Acting Happy (Texas Desires #2) (11 page)

Slowly, Ty pushed the grocery cart behind Kenzie, watching her go a little nuts over the selections in the health food store. Her intense excitement started well before they ever got inside with all the fall decorations and plants lining the front sidewalk. She’d radiated happiness as she looked through all the mums and decided on the color she liked best, showing them to him and asking his opinion, only to put them away in the end.

Once inside, he was pretty much all but forgotten as she began at one end of the store and went row by row looking at all the different products for sale. For someone who didn’t seem to eat much, her eyes lit up like a Christmas tree at the large selection of organic, gluten-free items. Anything that said all natural seemed to set her world right with excitement.

The unguarded way she carried herself made Ty wish they could come here every single day.

He listened intently, tried to understand what made her so excited, but for the most part, he had no frame of reference for anything she was talking about. Words like
alpha-lipoic acid
and
polyphenols
could have been a foreign language he’d never heard. That was all he could figure out as to why it took him so long to realize the items she loved the most never made it inside the cart. From the very beginning of the store, she’d excitedly picked products off the shelf, explained their benefits, and then placed the item right back on the shelf.

It took even longer for him to understand she was bypassing name brands and going for the less expensive generic whenever possible. Since he’d heard William talk about her weight loss and seen her eating habits with his own eyes, he felt a little dumb for not picking up on the price-point issue sooner, though he had no idea what to do about it. By the time they made it to the produce section and she picked up a cantaloupe, bringing it to him to smell before putting it back down, he decided to take matters into his own hands.

“How long does that last?” he asked, and for the first time, he left his designated position of cart pusher and went to her side.

“They’re organic, but if you handle them right, they’ll last,” she said and started to move down the aisle. Ty warred a little more with himself. They weren’t at a point yet where he could stress the honest truth that money was absolutely not an issue when she was with him, but he decided to throw caution to the wind. Ty picked up the melon she’d just handled and then another.

“Is this a good one?” he asked, handing her the new one.

“You can tell by the smell.” She leaned in, took a whiff, and her face beamed. “It’s a good one. Smell.”

He did if only to keep that excited look focused on him. He placed both in the cart before taking her arm and the cart, pulling both back to the front of the store.

“What’re you doing?”

“You talked me into the health benefits of this food. Let’s get what you’ve been looking at,” he said and walked out the front doors, all the way back to the plants she’d stopped at from the beginning.

“You want some of this? No one ever wants to eat like I do,” she said, a little astonished. He decided a small white lie wouldn’t hurt even though he wasn’t certain he could actually say the words. Swearing off meat was just a little too personal of a choice, and he couldn’t find it in his heart to even pretend, because seriously, what if the earth and stars aligned and he was actually forced to follow through with that lie?

“I need to eat better. I don’t really cook my own food, but you can show me how all this works, right?”

“You don’t cook your own food?” she asked, stopping in her tracks. All he could do was stare down at her. Of course he didn’t cook. Was that a serious question?

“Hey, you know you have to pay for that, right?” A Birkenstock-wearing guy donning an apron trailed after them through the front doors.

“Yeah, just starting from the beginning,” Ty said. When the clerk didn’t immediately retreat, instead stood there watching them, Ty glanced toward Kenzie, then pointed to the flowers on display and said, “Pick the best ones for us.”

With some hesitation, Kenzie did. Ty opened the seat of the cart to place the plant there and moved them back inside swiftly to get out from under the watchful eye of the clerk. It took a little prodding—and Ty having to pick up a few items and try to remember the things she liked—before she reluctantly began to participate. It was only after they added the twelve-dollar bag of almond floor that she finally leaned in and whispered, “I only brought cash. I’m not gonna have enough for all this.”

Her concerned, worried gaze held his, and he leaned in, moving close to her face. “I’m paying for this so get enough for both of us. Then you can come over and cook me dinner tomorrow night, show me the ropes. I’ll probably need you the next night too. I’m clueless in the kitchen.”

“You can’t pay for my food,” she said, not responding to anything else he had to say. After a second more of staring at her, he laughed and moved away. Her indignant look made it clear she couldn’t even begin to comprehend that he might buy her food. The funny part about that was that everyone in his life expected him to pay for everything.

“Of course I can. You cook, show me how it all works, and I’ll share the food with you. Seems like an even trade,” he said, pushing the cart a couple of steps farther down the aisle. When she didn’t move, he looked back over his shoulder. “Unless you don’t want to see me anymore. Then I could see why you might have a problem with my idea.”

He turned away, walking around the end cap, dragging the cart behind him now, going to the next aisle which housed every type of all-wheat pasta you could imagine. He stood there staring at the boxes on the shelf, waiting for her to follow. When he heard her coming, he began to really study the different boxes until she came to stand beside him.

“What do I pick here? I think you liked this one, right?”

“I think you’re either just trying to be nice to me or you’re feeling sorry for me, which one?” she asked, her hands on her hips as she stared at him while he continued to stare at the shelving unit.

“Definitely not feeling sorry for you and I might be a little selfish,” he confessed, picking two different boxes off the shelf and turning them to her. “Which ones? Both?”

She just stared at his face, not giving at all and neither did he.

“Look, I like spending time with you. You cook, I’ll eat. I’ll probably still toss in a steak here or there, but let’s load us up.”

The woman just stared at him for several long seconds. It wasn’t a hardship to stare back. Every single time he looked at her, he was struck by how pretty she was. Now her thick full lips, pursed which made her slightly upturned nose more pronounced as she regarded him. Her expression appeared assessing until she took both the packages from his hands and put them back on the shelf. Right when his lips parted to launch into another argument for his plan, she picked two different boxes and placed them in the buggy, then she grabbed the side of the cart, pulling it with her, and left him standing there.

“I try to eat natural, organic foods. No grains so not really any of this,” she said, tapping the side of a box on that shelf. “And you give really good answers.”

“It’s just the truth,” he said, dropping his hands inside the pockets of his blue jeans and following along behind her. “From my perspective, I just secured multiple dates with a smart, fun, beautiful woman and even got some dinners cooked for me. That can’t be all bad, now can it?”

“Mmm,” she said, heading back to the produce.

“So you always eat natural food, never processed,” he asked, watching her enough to make sure she added what she wanted.

“As I can. It’s harder here,” she said, placing lots of raw vegetables in the cart.

“I know this might venture into some of the things we don’t discuss, but you couldn’t have developed those habits living here, right?”

“No,” she said, reaching for a spaghetti squash. “I went to college at the University of Texas. I loved Austin. It’s where I started learning there was something other than meat and potatoes in the world.”

“I grew up in Texas,” Ty said, following along behind her again. Normally something like this would have bored him to death, but not today. He was content to just follow her around the store, watching her move. Right now, he focused on her hands as she selected the produce. She took incredible care in handling the food with those long and elegant fingers. Her fingernails were cut short, well-groomed, with a pretty pink nail polish that matched her shoes.

“You’re looking at me, but I don’t think you’re listening.” She snapped those perfect fingers, drawing his attention back to the here and now. “Anything you don’t like?”

“I’m good with anything,” he said, and that seemed to perk her right up, back to being excited again. They passed a large display of freshly baked breads. It smelled heavenly. He found a jalapeno cheddar deal and picked up a freshly baked loaf, still a little warm from the oven. His mouth watered as Kenzie looked down at the bread, then up at Ty.

“No grains.”

“Like, no bread?”

“No grains.” She said exactly the same words again, and Ty got a little defiant, reaching over to place the bread in the seat of the cart. When she just stared at him, he took her hand and moved them along.

“I’ll work on the no grains. Ease into it. What else do we need?” he asked, seeing a small dairy section. She picked up several small tubs of yogurt while he reached for some cheese, tossing it in the cart. By the time they got to the checkout counter, their basket overflowed with food.

“Think we can eat all this?” he asked, placing the contents on the counter.

“You’re here for a few weeks, right?” she asked, pausing as she handed him things from the bottom of the cart.

“Yep,” he said and started grabbing items when she stopped.

“Why didn’t you tell me I was getting too much?” she asked.

“I was making a joke. Relax,” he said, dumping the rest on the counter. The sales clerk was the same one as before, and Ty noticed he’d never lost that critical eye.

“That’ll be two hundred and sixty-three dollars,” he said in such a way that Ty stopped loading the bags back in the cart and looked back at the clerk. Oh my God, he was a she. How the hell had he missed that? So shocked by his discovery, he almost didn’t catch Kenzie sliding cash across the counter.

“Wait, wait, wait! I thought we agreed,” Ty said, dropping the bags in the cart in order to reach across the counter to try to scoop up her money.

“It’s just my half. Actually not even half,” she said, shoving her money closer to the register.

“No, don’t take that,” he instructed the clerk. He didn’t quite shout, but figured he’d gotten close when she lifted her hands like he was robbing her. “I wanna pay for all this. I’m putting it on my card.”

Ty reached in his back pocket for his wallet, quickly handed over his corporate American Express before moving around the cart to gather the five twenties she’d laid on the counter. When she wouldn’t take the money back, he went for her purse, shoving it inside. “This is on me. I don’t want to fight about it anymore.”

“That’s not right…” Kenzie started and stopped in midsentence, her eyes growing large. He suspected she’d stumbled on his name, catching herself seconds before she called him Ty.

“Sign here,” the clerk said in a clipped tone. He did, scribbling his alias on the signature line while attempting to keep one eye on the sneaky Kenzie until she added the remaining bags and started pushing the cart toward the exit. He scribbled quickly, shoving the receipt across the counter before tucking his card back inside his wallet. He walked slowly, trailing behind her, watching her move.

She was so pretty in that dress.

The road was dark, making Ty have to concentrate to navigate the twists and turns. They’d ridden in a comfortable silence for the last twenty minutes. Kenzie let the road lull her as Ty hung on to her hand and managed the gear shift like a pro. He was such an easy guy to be around. All the anxiety of the morning became a distant memory. He’d effectively eased away all of the barriers she had erected to keep people at a distance and she couldn’t find it in her to care.

Without question, Ty was only willing to spend this time with her without judgement or malice because he didn’t know about her past, but she’d reconciled that doubt hours ago. If Ty needed normal, then she’d pretend she was and take whatever time he gave for as long as she could. Being wanted was such a turn-on and apparently trumped self-preservation and any rules she’d carefully put in place.

“You still need to eat dinner,” he said.

“I’m full from lunch, which was so good. Thank you for going there.”

“I was thinking about dinner at my place tomorrow night. What do you think?” he asked, slowing down the closer they got to her driveway. He shined the bright lights, trying to better judge the turn in on the dark street.

“I owe you a freshly cooked dinner for all you just spent,” she said and pointed out the front window. “Right there. See it?”

Ty turned into driveway, pulling directly behind her father’s truck at the front of the house. “You don’t owe me anything, but I’d like you to come over. The problem is that I wasn’t lying when I said I was clueless in the kitchen. I can cook a steak and make a sandwich. That was pretty much my plan for my stay. You’d really have to be the cook to make any of this taste good.”

“I like to cook. It’s not a problem,” she said, unbuckling her seat belt as Ty put the truck in neutral and pulled the parking brake.

“We can take all this in, but then we’d just have to lug some to my place tomorrow.”

“We don’t really have room for all this stuff,” Kenzie said, reaching into the backseat and grabbing the leftover box from the restaurant, her purse, and sweater. Her door opened unexpectedly, and she looked over to see Ty standing there. She hadn’t even heard him leave the vehicle. “You have really great manners.”

“My mom insisted on them. It’s usually not appreciated,” he said and moved in closer, reaching to the center of the Jeep and clicking the overhead light off.

“Look, you need this food here, but if I take it back to my place, I’m pretty assured you’ll come over if for no reason other than to eat.” As he said those words, he bumped her legs, encouraging her to scoot them over. Facing her, he placed his hip close to her knees, sitting halfway on and halfway off the seat before taking her leftover box and placing it on the driver’s side seat. He moved her purse to the floor at her feet. It was such an odd move that she missed his hand going to her thigh with the other lifting to cup her neck. “I liked today a lot.”

“Me too,” she said, watching him with her brows snapping together. Her voice turned surprisingly small as the pad of his thumb caressed softly across her jaw.

“Then how should we divide that stuff up? I want you to eat more. Your family’s worried about that,” he said, moving forward on the seat to where his face was closer to hers.

“Do you have anything planned for tomorrow?”

“Nothing really. Whatever I want,” he said. The hand at her neck moved to her shoulder until his fingertips began caressing the neckline of her dress. The touch was so distracting she had a hard time concentrating.

“I could come over as soon as I can break free from the store and help divide this all up,” she offered as his hand trailed up toward her face, tracing a finger along the curve of her chin until he reached up, sliding his fingertip across her bottom lip.

“Great,” he said a little breathily. He lowered his head until his nose ran the length of her neck. He ghosted his lips across the skin right underneath her ear. She shuddered as he spoke. “I’ll come get you. Name the time.”

“I can drive,” she managed, closing her eyes when his tongue began his sweet sensual assault against his ear.

“I like picking you up, Kenzie.” His breath sent chills cascading down her spine. “I like that name. It fits you,” he said and returned to mouthing the skin at her neck. With her heart pounding, she leaned her head against the head rest, closing her eyes. The hand she’d fisted in her lap lifted to his chest of its own accord. Caution needled the back of her mind. She should stop this now. The driveway offered very little privacy and she’d already been caught once by her parents. Or maybe another way to look at it… Screw it. She wanted what Ty offered and lifted her hand to his face as she turned her head, opening for his kiss.

Lifting both her hands, she ran her palms across his bearded cheeks, threading her fingers into his thick hair. Ty moved in closer, wrapping an arm around her back as he fused their mouths together. Each kiss with this man was uniquely different, this one being a sweet seduction, slow in tempo yet equally as devastating to her heart. He plunged his tongue deeper at the same moment the hand on her thigh moved, sliding underneath her skirt. He continued exploring her mouth while he traced fingers across her leg, slowly moving up. No matter how badly she wanted that touch, now was not the time. She placed her hand on his arm, gripping his forearm, to stop his trek. She didn’t push him away, and his hand remained still on her thigh. Ty broke from the kiss but stayed in her personal space, those amber eyes staring at her. Only then did she realize that it was her clinging to him, her arm hooked around his neck, holding them together. Both his hands were on her body and her back involuntarily arched forward when he squeezed his palm around her breast.

“I want you,” he whispered, his breath caressing the skin of her face. He pushed past the restraint she had on his arm, but honestly it hadn’t taken much of an effort. She stared him straight in the eyes as his fingers skimmed forward until they reached the moist cotton of her panties. She let out a small sigh when he applied pressure and rubbed her through the thin fabric.

“Ty…” she said, her voice slightly anguished and her brows drawing together as she tightened the hook she had around his neck. He needed no other encouragement. Ty slipped a finger around the side of her panties. Even in the awkward position, she separated her thighs and pushed her hips forward to try to give him more access. His eyes never left hers, but turned seductively intense.

“You’re so wet. Is that all for me?” he asked, like she could even form coherent thought to answer. Instead, she leaned her forehead on his shoulder.

“We should stop,” she whispered.

“We could go back to my place,” he offered and his finger slid across her clit, making it impossible to think. Instinct alone had her gripping his arm again, but he kept his hand there, moving lower. “Let me,” he practically begged. When she lightened her grasp, he rotated his wrist and his middle finger slipped inside her, shoving as far in as he could go. “Damn, you’re hot.”

“We shouldn’t,” she said a little desperately. She wanted everything he was offering, but not here and definitely not right now. Ty slid his finger out and shoved back in, the pad of his thumb sliding forward to swirl around her nub. She used all the strength she could muster to grip his arm, intending to pull his hand away. All she could manage was to hang on as her heart stuttered in her chest and her body began to slowly unravel. Kenzie opened her mouth to say more, but only an encouraging whimper escaped. She was too far gone. She bit down on Ty’s shoulder to keep the sounds from escaping as she carefully thrust her hips forward, following his fingers with each move they made.

“I can see it feels good to you,” Ty whispered into her hair, applying pressure to his fast-paced, circling thumb. He took her arm from around his neck, his fingers sliding down until he reached her hand. He pressed her palm against his blue jeans, grinding it against his rock-hard cock. He guided her hand to firmly massage his dick while reaching lower to cup his balls. “Do you see how much I want you? I’m like this all the time since I met you. I can’t jack myself enough to get you out of my head.”

Her breath hitched in her throat, her fingernails digging into his arm, and the orgasm built so solidly there would be no holding back. With all the energy she had left, she leaned her head back against the headrest and lost herself to his touch. An earthshattering release spiraled forward, tensing her entire body. Kenzie thrust her hips, taking Ty as far as she could inside her channel. Her eyes screwed tightly closed, her lips parted, and it took every bit of her willpower to hold herself together. The only noise she allowed out was a long slow exhale of breath.

When she surfaced, she cracked her eyelids little more than a slit to see a very dazed Ty intently staring at her. Kenzie managed to look down at her hand on his crotch and then back at his face. Ty clearly wasn’t into any kind of personal space boundaries. If she was any judge of facial expressions, he looked ready to crawl on top of her and end his agony. Biting at her bottom lip, she spoke in a whisper, “Not tonight. I need time.”

His face showed his disappointment then morphed into what she guessed might be internal struggle. He looked like he was going to push the issue, and he may have actually won that fight, but then he released her hand, letting her draw it away from his cock. He straightened her skirt and rose off the seat. Ty placed both his forearms on the top of the vehicle, looking back in on her. “Let me walk you to the door.” After a second of just staring at her, he leaned in and kissed her softly on the lips one last time. “I like kissing you.”

In a daze, she reached for her purse and looked for where her sweater might be as Ty left her sitting there. His absence brought an immediate sense of loss. A trickle of fear skated up her spine as she realized the connection that was already developing inside her. She jerked her gaze to the driver’s side when the door opened. Thank God the interior lights were off. He was too smart; she had no doubt he’d pick up the emotion coursing through her.

“Is this your dinner?” he asked.

She looked over to see him holding the leftover box.

“It is.”

“Good. Eat it all tonight, okay?”

Once she stood on her own two feet, which luckily held her, she shut the door instead of answering. Kenzie didn’t turn until she’d put distance between them, walking around the truck toward the house. He was sweet to be worried about her food intake, but dear God, she had to keep perspective. Based on the crunching of the grass behind her, Ty had followed. At the top step, she turned back, and Ty was already there, handing her the box as he came up the steps, kissing her once again on the lips. “I enjoyed today more than you could know. Go inside. It’s cold. I’ll see you tomorrow. Call me and I’ll come get you.”

Ty left her standing there, only turning about halfway to the Jeep for a lift of the hand. Lord, she was in so much trouble.