Kingsley series book 5.5
Haylee Thorne
1
Phoenix
Today it is exactly three-hundred and sixty-five days ago that my life completely changed. Changes that left me with feelings that are bitter and sweet all at once. Last year around this time, I never knew about my dirt bag father—Mason Kingsley, and the cruel things he did to my poor mother. And I didn’t know that I had siblings—my younger siblings, twins Mika and Mikaela. And when I finally did find them, (or rather they found me), I didn’t just gain an amazing brother and an incredible sister, I also got access to a ridiculous amount of money, and was a thrown into a lifestyle that to this day feels surreal.
Twelve months ago, I was serving tables at a little hole in the wall café and teaching dance classes on the side to support my dreams of pursuing a career in art. Today, I own my very own dance school, I have art studios around New York City and my work is actually selling. And then there is River. The man that occupies quite a big portion of my heart, and a large amount of my thoughts, but unfortunately, due to the fact that we are both starting out at promising careers, not as much of my time as either of us would like. And now that I am responsible for planning Mikaela’s bachelorette party since our sister-in-law Raeva who is the maid of honor wanted me to have a big part in our sister’s wedding, I am busier than ever. The pressure of coming up with the best bachelorette party ever is almost crushing. Although each of my new family members has gone above and beyond to make me feel welcome and part of the family, it sometimes still feels like I am earning my spot. Which is probably why I have been sitting here for the past six hours meticulously going over the final details of my sister’s rite of passage. I am so focused on my task at hand, that I nearly jump out of my seat when Eddie, my bodyguard clears his throat.
“One of these days, Eddie,” I tell him clutching my chest. “I am going to tie a damn bell around your neck.”
Although the expression on his face remains stoic, I don’t miss the slight twitching of the corner of his mouth. Clearly, he’s amused. Maybe that should annoy me, but the small crack in his armor feels like a win to me. Especially since it has only been the second win since I’ve known him. (The first being that he stopped correcting me when I called him Eddie instead of Edward. Not there is anything wrong with his actual name, but I felt it was just too formal.) Eddie has been my main bodyguard for months now, and he still refuses to call me anything but Ms. Kingsley. I swear, I’ve never met anyone as robotic as Eddie. His brown hair is always perfectly styled, never a single strand out of place. His clothing unfailingly immaculate, and the expression on his face has no other setting than grave. But, at least I only have to deal with one bodyguard, unlike Mikaela, who has four of them to contend with since she kept ditching hers. Our brother is overprotective to the extreme, and he takes our safety more seriously than anything.
“You left this downstairs,” he tells me as he hands me my cell phone.
I smile gratefully as I thank him.
“My mom used to tell me that I’d lose my head if it wasn’t attached to my body,” I add.
I am sure he has a response, but in usual robotic fashion, he simply nods and excuses himself. I can’t help but smile and shake my head.
One of these days I am going to get that man to crack a smile. I tell myself
I look down at the phone in my hand and notice the multiple missed calls. I barely have time to scroll through them before my phone starts ringing again. Butterflies go rampant deep inside my belly when I see his name flash on the screen. River Ray. Images of his perfect dimples and panty-dropping smile flash through my brain. I swipe right to answer the call.
“Hey there,” I breathe.
“Hey there, PK,” he replies.
My heart flutters each time he uses his nickname for me. I can hear the smile in his voice and I immediately return the smile. Even if he can’t see it.
“You were already gone when I woke up this morning,” I tell him, unable to completely mask my sulkiness.
“I know, I’m sorry. But you were sleeping so peacefully, I didn’t want to wake you up. Besides, it gave me a chance to ogle you freely for a bit.”
Images of me, drooling onto my pillow come to mind and I can quite literally feel my cheeks redden.
“That’s a little creepy, River,”
I tell him in a feeble effort to deter him from doing this in the future.
He chuckles.
“I’m actually okay with that.”
I groan.
“Please tell me there was no drool involved.”
“From you or from me?”
That earns him a laugh. “Either.”
“No drool,” he tells me. “But some light snoring.”
“I. Do. Not. Snore.”