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  Kade put a hand on Anthony’s shoulder. “It’s alright, bro.”

  Cassidy stepped up to both men, putting a hand on Anthony’s chest. “Please, stop.” She wiped beneath her eyes. “I’m sorry. It’s the pregnancy hormones. Stop, you know how I get when I’m pregnant. I can’t think clearly. Please.”

  Anthony’s hard gaze remained fixed on Kyle, who wasn’t backing down. Finally, Anthony tugged his hand back, and a slight curve crossed his lips. He put his other arm around Cassidy’s waist and pulled her close to him rather possessively. “Good to see you again, Kyle.”

  That had been the weirdest greeting with his ex ever.

  Kennedy popped up at his side, putting her arm through his and putting out her hand. “Hi, I’m Kennedy Dawson. I’m here with Kyle. Nice to meet you.” Her voice sounded so radio-ish, the same kind of tone she’d used on The Ray Ray Show.

  Both Anthony and Kade nodded to her.

  Kade’s wife, Felicity, stepped forward and shook her hand. “So nice to meet you.”

  Cassidy turned to Kennedy and smiled warmly. “Oh, that’s right. Scar was telling us you were bringing a guest from a contest on the radio.”

  Kennedy let out a soft, polished laugh. “Actually, I’m his date tonight.”

  Surprised, Cassidy turned to Kyle for confirmation.

  “I lucked out,” he said, trying to sound normal but still feeling weird after that strange extra-long hug from Cassidy and the death grip from Anthony.

  “That’s nice.” Anthony pursed his lips together.

  Kade stepped forward, blocking Anthony. “What is happening with the Surf this year? I’ve been meaning to get out and see Dumont, but I think he’s losing his touch.”

  Kyle fell into easy football conversation with Kade. Anthony didn’t move from Cassidy’s side, and he didn’t speak either. The women fell into easy chatter as well. True to her word, Kennedy stayed next to Kyle, and he included her in conversation. She was charming and asked great questions.

  It wasn’t long until the concert started and everyone had to file into their seats. As everyone drifted apart, Kyle waved goodbye to the Kincaids. His hackles rose when he heard Anthony say rather loudly, “’Bout time the man has a date. I’m tired of him pining over Cassidy. Too bad he ever escaped.”

  Kyle swiveled around and replied with a sharp right hook.

  Chapter 14

  Kennedy had heard Anthony’s comment. It rang oddly loud in the sea of people chatting. What she didn’t see coming was the punch that Kyle hauled off with, decking Anthony in the nose fast and hard.

  That moment felt slow. The next moments rushed past as he and Anthony exchanged a flurry of punches. Cassidy yelled, and Kennedy backed out of the way. Felicity turned and yelled at Kade to break it up.

  The thing about watching Kyle fight was that even though the first punch was out of nowhere and sloppy, Kyle was perfectly balanced on his feet. His hands were slightly raised, and she saw the laser-like—actually, the stalkerish focus she’d teased him about before. Only now it was all on Anthony, and Kyle seemed graceful in his movements as he avoided the attacks that came his way. Anthony looked more like a bull in a china shop, madly throwing punches while his nose bled.

  The fight was over as soon as it began, as Scar fought his way to the middle and pushed them apart. “Do you want to cause a media incident?” he growled, and nodded to a sign for a bathroom. “Both of you, come with me.”

  Adrenaline shot through Kennedy, and she couldn’t believe Kyle had actually hauled off and punched Anthony. Before she knew what happened, the whole group was shuffling to the sidelines.

  Cassidy hovered at her side, fresh tears on her face. Her hands fluttered. “I’m so sorry. I know that was weird earlier. When I’m pregnant, I’m all kinds of emotions, and I’ve just had all this guilt for so long about Kyle. I mean, I did so many things wrong in our relationship and … Anthony is probably tired of hearing about all my dreams about Kyle.”

  Kennedy tamped down her own emotions and shook her head. “It’s fine.”

  The rest of the crowd of people moved past them, heading into the concert. Some of Sloane Kent’s music was already pulsing through the air.

  Cassidy put her hand on Kennedy’s forearm. “I make Anthony crazy too. I think he’s always been a bit jealous of Kyle, ya know, because I was engaged to him. I’ve been such a wreck because I’ve known we were coming, and I just lost my father a couple of months ago, and as I’ve mentioned, the dreams about Kyle and—” She broke off, more tears flooding down her face.

  Kennedy felt bad for the woman. She was beautiful, but she was clearly a mess. It touched her, the comment about losing her father. Kennedy knew how bad it felt to lose parents.

  Cassidy wrung her hands. “I can’t believe Anthony said that.”

  “It’s okay,” said Kennedy, opening her arms.

  Cassidy fell into them. “I’m so sorry.”

  Kennedy had never expected she would be comforting Cassidy Kincaid tonight. She soothed her, smoothing a hand down her back. “It’s all going to work out.”

  Chapter 15

  When Kyle walked out of the bathroom, he did not feel sorry for hitting the guy, but he definitely felt some regret, especially after the tongue-lashing Scar had given both of them about drawing negative press to the project and ruining everything. He stopped, shocked to see something he’d never even imagined: Kennedy hugging his ex-fiancée.

  “Shh.” Kennedy rubbed circles into her back. “It’s okay.”

  Kyle and Anthony stopped in their tracks, stunned. They turned to each other, and without warning, both men broke into laughter at the insaneness of the situation.

  They stood there for a couple of seconds and watched the women, who seemed to be in a deep conversation. He noted that Kennedy looked like she might be crying too.

  Anthony blew out a breath. “I swear the woman’s been a mess since her father passed.”

  Kyle jolted. “I didn’t know about her father.” Compassion filled him. He had liked that old man. “Dang. That explains a lot.”

  Anthony sighed. “It doesn’t explain why she’s been having dreams about her ex-fiancé.”

  “Sorry about that, man.” Kyle let out a nervous laugh. What was he supposed to say?

  Anthony winced. “I know it’s not your fault. I’ve just been having to hear about Kyle Bones and all the dreams for the past few weeks.”

  Kyle couldn’t believe he was actually talking to Anthony like this. “I’m sorry.”

  “No, I should be the one apologizing. I acted like a jealous husband.” Gently, Anthony touched the place on his nose that had taken the brunt of the hit.

  Kyle leaned closer to inspect Anthony’s nose. “I didn’t break it,” he said, like it shouldn’t matter that much.

  Anthony snorted. “Yeah, but you hit the hell out of it.”

  Both men started laughing again.

  Kyle sighed and crossed his arms. They watched the women, who were still engaged in conversation.

  The doors to the concert had closed, and there was hardly anyone out there other than security. Scar and Shayla and Kade and Felicity had left right after the fight. They didn’t want to miss the concert, Kyle surmised.

  He turned to Anthony. “So are you gonna sue me or what?” Of course, he’d acted rashly, and there had been a lot of other reasons he’d hit Anthony, other than just the fact that he’d been rude.

  Anthony let out a skittering laugh. “Ah, no. I don’t think my pride could handle the press.”

  Kyle nodded, having more compassion for the guy now. His wife was pregnant. Her father had died, and she’d been dreaming about him. Part of him was flattered, but it would be rough to be the husband.

  Anthony leaned in and lowered his voice. “I’ve just been dreading this night for a couple of weeks, and when she hugged you like that, it sent me spinning.”

  The confession made Kyle feel somewhat better. He felt the tension in his shoulders ease. “Dude, I
did not want to come tonight, but Scar put on the pressure.”

  Anthony sighed. “I really didn’t mean that … about you escaping. I’m sorry.”

  Kyle waved a hand in dismissal. “It’s fine.”

  Finally, the women turned to them, both smiling.

  “How come I feel like we’re animals they’re looking at at the zoo?” Kyle asked Anthony.

  Anthony beamed at Cassidy. “Because they can make us feel all protective and fierce and ridiculous.”

  Kyle thought of meeting Kennedy and that connection and how he’d kept showing up and asking her out. He stared at her pretty blue eyes, and the center of his chest warmed. “Yes, they can.”

  Cassidy and Kennedy walked over to them. Cassidy blinked and then rushed to Anthony, checking the wound on his face. “Baby, are you okay?”

  Holding her close, he grinned at her. “Better than before.”

  She kissed him, and Kyle was genuinely happy for them.

  Kennedy looked him over. “I don’t think you got hurt, did you?”

  “Nope,” he said, offering her his hand.

  She took his hand and leaned into him, whispering, “I like her. I really like her.”

  Kyle realized it wasn’t Cassidy anymore who would torture him in the future. The woman with that power was standing right here in front of him.

  Anthony shuffled his feet. “I want to apologize for being so rude.”

  Surprising everyone, Kennedy threw her arms around Anthony and gave him a short hug, then pulled back. “Don’t worry, big guy. Cassidy explained everything, and it sounds like things are going to get better.”

  Looking surprised and somewhat doubtful, Anthony cocked an eyebrow at her. “Okay.”

  Cassidy held Anthony’s hand and smiled at both of them. “Kennedy just told me some wise advice she got.”

  Kyle’s pulse raced. “And what was that?”

  Kennedy went back to Kyle’s side and linked arms with him. “I have it on good authority you get to choose what defines you—nobody else.”

  Warmth filled Kyle as he looked into Kennedy’s shining eyes. “Hmm.”

  Kennedy winked at him.

  Anthony cleared his throat. “Should we all go in?”

  Cassidy shook her head. “Can we just skip and go back to the hotel?”

  Anthony raised his eyebrows. “I would love that.”

  Cassidy lifted a hand as she turned to leave. “Nice to meet you, Kennedy. Thanks for everything.” She gave Kyle a soft smile. “See you, Kyle.”

  Kyle waved. “Bye now.”

  Anthony smiled at him. “Thanks, bro. You take care now, and good luck with the gym in Florida.”

  Kyle watched them go, feeling strangely peaceful about everything that had happened.

  Kennedy turned to him. “Hey, would you mind if we skip out, too?”

  Chapter 16

  An hour later, Kennedy sat in the backyard at Kyle’s posh house. Kyle had told her he would be more than happy to skip the concerts.

  Now, Kennedy waited in the hot tub for Kyle, the bubbles frothing around her. The night was clear and barely warm, and the water felt like heaven.

  Kyle had gotten it ready for her and then went in to change, telling her he would be a couple of minutes because Scar had called about fifty times, and he needed to let Scar know that everything was good between all of them.

  So here she sat, on a perfect night. She looked around his yard. The pool was huge, and she suspected he had a couple of acres. There wasn’t much on the acreage, just a huge garage in the back and grass that went on forever. It was obvious the pool and hot tub were barely used.

  Kennedy squealed. She felt a bit giddy, a bit overwhelmed, and a lot grateful she was here. She decided to torture her roommates a little bit. She got out and grabbed her phone from the chair next to the hot tub and took a selfie, then texted it to them with a hashtag #jacksonbaby.

  Both of them texted back right away. Carrie said, No fair! Jenna said, Yay!

  The sliding door opened just as she was sitting back down, and Kyle said, “Hey, how come I’m not in any of your selfies?”

  Intrigued that he would want to be, she stood. “Get in and let’s take one.” The calm in her voice was definitely not reflected in the way she felt as she looked up at the very ripped, tanned, amazingly good-looking Kyle Bones. “Romance cover,” she muttered, turning back and sitting in the hot tub again.

  Gingerly, Kyle eased himself in and settled at her side. “Man, that feels good.”

  It still left her breathless that it was becoming more “natural” for him to be at her side. She tilted her phone up into the air and pointed it at them. They posed with smiles, and she snapped a picture. Before she knew it, Kyle was leaning in and kissing her cheek.

  She giggled and almost dropped the phone. “Hey.”

  Kyle was quick and fumbled with her for the phone. They caught it in a tangle of three hands.

  She smiled at him. “You have superhero powers too.”

  He pumped his eyebrows. “I keep those a secret. Don’t want to put your life in danger by making you a target for evil villains.”

  She giggled again and found he was sliding over to kiss her. She closed her eyes and got lost in the softness of his lips. Tenderly, he put his hand behind her neck and pulled her closer. His other hand slipped into the water and rested on her waist. Letting herself fall into this man, she deepened the kiss.

  He let out a breathless laugh and abruptly pulled back. “Okay, if we’re going to make sure we’re just kissing friends this weekend, we need to put some boundaries back in place.”

  Every part of her was on fire, and she knew she was blushing. She let out a breath and got up to put her phone back on the chair and out of the water’s reach.

  As she turned to slip back in, she felt his gaze before she saw him unabashedly checking her out. Their eyes met, and she wasn’t sure, but she pointed at him. “I think Kyle Bones, Navy SEAL, is blushing.”

  With a laugh, he scooped up water and rinsed his face. “I’m sorry. Maybe we should get in the cold pool?” He scrambled to his feet and reached out to her. “Yes, that’s it. Let’s go jump in the pool and then back in the hot tub.”

  She laughed at his excitement. “Really?”

  Undeterred, he leaned down and wiggled his hand at her. “C’mon, Dawson. You promised me fun tonight, and we skipped the concert.”

  She glared at him, but took his hand. “You’re the one that got into a fight with your ex-fiancée’s husband.”

  He laughed and pulled her against him, then turned for the pool. “True. That was crazy, wasn’t it? Should we jump in together?”

  Kennedy shivered. The night air was chilly. “Okay.”

  Laughing, he said, “On three?”

  Staring at this amazingly gorgeous guy who gazed back those beautiful green eyes, she knew that no matter what happened for the rest of the weekend, she would remember this moment. “Okay.”

  He gripped her hand tighter. “One, two, three.” Then they were both jumping, flying.

  She screamed as she hit the freezing cold water, but she came up laughing. “Oh my gosh!”

  “Brrr!” he agreed, shaking his hair. “Who owns this place anyway? Can he not turn on the heater?”

  She paddled toward the other side of the pool. “Quit being a wimp.”

  A splash hit her. “Wimp?”

  She laughed and kept swimming, but soon he was next to her. They reached the other side, and she gripped the concrete edge as he leaned in. They were kissably close, and a world of tension crackled between them, the kind of tension that just kept feeling like it got stronger and stronger.

  Gently, she reached up with her missing hand and gently rested it on his face.

  Tenderly, he took her arm and kissed it.

  She blinked, and her throat tightened with all kinds of emotions. “Please don’t.”

  “Why? It’s part of you and I want to kiss you.” Leaning in, he trailed kisses from
her neck up her jawline. “Just like I want to kiss you here too.”

  She swallowed. “I know this is exactly the wrong time to bring up my old boyfriend, but part of the thing I’ve worried about since we broke up was that he never really acknowledged I was missing a hand. Like, he never touched it.”

  Kyle kept her arm in his hand and stared at it. “Does it hurt? Do you get phantom pains? Russell does sometimes.”

  And this was what it was, she realized as she stared into Kyle’s eyes. This man was a man. A man who had been through war. A man who was kind and fun and tough. Even just being with him the past few days showed her the stark contrast between him and the idiot Evan. She shook her head, but tears were filling her eyes. “Is this what a prince does?”

  He kissed her on the lips, slow and soft, then pulled back. “Yes. Very Prince Charming of me, if I do say so myself.”

  She laughed. “Yes, I think so.”

  He stared into her eyes and kept her arm in his hand, gently running his thumb over the smooth skin. “I have a confession.”

  Intrigued, she cocked her head to the side. “Okay.”

  “I think I might be falling in more than like with you.”

  Her heart raced, but she didn’t know how to accept what he was telling her.

  “Don’t say anything,” he said quickly. “Because you kind of have that look that you might be freaking out. So just—” He gently pressed his lips to her forehead. “—don’t say anything.”

  It worked out fine that he didn’t want her to say anything, because she didn’t know how to feel. “Let’s get back in the hot tub. I’m freezing.”

  “Okay,” Kyle said.

  Kennedy carefully turned to the side of the pool and pulled herself out, and Kyle followed suit. As they walked to the hot tub, Kennedy bent to put her foot in on the first step, but her back foot slipped and she found herself falling and twisting her back ankle.

  “No.” Kyle rushed to her side, holding her as she fell back.

  Pain ripped through Kennedy’s ankle and up into her leg. She knew it was sprained. “Dang it.”