Page 25 of Kaden & Keegan
Her cheeks turned a pretty, soft pink with her blush. God, she really was beautiful. She had that whole girl-next-door thing down pat.
“Yes, well. That’s very kind of you to say, but—”
“No buts,” he countered. “Give me a minute. I’ll be right back.” Kaden stood, turned toward the counter before glancing back. “Don’t move, Bristol.”
Her eyes flared and he knew she heard the slight command in his tone. It appeared to confuse her, but he had expected no less. Bristol had never seen that side of him because he tended to be more reserved, relying on Keegan’s laid-back charm and devil-may-care attitude that generally got them the ladies. Didn’t mean Kaden didn’t have a side that knew damn well how to take the reins.
Kaden left her at the table, went to the counter. He greeted Bailey Weber, who wasn’t only a waitress at Moonshiners, she was also the daughter of the bakery’s owner. She helped out her mother several days a week, mostly during the week since late nights kept her busy on the weekends.
“What can I get ya?” Her smile was brilliant.
Kaden ordered a dozen chocolate cake donuts for Autumn, Keegan, and Ethan, and two additional—one for him, one for Bristol—as well as a cup of coffee. After Bailey boxed up his order, poured his coffee, and took his money, Kaden was heading back to Bristol. He noticed she hadn’t touched the muffin, and rather than drink her coffee, her hands were wrapped firmly around the paper cup, as though it was anchoring her to the table.
“Here you go,” he said, setting down the paper plate holding the two donuts.
“Kaden…”
“Enjoy it, Bristol. You deserve it.”
“But—”
He shook his head, lifted his coffee cup. “No buts.”
Bristol’s sigh was sweet, and he was happy to see she wasn’t going to refute him for long. Her eyes drifted to the donut repeatedly, as though it was calling her. When she finally gave in, it was with a wide grin that had his insides spinning.
Kaden wasn’t sure what it was about this woman. Perhaps it was her beauty or her brains, maybe a combination of both. Could be her sassy attitude and the softer, sweeter side he sensed. Whatever it was, he’d been drawn to her from the beginning. For as long as he could remember, he’d been attempting to get her attention. Subtly, of course. But he was starting to believe subtle wasn’t the way to go about it.
And truth be told, Kaden was damn tired of watching her mixing it up with other men. Initially, he’d thought she was doing it to piss him off, but he wasn’t sure she had a devious bone in her body. Bristol was simply being Bristol. She was living her life the only way she knew how.
However, she was doing a damn fine job keeping them on the periphery and avoiding them at every turn.
“So are you ready for the auction?” she asked casually, breaking off a piece of her donut.
“What’s to get ready for?” He took a bite of his donut, chewed. “Someone bids or they don’t.”
He hoped like hell that someone was her.
“I seriously doubt you’ll have a problem in that department. It might come down to a fight, knowing some of the women in this town.”
“You’ll be there to protect us though, right?”
Another blush infused her cheeks.
“Actually…” Kaden met her gaze and it was then he knew that subtle wasdefinitelyno longer an option with Bristol. If he had any chance of taking this friendship to the next level, it was time to act on it.
Her dark eyebrows rose in question.
“I did have a few questions about how it all works. Thought maybe you’d talk me through it over dinner.”
Bristol’s gaze immediately lowered, her cheeks turning a pretty shade of pink. “What about Keegan?”
“What about him? He’ll be there, too. Questions of his own.”
When she looked back up, he saw the recognition in her gaze. Bristol was all too aware of what it meant to be with them.
“Tonight,” he added. “At our place.”
She swallowed, reached for her coffee. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”
