First Thing I See, Page 5

  We cleared the table after consuming more calories than we had burned off in two hours at the gym, and Shauna told me that she had dug a little deeper into Kennedy.

  “I don’t know if I want to learn about him from reading stories that people who don’t really know him write for money with a goal to sell their story Shauna.”

  “I just want you to be careful, Hope. It’s not just all the pictures with models. He might have some other issues. There is tragedy in is his past. It’s different from your past Hope, but you should know more than anyone that you don’t walk through fire without coming out with a few burns.”

  Her words hit me as if I was physically struck. My stomach clenched and my heart raced. I could feel the blood rush out of my face and pool at my feet. Shauna looked at me and took two quick steps toward me and hugged me tight. She didn’t let go until my breathing returned to normal. Some things just will never change. And Shauna and I taking care of each other is one of them.

  When I walked back to the kitchen table after saying goodbye to Shauna later, I saw the folder on the table. I wanted so badly to look, but it just didn’t feel right. If I was going to have any chance with Kennedy, I couldn’t let old Hope have an arsenal of information she could obsess on to destroy us before we had a chance. I took the folder and put it in my nightstand to avoid temptation.

  ***

  I was surprised not to hear from Kennedy on Sunday night after the weekend that we shared. I was sad and disappointed when I didn’t hear from him on Monday or Tuesday either.

  Chapter 8

  Franklin Jenner was thirty, two years younger than his older brother Kennedy, but he acted like the older brother most of the time. When the family business was passed down from their late father, the brothers split it up and each took the helm in different segments. Franklin operated the shipping company, while Kennedy took the financial division and Garrett, the youngest brother, took the biomedical operations. Franklin did well with Jenner Shipping International, and lived a comfortable lifestyle. He didn’t quadruple the business as Kennedy had done after taking over the finance operations, but it was still a multimillion dollar paycheck each year.

  Franklin married his high school sweetheart at twenty one and was the very proud father of six year old Emily and three year old Joseph. After their parents died, Franklin took over the family tradition of hosting Tuesday night family dinner. Garret was out of town, so this week it was just Franklin and Jenner sitting on the balcony after dinner enjoying a glass of Hennessey.

  “I saw Mikayla at the Children’s Hospital Fundraiser this weekend. She said you were in New York on business again. And she sounded pissed off.” Franklin sounded amused.

  “It’s over with Mikayla but she won’t give it up.” Kennedy emptied his glass.

  “So what’s up in New York? Anything you need a hand with.”

  Kennedy dragged his fingers through his hair and let out a deep breath. He needed to talk to someone. “I met a woman there a few weeks ago.”

  “You mean a real woman or a Mikayla prototype?”

  “A real woman. One I can’t seem to stop thinking about and is making me lose my mind trying to keep myself in control.” Kennedy poured another two fingers into his glass and stared up at the sky looking for the answer.

  “Holy. Shit. You met a real woman!” Franklin slapped Kennedy on the back playfully. “It’s supposed to be a good thing when you can’t stop thinking about a girl big brother. Why the long face?”

  “All I want to do is talk to her and see her. It’s killing me to keep my distance. I can’t focus and I think my staff is hiding when they see me I’m so miserable.” The stress on Kennedy’s face was evident.

  “Well, why are you keeping your distance then? Is she bad news?” Franklin knew his brother hadn’t been in a real relationship in a long time, but he was pretty sure Kennedy was smart enough to know that keeping your distance in a new relationship wasn’t normal.

  Kennedy tossed back the second glass and turned focused on the sky. “No, she is an angel inside and gorgeous outside. And she has no idea that she is perfect.”

  “Well with that combination, you better not take too much time to figure out why you are keeping your distance, because you can bet there will be a line of guys behind you.” Franklin stood and put his hand on his brother’s shoulder, unaware that his dad did the same thing when giving his sons serious talks growing up. “Look, someday you are going to have to let someone in. I don’t know if she is the one, but I do know that you won’t find out if you don’t ever try.”

  Kennedy stared in silence for a moment. “Thanks Franklin, I’ll be in in a few minutes.”

  ***

  Franklin reminded Kennedy about his god daughter’s ballet recital the following weekend as Kennedy said good night to the children.

  ***

  Wednesday morning Kennedy awoke with a panic. His brother was right and he needed to do something before it was too late.

  Chapter 9

  This week’s training area was in concierge. It was difficult for me to offer advice to wealthy tourists who wanted to see the best sites of the city, when I had only saw a handful of the biggest landmarks myself. Worse, I was sad and a little angry and today felt like I was being tortured by an onslaught of honeymooners that were all in love and holdings hands. I saw Charles enter the lobby from the corner of my eye and I think my heart may have stopped beating for a second. It took a minute to compose myself when I saw Dylan pointing my way from reception.

  Charles smiled when he saw me and tipped his hat. “Ms. York, lovely to see you again. Mr. Jenner asked me to deliver this to you.” Charles extended his hand carrying a large envelope.

  “Thank you Charles.”

  “You’re Welcome. I hope to see you on Friday. Have a good day, Ms. York.” Another tip of the hat and Charles was on his way.

  As I opened the envelope, I wondered if Kennedy was coming to the city again on Friday. The thought of him coming on random weekends and expecting me to be available for “sexcapades” in exchange for a few dresses made me sick to my stomach. Even gorgeous and wealthy wasn’t worth weekend visits from a man who didn’t think enough about me to call once or twice during the week. How could I have been so wrong about him?

  Inside was a short note and another envelope. Hope. I’m sorry I didn’t call. I screwed up. I can’t stop thinking about you. Please give me another chance. Come to the ballet with me in Chicago. Please? KJ. The second envelope held a roundtrip first class ticket to Chicago leaving Friday evening.

  ***

  Wednesday night I laid in bed feeling surrounded by a man that I had only known a few weeks. The erotic painting reminding me of our first night together sat leaning against the wall in my bedroom, waiting to be hung. His note and ticket in the kitchen where I sat and read it at least thirty times before forcing myself to go to bed. Shauna was right, I should have been more careful with Kennedy. The weekend had obviously meant more to me than him, and I should have known that it was just a fantasy. My brain had finally caught up to my heart. Men like Kennedy Jenner didn’t do happily ever after with women like me.

  I tossed and turned for a while. In my head I had ended it, but my heart still needed closure. I reached for my nightstand and took out the folder Shauna had given me, searching for answers. I opened the folder and studied the picture on top of Kennedy with a stunning brunette. She had to be at least six feet tall and the legs on display under her short skirt had to be as tall as me. My heart shrunk in my chest and my eyes filled with tears. I skimmed through the next few articles looking at the pictures and saw same woman in several shots.

  The phone startled me and I jumped sending the folder flying on the bed, papers spilling out all over. I dreaded late night phone calls, they almost always delivered bad news. I answered hesitantly afraid of what the call would bring. “Hello.”

  “You weren’t going to call me or come this weekend, were you?” Kennedy’s voice made my heart immedi
ately flutter and I felt a flash of relief and excitement.

  “Ummm..no, I, I, guess I wasn’t.”

  “If you don’t get on that plane Friday evening, I’ll be getting on one.”

  My heart fluttered, and a glimmer of hope lit deep within me. Nerves always brought out my sarcastic side. “Going to the Caribbean if I don’t go to Chicago?”

  Silence for a moment. “If you would rather go to the Caribbean than Chicago, that works for me.” A long pause. “Hope, I don’t know what is going on between us, but I’m going to find out. I fucked up not calling for a few days. I’m sorry. But this isn’t ending here. I’m not good at begging, but I can find other, more creative ways, to make it up to you.”

  He had me just by telling that me he was coming after me if I didn’t get on the plane, the rest was a bonus. “Okay.”

  “Okay?” He asked as if he really hadn’t expected his speech to work.

  “Yes, I’ll be on the plane Friday.” I rolled my eyes at myself and smiled.

  “Thank you. I’ll let you go to sleep, but you can be damn sure I’ll be calling tomorrow.”

  I laughed. “That’s good. Good Night Kennedy”

  “Good night beautiful.”

  I hung up the phone and gathered Shauna’s research back into the file without another peek. Whatever I was going to learn about Kennedy, was going to happen on my own.

  ***

  Kennedy called the next night. And also sent a huge bunch of wild flowers with a box of hand dipped chocolate covered strawberries.

  Friday came and went quickly as I finished my last day of training in concierge. Kennedy had arranged Charles to pick me up at work and bring me to the airport. The flight was uneventful but I was nervous and spent most of it fidgeting in my seat. The man next to me was very nice and had assumed I was a nervous flyer. We chatted for a while and he told me that he was also from New York and taking a weekend trip to visit his sister. If I hadn’t been spending most of my waking hours thinking about Kennedy, I may have noticed the stranger was handsome.

  I saw Kennedy as soon as I stepped through security. Our eyes locked and he gave me the full double dimples smile. I smiled back and said goodbye to the man I had just sat with on the flight. I saw Kennedy eye the man as he said “Maybe I’ll see you on the flight back Hope.” And then I was pulled into Kennedy’s arms and his lips covered mine pressing hard.

  When he broke the kiss, I looked up and smiled “Hi. That was a nice welcome.”

  “That was Hello. You’ll be getting the welcome when we get home.” Sinister in his husky voice.

  My legs turned to jelly and I thought I might fall. When we get home. I liked the sounds of that. A lot.

  ***

  I wasn’t sure what to expect of Kennedy’s apartment, but whatever I thought was thoroughly overshadowed by the real thing. The penthouse suite might conjure up images of luxury, but that didn’t begin to describe it. At least five of my apartments could fit in the living room alone. An entire wall of floor to ceiling windows with a majestic view of downtown Chicago and the riverfront. An enormous stone fireplace and sleek modern furniture complimented the view.

  I took a few steps toward the windows. “Your view is amazing.”

  “It doesn’t hold a candle to the one I have now.” He stared at me as I stared at the view.

  I smiled. “Do I get the grand tour?”

  “You can have whatever you want.” He said it like he really meant it.

  The tour included a dining room that seated twelve, three guest bedrooms, a kitchen that a chef would drool over, five bathrooms, an outdoor deck and ended in the enormous master suite.

  Kennedy turned to face me and pulled me into a tight embrace. He nuzzled his head down into my hair. “Does this conclude the tour Mr. Jenner?”

  “I’m surprised I didn’t pull over on the way here, I’ve wanted nothing but to taste every inch of you since I saw you in the airport.” He pulled back slightly to look at me. “I’ll show you the rest tomorrow, I promise.”

  “The rest?” He started kissing my neck.

  “One floor down is my private office.” More kisses. “The ten below that are the corporate headquarters for my company.”

  I think my jaw may have dropped open. But Kennedy didn’t seem to notice. He was busy licking the delicate skin behind my ear and unbuttoning my blouse.

  ***

  Saturday morning Kennedy gave me the remainder of the tour. Although mostly empty, there were a few people working in the corporate offices. Most of them didn’t seem surprised to see the boss walking around on a weekend, but I got the impression that they were surprised to see him walking around holding my hand.

  Kennedy told me the ballet was casual, so I dressed in jeans, a form fitting red v-neck cashmere sweater and chocolate brown high heeled boots. I thought it was strange to go to a ballet dressed so casual, but I’d never been to Chicago and assumed it was just different than in New York.

  Kennedy drove us to the theatre in his sleek black Mercedes, holding my hand throughout the drive. We parked and walked into a small theatre and took our seats in the back. I was bemused when the curtain opened and there stood four, six year old ballerinas dressed in pink two twos with tiaras and glitter wands. Kennedy took my hand in his and gave a slight squeeze. “Third ballerina from the left is my god daughter and niece Emily.” He grinned down at me sheepishly, a boyish smile so contradictory to his striking masculine face. That was the exact moment I realized I was falling in love with Kennedy Jenner.

  When we reached intermission, Kennedy guided me outside. “I don’t usually stay for the whole performance, my brother and his wife usually meet me across the street at Calhoun’s and we grab a bite to eat with Emily. They sit in the front row with all the other video crazed parents.”

  I reached up and touched his face and then put both palms flat on his chest. “You are a very surprising man, Kennedy.”

  He eyed me warily. “I hope that’s a good thing.”

  I nodded and leaned up and kissed him on the lips. I kissed him softly, a silent way of assuring him it was a good thing. But he took over and quickly deepened the kiss in response to mine. We both smiled and he took my hand to guide me to the restaurant across the street. As I looked up I was startled by a woman staring at us with daggers from the front of the restaurant. I gripped his hand firmly as we crossed the street and her eyes never left us as we made our way to the door that she was still standing in front of.

  “Mikayla” Kennedy nodded.

  “Aren’t you going to introduce me to your little friend, Kennedy?” She motioned to me but her eyes never left Kennedy’s.

  Kennedy pulled me closer to him and put his arm around my shoulders. “Sure, Mikayla. This is my girlfriend, Hope. Hope, this is Mikayla. It was nice to see you Mikayla. Enjoy your evening.” There was no time for a handshake, because Kennedy put his hand on the small of back and guided me into the restaurant.

  The hostess seated us at a table large enough for three more to join us, and Kennedy looked at me with stress glaring from his face. “I’m sorry about that.”

  I thought for a moment. “Is it over with you and her?”

  “Yes.” He spoke without hesitation.

  It soothed me to hear him say it. “Okay then, what are we ordering, because you are going to need a lot of fuel for later if you are going to top the evening we had last night.”

  I watched his shoulders relax and he smiled a full double dimples smile at me. He shook his head “No clue.” He looked down at the menu still smiling and shaking his head. “Absolutely no fucking clue.”

  ***

  Franklin Jenner was the spitting image of his brother minus four inches putting him at about five foot ten. He also had paler skin and lacked the deep dimples that made me knees week. His wife, Lauren was tall and thin with girl next door youthful looks and a smile that said she was truly happy. The little ballerina, Emily, had golden curls, pale blue eyes and obviously had inherited her mot
her’s penchant to smile.

  Although the news of meeting Kennedy’s family was only sprung on me two hours ago, it appeared that Franklin, Lauren and Emily had less notice than I. Kennedy introduced us all and Emily immediately insisted on sitting between Uncle Kennedy and me.

  “Hope, I can’t tell you how happy I am to meet you. I’ve heard so much about you in the last few weeks from my brother.” Kennedy talked about me? To his family? I had been nervous about meeting his family, but now I was excited to learn more about Kennedy from a different view.

  I smiled. “It’s nice to meet you too. I hope some of it was good.”

  He smiled and looked at his brother. “Every word.”

  “Uncle Kennedy, are you going to marry Hope?” From the mouths of babes.

  Awkward silence for a moment. I hadn’t been looking at him, not wanting to make the uncomfortable question worse around people I just met. But when I looked up, Franklin and Lauren were staring at Kennedy and Kennedy was staring at me. He waited for our eyes to lock before answering. “If I’m really lucky, Em.”

  Something in his voice was raw and I felt tears well up in my eyes. Lauren saw my face and smiled and threw me a lifeline. “Emily, you shouldn’t ask questions about people’s private lives, honey.”

  Emily took off her tiara and handed it to me. “Okay mommy. But Uncle Kennedy never brings girls with him, so I just thought that maybe he picked this one to marry. Hope, will you try on my tiara?”

  I smiled at Emily and reached down for her to place the tiara on my head. “I’ll tell you a secret Emily.” I quieted my voice as if I was telling a secret, but still loud enough for the table to hear. “When I was about your age, my favorite game was to play princess. I had a favorite tiara too. I wore it everywhere I went. I still have it. It’s in my apartment in New York. If you ever come up to New York, I will make us some tea and you can try on my tiara too.”