In Her Sights (The Thousand Words Series Book 2) (26 page)

Unless maybe Lindsay changed her mind. Dev hesitated to consider the possibility as Macy snuggled into the crook of his arm. Why did things have to be complicated?

○ ○ ○

Kenny watched Dev lead Macy away. It wasn’t the way he would have bet on them getting together, but he wasn’t going to complain. Paige was right about her roommate, although he still wasn’t sure her whole plan on how to present Macy was sound.

Macy wasn’t a fan. Kenny knew Dev wouldn’t care, and he’d deal with her preference for country music. It would have been a problem for Kenny, but it wasn’t for Dev. Paige saw it, and saw Macy’s self-imposed post-breakup abstinence as something they’d have in common. Neither wanted a relationship, they had conflicting taste in music – a major part of Dev’s life, and yet they belonged together.

But Dev wouldn’t take Paige’s word for it, and wouldn’t look at Macy twice if she were handed to him on a platter. So Paige threw Imogen in the mix. Kenny knew she felt bad for using her former roommate like that. They were competitors once, but became friends and stayed that way.

Imogen represented everything about women that terrified Dev. She was a panic attack in stiletto boots. By comparison, Macy was a breath of fresh air. It’d make Dev relax just a little to be faced with the similarly unhappy roommate. Once alone, they were bound to whine to each other about their friends.

Kenny added Jess to the party to help get Macy in the room with Dev, and to take Imogen off Paige’s hands. She wasn’t Dev’s type, but she was most certainly Jess’s; which Paige acknowledged with a smile and a wink when he suggested it. That was probably Paige’s plan all along.

Then he hatched the Kilimanjaro scheme as a backup, just in case Dev needed an extra shove at Macy instead of taking off to go surfing until school started. He also thought standing at the top of Kilimanjaro would be a memorable way to propose to Paige. They nearly got killed for that romantic gesture. The guides and porters did die, and it was
his
fault. Kenny should have just left Dev and Macy to Paige, and taken her dinner with a ring like everyone else. There was a reason it was a stereotype.

Beside him, Jess was babying Imogen. Kenny had never seen Jess behave like this before and wasn’t sure what to think. Now wasn’t the time to figure it out. Imogen needed a babysitter, and Jess was willing to do it. That let Kenny focus on other things. Too many other things.

His plan to propose to Paige at the top of Kilimanjaro was off, obviously. This wasn’t the dinner atmosphere he’d want for following through with that plan, but Kenny decided Paige needed the pick-me-up. He’d paid a local boy to find some flowers and deliver them to his room. Then, in a fit of paranoia, paid a member of the staff to do the same. That was nearly two hours ago, surely some sort of flowers were there by now. Or he was out some serious cash.

Nudging Jess in the ribs, Kenny leaned closer to whisper in his ear. “I’m taking off with Paige. Are you going to be okay with Imogen?”

“Sure. Going to do your thing?”

“Yeah.”

“All right. Good luck.” Jess looked at him and gave him a slight smile. It tugged at Kenny’s gut that something was bothering his best friend, but now wasn’t the time. Not with the girls here.

“Maybe I’ll drop by your room later. I assume Imogen will be with you, but she’s not likely to object to us talking.”

Jess smiled wider. “Everything considered, if you’re dropping by my room later, it means you did it wrong. Concentrate on what you’ve got going on now.”

Kenny smiled at Jess’s subtle hint. “Tomorrow then.”

“If our talk earlier is to be believed, we’ll have other things on our mind. There’s a long flight home ahead of us. Don’t worry, there’ll be plenty of time to psychoanalyze me. Go do your thing.”

Taking a page from Dev’s playbook, Kenny stood and took Paige’s hand. She looked at him in confusion as he pulled her to her feet, then at Imogen.

“She’ll be fine,” he told her. “Come on.”

He caught Bryan’s eye briefly, and Bryan gave him a slight smile and barely perceptible nod of encouragement. Until then, Kenny planned this, but didn’t dwell on just what he was doing. He was committing himself to Paige, and asking her to do the same.

There was so much they hadn’t talked about. Marriage for one. Children only came up because she refused to have the last one. She liked kids in principle, and ... Kenny thought; he was pretty sure she said she wanted them someday. They never talked about that either. Or where they would live. He’d met her mom briefly a couple of times, she didn’t like him. Her father lay in a room in their mansion in a coma, and Kenny had never seen him. He didn’t know the details. She’d never met his mother or his younger brother and sisters. Or his father of course, the bastard who cheated on his mother.

They reached his room and he glanced at Paige as she silently waited beside him, still holding his hand. Kenny realized it didn’t matter that there was still some details to discuss. They’d discuss it. He loved her. If he let her go, it’d be worse than when Alicia left. Jess’s approach of short term relationships worked for a while, but Kenny needed something more. He wanted someone to share his life with. A partnership, like Bryan and Brenda had. He was really going to do this.

Opening the door, Kenny was relieved to find it filled with flowers. Filled with roses would have been better than the ramshackle assortment that faced them, but it was better than a bare room.

“Oh!” Paige said and took a tentative step into the room. Kenny watched as she looked around. Some flowers were in vases, some in bowls, others looked like they’d been placed strategically to hide the containers for others. The small table was covered, the dresser, and a tray set on a luggage rack to hold still more. There were bouquets of some kind of tropical flowers on the chairs and, to Kenny’s relief, roses arranged on the bed.

Paige turned in place to face him as Kenny closed the door. “When did you do this?
How
did you do this?”

“Bribed a couple of people into doing the legwork. You needed a pick-me-up.” He stepped forward and let his hands settle on her waist. Pulling her to him, Paige’s hands draped over his shoulders in response and she kissed him. It was a gentle kiss, soft and delicate, and she pulled away to look around her again before Kenny had a chance to increase the heat.

“Tease,” he accused her. She giggled.

“What is that?” Paige asked, pointing to a rosy-hued flower with darker edges and a yellow tint to the center end of each petal.

“I honestly have no idea.”

“Those look like hibiscus.” She pointed to another bright pink flower.

“If you say so. Is this cheering you up then?”

Paige answered him with a brilliant smile and a kiss; a less innocent one than before. Kenny liked the way this was headed.

“So in a better mood?” he asked when she ended the kiss in favor of looking at the flowers again. He needed to give her something shiny to look at instead and let a hand slide discreetly down to his pocket.

She kissed him again, distracting him from his original purpose as she explored his mouth and stole his breath. Kenny felt a stirring deep inside that had more to do with Paige’s breasts pressed against him than the ring in its velvet pouch in his pocket. The hand in his pocket brushed against velvet, reminding Kenny that he had a reason for the romantic gesture.

Grabbing the ring between two fingers, he pulled the ring from his pocket and wrapped the arm around Paige’s waist as she transitioned to small, teasing kisses. Her lips flitted from his to his cheek, jaw, nibbled his ear, then she pressed against him as she kissed his neck with clear intent. This was going somewhere. Kenny wanted that, but not yet. In fact, now that he had the ring in his hand, he was nervous about what he was about to do.

Plow on. Get it over with, then move on. Thinking was just going to make it worse.

“Paige,” he said, his voice hoarse with bridled passion.

“Hmmm?”

This felt awkward, like he should kneel and make a speech or something. Still, Kenny took a breath, now or never.

“Will you marry me?”

○ ○ ○

The question took Paige by surprise and she froze. Feeling unnaturally stiff, she pulled away from Kenny enough to clearly see his face. He still had his arms around her, keeping her from going too far, but that was fine. He looked – she wasn’t sure how he looked. Paige wasn’t good at reading Kenny’s expressions.

He brought his hand up between them, a ring held delicately between his thumb and forefinger. Paige
was
good at assessing jewelry and she was impressed with the ring Kenny chose.

“I was going to ask you at the summit. There are a lot of things we still need to discuss, but we’ve come a long way together already,” Kenny said.

“You’re serious,” Paige said, raising one hand to finger the ring Kenny held. The flowers, the ring, the proposal. He was serious. “We never talked about it. I didn’t expect ...”

She didn’t expect it yet anyway. Although she knew he’d almost certainly propose eventually. He jumped to her rescue too quickly. She probably had him hook, line, and sinker on the yacht that first night they met. Plus he kept looking out for her, never leaving her to deal with her problems herself. Even the ones she created all on her own and could have handled.

Paige already tallied the sheet on Kenny and made her decision long ago. Her velvet blue eyes turned from the ring to his hazel eyes. “Yes. I’ll marry you.”

Kenny sighed in relief. Paige heard him and laughed. She didn’t mean to make him sweat. It wasn’t indecision that made her slow to answer, it was just surprise. They’d get married, although she was going to have to break Kenny into the idea that she wasn’t helpless and she wasn’t going to be just a trophy wife. That could wait until later. For now, she was engaged!

Taking her left hand in his, Kenny slid the ring in place. To her amazement, the ring fit. Kenny kissed her hand gently before releasing it and bringing her back into his arms.

Paige pressed herself against him, hoping he’d take that as a hint. She kissed him, and Kenny took her not-so-subtle hint. Still kissing, he led her slowly toward the bed, while sliding his hands under her shirt and gently easing it up. Paige stepped back and pulled her shirt off, then unbuckled her belt and started on her pants. Kenny followed suit, removing the hindrance of clothing as quickly as he could. He watched as Paige beat him in the race, sort of. She stopped at a black lace bra and panties, tossed the bundles of roses from the bed, and lay back across the scattered petals that remained.

The sight of her waiting for him spurred Kenny on, and he grudgingly spared a moment to pull a condom from his pack and put it on before joining her.

Paige lifted her knees and draped her arms across his shoulders. She gently scratched his back with her nails, knowing it would drive him crazy. Kenny covered her mouth with his own, devouring her as he guided his cock to where Paige’s lips lay open, warm, and waiting for him.

She moaned as he slid inside of her. He paused, and she slid her hands down Kenny’s back in encouragement. It didn’t take much. Ending the kiss so they could breathe, Kenny pulled back and slammed back into her. Paige arched and tried to pull him closer. He knew what she wanted. He slammed into her again, again, and again.

Writhing beneath him, Paige felt as if she was going to explode. It was coming too fast. The moment was emotionally charged before he even touched her.

Kenny braced a hand against her waist, holding her in place and drove into her. Hard, deep, and exactly what she needed. He possessed her, owned her, but only here. Paige tried to pull him closer, as if it were somehow possible. Kenny shifted and thrust again.

The world erupted in electric light as Paige’s orgasm took over her. She felt Kenny’s body tremble as he came as well, but she was still blinded by her own climax. Holding Kenny as they basked in the aftermath of their lovemaking, Paige never wanted to let this moment go.

○ ○ ○

“This does
not
count as a date,” Dev insisted as he escorted Macy to a small clothing store.

“Buying a dress and suit? No, this is
shopping.
Tell me you’re aware of the difference,” Macy answered with a snicker.

Dev held the door for her and followed her in. “I’m familiar with shopping, although it’s not a sport I engage in.”

“Sport?” Odd choice of verb, Macy decided.

“You’re Paige’s roommate, and I’ve talked to her a decent amount since she’s been dating one of my best friends. Women seem to classify shopping as a sport. I don’t.”

Macy considered this and wondered if Lindsay shopped. There was no way she was going to ask. Macy wanted Dev to forget his ex, not have her reminding him of her at every turn.

“I hate to be obvious, but you dress like you’re competing in that particular sport,” Macy pointed out and walked over to the suits first with Dev. He perused the selection and failed to look happy about it. Still, this was the place where the others found their suits, so Macy had hopes he wasn’t going to drag her somewhere else. Wandering the streets of Dodoma was making her a nervous wreck. Macy was grateful Dev wasn’t pointing out that they were technically safe. With a squad from the Tanzanian Army following them around, she’d hope so.