Unwanted Heat

Kenzie

“Are you sure you want to cook Thanksgiving dinner?” Nicholas asks me for what must be the hundredth time in the last forty-eight hours. “I can still find someone to-”

“Will you stop asking me? We’ll be fine,” I insist. “It just seems like an awful lot of work,” he sighs.

“Nicholas! You know damn well I never have a meal catered at the holidays! Since the day God brought you into our home, you have always had a home cooked meal for every holiday. Just because we’re here instead of in New York doesn’t change anything,” Vivienne scolds.

“I know, Mom, it just seems like a lot of work-”

“Boys, why don’t we leave the ladies alone to cook and take a hike?” Theodore suggests, and I smile at him, trying to thank him for distracting Nicholas.

“Sounds good to me!” Austin jumps up from the couch.

“Ummm… sure,” Nicholas mumbles, before walking over to me and wrapping his arms around my waist. “You okay here?”

“I’m good, go enjoy the beautiful weather,” the sun has been shining all day and surprisingly it isn’t too cold. “You’re taking someone with you right?”

“Carter and Hunter will be here, Ben and Smith will be with us,” despite earlier plans, he decided to keep a few of the security members here, instead of sending them back to New York. The idea was to give Carter and Hunter a little bit of a break, since they have been going nonstop since the incident, but I don’t think either of them stopped since everyone arrived yesterday.

“Go, have fun,” I urge.

“Men,” Vivienne grumbles. “He’s never complained about the work that went into the meal any other year.”

“That’s ’cause he just showed up to eat and left as soon as dessert was over,” Cara explains.

“He didn’t stay long?” I ask.

“No,” Vivienne sighs. “There was always something with PFS that needed his attention. He would arrive a few minutes before the meal was ready with a bottle of wine, and then leave right after dessert was served.” “When he was with… Harper, they didn’t stay?” I ask.

“No,” the anger in her voice doesn’t go unnoticed.

“Please, that bitch always thought she was too good for us-”

“Cara! Language.”

“It’s true and you know it,” she says without apologizing.

“Kenzie, to answer your questions, no, Nicholas didn’t stay on the rare occasion that Harper would join him for family dinners,” Vivienne clarifies.

“Oh.”

I knew she didn’t get along with his family, but I guess I just assumed that it was because of how she tried to extort him. Nicholas did mention that Vivienne wouldn’t let Harper call her by her name, but I guess I didn’t realize the extent to which the dislike ran.

“It’s nice to see Nicholas get away from PFS for a little while though, even if it’s under these circumstances,” Vivienne smiles at me.

“I’m kind of surprised he’s been able to stay away this long,” Cara giggles.

“He’s been checking his emails here and there; yesterday he had a call with Alex to review everything before the long weekend. The office is closed obviously today, tomorrow and Monday so I think that helps.”

“How are you handling everything, Kenzie?” Vivienne asks. “I know these last few days have been… interesting.”

“It’s been… rough,” I admit. “I think the worst part is just not knowing where Richard is-” “Richard?” Vivienne asks.

“Who’s Richard?” Cara mimics.

“I thought Nicholas told you?” I’m surprised. He told me his family knew of the reason for the increased security.

“We know Harper broke into the bakery, although God knows how she pulled that one off. That building has impeccable security,” Vivienne says.

“Is that who Richard is? Is he the one who helped her break in?” Cara asks.

“Richard is my ex… fiance,” I say after releasing the breath I was holding.

“Oh boy… let’s grab some wine and sit down. The turkey is in the oven, the potatoes are peeled, but can’t go in the oven yet, and everything else can wait a little while,” Vivienne suggests.

Cara pours us each a glass of wine before we go into the living area; no one says anything, I think they’re both giving me the time I need to figure out what I want to say. Now that I think about it, I’m no longer surprised that Nicholas didn’t tell his family about Richard. I know he was going to consult with his dad, but my guess is that’s as far as the conversation went given that Theodore is an attorney.

“I met him when I was young and naive,” I begin and slowly tell the story that, until I met Nicholas, so few people knew.

“I hope Nicholas kills the bastard,” Vivienne says, and both Cara and I stare at her surprised at her words.

“So, Richard lives in New York?” Cara asks.

“No, thank God,” I reply. “He lives in Colorado… at least that’s where he’s supposed to be.”

“He didn’t bother you before now?” Vivienne asks.

“No. I had… have documentation from the police and medical staff that treated me the night I left him. I threatened to expose him if he ever came after me. With his father being an elected official, he wouldn’t risk it.”

“But you said that you don’t know where Richard is now. I’m assuming you think he had something to do with what happened the other night?” Vivienne asks.

“Richard’s father died recently, which we think has returned his focus to me,” I shake my head in disbelief. “I hadn’t heard from him, except one time after I left him, but somehow he found me. He was on the security feed from the bakery the night Harper broke in. He helped get her into the parking garage and into the apartment.”

“Holy Shit,” Cara mumbles.

“Kenzie… I….” Vivienne is obviously speechless.

“The increased security is because of him,” Cara realizes. “I didn’t understand why we still needed security, with that bitch in jail, but it all makes sense. Nicholas should have just told us about him.” “It wasn’t his story to tell,” Vivienne says quietly.

If I wasn’t completely head over heels in love with him already, the realization that Vivienne was right would have made me fall in love with him. He let his family believe that everything going on right now was because of his ex, rather than break my trust to tell them about Richard. “So, you don’t know where he is?” Cara asks.

“No, apparently he stole a van and drove out here, but the van was abandoned,” I answer.

“I’m sure Carter is doing everything he can to find him,” Vivienne says.

“He is,” I confirm.

“Wow… Kenzie, this just sucks,” Cara says.

“Cara!” Vivienne exclaims.RêAd lat𝙚St chapters at Novel(D)ra/ma.Org Only

“No, she’s right,” I laugh. “It does suck. Thank you, Cara.”

“Kenzie, dear, you know if you need anything, Theodore and I are here for you. No matter what you need, we’re here,” Vivienne hugs me tightly. I take a deep breath, stilling the tears that are threatening to fall, knowing that I can’t remember the last time I had a hug like this that wasn’t from Nicholas. A motherly hug…

“Thank you, I appreciate that,” she has no idea how much I really appreciate her offer and kind words. “I know Nicholas is consulting with his attorney about Harper and about Richard too, although I think for right now there isn’t much we can do until someone finds him.”

“That’s why you guys are out here, instead of staying in New York,” Cara says.

“Until security is checked over at the condo, Nicholas doesn’t want us returning. But I know we can’t stay here forever, even if this place is absolutely beautiful.”

“This is my favorite place,” Vivienne glances around the cabin. “I thought Nicholas was crazy when he told me he bought the land for us. Then, I thought he was even crazier, when he told me he hired an architect to design a cabin specifically for me and even hired Theodore and Austin to build it.”

“They built this?” I’m stunned, this place is absolutely gorgeous.

“Nicholas would fly out here for weekends, and the boys would stay in what is now the security cabin while work here was being completed.”

“Wow,” I say.

“I tried refusing this… I told him repeatedly that he had better things to spend his money on, but Nicholas refused to listen to me.”

“I know the feeling,” I giggle. “I tried to refuse the bakery-”

“Why Kenzie? You love that place!” Cara interrupts me.

“I do, I absolutely love everything that you’re doing there and how the business is completely taken off, especially since we got the website up and running, but the thought that Nicholas spent who knows how much money to buy me a bakery? That’s frightening! And this was after the gorgeous wedding, as we were flying to a secluded island in Fiji for a week. It’s a crazy amount of money to even think about.”

“That’s what he does for the people he loves,” Vivienne explains simply.

I bite my tongue, knowing that when he gifted me the bakery, we were far from in love. I don’t doubt that he cared greatly for me, but things were still somewhat weird between us at that point. It’s hard to believe that was only a few months ago, in a way it seems like it was much longer.

BEEP

The timer on the oven goes off, indicating that it’s time to baste the turkey again.

“Well, I think our dinner is telling us that we need to get moving,” Vivienne says. “Thank you, Kenzie… for sharing your story with us. I know it wasn’t easy for you, but we appreciate you letting us know what is really going on.”

“Thank you,” Cara whispers as she hugs me tightly. “For trusting us and for giving me back my brother.”

“Giving him back?”

“Before he met you, he hasn’t smiled… in a very long time. It’s nice to see him happy again; you’ve done that to him-you’ve made him that way. For a long time after that bitch tried to ruin his life, I didn’t think I’d ever see him smile again. But you managed to do what none of us could. You broke down the barriers that he put up. He let you in when he wouldn’t let anyone else in. So thank you.”

“I didn’t…” I mumble surprised at Cara’s words.

“You did,” she squeezes my hand, before heading into the kitchen. “Now, who needs more wine?”