“Kenzie,” Ryker said with a hint of warning, but she was already blurting the whole thing out.
“I needed a date for my reunion because my ex-fiancé will be there with his horrible new wife who was my high school rival, and they all think I’m a loser. So as my reward, Ryker is going to pretend to be my date. Well, kind of date. I’ve asked him not to be him. I asked him to just be a dockworker because who would believe Ryker Faulkner would date me? Right?”
Everyone was quiet for a moment as they stared at her.
“Oh,” Harper said into the silence. “I get that. Reunions are the worst.”
“I can help with this,” Skye said suddenly. “I have all these clothes. You can borrow anything you want.”
Kenzie was blown away by the offer. “That’s so nice of you, but I couldn’t possibly do that. Besides, there’s no way it would fit.”
“Hi, I’m Savannah,” one of the women said, stepping forward. “That’s my husband, Ridge. I can make the alterations, no problem.”
“I’m Darcy. I’m married to Wade,” another woman said, stepping forward with a tall man next to her. “I can’t sew and I don’t do makeup, but I can bring alcohol and make it an event.”
“I love that idea! Hi, I’m Ellery. I’m married to Gavin.” The woman had a baby on her hip, who she shoved into Ryker’s arms. “Here, take Chase while we plan this.”
Kenzie swallowed hard as Ryker seemed used to handling the baby. How someone so serious and ruthless could be so gentle with a baby was astounding to see.
“Yeah, I know,” Skye whispered and then laughed as Kenzie realized she’d been caught staring.
“Hi. I’m Gavin. I think that’s our cue to head out. It’s nice to meet you.”
Kenzie studied the man as the gears in her mind spun a mile a minute. “Haven’t I seen you at the hospital?”
“I’m sure you have. I’m Shadows Landing’s only doctor and visit my patients at the hospital when they’ve been admitted. Thank you for saving our cousin’s life. It must have taken a lot to pull him out of the fire.”
Tinsley sniffled and then flung herself at Kenzie. “Yes, thank you. We love him so much.” Tinsley took a deep breath and pulled out of the hug. “Now, when’s this reunion?”
8
How had Ryker completely lost control of this situation? The women were around the table setting up a time on Thursday to go shopping in Skye’s closet. He also didn’t like the way Kenzie said this wasn’t a date. It was to him.
“Did this not look like a date?” Ryker whispered to Trent.
“Looks like a date to me,” Trent answered.
“Me too,” Ridge said.
“Definitely a date setup going on with the picnic,” Wade added.
“There’re no candles,” Gavin pointed out.
“It’s ninety degrees out,” Wade said with a roll of his eyes.
“So, is this the fake date?” Ryker turned to see Harper’s husband, Dare, had arrived with Tinsley’s husband, Paxton.
“She’s pretty. Good job on not dying so you could have this fake date,” Paxton said to Ryker.
“No, this isn’t the fake date. This is the real date, except she didn’t realize it was real,” Ryker whispered to them.
“No candles,” Dare said with a nod.
“Too hot for candles. We covered this,” Wade said.
“It’s the South. There’s never a bad time for citronella candles. Mosquitoes don’t care if it’s hot,” Paxton pointed out.
“Those aren’t romantic,” Ryker said in disgust.
“Is it romantic to be scratching bug bites all during your date?” Paxton asked.
“Look, she wants me to be her fake date to her reunion. I wanted to use this real date today to see if I want the reunion to be fake or not, but then you all showed up and ruined it,” Ryker hissed at them.
“Champagne,” Ridge said suddenly. “We’ll get our wives. You serve champagne. And then it’ll seem like a real date.”
“Champagne is definitely more romantic than citronella candles,” Wade agreed. “Darcy, we need to get going!”
Wade started the chorus of husbands rounding up their wives to leave. As they were all leaving, Ryker ran inside for a bottle of champagne. By the time he came outside, only Kenzie was left looking a little shell-shocked.
“Champagne?”
Kenzie nodded absently as she stared at her phone in mild shock. Then she held it up. “Skye Jessamine just posted a selfie with me on her social media page.”
“See, we do run in the same circles. That’s my circle that just left the path of destruction behind it,” Ryker told her as he poured the champagne. “I might know powerful people, but they aren’t my friends.”
“I loved them,” Kenzie said with a huge smile after taking a sip of champagne. “I thought Harper hated me, but after telling her I only wanted a fake date, she was good to go. Skye is so nice, and Tinsley is the sweetest person I’ve ever met.”
“She is,” Ryker agreed. Tinsley had pulled him from the darkness after the incident. “I can buy you a dress, jewelry, anything you need. You don’t have to borrow it.”
“That’s sweet of you, Ryker. I really don’t need your money. I understand why Harper said what she said. I can imagine it’s hard to find someone interested in you for you. I don’t want you to ever worry about that so I won’t take a single cent from you. As for the dress, I could buy one myself. However, that’s not the point. The point is to have a fun day with the girls.”
“I know you’re not like the others, Kenzie. That’s why I asked you here. On this date.”
“Fake date.” Kenzie laughed.
Ryker shook his head. “No. Real date.”
Kenzie’s smile fell. “Oh. I, um, what?”
“I told you I don’t do anything half-assed. I believe we were talking about why I had to pretend to be someone else at your reunion before Hurricane Faulkner hit. How about if I’m vague? That way I’m not lying.”
“No one will believe me if they find out. They’ll laugh at me and that’s even worse than showing up alone.” Kenzie worried her bottom lip before taking another sip of her wine.
“Kenzie, trust me when I say no one will be laughing. Now, tell me all about growing up in Hanover, North Carolina.”
Ryker sat back and listened to Kenzie tell her stories. They laughed, and he asked questions as the afternoon light turned to darkness. What surprised Ryker the most was that he was sharing just as much as she was.
“What did you do after high school?” Kenzie asked and the entire night changed. Ryker felt himself shut down, but forced himself to put on a smile. She didn’t know. The court documents had been sealed.
“I took some time off and then started college. I worked my entire way through. I knew I wanted my own company so I started saving early.”
“We have that in common. We both work long hours. I notice you check your phone often. When I’m on shift I hardly get a moment to eat. It’s all about the work,” Kenzie said and he was glad she understood his workaholic life.