Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 76232 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 381(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 254(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76232 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 381(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 254(@300wpm)
“Fantastic,” he repeated with a wink at Kate, who blew him a kiss.
Kennedy frowned at this, too busy trying to wrap his head around this new version of Kate. “When—? What—?” He cleared his throat. “You look different.”
“Nice,” Matt muttered.
“She got her hair cut Thursday, remember? She left early?” Ian mimed snipping motions with his fingers.
“Right.” Kennedy had forgotten the strange anomaly of Kate leaving before eight p.m., much less five p.m. And he’d been out of the office most of the day yesterday on the trading floor, and then at a few off-site meetings.
Besides, it was a hell of a lot more than a haircut. Kate was . . . arresting. And he couldn’t look away.
“You guys going to be here for a bit?” Kate asked. “I’m going to go get a cocktail.”
“I’ll get it,” Ian and Matt said at the same time.
Kennedy had the oddest urge to slap them. Or himself. Why did he not offer? He normally would have for any other woman. But with Kate he was never at his best. Even less so, apparently, when he could see her thigh.
“Nope, stay here,” Kate ordered, already moving away. “I want to check on a few of the vendors, make sure they didn’t ignore my demands. Requests,” she amended quickly. “Also, I have a private bet with myself to see exactly how long that stupid ice sculpture will last.”
“Oh, thank God that wasn’t your suggestion,” Sabrina said with relief.
“Offensive,” Kate said, waving her finger at Sabrina. “Very offensive that you’d even consider it could be mine.”
Kate continued walking away, and the rest of the group began placing bets among themselves on the fate of the ice sculpture.
“What do you think?” Matt asked Kennedy. “How long until that frosty jawline of yours becomes a puddle?”
“I bet a hundred bucks the frown will be the last to go,” Lara said.
“I don’t think anyone would take that bet,” Ian said.
“Will you excuse me a moment?” Kennedy asked, too distracted to respond to their ribbing. He walked away before any of them could reply.
The pink of Kate’s dress made her easy to spot in a sea of the usual New York black. She was talking to a server carrying a tray of champagne, who nodded at something she said. Kate was on the move again before Kennedy could reach her, and he followed her across the room to a table, where she spoke to a burly man behind it wearing a chef hat and holding a carving knife.
He reached her just as the man handed her a plate with a slice of damn good-looking roast beef. “Thanks, Larry.”
“My pleasure,” the man said in a voice higher than Kennedy would have expected for someone built like a linebacker. “You know, this is the first time I’ve worked the USDA prime beef carving station at a dedicated slider bar, but it seems to be a big hit.”
“Yeah, well, the birthday boy’s got a thing for French dip sandwiches. This is the closest I could get while still counting it as cocktail-party-friendly finger food.”
Kennedy froze. She knew his favorite food?
Kate picked up a roll, then pointed at one of the bowls of sauces. “Is that the extra-hot horseradish or regular?”
“One on the left is hot; right is regular. The little signs labeling them had a Chardonnay-related incident. Someone’s getting replacement cards now.”
“Perfect,” Kate said, dolloping a small scoop of the sauce on the right onto her plate. “Regular for me. Who needs the assault on the senses with the hot stuff?”
“It wakes you up,” Kennedy said.
Kate looked over her shoulder, not looking the least bit rattled by his presence as she sucked a bit of sauce off her thumb. “Oh. Hey. What wakes you up?”
He nodded at the dishes. “The extra-hot horseradish sauce.”
“Oh, right. The devil sauce,” she said, taking a napkin off the table.
“Listen, Kate, I—”
“Kennedy! There you are!” He turned toward the interruption and saw Claudia coming his way, dressed in a short navy dress that showed an impressive look at her long legs. He’d thought the dress slightly overkill when he’d thought they were just going to an early dinner with her parents, but it made sense for a party at a trendy rooftop bar.
Strange that a brief glimpse at a sliver of Kate’s thigh resonated with him more than the near entirety of his girlfriend’s legs.
“Hi, Kate!” Claudia said with a friendly smile before turning to Kennedy. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you! I should have known the second we walked in, we’d both be swooped into the crowd. I feel like I’ve barely seen you.”
She pressed her mouth to his, and Kennedy dutifully pecked back.
“You love it, right? Tell me you love the party. Kate warned me surprises weren’t your thing, but everyone says that, and I thought, What the hell. You do like it, right?”