Compromising Kessen (Vandenbrook #1)(6)

Kessen’s mouth dropped open as she struggled to shake her head no. Words were not coming for the first time in days. Surely her father wouldn’t do that to her.

Her companion looked at her like she was an idiot. “Um, Kessen, isn’t that what they do? You don’t think your dad…?” He let the question hang in the air.

“He wouldn’t,” Kessen said, although her voice sounded weak.

“Would he?” Nick asked pointedly.

“Oh, my gosh.” Kessen gasped.

Nick clapped his hands and said, “You’re being sent to London to get married!”

“Who’s getting married?” Sammy swept into the reception area.

Nick laughed. “Guess!”

Kessen groaned. “Ugh, please do not guess.” She sent Nick a sharp glance before hugging Sammy. “It’s good to see you, but you shouldn’t be here. You have so much work to do today!”

“I’m not the one going to London.” Sammy crossed her arms. She was hard to argue with, what with being five-foot-two and totally adorable. Even in her flats Kessen still towered over her friend.

Nick pushed between the two ladies. “Oh, no worries, Sam. It’s only for a Season.” The British accent was back, but this time Nick was hiding behind his tiny wife.

Sammy looked perplexed. “You mean for the summer?”

“Americans.” Nick fake-coughed behind Sammy.

Kessen scratched her head and avoided eye contact. “No. A real London Season, where they have pretty dresses and balls.”

Sammy clapped her hands. “Oooh! How fun! And attractive men?”

“Hey!’ Nick interjected from behind her.

Sammy rolled her eyes and guided Kessen to the couch. “Do you think we could visit you?”

Kessen suddenly felt as if a weight had been lifted. “You guys would do that for me?”

“No.” Nick grumbled, plopping back down into his chair. “But I would definitely do it just so I could watch the train wreck in person.”

Sammy glared; Kessen giggled. “He spilled part of his coffee, so he’s a little testy.”

Nick sighed and picked up the magazine again. He had a weird obsession with women’s magazines, said it helped him understand how to deal with women.

He obviously wasn’t retaining the information.

Kessen glanced back at Sammy, who was returning email on her phone. “Sammy, go! I’m fine! I leave tomorrow afternoon, fly all night, and I’ll call you when I land. You guys can visit once I’m settled in.”

“Don’t worry, we will.” Nick laughed.

Sammy kissed them both goodbye on the cheek and left.

“Sometimes I hate you,” Kessen said to Nick.

Nick frowned. “You don’t mean that. Now how about I take you out for sushi one last time before you say goodbye to dentists, hugs, and spas forever?”

“After my appointment?” Kessen asked.

Nick nodded and kissed her on the cheek. “I’ll meet you in a couple hours.” He obviously had better things to do than sit around and be miserable in the spa.

Kessen, although sad to be alone, was content to have some time to read. There was one final book in the Vandenbrook series she wanted to attack. She started reading from her e-reader and sighed.

The book told details of the duke’s love for his wife. He would write her love letters every day and lay them across her pillow. Fresh roses were always picked for her in the springtime, and he accompanied her to the opera as often as possible.

This made him the perfect man, because even women sometimes find it hard to sit through musical numbers in foreign languages.

Men weren’t made like that anymore. They were made more like Nick—not that Nick was bad. He was just so … well, Nick, and American, though she loathed saying it. Times had changed; people didn’t write long letters by hand anymore. They emailed. They didn’t update you on their lives; they updated their status. And if you wanted to know where your friend was at ten o’clock last night, or what they were doing right then, all you needed to do was check out their latest social media and respond.

On the outside it looked like life had gotten easier. Connecting was just one click away. Yet it wasn’t truly connecting; it wasn’t sharing. What she wouldn’t give to actually have a date on which the man didn’t constantly text his friend’s updates about how Kessen looked or what she ordered.





Chapter Three


The spa was grand, her nails and hair were perfect and her skin was restored to its glowing beauty. Lunch was also great with Nick, except he—like every other man on the planet—was busy texting his buddies the latest news about the stock market.

Kessen groaned, then silently wondered if she should download the e-reader application for her phone she could pretend to be texting but be reading instead. It might look odd for her to be staring at her phone for long periods of time.

“Kessen,” Nick interrupted. “Have you heard anything I’ve said?”

She swallowed some water and shrugged, allowing him to take it however he wanted.

“The news update said there was another attempted airline attack, that nobody was injured, but security for tomorrow is going to be tight. Just be prepared.”

Kessen gave a weak smile and nodded.