Page 39

THIRTY-NINE

TRENT

“I think you went a bit overboard,” Derek whispered under his breath as his eyes roved the private room at Topaz, Norwalk’s hottest restaurant.

Looking at the venue through his eyes, I understood his concern. The room was arguably too big for the two-dozen people I’d invited to Kit’s graduation. To distract from the size of the room, I’d asked my assistant to stuff every spare spot with flowers and balloons and pictures of Kit provided by her mom.

And flying Kit’s mom in might have also been a little much. But watching Kit’s eyes light up when she spotted her in the crowd? Completely worth it.

Even more worth it because Mrs. Holden loved me, and that could only help my case. Because I wasn’t walking out of this restaurant until I asked Kit Holden to be my girlfriend.

“Trent!” Mrs. Holden called. She had Kit pinned to her side, folding a hand around her elbow. “This is gorgeous. Isn’t this gorgeous, Katherine?”

Kit’s eyes fluttered around the room, taking in the decorations, but I couldn’t tear my eyes away from her. My stomach folded into knots, and all I wanted to do was talk to her alone.

“Hey, Kitten,” I said under my breath. “About those texts.”

A server passed between us, handing out champagne to our group of three.

“Should we have a toast?” Her mom interrupted.

She pursed her lips, her soft brown eyes moving away from me. “You can’t be serious.”

“Come on, Katherine. You know I love a toast, and we’re celebrating!” Mrs. Holden grabbed a fork from the table and knocked it against her glass. “Thank you all so much for coming to my little Katherine’s college graduation!”

Kit’s friends and coworkers clapped politely while Kit did her best to avoid accepting any attention. I gave her an encouraging smile as she attempted to disappear into the floor.

“And thank you to her lovely…friend, Trent, for arranging this soiree! Katherine has worked so hard, and I’m so proud to be here tonight.” Mrs. Holden pressed two fingers to her mouth, holding back tears. “And if her father could be here tonight, he would also be very proud.”

Kit locked eyes with me.

“Help me,” she mouthed.

I held back a laugh, remembering all the times she’d come to my rescue during the rally.

“Mrs. Holden,” I said under my breath. “Would you mind if I say a couple of words? Once you’re finished, of course.”

Rudely, I’d interrupted Kit’s mom, but whatever train of thought had been flowing through her head had derailed, and that’s what I was really aiming for.

She tilted her head, trying to get the thought back before shrugging and holding up her glass. “Of course, Trent. To Katherine!”

“To Kit,” the crowd responded, knocking back their glasses in time for the servers to make a second pass.

“Seriously? Another speech?” Kit muttered under her breath. “That’s not helping.”

“I’ll make it short and sweet,” I said, resting my palm on the small of her back. “Y’all, we have an open bar and food coming, so I just wanted to say…”

I dropped my hand and faced her. “Kit, you’re amazing. A brilliant scientist, rally partner, and person. I’m lucky to have you in my life.”

The brief speech drew a couple of “aww”s out of the crowd, but I only had eyes for Kit.

Her eyes misted, and she wiped away a tear with the back of her hand.

“To Kit,” I said, holding up my glass.

“To Kit.”

“Now, please enjoy the food and drinks. Thank you all for coming,” I said to the group before stepping closer to Kit. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”

She nodded, and I led her out of the room into the restaurant.

“What are you doing, Texas?” Kit stopped just outside the door. Her face looked pained.

I ran the pad of my thumb over her cheek, and she ducked away, her eyes flitting back to the private room where her friends and family celebrated.

“I’m asking. I think I did everything in my power to not to ask outright, but I don’t want to lose you.”

“You’re not losing me,” she said with a wistfulness that made my heart ache. “We’re friends. Really good friends.”

The confession was everything I wanted two weeks ago. But it wasn’t enough now.

“I don’t want to be your friend, Kitten.” I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Maybe I did before the rally, but now? I want to date you. I want you by my side at all the lame barbecues, shitty bingo nights, and bad rest stops. I want there to be an ‘us.’”

“You don’t mean that.” She frowned, hugging her chest tight, pink fluffy fabric pooling around her arms. “The football season is going to start soon, and you’ll want?—”

I cut her off. “I’ll want you there, cheering me on and keeping me humble.”

I ducked my head, resting my forehead against hers.

She scoffed, letting her arms drop. “That’s an impossible job.”

“For anyone else.” I gave her my best lopsided grin. “But you? You have a gift. And I’d be stupid to let you walk away or pretend I only wanted to be around as a friend.”

“You were desperate for my friendship once,” she huffed, shaking her head. “Absolutely convinced that friendship with me would be the best thing ever.”

I rubbed her shoulders. “That’s only because I didn’t know how much better being your boyfriend would be. It’s not even a contest.”

“My boyfriend?” Her voice wavered. “That wasn’t the deal, Trent. We were a one-time thing.”

“We were more than a one-time thing.”

“Alright, a two-week thing.”

“Not long enough.” I cleared my throat, forcing out the words I’d practiced. “Five days, two weeks, it’s not enough. I don’t want to go back to the way things were before I met you. I want to be with you. Today. Tomorrow. Hell, forever if you’ll let me.”

She exhaled but didn’t pull away. “That’s a lot.”

“It is,” I admitted. “So, let me start with something easy. Will you go on a date with me?”

“A date?”

“An actual date. Not a rally or a hotel room. Not hanging out in your apartment. Dinner and a movie. A show and a drink.”

Her fingers skimmed my coat. “What if I have something else in mind?”

“Anything you want.” I cupped her cheek in my palm, running the pad of my thumb across her skin. “Skydiving, naked rock sliding, a trip to the baked bean museum. All of the above. As long as you’re with me.”

She pressed her fingertips against my chest, gripping my white button-down shirt. “Okay.”

“Okay?”

“I might have sort of missed you,” she admitted, eyes fluttering up to mine. “A little.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

Her grip tightened, eyes wandering to the ceiling. “Because you’re a handsome football player, and I was some girl you were sleeping with during the off-season. Because I thought you’d move on and it would be easier if I called it off first.”

“You’re not some girl, Kitten. My girl, definitely, but not some girl.” I dipped my head. “And I have every intention of keeping you mine.”

She sucked in a breath before launching herself into my arms. Her body fit against mine and in an overcrowded restaurant with half the press in Norwalk sitting outside, waiting for the night rush to come in. I kissed my girl. My rally partner. My girlfriend. My Kitten.