Kenna was different. Special. And he wanted to see where their relationship could go. And making her feel humiliated wasn’t exactly the best way to bring them closer. But he felt ten pounds lighter now that she knew.
They continued their conversation after that, about everything under the sun. Their jobs, friends, families, hometowns, she even told him a little about her accounting job back in Pennsylvania. He told her some funny stories about SEAL training and admitted that it was the hardest thing he’d ever done in his life, but it was the thing he was most proud of as well.
When Kenna yawned, he glanced at his watch and saw they’d been talking for an hour and a half. It wasn’t exactly late, but Kenna had been busy all day, not to mention probably extremely worked up over what she’d learned about him. This was her one night off all week, and he wanted her to get some sleep.
“I’m gonna let you go,” he said gently. “You’re tired.”
“I shouldn’t be. On a work night, I probably walk about twenty-five thousand steps. I haven’t come close to that today.”
“Still,” Aleck said. “Get some sleep.”
“Okay. Marshall?”
“Yeah?”
“Thanks for being honest with me.”
“Thank you for coming to me with what you heard. Communication is the key to a good relationship, and while I obviously failed at that, I promise to be better.”
“I’ll talk to you tomorrow?” she asked.
“Of course. I’ll call during my lunch as usual,” he told her.
“Okay.”
“Sleep well, babe.”
“I will. Bye.”
“Bye.”
Aleck hung up the phone and collapsed back against the cushions of his couch. He stared into space as he did his best to process everything. He knew he could’ve lost Kenna. He hadn’t meant to embarrass her, and he’d do anything in his power never to do so again.
It was crazy how fast a woman could change his life. He lived to talk to her and to hear how her day was going. Even though they’d only hung out in person a couple of times, he craved more. It sucked that their schedules were so different, but that wasn’t going to deter him. He had a feeling Kenna could be the best thing that ever happened to him, and he made a pledge to do everything in his power to show her how much she meant to him.
With that thought, he shot off a text to Elodie, asking for dinner menu suggestions. He wanted Sunday to be perfect, to prove to Kenna that he was a man she could rely on, trust, and be happy with.
Chapter Twelve
Kenna was in a great mood when Saturday rolled around. Lunch with Marshall on Friday had been awkward at first, but he’d taken her in his arms and apologized once more, asking for her forgiveness. She’d reassured him that she’d already forgiven him and they were good.
He’d taken her to Chiba-ken, a sushi restaurant she’d been dying to try, but hadn’t had a chance to yet. Apparently, he didn’t even like sushi, and when she’d asked him why on earth he’d picked this restaurant for lunch, he’d simply said, “because you wanted to eat here.” Her heart just about melted right then and there.
He’d ended up getting the asparagus wrapped with pork. She’d gotten the sushi platter, and proceeded to stuff her face with the three different kinds of sushi that were included.
It was clear to her that Marshall Smart was one of the good ones, as Carly promised. Kenna had been afraid he was too perfect, and she now knew that wasn’t true. He’d messed up by not coming out and admitting he lived at Coral Springs. But he was sorry, and Kenna had apologized again too. If she hadn’t been so judgmental, he might’ve fessed up sooner.
She was also still pissed off at the woman he’d dated who’d been hoping he’d die so she could get her hands on his money.
Kenna knew money was important. She wasn’t an idiot. But who he was as a person far outweighed the importance of his bank account, in her opinion. She could take care of herself. Had been taking care of herself. She didn’t need a man, or his money, to make her happy. She just wanted and needed someone who enjoyed being with her, treated her and others with respect, and who she could talk to.
And Marshall fit the bill on all accounts.
Work on Thursday and Friday had been fairly normal. Saturday nights at Duke’s were usually a bit crazier. More tourists, more alcohol, and—most of the time—more tips.
Halfway through her shift, a family came in…and Kenna just knew they were going to be trouble. She got a vibe from them that made her feel as if all was not right in their world. The man was large, more round than tall, and he wore a scowl on his face. How anyone could be grumpy in a place like Duke’s, in Hawaii for goodness sake, was beyond Kenna.
The woman was thin and fairly short. Her shoulders were hunched as she followed behind her husband when Vera led them to their table in Kenna’s section. They had a child, a little boy, who looked to be around four or five. His eyes were wide as he took in everything around him, but he didn’t say a word as they were seated.
“Thanks, Vera,” Kenna told the hostess after she handed them their menus. “I’ve got it from here.”
“Enjoy your meal,” Vera said cheerfully.
“If we didn’t have to wait for an hour to be seated, I might’ve had a better shot at doing that,” the man muttered.
Kenna mentally sighed, but did her best to stay upbeat and positive as she went over the specials for the night and taking their drink orders.
The man didn’t ask his wife or son what they wanted to drink, he just ordered for them. But since neither protested, Kenna assumed it was probably what they always ordered. She wasn’t thrilled that the man ordered a bourbon, neat, but she wasn’t the alcohol police. She just hoped he wouldn’t get drunk. She had a feeling the more alcohol he had, the worse his mood would get.
As she headed for the kitchen, Kenna said a silent prayer that she was misinterpreting the situation and everything would be just fine.
But an hour later, she knew her concerns had been spot on. The man had ordered four drinks so far and proceeded to down each almost as soon as Kenna had put them on the table. He was loud and obnoxious, complaining about how long it took for the food to be delivered and the temperature of their meals. He didn’t like how noisy the restaurant was, or the music out by the Outrigger Hotel’s pool. He constantly glared at his wife, though Kenna had only heard her say one thing the entire time she’d been serving the family. And that was to apologize profusely when she admitted that she’d dropped her fork and needed a new one.
Of course, her husband called her a clumsy bitch, which made Kenna want to scream. Their son seemed unnaturally quiet, and she hoped he was just uncertain about his surroundings. Or shy. She’d done her best to engage both the wife and the little boy, but the man’s complaints made it hard to have any kind of conversation.
Kenna had just returned to their table with the man’s credit card when the shit really hit the fan.
He’d tipped a measly ten percent, but Kenna was honestly pleased he’d left her a tip at all. It seemed the more obnoxious a customer, the less they always gave. She still needed to package up the leftover hula pie they hadn’t been able to finish, and had just turned to head back to the kitchen for a box when the little boy stood and wandered off toward the beach, as his father bitched about something or other. Since Duke’s was an open-air restaurant, there weren’t any walls between the tables and the beach. Just a couple of stairways with maybe four or so steps each.