I raise my hands to slap him, but he restrains my wrists, holding them between our bodies as he attempts to calm me down. “Stop fucking fighting!”
“Screw off, jerk face.” I blow strands of messy hair out of my face.
“This is their version of foreplay,” Rick explains, and I lift my head in his direction, my mouth dropping open when I spot the guy standing by his side, looking at me with bemusement on his face.
Holy fucking shit.
I instantly recognize him.
And this dude is seriously hot.
The online pics I’ve seen haven’t done him justice at all. His pale blue eyes twinkle with mirth, and his lush mouth parts slightly, offering a glimpse of perfectly white, perfectly straight teeth. A layer of fine stubble covers his jawline, and his hair is styled similarly to Kai’s. He’s wearing a black blazer over a white shirt with dark jeans and black boots, and he looks good enough to eat.
“Oh my God,” I blurt. “You’re Kyler Kennedy.”
“In the flesh,” he says, grinning.
“I’m a massive fan of your mom,” I say.
Along with you and your brothers.
That is some crazy hot gene pool. I think it, but I don’t say it even though I want to because it would piss Kaiden off. But I’ve just figured out who the brunette is, and I don’t want to disrespect Kyler’s wife.
“She redesigned our pool house last year,” I say, “and I got such a kick out of it. My mom adored Kennedy Apparel, and she hero-worshipped Alex, and I wish she’d still been alive to see the awesome job your mom did with the place,” I gush. “It’s seriously my favorite place to hang out in my house,” I continue, without pausing for a breath, “and you’ve got to tell her I said hi, and—”
Kai covers my mouth with his hand, muffling the rest of my sentence, and I shoot daggers at him. “That was the worst example of word vomit I’ve ever had the misfortune to hear,” he says. “The muzzle hasn’t arrived yet, so someone had to shut you up.”
I’d flip him the bird if I had use of my hands, but he’s still securing them with his other hand. I bite down hard on the palm covering my mouth, and he wrenches his hand back, narrowing his eyes at me.
“You dare to bite me?” His tone is deathly quiet, but it promises a world of pain.
“I couldn’t fucking breathe, asshole.” I wriggle on his lap again, attempting to get free.
“Keep doing that if you want to get fucked six ways from Sunday.” He smirks, while I wish the ground would swallow me whole.
“And you have the nerve to call me embarrassing!”
Kyler coughs to disguise his snort of laughter, and, of their own volition, my lips turn up at the corners. I glance at him, and he waggles his brows, grinning mischievously, and my heart is in a puddle somewhere on the floor.
“This is rich,” Kai growls. “You throw shade at me for talking with Faye, and now you’re mooning over Kyler like a prepubescent girl on her period.”
“I am not.” I smile apologetically at Faye, feeling like an ass for jumping to the wrong conclusion about her and hoping she’s not pissed I have a crush on her man.
“Don’t lie, babe.” He tweaks my nose. “Because I always know.”
“You’re insufferable.”
“And you’re hot when you’re angry.”
“Okay. Enough.” Rick rolls his eyes. “It’s like herding kittens.”
“You’re hurting my wrists. Let me go.”
“Ask me nicely.”
“Screw off, Kaiden.”
“Remind you of anyone?” Faye says, grinning up at her husband.
“Wow. You have the most gorgeous accent,” I blurt, because it seems I can’t control my fangirl gushing.
“Thank you, Abigail, but I still don’t get how every American I meet is fascinated with Irish accents.”
Kai releases my wrists, repositioning me on his lap so it’s more socially acceptable. I attempt to maneuver onto the couch, but his arms wrap around me, caging me in, and I give up fighting. “It’s Abby,” I say. “And I apologize if I was rude earlier.”
“There’s no if about it,” Kai drawls.
“No one asked you, asshat.” I huff. “And you wrote the manual on bad manners.”
Kyler chuckles. “I don’t think we were that bad,” he says, pinning his wife with a sultry look.
She folds her arms and narrows her eyes. “Remember the night I injured my foot and you crept up on me in the kitchen?”
“There was no creeping involved. You were as loud as a herd of elephants,” he replies.
She sighs, rolling her eyes and winking conspiratorially at me. “I rest my case.”
“Men.” I shake my head, and she smiles.
A dashing older man enters the room, blowing on his hands. “Christ, it’s cold out there. How are we fixed, folks?”
“I’ll grab my brothers, and we’re good to go then,” Rick says, shaking hands with the man. “Thanks for doing this, James. We appreciate it.”
I squeal as his name clicks with me. “Oh, my—”
Kai’s hand is over my mouth again. “Excuse my girlfriend. She has a bad case of foot-in-mouth disease.” Rick is smirking as he exits the room, heading to find Harley and Joaquin, no doubt.
I’m momentarily blindsided as Kai’s words reverberate inside my brain. His use of the word girlfriend has me all hot and bothered, and I hate that I like how it sounded rolling off his tongue.
Time to regain some control.
I ram my elbow into Kai’s rib cage, and he winces, his hands instinctively dropping away. I jump up, straightening the front of my dress as I walk toward Kyler’s father. I thrust my hand out. “I’m Abigail Manning. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Kennedy.” He shakes my hand, smiling warmly at me. “I apologize for the caveman over there.” I cast a sharp glance over my shoulder at Kai. “I just wanted to say that Alex designed our pool house and she did an amazing job. I’m a big fan of her work.”
“I’ll pass on your compliments, Abigail. She’ll be thrilled to hear that.” I’m not sure of the current status of their marriage, but Alex and James Kennedy are still close despite being separated for years. Having met them both, I can see where their sons get their good looks and charisma from.
The Kennedy men are infamous around Boston, and tales of their escapades are widely reported. They’ve had their fair share of family drama, and there were plenty of skeletons in their closets, so I’m guessing that’s why they’re comfortable helping us out with our predicament.
“We’re all packed,” Rick supplies, appearing in the doorway with his younger brothers in tow.
“Great. Let’s get cracking then.” James tips his head at Kaiden. “Stay safe, young man.” He smiles at me. “And look after this young lady.”
Kai stands, nodding before he walks to where his brothers congregate. James leaves to get the plane ready, and I stand beside Faye and Kyler, a little awestruck, if I’m honest.
Kyler pulls his wife into his side, pressing a kiss to her temple. “I know the circumstances are less than ideal, but I hope you’re enjoying your stay here,” Kyler says.