Page 104 of Help Wanted

* * *

“You’ve got it bad,” Brady teased him as he dropped some forms on his desk.

“I do not,” Zane made a lame attempt to defend himself, but deep down he knew it was true.

“You told me you were going to be in Boston dropping off your friend’s boat until Thursday. I believe it’s only Tuesday.”

“So? I got done early.” Zane shrugged it off, but the sound of the other man’s laughter told him he hadn’t been convincing.

“There’s nothing wrong with wanting to be with your girl,” Brady allowed with a sympathetic smile and a pat on the shoulder. “I miss Mick when I’m out on the road.”

“Are you thinking of doing something about that?” Zane asked. If the King of the Bachelors could settle down with one woman, anyone could do it.

“Maybe. What about you?”

“I invited Kenley to my ten-year high school reunion in a few weeks. I hated the people I went to school with, and I don’t want to go.”

“Go.” Brady pointed at him as if he were the boss. “Trust me. Facing things puts you in control.” Zane was surprised by the in-depth advice. “Plus, when women dress up, they always wear sexy underwear. You won’t want to miss it.”

“You know this as fact?”

“It’s a gift.” He laughed. “Going to this lame-ass reunion might bore your balls off, but you can deal with anything for one night. Especially when there’s sexy underwear waiting at the end.”

“That’s the thing. It’s not one night of my life. It’s dredging up my old life. The one I hated.”

Brady patted him on the back. “This time you’ll have a smart, sexy woman next to you who only wants you. Go stick it to them. Give yourself some closure on that part of your life, so you can move on to the better part.”

The better part.

Zane could see himself being happy with Kenley for a very long time. But there were no guarantees. His parents were the perfect example of how bad a marriage could be.

Forever was a very long time to be miserable.

* * *

“I just don’t understand what the big deal is,” Kenley told Alyssa that weekend. After talking it over with her therapist, she’d managed to go to the city alone. She was feeling pretty proud of herself. Zane, however, had texted her three times to make sure she was doing okay. “It’s just a reunion. We can make fun of people, and then go home and forget about them. I’m not sure why he’s so worried about it.” Kenley snorted and then finished off her second margarita.

“You said he didn’t have it easy in high school. Take it from someone who knows what that was like. I have never gone to my reunions.”

“But don’t you want to show everyone how awesome you turned out?”

“Easy for you to say, Miss Cheerleader. The people who made me feel small back then still wield a lot of power, silly as that might be. Whenever I visit my mom and run in to someone from back home, it’s like I’m transported back to that time, and I feel just as vulnerable. It’s one of the reasons I don’t put myself in that position often.”

“I guess I didn’t think of it like that.”

“Why is it really important to you?” Liss was not one to play games or beat around the bush. She was always up front, even if it hurt.

“It’s going to sound stupid.”

“Undoubtedly.”

“I told you I was adopted.”

“By two loving parents, while I only ever had one, yeah.” Brutal. Kenley knew there was some dark thing in Alyssa’s past that she kept secret, but Liss had always talked happily about the relationship with her mother. Considering all she’d ever said about her father was “Spawn until dawn, then gone” Kenley wondered if that was the reason Liss had adopted such a businesslike approach to relationships, but she’d never probed.

“I was too young to remember anything about my parents, but still, knowing someone gave me up because they didn’t want me… I always wonder if I’m good enough.”

“That is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.” The margaritas were making Liss even more up front than usual, but Ken already knew it was ridiculous. It didn’t change things though.