Just One Kiss: A Black Alcove Novel (The Black Alcove Series Book 1) (9 page)

“So, is this Max Connelly’s son?” she
asks.

I nod. I wasn’t aware she knew the Connelly
family well enough to know Ethan’s dad.

“One of them. I think there are three boys
total, but I’m not quite sure.”

Her mouth twists as she glances out the
kitchen window. “And what is he back in town for?”

She doesn’t look at me when she asks, but
there’s something else in that curious tone of hers. Almost as if
she thinks she needs to be cautious with the question.

“Sara’s going out of town for a while.
Ethan’s here to help with the bar.”

“Ethan?” she asks, her voice loud and
shocked. “Of all those boys, he let Ethan come?”

The way she says “let” makes it sound as
though choosing him wasn’t ideal. I take a sip of the coffee she
brought while she fidgets with her mug. Is she having this
conversation because she wants to know about her new neighbor or
because she’s digging for information? I bet my mother filled her
in on all kinds of crazy stuff from around town.

“I don’t know why they wouldn’t pick
Ethan.”

Helen just nods then waves her hand,
dismissing the topic.

We finish our coffee with a much lighter
discussions of classes and how living next to my parents has been a
delight for her. It sounds like she and my mother are becoming
quite good friends.

“Well, I must be going,” she says, standing
and collecting her Thermos. “See you around, Kelsey. I’m very happy
to know you’re staying here while your parents are away. Ever since
Mr. Mulligan passed, the closeness of friends is important to
me.”

The idea occurs to me that maybe she and my
mother have coffee together often, and that I could fill in for my
mom while she is away..

“Of course. Come back tomorrow, same
time?”

Her smile grows as she opens the door.

“Kelsey, I’d be hesitant to let that boy
anywhere near you. His father was always a snake. I don’t like to
judge his boys off his behavior, but I don’t trust that
family…”

A smile wavers at my lips as I give her a
puzzled expression. She doesn’t trust Ethan?

“…
not after the fit he
threw at his father’s funeral. Men like that only think of
themselves and for your sake, I hope he didn’t raise his boys that
way,” she adds.

“I’ll make sure Ethan is on his best
behavior.”

“Good, you can start now. He’s on his way
over here.” She glances back at me. “Maybe you should fix your
hair?” She laughs and walks out the door. Sure enough, Ethan is
crossing the street with flowers in one hand and a grocery bag in
the other. He’s giving me the biggest smile he can make.

First Mrs. Mulligan warns me away from him,
and now I need to improve my appearance. She’s lost her mind.
Getting old must suck.

Ethan

After tossing all night, I’ve finally made a
decision. I want Kelsey and I don’t care whose rules I break to
make it happen. My father can suck it. It’s not the most mature
attitude to have, but I’m starting to learn that there are more
important things in life than gaining my father’s approval. Being
with Kelsey is worth losing a relationship with him. Then again, I
can’t lose it seeing as how we never really had one to begin with.
My brothers were always his favorites. They did everything he
wanted and they did it exactly how he wanted it. I’m starting to
think it might be because none of them actually have a heart.

None of that matters now. I’m going to
convince Kelsey we should give this a real chance. There’s a reason
my feelings never went away and I have to find out what made her
stop last night. I have to fix it.

There’s a spring to my step when I reach the
sidewalk outside the Brians’ house. Kelsey is standing in the
doorway, wearing a pair of blue, white, and silver pajama pants and
a red t-shirt that says The Black Alcove across the chest. Her hair
is a mess, in a sexy way, and her eyes light up when I get to the
door.

“Good morning, Ethan,” she says, taking a
step back and waving her hand to gesture me inside. She blushes as
she tries to hide the smile on her face.

“Good morning,” I say, not caring about the
shit-eating grin on my face, too. “These are for you.” I hold up a
bouquet of colorful flowers and her hand brushes mine when she
takes them. When she looks into my eyes, I have to resist the urge
to grab her and kiss her. Maybe that would cure the fact my heart
both races and slows down each time I see her.

“These are beautiful.” She closes the door
behind us. “What are you doing up so early?” I follow her to the
kitchen where she pulls a vase from a bottom cupboard and fills it
with water. I set the bag of groceries I brought with me on the
island and take a seat.

“Well, Sara mentioned that you just started
housesitting a couple days ago, and I made the assumption that you
probably haven’t had time to make it to the store.” I start
unloading the bag. Eggs, bacon, sausage, potatoes, onions, and
cheese fill the counter space between us. “I’m going to make you
breakfast.”

“Can you even cook?” she asks in a
flirtatious tone.

“Of course I can cook.”

“Okay, but are you any good at it?”

“The best,” I say, making my way around the
counter to stand in front of her. She freezes and looks into my
eyes as I tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. “Why don’t you
relax, do whatever it is girls do when they get ready for the day,
and I’ll let you know when breakfast is ready.”

A confused expression washes over her face
and she looks away. Her lips part like she’s going to say
something, but then she closes them, nodding before disappearing up
the stairs.

I hope she’s as accepting of the idea of us
as she is to the idea of me cooking breakfast for her. If she is, I
just might have to make this a regular morning routine.

Kelsey

Ethan’s here, in my
kitchen. Well — my parents’ kitchen, but he’s here for me. He’s
making me breakfast and I just — let him. Confessing my feelings
should go easier than I thought. I hear drawers open and close from
inside the kitchen. I hope he doesn’t ask me where anything is; I
don’t know my way around this house. I should probably start
visiting my parents more. Especially with Ethan living so close to
them
.
I glance at
the hallway mirror on the way to my room and pause when I see my
appearance. A gasp slips past my lips a lot louder than
expected.

“Is everything okay up there?” Ethan’s voice
carries up the stairs. I cover my mouth with my hand and then
quickly start smoothing out the frizz. Helen wasn’t kidding. My
hair looks like a bird’s nest.

“Everything’s fine,” I say when I reach my
room. I grab a pair of jeans and a t-shirt on my way to the
bathroom. Quickly, I brush my teeth and my hair, and then apply a
light coat of makeup.

Staring at my reflection in the mirror, I
take a deep breath. It’s not a crime to be into Ethan. He’s smart,
sexy, and still mysterious to me. The fact that he’s clearly still
into me after all these years is something I can’t wrap my mind
around.

I haven’t been the luckiest
girl when it comes to men. I was the other woman for my first kiss,
and for my first love, I found not one, but two other woman in our
bed. I’ve been the accomplice and the victim. The next man I date
isn’t going to betray me. That alone is a huge reason why I need to
take it slow with Ethan or stay away from him completely. What’s
that saying – once a cheater always a cheater?
Please don’t let that apply to Ethan.

Crap.
Maybe I shouldn’t tell him how I feel.

Closing my door, I casually
make my way into the kitchen to find Ethan pulling the orange juice
from the fridge. The table is set for two, and there’s enough food
to feed us for the next week.
Us.
That’s so cute.

Crap again.

Make up your mind, Kelsey.

“Hey,” Ethan says, catching my gaze. “What
do you have planned for today? I thought maybe we could go
downtown, take a walk or something. You can show me everything I’ve
missed the last seven years. Maybe we could even head out to the
lake for a few hours.”

“That sounds great. I can’t believe it’s
been that long. It feels like you’ve been here the entire time.” I
take a seat at the table.

“Yeah, crazy, huh?”

Ethan places a glass of orange juice in
front of me and takes the seat next to me. He scoots his chair in
and his leg brushes against mine. It sends a tingle that settles in
the pit of my stomach. Every time he gets close to me, I swear my
body forgets how to act normal.

“So what’s new? Are you ready to be finished
with college?” Ethan grabs a piece of toast and slathers it with
grape jelly before I answer.

“College is good, and yes, I am ready to be
done with this degree.”

I take a bite of bacon and look down at my
plate. I can feel him staring at me so I wipe my mouth just to be
on the safe side.

“What’s your major?” he asks.

“Accounting.”

“Really? I would have figured you’d be a
writer one day or make reading a career. I swear, you always had a
book in your hands when I saw you.”

This makes me laugh. “If you could get paid
to be a reader, I’d have totally done that. And yes, I want to be a
writer, but I don’t think my dad would be very impressed. I still
plan to go to school for English, but not right now.” I say,
shoving more food into my mouth before I share any more information
than I need to.

“Your dad…really? I always thought you got
along. What did I miss?”

Ethan turns his body to face me, resting one
arm across the back of my chair. Something about his soft gaze and
immediate interest in my relationship with my father instinctively
tells me I can trust him.

“I don’t know.” I shrug. “One day he was my
best friend, the next, he was different. From that day on he chose
my brother over me every time. Then when Conner left, I hoped
things would get better, but they never did. I thought by choosing
accounting and following in his footsteps, the dad I used to know
would come back. I miss him, and I can’t imagine going the rest of
my life not being close to him. Sometimes I wonder if my taking a
semester off after graduating high school was the problem, but I
don’t know.”

Ethan nods slowly as if it takes him a while
to process my answer. “I actually see why—”

His phone rings in his pocket and he pulls
it out, glances at it, and quickly sets it to silence. He grabs
another piece of toast and stands. “I…forgot I had some things to
do on my house today. Can I take a rain check on that walk?” He
heads out of the kitchen, but turns to face me in the doorway.
“Accounting major or not, your dad would be a fool not to come
around.”

Ethan

I should really learn to take my own advice.
My father is a fool too, if he won’t accept me for who I am. But
like Kelsey said, she can’t imagine living the rest of her life
butting heads with her father and neither can I. There has to be a
different way to gain his approval.

I know I made my decision and I chose
Kelsey, but I still need to find a balance between her and my
father. I can’t just straight up tell him I’m done or he’ll find
another way to pull this off. The real me won’t let that happen. My
cell buzzes inside my pocket a second time once I’m outside. It’s
probably a follow up phone call to the text he just sent me.

I’M SENDING ONE OF YOUR BROTHERS IF I DON’T
HEAR FROM YOU IN THE NEXT TWENTY FOUR HOURS.

Typical. He never asks how my day is or how
I’m doing. He just gets right to the point. I’m about to answer the
call when I look up to find Tyler Maron leaning against a blue Ford
parked across the street in front of my house. He gives me a quick
nod in greeting before pushing off the truck with his foot.

“Hey, Tyler, it’s been a long time. How’ve
you been?”

“Ethan,” he says and pulls me in for a
shoulder bump hug and slaps my back. “I heard you were back in town
for a while. My dad told me where I could find you. What were you
doing at Kelsey’s parents’ house?”

I figure he knows Kelsey’s staying there.
Back when we were kids, Sara, Kelsey, Logan, and Tyler were
inseparable and they always knew where to find each other.

“Your dad told you where to find me?”

“Yeah, he said, ‘That Connelly boy is back
in town, causing trouble across from the new Brian home. Haven’t
seen him in years, not since his father and Sara’s couldn’t decide
who was going to take over that old bar.’”

Tyler chuckles once he finishes his
impression of his father and I join in. When the laughter fades
Tyler scratches the back of his neck and looks past me.

“Is, uh…Kelsey really watching the house for
a few months?”

“That’s what she says.”

“Is she home now?” He looks nervous and
avoids making eye contact with me. Something is up with him and I
don’t like the idea of him acting like this around Kelsey. If it
freaks me out, it will definitely freak her out too.

“Ah…no. Actually, she left early this
morning. I was…watering a plant.”

Fuck.

I sound like an idiot. Why am I lying to
him? It’s not like Kelsey and I are together. She should be able to
talk to any guy she wants.

“Oh.”

Please don’t question anything about her car
in the driveway.

“Well, that’s okay. I’m sure I’ll see her
later. Are you free tonight? We should meet up for a drink if you
are,” he says and jumps in his truck, shutting the door before I
can reply. I wave from the sidewalk and he drives away. A lot has
changed since I’ve been here and I don’t think all of it is
positive. Not with Tyler anyway.

A flicker across the street grabs my
attention before I head inside. Kelsey’s eyes instantly grab mine
from behind the curtain she’s peeking around. She gives me a slight
nod and then disappears. Was she hiding from Tyler?