Kenna didn’t need to ask her what she meant. She knew. Sighing, Kenna shook her head. “I had no idea. I feel like an idiot.”
“I’m sorry,” Carly said.
“The thing is, I told him more than once that I hated being lied to. And here he was, keeping such a big secret from me.”
“Did he lie to you though?” Carly asked.
“Of course he did. I didn’t know he was a millionaire!” Kenna exclaimed.
“But did he come right out and say that he wasn’t?” Carly pushed.
“Why are you on his side?” Kenna asked. “You’re supposed to be my friend. Be supporting me.”
“I am,” she said calmly. “But trust me, I know how a liar operates. Shawn was really good at it. And it seems to me that not telling you he has a truckload of money is way different than flat-out lying about it.”
“I feel like an idiot. I was so excited about sneaking into Coral Springs—and he lives there! He was probably laughing his ass off at me.”
“I doubt that. If I had to guess, I bet he was panicking.”
“About what?” Kenna scoffed skeptically.
“Did you tell him what beach you wanted to try to sneak onto before he picked you up?”
“No. I wanted it to be a surprise.”
“Right. So when you directed him to pull into his own parking lot, I bet he was shocked.”
Kenna sighed. She could see that. But she wasn’t ready to let him off the hook yet. “He had plenty of time after that to tell me,” she insisted. “We spent all day there. He could’ve told me at some point.”
“Look, I’m not saying you don’t have a right to feel embarrassed or even let down, but, Kenna, you’re kind of a bons.”
Kenna frowned and looked over at Carly. Thank goodness the traffic was light. She could handle both driving and this intense conversation as a result. “A what? What the hell is a bons?”
“A snob spelled backward. You’re a reverse snob. Instead of looking down on people who don’t have money, you judge them harshly for being wealthy.”
Kenna snorted. Her friend’s observation was kind of ironic, since she’d called Marshall a snob that first night on her break at Duke’s. “No, I don’t,” she said.
“You do,” Carly said gently. “I’ve noticed it before. Anytime someone comes in who looks like they have a lot of money, you kind of look down your nose at them. You’re much more comfortable with people who you think are middle to lower class than you are with the rich tourists or locals who come into the restaurant all the time.”
Kenna wanted to protest. To say that wasn’t true. But she knew it kind of was. “I just…people look down at me because I’m not interested in being in the corporate world and making six figures a year. I’m happy being a waitress.”
“Fuck them then,” Carly said.
Kenna couldn’t help but laugh. Her friend didn’t swear that often, so it was somewhat surprising to hear her do so now.
“I mean it. You’re an adult and can do what you want. And if you’re happy, who cares what others think. But seriously, girl, you’ve got a boyfriend who’s loaded. Why are you mad about that? Most women would be jumping for joy. If things work out between you two, you can live in a penthouse with a kick-ass ocean view and still be a waitress. You just maybe won’t have to work as much or worry about pesky things like rent and grocery money.”
Kenna sighed. She knew Carly was right, but she couldn’t get over the fact that Marshall had spent the entire day with her, at his own damn private beach, and hadn’t said a word. “I know,” she said after a moment.
“I’ve never seen you as bubbly and happy as you’ve been the last couple of weeks,” Carly said. “And it’s because of him. Not because of his money, but because of his texts. Because of your late-night conversations. A man like that doesn’t come along very often. Trust me, I know.”
“Carly—” Kenna began, but her friend interrupted before she could continue.
“I’m not bringing up Shawn to turn this conversation to me. I’m just saying…I don’t want to see you end what’s so far been an amazing relationship before it even truly begins. Not over something as silly as him having money.”
Kenna didn’t think it was silly, but she still understood Carly’s point.
“Talk to him,” she urged. “Hear him out. You’re a really excellent judge of character, you’ll know if he’s blowing smoke up your ass when he explains why he didn’t tell you. But you have to give him a chance. Don’t blow this.”
Kenna couldn’t help but snort-laugh. “You sound invested in our relationship,” she quipped.
“I kind of am. I mean, Jag is becoming a good friend. And it would be awkward for me to talk about him or even to see him if you break up with Aleck.”
Kenna grinned. “So you’re admitting you like Jag?”
“Of course I like him,” Carly said.
“Like-like him,” Kenna clarified.
“No,” Carly said stubbornly.
But the fact that she was talking about seeing Jag in the future was a big deal. They both knew it, even if Carly wouldn’t admit to being interested.
As the conversation waned, Kenna sobered as she thought about what she had to do later that night.
She remembered what Marshall had said. That if she ever heard something about him she didn’t like, that he wanted her to talk to him about it. She’d promised. She hoped like hell this was what he was talking about. If he had some other deep dark secret, she wasn’t sure she could deal.
Kenna had forgotten to drive though Kakaako on the way home to look at the murals, but figured she could do it another day. She pulled up outside Carly’s apartment to drop her off and her friend turned to her once more.
“Thank you for inviting me today. I had a good time.”
“Anytime.”
“I haven’t made a ton of friends here, and hiding from Shawn in my apartment has been lonely. I’m going to try to make an effort to start living my life again, thanks to you.”
Kenna smiled. “Just be careful, okay?”
“I will. I have no desire to run into that asshole again. All I’m saying is that I really liked hanging out with the women today, and I hope I’ll get to see them again.”
“I’m sure you will. They all got our numbers, and I have a feeling it won’t be long before we get roped into some scheme with them soon.”
“I hope so,” Carly said with a smile. “See you tomorrow at work.”
“See ya,” Kenna said. She idled at the curb until Carly was safely inside the lobby of her apartment, then pulled away and headed for her own place.
She wasn’t looking forward to what she needed to do, but she had a few hours to think about what she wanted to say to Marshall. She wasn’t happy he’d lied by omission, and she didn’t want to be a bons, as Carly had called her, but the embarrassment Marshall had made her feel lingered just below the surface, and she hated that.
If she and Marshall were going to be able to continue with their relationship, she had to find a way to get over that feeling. But she wasn’t sure how. And that worried her.