Chapter Eighteen
PANTIES IN A TWIST
Bentley
After seeingSelene at the bakery and thinking about Kenzie, I take some time to figure out what I want. Selene definitely isn’t that, and while Kenzie makes my dick hard unlike anyone ever has, she’s nothing like any other woman I’ve dated in my past.
I kept telling myself that was a bad thing, but the more I think about her, the more I realize that maybe this wild woman came into my life at just the right time.
Maybe I needed to stop being such an ass and ask her on a proper date. Something tells me this could go badly—Kenzieisunpredictable—but that’s part of what draws me to her.
With reservations made at my favorite seafood house, I wait for Kenzie to accept my offer to dinner.
When she finally does, I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding.
“Shit, when was the last time I was nervous over a woman?” I mutter to myself. I don’t have an answer to that question, but I am thankful that the donations and majority of the fundraiser planning are done.
This dinner isn’t going to be about work. If Kenzie thinks that, I hope she realizes once she sees my email that our jobs are nearly done.
Plus, I meet with Joyce tomorrow, and I know she’ll be happy to see I got my shit together. I print my email to Kenzie, and I’ve made sure to add the donation from her father’s firm to the list with a note of credit to her.
Once I tuck that into my bag, I double-check that everything is locked up and decide to head home for the day.
“Hey, Brad,” I say when I exit my office. “I’m going to be unavailable for the rest of the day. Send anything urgent to the proper department heads if something comes up.”
He grins. “Sure thing, boss. Have a fun evening.”
I walk away without saying anything else. He’s good at his job, but a little too young for my liking. Everything is about having “fun” to him.
Though I do intend to get some tonight, that isn’t something I would ever discuss in the office. Hell, not even Owen has asked me about Kenzie. At least he’s a smart man, one who has been underutilized at this company for far too long.
I know the board recently promoted him, but he’s already mastered the marketing department. I have plans to challenge him further, but that’s a thought for another day.
Tonight is about Kenzie and hoping she doesn’t laugh in my face when I tell her this is a real date and not about the fundraiser or anything else.
* * *
Right at seven,I knock on Kenzie’s door and hear her laugh getting louder as she comes to the door humming a song I feel like I should know but can’t place.
“Seven o’clock on the dot.” She grins widely, grabs a small black purse from the hook next to the door, and locks up.
I stare at her and can’t speak. She’s wearing a navy-blue dress that hugs every curve and dips to her mid-back, plus black heels that can’t be comfortable to walk in but are sexy as hell.
When she turns around, my eyes go to her chest, and she shimmies her shoulders. “I take your silence to mean you like?”
My head nods eagerly. “I do. You look stunning.”
She gives me a slow once-over. I’m wearing gray slacks and, coincidently, my collared button-up is very close in color to her sexy dress.
Kenzie pats my cheek. “You ditched the tie and coat. I like it.”
She walks toward the stairs without waiting for me, and I shake my head while a smile grows on my face.
I lengthen my stride to catch up and follow her to the passenger side of my Range Rover before opening the door for her.
Her head cocks to the side, but she doesn’t comment on my actions.
I go around to the front and get in the driver’s seat. The silence is already beginning to feel awkward, and I don’t blame Kenzie for being confused. I was either being an asshole to her before or fucking her senseless. There wasn’t much of an in between, but still, she didn’t scare away easily. That’s how we got to where we are now.