Effortless (Thoughtless, #2)(129)

I smiled at him, amazed by him, and watched as he twisted to go chat with Sam, leaning against the far wall. I’ve thought it before and I’ll probably think it again, Abby is a very lucky lady.

Anna was surprisingly already in bed when I got home, so I was quiet as I put on some water for tea. I didn’t generally like the stuff, but if I could put a good dose of honey and a lot of milk in it, it wasn’t so bad.

But Denny loved it like I loved coffee, so I did it for him.

About ten minutes later, a small knock signaled my ex’s arrival. Smiling at his timing, I unlocked the door and I let him in. He gave me a brief, friendly hug, which I returned. Smelling the tea, he walked over to the small kitchen with a goofy grin on his face. “I was just having a craving.” He leaned over the cup, inhaling the Earl Grey. “And my favorite, too.” He faked a surprised expression. “How did you know?” I shook my head at him, enjoying the way his accent formed phrases, tweaked syllables, made any plain word interesting. “You’re such a dork,” I muttered, laughing a little.

Straightening, he grabbed the cup that wasn’t half milk. “That’s why you love me,” he said, starting to drink from it. Realizing what he’d said, 361



he stopped and shook his head a little. “Well, I guess loved would be more accurate.”

Denny’s face got a little hard on the word and I leaned against the counter and sighed. He may seem completely fine and over what had happened, but he wasn’t, not a hundred percent. I didn’t blame him. Personally, I couldn’t believe he was in my kitchen at all.

Knowing he didn’t want any more apologies from me, I shrugged and said, “No, love is still accurate.” Sipping his drink, he gave me a look that was both curious, and guarded. Clarifying, I said, “You’re my best friend, remember? And best friends love each other.” Setting the drink down, he smiled at me crookedly. “Yeah, I suppose.” Frowning slightly, he shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest.

“So, friend, what’s going on with you?”

Watching my untouched cup cool on the counter, I swallowed my pain and my pride. “How did you know I was cheating on you?” I whispered, my heart surging as the guilt hit me like a brick wall. I’d never wanted to ask him that question, but it was suddenly relevant.

I couldn’t look at him, but I heard his expression in his silence. I could easily picture his contemplative eyes, slightly filled with pain, but also concern. Finally, his accent filled the room, thicker, like it sometimes got when he was hurting. “You think Kellan’s cheating on you?” I glanced up at him, only mildly surprised. My question hadn’t been all that hard to draw conclusions from…and Denny was brilliant. “I don’t know…maybe? How did you know? What did I do to make you first start to think it?”

I swallowed again, hating what I was making him say to me, what I was making him talk about. Swallowing, he looked down at his cup.

“Uh, I don’t know how to answer that, Kiera.” He looked up, his dark eyes a little darker. “It was more a feeling than facts. You were…distant, secretive, like you were holding something back, something you wanted to tell me…but couldn’t.”

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My eyes watered, catching the similarities. Denny sighed. “He is cheating on you, isn’t he?”

Not able to answer, I only shrugged as a tear dropped to my cheek.

Denny watched it fall, but stayed where he was. “I’m sorry, Kiera. I’m not surprised, but I am sorry.”

I blinked and straightened. “You thought he would cheat on me?” Uncrossing his arms, Denny ran a hand back through his hair. Looking uncomfortable, he sighed. “Look, I know you love him, but I’ve known him a long time, and he’s not…” He looked at the ceiling for a second and closed his eyes. Reopening them, he met my eye again. “I like Kellan, I do, but he’s not cut out for a relationship with one person. That’s never been his style, Kiera. I’m sorry this is happening now, but honestly, I’m more surprised that it didn’t happen sooner.” My jaw dropped as I stared at him. I felt like he’d just punched a hole in my heart. It was one thing to have those fears silently, it was another for one of Kellan’s friends to confirm them. And even though Denny had good reason to make me hate Kellan, playing that sort of mind game wasn’t his style. He wouldn’t have said it, if he didn’t believe it. Of course, Denny didn’t know Kellan as well as I did. Denny only knew a small chunk of Kellan’s past.

Walking over to me, he grabbed my hand. “I’m sorry to have to say that to you, I really am, but you should understand who you’re involved with. And Kellan…doesn’t know how to be faithful, Kiera. He just doesn’t.”

More tears building, I quickly swiped them away. “You don’t know him like I do, Denny. You don’t know what he’s been through, the pain he fights, how much he’s been tortured. You think he just got beat up as a kid, but it’s so much worse than that…”

I shut my mouth, not wanting to spill anymore of Kellan’s secrets, they weren’t mine to spill. Denny bunched his brows at me and frowned. “A bad childhood doesn’t make up for being a…for screwing around on people. You can come from a brutal background and still be a decent person. It doesn’t give you a free pass to hurt people.” 363