KENNA SAT in her new office in the Teen Zone. It was the same size as her Mallory Enterprises office had been, which meant barely big enough to breathe in, much less work in, but she loved it.
She was surrounded by stacks of paperwork, but she loved that, too. She knew what each stack needed, and what to do, and she was working her way through them.
With a grin on her face.
That was what happened when one finally got the right job, she supposed, you walked around with a stupid, goofy smile and drove people crazy because you were so ridiculously happy.
Lyssa poked her head in the door.
“Hey, there,” Kenna said.
“So you did it.” Lyssa’s eyes were shuttered with the anger-sadness-perpetual irritation of a teenager.
“Did what?”
“Finished the classes you needed to be a counselor here for real.”
Kenna tossed her pencil aside and leaned back. “Yep.”
“I suppose that’s why this came.” Lyssa straightened and brought her hands around to the front, hands that were filled with a bouquet of wildflowers. “From Wes. The card says he loves you. Yech.”
Kenna laughed. “Oh, love grosses you out, now?”
“It’s just that you’re soooo over the moon for him. I mean, it’s embarrassing. You’ve only been dating him for like-I don’t know.”
“Two years,” Kenna said.
Lyssa sniffed. “That’s not long enough to be so over the moon.”
Kenna laughed. “Two years is pretty long.”
“Is he really your Prince Charming?”
“Well, I hope so, since I’m marrying him this weekend.” Hard to believe but she, the unconventional, slightly erratic, definitely different Mallory was going to marry a suit-the cool, calm, board-room man, Mr. Weston Roth.
She was really going to say “I do,” move into his little house on the beach…
And have wild, reckless sex whenever she wanted.
She couldn’t wait.
Serena had married Josh the year before and claimed marriage was better than anything she could imagine, even better than say…sex in a hot tub. And from Serena, that was quite an endorsement.
Not that Kenna trusted her cousin any more than she used to, but she was looking forward to proving that marriage was awesome all on her own.
“It’s not too late to back out, you know.”
Kenna laughed in shock. “Lyssa!”
“Kidding. I do like him, he’s cute.” The teen lifted a shoulder. “For an old guy, anyway.”
“He’s thirty-five.”
“Like I said, old.” Lyssa put the flowers on the one free corner of Kenna’s desk, then looked around the room with disdain. “My bedroom might actually be bigger than this. You should complain.”
“I like it.” She and Sarah had painted the room in a soft rose, trimmed it in white. There were pictures on the wall, one of her and Sarah covered in said rose paint, one of Sarah with a bunch of the kids, and one of Kenna, Wes and Josh.
That one was her favorite.
“So…” Lyssa nodded toward the complicated-looking forms in front of Kenna. “Whatcha doing?”
“Trying to get us a grant.”
“Why? Your dad is rich as God.”
“Lyssa.” She had to laugh. True to his word, her father had donated her Ferrari money, and with it, over the past two years, they’d spruced the place up and even added two full-time staff-herself included. “This one will get us enough money to get another Teen Zone across town.”
“Who cares about them?”
“I do,” Kenna said gently. “And Sarah does, and everyone who works here. We want as many kids as possible to get to come to a place like this-” She looked up and saw Wes standing in the doorway.
Her heart tipped on its side. Pathetic that it still did that, but she figured it boded well for the marriage.
And especially the honeymoon.
He gave her a slow smile that spread warmth through her body. “Ready?”
“For what?”
His smile widened to a naughty grin behind Lyssa’s back, and Kenna blushed.
Blushed.
“Um…yeah.” She stood. “We have to go…”
“Where?” Lyssa wanted to know, looking back and forth between them suspiciously. “Ah, man, you have that stupid grin on your face, too,” she said to Wes. “Jeez, I’m so outta here.”
When they were alone, Wes took Kenna’s hand and pulled her close for a hug.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
“I needed to clear my head.”
“Uh-oh. Work driving you mad? Who is it, my father or Serena?”
“The thought of you, Mrs. Roth.”
“Hey, I’m not Mrs. Roth, yet.”
He pulled back and looked into her eyes. “Regrets?”
“Are you kidding? The only regret I have is not deciding sooner that you were worth my time.”
“Ah. Speaking of that, when did you decide?”
“I think it goes all the way back to when I pulled you into the pool.”
“Really, and why is that, almost-Mrs. Roth?”
“Because,” she said with a grin as she set her head on his shoulder, loving that he made her feel feminine just by holding her. “That’s when I saw you all wet and annoyed for the first time. You look good all wet and annoyed, Wes. You look real good.”
He laughed and hugged her tighter, and she felt at home in his arms as she’d never felt anywhere else. “I love what you’ve done here,” he said. “What you’ve done for the kids. And I also love-”
“What, this chartreuse-colored sundress?” With a smile, she pulled free and preened and danced in a little circle for him, knowing darn well one needed sunglasses just to look at her.
“Nope.” He smiled into her frown. “What I love is you, Kenna. Always you.”
Jill Shalvis
Jill Shalvis has been making up stories since she could hold a pencil. Now, thankfully, she gets to do it for a living, and doesn’t plan to ever stop. She is the bestselling, award-winning author of over two dozen novels, including series romance for both Harlequin and Silhouette. She’s hit the Waldenbooks bestsellers lists, is a 2000 RITA® Award nominee and is a two-time National Reader’s Choice Award winner. She has been nominated for a Romantic Times Career Achievement Award in Romantic Comedy, Best Duets and Best Temptation. Jill lives in California with her family.
