How ironic would it be if after warning my whole family not to scare him off—I did?
Dax remained outwardly calm even as chaos broke loose inside him. Kenzi loves me? She can’t. She doesn’t know me. She thinks she does because she met me during a rough time in her life.
Love? I said I wouldn’t hurt her, but if she loves me, there’s no good way this can end. He didn’t have one good memory associated with the word.
Kenzi’s mother cooed and seemed excited to meet Taffy. Kenzi left his side to show the dog to Sophie.
Dale started introducing Dax to his sons. Dax shook their hands on autopilot, but his mind was still racing. Before coming inside he’d had a polite but strained conversation with Dale. Although Dale hadn’t apologized for anything he’d said the night before, he seemed sincere enough in his welcome. They’d carefully talked about nothing of importance until Dale had suggested Dax follow him in.
While talking to her mother, Kenzi looked up and gave him such a sweet look of concern Dax felt like even more of an ass. Had he been the kind of man to retreat, he would have stepped backward out of the room, out of Kenzi’s life. Seeing her with her family brought home to him how very different they were.
Ian cleared his throat loudly and sounded as if he were repeating a question for a second time. “How long will you be in town?”
Dax forced his attention to the four men in front of him. “I haven’t decided.”
“You’re based in London for the most part, is that correct?” Ian asked.
“That’s correct.”
“Was it business that brought you to town?”
Dale interjected, “Ian, go easy.”
“Dad, you might be fooled by his puppy-holding act, but I know too much about Mr. Marshall to believe he’s here just because he likes Kenzi. So, what is it, Marshall? Are you expanding your net beyond Poly-Shyn? Are you hoping that dating Kenzi will provide you with some kind of protection? It won’t. In fact, it will have the opposite effect.”
Dax took a deep breath. Ian was pushing him, but Dax had his temper firmly in check.
Lance nodded toward the door. “Ian, can we talk? Alone.”
Grant put his hand on Ian’s shoulder and said, “This is what happens when you’re late, Ian. You missed an important memo. We’ll be right back.” With that, Grant and Lance escorted Ian into the hallway.
Dale said, “They mean well. They love their sister, and they only want the best for her.”
Dale’s explanation made him feel worse instead of better. He had no time to reflect on it, though, before Sophie and Kenzi walked over.
Sophie held out her hand. “So this is the infamous Dax Marshall.”
Dax shook her hand gently. “Most people just call me Dax.”
Sophie nodded. “Kenzi told me Taffy was a gift from you.”
Dax met Kenzi’s eyes briefly before confirming, “She was.”
Sophie smiled. “You can tell a lot about a man by how he is with children and animals.”
Dax shrugged. “I have next to no experience with either.”
Sophie looked at her husband warmly. “My husband was pretty much the same. Dale, when we were dating, did you ever think you’d have six children?”
Dax loosened the tie around his neck a smidge. He’d never imagined himself as a family man. Hell, he’d never been in a relationship that lasted longer than a month. He looked at Kenzi quickly. Is that what you want? To be married with more children than we could remember the names of? I’m not that man, Kenzi.
“Mom, stop.” Kenzi’s face went a delightful shade of pink.
Dale gave Dax a sympathetic pat on the back. “I could use some coffee, how about you, Dax?”
“Sounds good.”
Kenzi joined Dax as they walked into the other room. In a lowered voice, she said, “Is this as bad as I said it could be? We can leave.”
Dax shook his head once. He’d come because he’d felt it was important to Kenzi, and he cared about her. Yes, she’d said she loved him, but did that have to mean relationship Armageddon was looming? Other women had said they loved him. They hadn’t been devastated when he’d moved on.
Had they?
Dax wasn’t the type to look back. He plowed forward in business and in his personal life. Most opportunities, like most relationships, had a peak value that diminished over time. Decisive actions optimized profit as well as they kept relationships simple. That’s why he was brutally honest. I told Kenzi I don’t do relationships. I told her I’m not the man she thinks I am.
He took a seat beside her at a table set with coffee and pastries. Kenzi put Taffy on the floor beside her feet. Her parents sat across from them. Dax looked at Kenzi and found her watching him with that fucking trusting expression of hers. He wanted to slap his hands down on the table and yell, “Stop looking at me like that. When you do I feel badly about every relationship I ended without regard for how the woman felt, every company I bought out from beneath a family like yours. You make me want to confess to things I never considered wrong. Stop.”
Because when you look at me like that, I hate who I am.
Kenzi’s brothers took their seats around the table. Lance shot Kenzi a not-so-subtle thumbs up. Grant shook his head in amused disgust at Lance’s lack of tack. Ian nodded in acknowledgement, but his expression was guarded as he looked at Dax.
It was obvious Kenzi had done exactly what he’d suggested she do; she’d had a talk with her brothers. Dax took Kenzi’s hand in his and gave it a supportive squeeze. No matter how tangled up he was about himself, watching Kenzi stand up for herself was amazing. He wanted to leave her better than he’d found her. If their time together could somehow strengthen her bond with her family, then he’d have done something right with her. That had to count for something.
He thought over their last conversation about Dean. If he offered Dean advice on how to keep his company, he doubted there was a man at the table who wouldn’t be suspicious of his motives. Hell, if their roles were reversed he wouldn’t trust him either.
Kenzi and her family were joking about something, but Dax wasn’t paying attention. He was deep in thought. Despite the issues they had, Kenzi’s love for her family was as clear as their love for her. The bond between her parents was equally unsettling. They’d been together for thirty-plus years. They shouldn’t look that happy with one another. The longest marriage his father had had was three years. His uncle had never married and had always called marriage legalized prostitution. Men gave up half of everything they owned for the dubious right to fuck a woman. According to his uncle, wealth was better than any marriage license; it ensured sex was always readily available without subscribing to the outdated practice of monogamy. Anyone who didn’t see that was a fool destined to be disappointed every time, as Dax’s father had been. Until now, Dax had agreed with his uncle.
Dale, however, didn’t look disappointed. The warmth in his eyes as he listened to Sophie tell a story was real. As were the tender touches the couple exchanged.
“How did you two meet?” Ian asked.
Dax pulled himself back to the present. “Kenzi was staying at a resort I’d just purchased.”
“The Atlantia?”
“Yes.”
Kenzi’s voice rose with wonder. “You own the Atlantia? I love that place. I’ve been going there for the past five years. Is that why you were there?”
Ian continued without giving Dax time to answer Kenzi. “Before you get too excited, Kenzi, your friend isn’t known for buying anything he doesn’t intend to flip for fast profit.”
Dale frowned at his son. “That’s enough, Ian.”
“Is it, Dad? I know people who have had the misfortune of dealing with Marshall. Good people who didn’t deserve to wake up and see everything they’d worked for taken away just like that.” Ian snapped his fingers in the air. “There are businessmen and then there are sharks. Sharks don’t care about the wreckage they leave in their wake, they go in for the kill, then th
ey move on. I’m sorry, Kenzi. I can’t pretend to like a man I have no respect for.”
Kenzi snapped, “How is any of what you described different from what Asher does?”
Dax stood. He opened his mouth to say something then saw the distress in Kenzi’s eyes and changed his mind. “Dale, Sophie, thank you for the coffee.”
Dale stood. “You don’t have to leave, Son.”
“My presence is overshadowing the reason Kenzi came today.” So is the fact that I want to punch one of your sons.
Kenzi picked up Taffy. “If you leave, Dax, I’m going with you.”
Dax nodded curtly to the others who were also coming to their feet. He forced his features and his voice to remain calm. “Give us a moment.” He stepped into the hallway with Kenzi so their conversation couldn’t be easily overheard. “Kenzi, you came here to talk to your mother because she’s hurting just like you were. I’m distracting you from that.”
“You’re not.”
