When I arrived to pick up Kennedy on Saturday morning, my stomach was a riot of nerves. She looked adorable bundled up in cold weather gear, her face peeking out from above a multi-colored knitted scarf that looked like one of the ones Grace’s aunt Desdemona sold at her shop on Centennial Street. I wondered if Kennedy had done some research after her accident on Monday to make sure she wasn’t caught unprepared again. Perhaps it was strange, but I liked the idea of that.
“Hey, you.” I greeted her with a smile and waited while she locked up, then led her to my Ute. My skiing gear was in the back, and I’d borrowed my younger brother, Toby’s, equipment for her since when I’d messaged her earlier, she’d said she didn’t own any herself, and they were a similar size. If they didn’t fit, we could always rent what we needed instead.
I asked her about her week and listened to the highlights of her new job while I drove to the turnoff. We cruised for a while until we drew near the resort and encountered traffic. I slowed and followed behind. When we arrived, I got out and went around to the trunk get our stuff out.
“Do you have anything you need to put in a locker?” I asked.
“I don’t think so.” She slipped her wallet into her pocket and grabbed a pair of gloves from the car.
“Cool. Wait here while I go get us a day pass, and then we can head for the beginner slopes.” I quirked a brow. “Unless you want to start somewhere else?”
“Nope.” She popped the “p.” “Beginner slopes sound good to me.” She touched my arm. “But I can pay my share.”
“It’s my treat. You haven’t been paid by the resort yet, have you?” I shouldn’t do things that make our outing seem more datelike, but I couldn’t seem to help myself. At first, I’d planned to invite a couple of friends, or perhaps some of my siblings—I had five to choose from—to join us, but I hadn’t been able to bring myself to do it. Stupid or not, I wanted to spend time with her, and I wanted to do it alone. Perhaps Asher was right, and I should just bite the bullet, ask her out, and then deal with the consequences when she inevitably returned to Los Angeles.
“No, but I can afford it,” she replied.
“I’d like to do this for you,” I said. “Consider it a gesture of friendship.”
Yeah, sure. Friendship. That’s why I dreamed of her naked last night.
I left before she could argue and hurried into the small shop attached to the resort, where they dealt with ski passes and equipment rentals. At the counter, I asked for two day passes and pocketed them before heading back out into the cold. Kennedy was waiting where I’d left her, cheeks pink from the cool wind, lips pursed and looking 100 percent kissable. My heart gave aka-thunkwhen she raised her eyes and smiled.
“Thanks,” she said.
“You’re welcome.” I shouldered as much of the gear as I could and waited for her to take the rest. “This way.” I led her toward a bench beside a gentle slope on the edge of the parking lot where a few children and their harried-looking parents were gliding—or stumbling—over the snow. “So, tell me about your family.”
She watched as I sat on the bench and started pulling my gear on, then did the same. “I have four younger siblings.” She snuck a look at me, her forehead scrunched as though she was trying to figure out what I was doing. “One full and three half.”
“Do you need a hand?” I asked as she tugged at her laces.
“I’ve got it.” She gave me an unconvincing smile. “My brother, Blair, is in high school. He’s the only other kid from Mom’s first marriage.” A flicker of pain passed over her features. “My dad died when I was young.”
“I’m sorry.” I felt a pang. I loved my parents to bits. I couldn’t imagine losing one of them.
She blew out a breath. “Yeah, it sucked. I miss him. But Mom’s new husband, Malcolm, is awesome, and so are my half sister and brothers, Mina, Jamie, and Joel.”
“Are they much younger than you?” I finished with my shoes and watched her out the corner of my eye. I’d known it was unlikely Kennedy had skied much before, but I was beginning to wonder if she’d done it at all. I itched to help her, but she’d said she didn’t want it and until she indicated otherwise, I needed to respect that.
“Mina is nine, and the twins are eight.” She finished her shoes and wobbled to her feet.
“I have twin siblings too,” I told her. “Nate and Max are twenty-two. Nate is at police college and Max is studying to be a doctor.”
“Wow.” Her eyes widened. “Your family likes to help people, huh?”
I shrugged, uncomfortable with the praise. Perhaps that was the case for Max who had the biggest heart of anyone I knew, but for Nate and I, it was more a matter of wanting a job we could do locally and that wouldn’t bore us out of our minds. “They’re not the only twins. Summer and Toby, the youngest, are still in school.”
“Two sets of twins?” She sounded stunned. “Your poor parents.”
I chuckled. “Yeah. It can’t have been easy, but we seem to have turned out all right.”
We finished getting ready and made our way onto the slope.
“So, there are five kids in your family?” she asked. “Same as me?”
“Six,” I corrected. “Nate and Max are the oldest, then there’s me. My brother, Connor, is between me and the younger twins. He’s at school too, although not for much longer.”
“Do you like being part of such a big family?”