“How?”
“By inviting you to a dinner and movie night. Both at my place.”
She had a feeling dinner and movies weren’t all he intended to share with her. It didn’t matter, she was all in. “I’d love to join you tonight, Haddison. What time?”
If her quickness in accepting his invitation surprised him, he didn’t show it. “Seven.”
She nodded. “I’m working late, so I’ll have to come straight there.”
“Umm, that’s even better.”
She lifted a brow. “How so?”
“Then I can add pampering you to the list.”
She doubted he knew how nice that sounded. She couldn’t recall ever being pampered by a man. “Sounds nice.”
“I intend to make it even nicer than it sounds.”
Kennedy didn’t say anything for a moment. Was she rushing into things with Haddison? After all, they’d only met a couple of weeks ago. But in that time, he had rocked her world. It had been instant attraction from the first moment, and they both knew it.
They were adults and could call it what it was. And right now, she was calling it intense sexual desire that needed to be taken care of in the most primal way. Being called to his office for a kiss was only putting a bandage on the real problem — they needed to take care of business, and she was willing to do that.
“When you get to my place, I hope you’re hungry.”
Oh, she still would be hungry all right, and she hoped whatever he was cooking wasn’t the only thing on the menu.
Because she was ready.
Haddison moved around his kitchen in his bare feet while checking on the chicken baking in the oven and the salad he’d slid in the refrigerator. It had been years since he’d had the opportunity to entertain a woman in his home. In the past, wherever he lived resembled nothing more than a warehouse with cheap furnishings and hidden cameras embedded in the walls and ceilings. That’s why when he’d decided to take the job at Rivers and make St. Paul his home, he’d been ready to purchase a place he could call home.
He’d liked this particular condo the moment he walked through the doors. It was spacious and not the box-sized places he’d gotten used to. He had left the furniture and décor up to Lydia, and was glad she’d known his taste in both. When his parents passed, his uncle had placed all of the insurance proceeds in a trust fund for him. He’d never used it until now.
Checking his watch, he saw he had a good two hours left and was glad he’d left work early to get a head start. When he’d invited Kennedy to dinner, he’d had no idea what he would serve. All he’d known was that he wanted her here, tonight. He had no worries about her crowding him. So far, she hadn’t contacted him once. All the phone calls had been initiated by him. She was letting him do the pursuing and he liked that.
Another thing he liked was that she wasn’t into playing games. Their attraction to each other was pretty damn obvious, and she wasn’t being coy about it or pretending she didn’t understand where it could lead.
He had a feeling that she was looking forward to tonight as much as he was. He could honestly say he’d never been so attracted to a woman in his life, and he was more than ready to explore that new aspect of their relationship.
And yes, they had a relationship. If she wasn’t sure about that, he would eliminate any doubt in her mind by the time she left here tonight.
When his cell phone rang, he recognized the ring tone. It was his uncle. He pulled his mobile phone from the back pocket of his jeans. “Yes, Maceo?”
“I haven’t talked to you since your return from St. Louis. I called to talk to you, but Millie said you’d left the office early. I wanted to make sure you’re okay.”
He could understand his uncle’s concern. He’d been working for the company a couple of months and hadn’t missed a day, or left before closing time. In fact, a couple of times he’d stayed well past quitting time.
Yesterday, though, he’d had to fly back to St. Louis. He’d never sold his parents’ home and he’d gotten a call from the property manager that a number of upgrades and repairs were needed. So he’d gone back to check on things. “I’m fine. I had a couple of stops to make before coming home to get a head start on dinner.”
“Dinner?”
Too late he realized he had given his uncle too much information. “Yes,” he said. “I invited someone to dinner.”
“Hmm, anyone I know?”
Haddison chuckled. “In fact, yes, you do. Kennedy Bennett. She works at Rivers.”
“Isn’t she the one you indicated was leaving, and felt there had been some funny business going on?”
“Yes, and I’m even more certain of it. I should have my full report to you by the end of next week. You might not like my recommendations.”
“I might not like them, but I trust your judgment. If Matthews and Whitworth have done something unethical, I want them out.”
Haddison knew that his uncle would fire the pair after reading his report. Maceo Rivers didn’t believe in micro-managing and wanted the people who worked for him to take care of business with honesty and integrity.
“Now tell me about Ms. Bennett.”
He was about to say there wasn’t anything to tell, but he knew there was. Besides, his uncle knew him all too well. For him to invite a woman into his home? That meant something. “I’m absolutely taken with her, Maceo. I wish I could explain it, but I can’t. The first day I met her, we accidently bumped into each other in the hall. I’m convinced the moment I looked into her face I was a goner. Does that sound crazy?”
“No. I told you how it was when I first saw Lydia. I found it annoying and confusing at first. But then I finally gave in to the attraction because I quickly realized it was something I couldn’t fight, no matter how much I tried.”
Haddison had news for his uncle. He wasn’t trying to fight it. He’d decided to give in to every last unexpected emotion he was feeling. But there were times he worried that he was moving too fast. “Does it sound crazy that I’ve invited her here already, and we just met a few weeks ago?” He still hadn’t mentioned to his uncle that he’d met Kennedy months ago while working undercover.
He heard his uncle chuckle before saying, “Like uncle, like nephew. I’m glad you weren’t around when I met Lydia. Your never-gonna-marry uncle was acting like a besotted fool. Hell, when she told me she would never move to Los Angeles, I was already planning to relocate my business to wherever she was. Had you been here, you would have had me committed to an insane asylum. I met her one week, and was ready to talk marriage the next.”
Haddison knew he wasn’t ready to talk marriage yet, but he had no problem with an exclusive relationship. Like he’d told Kennedy, he’d never been a player. And that episode with Chelsea hadn’t ruined him for another woman. The older he got and the more involved he’d gotten with the Bureau, he’d known their breakup had been the best thing for both of them. There was no way he could be gone for long stretches like he’d had to do with her not knowing where he was and when he would return. That would have been too much to expect from any woman.