Effortless (Thoughtless, #2)(111)

“Yeah, I’m fine.” There was so much in his voice that he wasn’t saying.

Even though Kellan was good at it, I knew he was lying to me.

“Kellan…is there something you want to tell me?” My heart started pounding, the ice in my stomach so painful I nearly doubled over. That woman’s face flashed in my mind, the look on his as he’d leaned in to whisper in her ear. The mysterious text number rang through my brain on a never-ending loop…

He sniffed and took another long moment. “It’s nothing, Kiera…just the stress of the road. I’m sure you can imagine what life on a bus with Griffin is like.” He chuckled, his voice back to light and happiness, and I didn’t believe a word of it.

I bit my lip as I stared at Denny, now giving me concerned glances.

Kellan was holding back from me, that much I could tell. I didn’t know what or why, but I couldn’t open up to him about Denny now. I just couldn’t. “Okay, well…if something was going on, you know that you could tell me…right?”

He sighed softly. “Yeah, I know…” His voice trailed off, then brightened. “But really, nothing is up, aside from the fact that I miss you like crazy.”

A sad smile touched my lips. “Yeah, me too.” As we pulled into the parking area of the café, I sighed. “Hey, I’m here at the restaurant…I need to go. I’ll call you later?”

“Yeah, okay.” With a humorless chuckle he added, “I’ll be here, on the road through nowhere, wishing Griffin didn’t need to let The Hulk breathe quite so often.”

I laughed, the release of it easing the knot in my belly. “I love you, Kellan.”





310


“I love you too, Kiera.” He said it immediately, with no hesitation or trace of deceit. If anything else, he at least honestly meant it when he said it.

I hung up the phone as Denny shut off the car. Twisting to me, he shook his head. “You didn’t tell him I was here.” It was a statement, not a question.

I sighed, fingering the cool contraption in my palm. “Not yet, it didn’t feel right yet.” I peeked up at him. “I will…soon. I promise.” He shook his head again but didn’t comment any further. Just as he cracked open his door, his cell phone rang. He glanced back at me, a small smile on his lips. “Well, aren’t we popular?” I smiled at his comment and watched as he checked the screen. The small smile on his face grew about a million times brighter. He looked up at me real quick. “It’s Abby, I need to take this.”

I nodded as he answered, “Hey, babe.” Pushing open his door, he stepped out to the parking lot. Before closing his door, I heard him say,

“No, you caught me heading out to lunch with Kiera…” He shut the door and I didn’t hear any more than that, but it marveled me a little that he’d confessed so openly to her that he was with me. I guess they didn’t have the same trust issues that Kellan and I had. I guess that’s what you get when your relationship starts by betraying someone—a never-ending well of doubt. If we could do it to someone, it could be done to us.

Giving Denny a private moment to catch up with his faraway girlfriend, I ran my fingers back through my mostly dry hair and stared at my phone. I wanted an explanation to magically appear on it, but it didn’t. Sighing, I typed a message into it and pressed send.

I watched Denny through the window while I waited for a reply. He was leaning against the hood of the car, laughing at whatever conversation he and Abby were having. He seemed genuinely happy, his eyes practically glowing as he spoke to her. I wondered if he’d looked like that when he’d talked to me so long ago. I wondered if he’d tenderly 311



made love to Abby before he’d left her. I was pretty sure he had…and it had probably been a lot more romantic than getting sloshed and having sex in a bathroom at a party.

As I watched Denny run a hand back through his hair in warm, familiar way, my phone buzzed in my hand. Pressing the screen, I read the message from Kellan. ‘I love you too…more than anything. I can’t wait to see you again…soon, hopefully.’

I repeated the sentiment, then opened my door to join Denny, since his conversation looked about over. Sighing peacefully, he nodded over to the café doors. “Sorry about that, she was getting ready for work and I didn’t want to miss her.” Looking down, he kicked at a rock as we walked along. “I make sure to talk to her as often as I can…” He looked up at me from the corner of his eyes and a flash of guilt ran through me. I was the reason he kept in constant contact. My cheating spree with Kellan had started while he’d been gone. The experience had made him all the more attentive to his current girl. I guess something good had come out of the whole mess after all.

Not commenting, I only nodded as we made our way inside. Sitting down, I tried to keep the light smile on my face. “So, Abby…what’s she like?”

He looked at me blankly before picking up a menu. “You don’t really want to talk about this, do you?”

Watching him absentmindedly flip through the pages, I nodded. “Yes, I do actually.” When he looked up at me, I shrugged. “We’re friends, remember, and that means sharing our lives. She’s obviously an important part.” I shrugged with one shoulder. “I saw your face while you were talking to her…”