It's All Relative(58)

Trying to feel a calmness that she really didn’t, Jessie lifted her chin and walked out to join the group sitting on the couch. Kai was talking with Harmony, but he twisted to look at Jessie when she entered. Warmth heated Jessie’s face, and she couldn’t stop her grin at seeing him. Even after all the drama last night, he never failed to bring a smile to her lips. But then April casually placed her hand on his knee, and the warmth evaporated. This was going to be so much harder than she thought. Feeling very proud of herself, Jessie managed to keep a neutral expression on her face.

Kai rose to greet her, and April’s hand slipped off him as he stood. With April openly admiring his backside, Kai stepped up to Jessie. “Hey, sorry to barge in on you again…after last night.” The smile on his face faltered some before returning. Searching those beautiful blue-green eyes, Jessie was fairly certain that he was forcing himself to be as calm and collected as she was trying to be.

She gave him a reassuring smile. They had to get through the awkwardness if they were ever going to truly be family. “Not a problem. Lord knows I’ve done it to you several times already.” Remembering how her barging in on him usually involved him being shirtless made Jessie laugh and sigh at the same time.

Kai grinned at hearing her humor. Sliding his hands into his back pockets, he gave her a mischievous smile as he nodded his head at the door. “Sorry, I just never got a chance to show you what I picked up for you yesterday.”

Intrigued, Jessie looked out the front window. All she saw was Kai’s sporty motorcycle. “You didn’t have to get me anything, Kai,” she said, surprised that he would do something like that for her.

Laughing, he shook his head. “Are you kidding, after everything you’ve done for me? I owe you…a lot.” The way he said those two words drew Jessie’s attention back to him. The look in his eyes matched his voice, and Jessie allowed herself to get lost in them for a few seconds, before remembering they weren’t alone.

Flicking her eyes behind Kai, she breathed a quick exhale of relief. April was still staring at his backside; she’d completely missed that tender exchange. But shifting her gaze to Harmony, she was met with a pair of curious eyes. Harmony hadn’t missed the softness of the moment. Jessie quickly smiled at her friend. Hopefully her casualness would throw Harmony off of whatever track she might have gotten herself on. Harmony smiled back at Jessie, looking none the wiser.

With all of that only taking a second or two, Jessie shifted her attention back to Kai and playfully asked, “Are you giving me your bike?”

Kai seemed caught off-guard by the sudden mood shift. Jessie was faking it for her friends, and hoped he played along. The more casual they were, the better. He broke out into a laugh. “Nice try, but no.” Taking a step away from the couch, he glanced back at Harmony and April. April’s eyes reluctantly lifted to his face when he spoke. “Mind if I borrow my cousin for a while?” He nodded his head at Jessie.

Harmony smiled and shrugged. “Just bring her back in one piece.”

April pouted; she obliviously wanted to be the one being confiscated. “Sure. I guess.”

Kai looked back at Jessie. “Want to go out to lunch with me?” The look in his eye spoke volumes. Her friends couldn’t see it from their angle, but there was a pleading quality there, like he knew he shouldn’t be here, at her house, asking her to drive off with him, but…he couldn’t stop himself either.

Jessie sighed softly. She shouldn’t say yes. He was supposed to be moving closer to April, not her. Wanting to tell him that she was too busy today, and that he should take April instead, Jessie found herself saying, “Sure, sounds like fun.” She just couldn’t tell Kai no.

He smiled broadly at her, looking very relieved. Eying the light shirt she was wearing, he glanced out the window. “You may want to dress a little warmer.” He shivered under his thick jacket, and Jessie grinned. She hadn’t been outside yet, but she was pretty sure it was mid-fifties at least, thankfully dry after the earlier storms, and not nearly as cold as Kai thought it was. “Don’t worry. I’ll keep the heat up in my truck.”

Kai rocked back on his heels and chuckled. “We’re not taking your truck.”

He winked at her, and Jessie felt her heart surge and butterflies swarm her stomach. Then what he’d said sunk in, and she turned to look outside at his suddenly frail seeming bike. She’d never been on a motorcycle before. Personally, she thought they were death traps. Her eyes widened at the thought of zipping down the road on one, the concrete flying by just a few inches below their toes. When she returned her gaze to Kai, he was clearly amused. “Your bike? But…we’ll be cold?”

Kai smiled at her, admittedly, dumb objection. “Which is why you should dress warmer.”

Knowing Kai would be even colder than her made Jessie cringe in embarrassment. If he could hack it, she could hack it. But being chilly wasn’t really her objection. Seeing her reluctance, April stuck her hand up. “Hey, if she’s too scared to ride on a bike, I’ll go to lunch with you, Kai.”

Jessie tossed April a quick glare. It was more in reaction to her trying to snag Jessie’s afternoon with Kai than for calling her scared, but she didn’t want April to realize that. Hoping to throw her off, she calmly said, “I’m not scared.”

Kai shifted his stance as he watched Jessie; his eyes were amused at her reluctance, but he also looked a little worried, too. Maybe he was wondering if she just didn’t want to go, didn’t want to spend time alone with him anymore. Not wanting him to ever think that, Jessie smiled. “I’ll just layer up, and we can go.”