Reckless (Thoughtless, #3)(15)

He smirked and left the room before I could comment.

I thought of joining Kellan and my father, but decided against it. Dad needed to get to know Kellan one-on-one if he was ever going to bond with him. And besides, I didn’t want to distract Kellan with my sexy allure. Yeah, right, sexy. Smiling at my own ridiculousness, I hopped out of bed. Kellan was the alluring one in the relationship, which was a perk for me. I was . . . the lucky one.

I bumped into Mom in the hallway as I made my way to the bathroom. Kellan’s place was a little on the small side. The upstairs only consisted of two modest bedrooms with a bathroom tucked in between them. Running into people in the hallway was almost unavoidable. It was how I’d first officially met Kellan.

Mom smiled as she listened to her husband having a civil conversation with mine. I gave her a brief hug as I listened as well. Dad was asking Kellan if he could really make any money off his band “thing.” As Kellan started to explain that he would probably make out “okay,” Mom focused her attention on me. “We should hit some wedding boutiques while I’m in town. Find you a dress before I head back home.”

I cringed at the idea. “Mom, I really don’t need a big production. I just want to keep it simple.”

Mom swished her hand. “Even simple, you’ll still need a dress.”

I contained the sigh of defeat stirring in my lungs. I really couldn’t argue with that. “Okay, sure thing.”

Before she could comment further, I popped into the bathroom and quickly locked the door behind me. I just knew that ninety percent of my wedding would be mapped out before Mom left. Who knew she was so obsessed with weddings? We’d certainly never discussed it before this. It just hadn’t really come up when I was with Denny.

Maybe Mom saw the connection between Kellan and I, and knew, just like I did, that I’d found the one. My soul. My better half. My reason for being. Nothing in this life would ever fill me with as much joy and peace as Kellan did. I really didn’t know what I would do without him.

When I came out of the bathroom after my obscenely long shower, Kellan was back in our bedroom, but he’d changed into his track pants and he was lacing up his running shoes. My expression must have been an odd one, for he did a double take when he noticed me. Of course, that could have been because all I was wearing was a thin, white towel that barely covered my body. I really needed to do laundry.

An amused smile on his lips, he finished tying his shoes.

“What?” I asked, closing the door behind me.

Kellan shook his head, his grin growing. “Nothing.” I started to again ask what was entertaining him so much, but he finished with his shoes and stood up. “I’m going to go for a quick run.”

“All right.” Wondering if my dad had been hard on him in my absence, I added, “Everything okay?”

His deep blue eyes drifted down my nearly naked body. I was instantly aware of the fact that I wasn’t wearing any underwear. When his eyes returned to mine, there was a definite edge of heat in them. “Everything’s fine. Just need to do a little maintenance.” Switching his expression to a casual smile, he ran his hand up his shirt and patted his rock hard abs. Lucky hand. Walking over to me, he withdrew his hand from under his shirt, then reached down to pinch my butt. “Wouldn’t want to get all flabby now that I’m married.”

I giggled and batted his hand away when it started drifting up my towel. Slinking my arms around his neck, I let myself get a little lost in his physical perfection. “I’d rather have you flabby than gone.”

Kellan held me close to him; he looked a little lost himself as he gazed at me. “I just need . . .” He paused for a second and then told me, “I need a little fresh air.” He gave me a quick kiss and seemed perfectly at ease, but I swear he’d just altered what he was going to say to me. Or maybe I was just being paranoid. Our relationship hadn’t always been the most honest one. But we’d sworn that we were going to hold nothing back from each other anymore, and I trusted him.

Nodding, I released him. His smile never faltered, but I thought the light in his eyes dimmed a little as he turned away from me. Opening my dresser, I watched Kellan as he started to open the door. He stopped before he did, though. Laying his head against the door jamb, he muttered, “Damn it, I can’t do this.”

Ignoring my clothes, I twisted to him. “Kellan?” Was I right just now? Had he lied to me?

Inhaling a deep breath, Kellan stared at me in silence for several long moments. The tension in the room tripled as each second ticked by. The cool air washed over my damp skin, chilling me, and each drop of water that fell from my hair felt like an icicle piercing my body. I started to shake as my nerves amplified the sensation.

Seeing my fear, Kellan took a step toward me. “You said complete and total honesty, right?”

I nodded, not able to talk yet. Kellan looked away. His mind was clearly spinning over some problem. I just didn’t know what it was. Swallowing the lump in my throat, I managed to ask, “What is it?”

He looked back at me. “I’m sorry. I purposely misled you right now. I’m not leaving the house because I want to exercise, or because I want air. I need to do something . . . and I need to do it alone.”

The ice settling over my skin instantly burst into flames; I swore I could hear the sizzle. “You . . . lied to me? About what? What exactly do you need to do alone?”