Demand (Careless Whispers #2)(58)

“Ella?”

At the sound of Kayden’s voice, I blink and shake myself, only to realize that I’m holding his arm, right above the watch. “Please tell me I didn’t black out.”

“I think you did,” he says. “Is this happening a lot?”

“A few times since Enzo got shot. Nathan says it’s trauma, but I want to talk to him again.” I release his arm, and he catches my hand.

“What does the watch mean to you?”

“Him,” I say without hesitation. “And I just heard his voice for the first time ever in my mind. He’s not American. His English is good, but he has an accent.”

“What else?”

“Nothing else—other than you just happen to wear the same watch.”

He stares at me a moment and then faces forward, seconds ticking by before he stands. I twist around to follow his progress as he makes his way to the island, and then, oddly, presses his palms on the counter, seeming to contemplate the wall before him.

“Kayden? What are you doing?”

He seems to shake himself back to the moment. “Just thinking,” he says, removing his watch and sticking it in a drawer. He then returns to sit with me, an iPad in his hand, scooting his chair closer to me. “Let’s look at the security footage.”

“Why did you take the watch off?”

“Because we’re done with that man tonight.”

“What happened to facing things?”

“It’s a watch,” he says. “I can replace it.”

“But—”

He leans down and kisses me, his lips lingering over mine. “One step at a time, sweetheart. The song tonight. The watch another. Okay?”

There is something stark in him, something suddenly shut off, like I’ve somehow put a wall between us he doesn’t like. Or maybe that he has. “What just happened?”

“Nothing happened.”

“It did, and I don’t like it.” I curl my fingers on his jaw. “I need you to know.” Nerves flutter in my belly with the confession I’m about to dare, but think he might need to hear. “Kayden, I want to say that—”

His cell phone rings before I can say I love you, and my lashes lower in frustration. Kayden kisses me, and murmurs, “Me, too, sweetheart. Me, too.” And then he is standing, digging his phone from his pocket, and leaving me wondering if we . . . Did we . . . just say we love each other?

He sits back down, talking in fast, irritated Italian, and I use my nervous energy to stuff my face with Coco Pops. Kayden powers up the iPad while he talks, and finally ends the call. “That was Donati,” he says, officially leaving love confessions behind.

“What did he want?”

“To negotiate Gallo’s extended vacation. I told him to go f*ck himself after hearing his terms.”

“That’s not good, is it? Did I do something wrong?”

“You killed it tonight, sweetheart. This is how Donati operates. We’re a good three more phone calls away from him being reasonable.”

“Sasha says she doesn’t like him.”

“Sasha doesn’t like men who won’t sleep with her.”

“She likes you.”

“If that’s your way of asking if I’ve slept with her—”

“You haven’t,” I say. “I know. She all but told me that, and if I wanted to know, I’d ask anyway.”

“Of course you would,” he says, approval in his eyes. “She likes me because I saved her from Niccolo’s stepbrother.”

“She implied that as well,” I say.

“That woman can imply a lot in little time. However, she’s good at choosing her words cautiously. She wants you to call her tomorrow. She seems to consider you her new friend.”

“Is that okay?” I ask. “Can I be friends with one of the Hunters?”

“As long as you keep in mind that less is more regarding what you and I share, there’s no reason you can’t.” He sets the iPad in front of us. “And there’s every reason to want them to like and respect you.” He brings up the security feed. “Let me show you how to find the real-time views and past footage. I’ll load it onto your phone in the next few days.” He tabs through screens. “Just remember that no one else can see this, or even knows it exists, including Marabella.” He freezes on an image of her in the kitchen, talking on her cell phone. “Time stamps three hours ago,” he says. “So we have confirmation that she brought the food in then.” He glances at me. “She’s your light switch bandit.”

“I guess so,” I say, “but it seems so unlike her to forget anything. I mean, I don’t know her all that well, but even I know that she’s anal.”

He hits the “play” button and we watch her pace as she talks on the phone, her words too muffled to make out even if I could understand them. “She seems very upset,” I observe. “I don’t want to be nosy, but is everything okay?”

“I can’t make out what she’s saying, but I’d bet that she’s talking to Giada. She’s a topic I don’t have the energy to deal with tonight, but it’s time she moves out.”

“I echo that sentiment,” I say, brow furrowing. “I just realized that you said I did well at the party, but you never mentioned how things went for you. I assume you got out without incident?”