm free but his grip only tightened. “Let me go,” I said through a clenched jaw. Black spots began filling my eyes. I felt claustrophobic, like I couldn’t breathe. Panic started to settle in and just as I was about to scream for help, he let go of my arm.
“It’s your parents,” he said sharply. “That’s the reason why I’m here. Kendra,” his brow wrinkled, “they’re in trouble.”