Page 15

CHAPTER 15

When Jayce asked her to meet him at the house he bought, she thought it would just be the two of them. She never thought she would be meeting his friends and their significant others.

With the way Jayce spoke about his life, she didn't think he let many people get close, but based on the number of people in his house, that wasn't the case.

"This place certainly has potential," Austin, or at least that’s who she thought he was, said from where he stood in the open living area.

Kennedy had been introduced to everyone in the room but names weren't her strongest quality. She remembered Monica only because the woman walked in wearing a power suit in deep red with matching heels. She looked every bit the mighty CEO Jayce introduced her as.

"That's what Kennedy said." Jayce shrugged. "I don't see it but I'll trust her judgment."

His friends looked at one another. She could only imagine what they were thinking.

"Well, the inspector said the foundation is good as well as the framing and the roof. It's mostly cosmetic work needed and we can help with that." She was pretty sure that was Caden who spoke. The man walked in with a computer, and she remembered Shaun talking about him.

"I wasn't aware wielding a hammer was one of your specialties." That was definitely Ryker. She only remembered his name because he was sure to tell her that he was the jokester of the team. "I thought if it didn't involve computers, it wasn't in your wheelhouse."

"I can wield a gun just fine. Care for me to remind you of that skill?" Caden fired back.

"Enough!" Monica cut off the banter with the same tone Kennedy was sure she used in the boardroom. "There will be no spilling of blood in Jayce's new home.”

"What about in the yard?" Ryker pushed.

"Amelia? Can't you control your man?" Monica huffed.

Ryker put his arm around Amelia and smiled. "We all know there's no controlling me. Besides, Amelia loves my attitude. She wouldn't change a thing about me."

"I wouldn't go that far," Amelia grumbled, and everyone in the room laughed.

So far Kennedy liked this group. They were funny and didn't have a problem harassing each other. It was a good dynamic and something she could use in one of her future series. Banter was popular amongst her readers.

"I brought you guys here to see the place because you wouldn't shut up about it, not so that you can annoy the fuck out of each other. You could do that back at the office." Jayce shook his head in frustration.

"We could've, but then we wouldn't get to see you finally grow up and get your own place," Ryker teased.

"I've always had my own place, dickhead."

"Uh, no," Ryker argued back. "You had a shitty apartment in a shitty building that should've been condemned years ago."

"It was still my own place."

"Potato, poh-ta-toh. This is what I consider having your own place. That other thing was nothing more than a shoebox for drug addicts."

Ouch. Kennedy hadn't seen his other place but that seemed harsh. Except Jayce wasn't arguing back, so maybe his apartment was that bad.

"Are we here to critique my living situation or are any of you going to tell me how you plan to help?"

Everyone in the room started to talk at once. Discussions about sheetrock and framing flew around. Then plumbing and electrical. She didn't have the slightest idea who knew how to do what but it appeared Jayce would have his bases covered with this group.

"You've been awfully quiet since you walked in," Monica slid up beside her and remarked.

"Just taking it all in. I'm not sure why Jayce asked me to be here today."

"I thought that was obvious. He likes you and wanted you to meet everyone."

She looked at Monica with a confused expression.

"I don't think that's true."

"Don't take my word for it. God knows trying to decipher Jayce is the hardest thing I've ever done. I was convinced the first time I met him that he couldn't stand me. Amelia thought the same when she met him. But Luke promises me that's not the case. He was also the one to tell me why we're all here. If anyone knows Jayce, it's these guys."

"How long have they known each other?"

"Twenty years, I think. Maybe more. Maybe less. I know they knew Jayce when he was married to Jasmine but none of them talk about that time, so it's hard to know for sure."

She could understand why none of them wanted to discuss Jasmine. Fifteen years she had known the woman and she wished she could forget her as well. The only good thing to come out of that time in her life was Michael.

"Jasmine was a bitch," she said before she could think better of it.

Monica laughed. "So I've heard. It's a good thing I never met her. I'm not exactly known for hiding my feelings, so I would've given her a piece of my mind. I can assure you it wouldn't have been nice."

It was her turn to laugh. "She would've deserved it. I wish I could've done the same, but if I wanted to see my nephew, I had to play nice."

"Luke and I have talked about meeting him. It's a shame what Jasmine did to Jayce all these years."

Kennedy was angry all over again at the situation. After spending time with the man, she could one hundred percent say he deserved better than what he got.

"He's a great kid, and Jayce is so good with him."

"I can see that. Luke told me how badly he wanted a family back when he and Jasmine were married. I guess that's why the situation sucked so hard. It wasn't like she took Michael away because Jayce was a deadbeat. She was just selfish."

"Shaun's a great father too." She felt the need to defend her brother.

"Oh my God," Monica gasped. "I didn't mean to imply he wasn't. I've heard good things about him. Well, as good as they could be considering everyone thought he helped Jasmine cheat. I haven't had the chance to ask Jayce but I can only assume Jayce likes what he sees since he isn't begging Luke to find a way to steal Michael."

She wasn't sure that explanation was any better, but she knew what Monica was trying to say. There was no doubt in her mind that, if Jayce thought Shaun was a bad father, he would've swooped in and demanded parental rights of his son.

"I hope you know Amelia and I are happy you're here. We want Jayce to be happy and it looks like you do that for him."

Kennedy wasn't so sure that was the case. The two of them had barely spoken since he discovered that Jasmine was working with the cartel. They had seen each other at Michael's basketball games but to actually speak? Not so much.

She didn't want to bother him, in case he was pulling away for some reason. There had been countless times she had picked up the phone to call him or send him a message, and every time she had talked herself out of it. Instead she focused on the book she was writing. She had a deadline to meet, so it was easy enough to force herself to get lost in it, even if her mind tended to wander.

Missing a deadline was unacceptable in her opinion, so when push came to shove, she prioritized that over everything else.

"I hope I didn't overstep by saying that." Monica's voice pulled her out of her musings.

She shook her head. "Sorry, I was thinking about work. Sometimes it consumes me."

"Oh? What do you do for a living?" Monica sounded genuinely interested when she asked.

"I'm a romance author. I'm in the middle of writing a book, so sometimes a scene pops into my head at the strangest times."

"You're an author? How exciting!” Monica squealed. “You'll have to tell me the name of one of your books. I know several people who love to read. You would be the second author I got to meet."

"Who's the first?" She tilted her head slightly as she asked, curious who Monica could possibly have met.

The author community wasn't small but maybe it was someone she knew.

"Leslie Cameron. She's actually a friend of a friend. It's a long story but I've had the pleasure of meeting her a few times when I've visited Texas. She's super nice," Monica rambled with excitement.

She snapped her fingers in acknowledgment. "I know Leslie. She's trad published whereas I chose to self-publish, but I know who she is and have seen her at conferences we attended together. She's a sweetheart and her books are amazing. I haven't seen her since I left Austin. I kinda became a hermit when we moved here." Sadness crept into her voice.

Back in Austin she had a community of authors she used to meet up with on a semi-regular basis. She had yet to find that here in Seattle. Not that she was trying very hard. All of her free time was spent with her brother or nephew.

"Well, I guess Amelia and I will have to bring you out of that shell.” Monica bumped her shoulder. “We might not be authors but we sure can be fun when we want to."

"That would be great."

Discussions about man caves and weekly poker nights filled the space.

"It looks like that's our cue to jump back into the conversation before the guys decide this needs to be hangout central."

Monica walked away with Amelia, who had yet to speak. She seemed okay to let the other woman do all the talking.

Kennedy wasn't sure dissuading the group from their conversation was the best idea. If Jayce was okay with everyone hanging out at his place, then she wanted that for him. It was time he let people in and she hoped to be the first.