Chasing Kane Read Free Page A

his apparent candor, I didn’t know what I could possibly say to him. Luckily, I didn’t have to waver for long. Because he burst into hysterical laughter.
    “I’m just screwin’ with you. I want to get laid , brother!” He stood and slapped me hard on the shoulder, a smile on his face that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “I’ve gotta wiz. Where’s the pisser in this joint?”
    I pointed him in the right direction, and watched as my burly cousin hit on every girl in his path between the bar and the bathroom door.
    Moments later, a sultry voice spread a grin across my face.
    “Hey handsome,” she said, wrapping her arms around my waist as her lips found my neck. “You waitin’ for someone special?”
    I swiveled my stool around to face the five-foot-two-inch powerhouse I was lucky as hell to call my wife. “Just you,” I remarked, pulling her into a kiss. “Always you.”
    “Hmm,” she purred, taking the seat next to me. “A few hours with the infidelity brigade and you’re extra happy to see your wife, huh? Monogamy looks pretty good, doesn’t it?”
    At that, I pursed my lips. “Don’t start. Just because CJ and his insatiable libido roll into town doesn’t change my commitment to you or our marriage.” I’d been dreading this conversation for weeks, and if I had my way about it, it wouldn’t turn into a conversation. But, sometimes I can’t help myself. “I’ve never once given you a reason not to trust me, Georgia. I don’t know why you insist on playing the role of jealous wife. That’s not who you are. That’s not how we are.”
    I braced for a verbal backlash from my take-no-prisoners partner, but was met with a sigh instead. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”
    I looked up from the foamy head of my beer. “What?”
    She grinned, smacking me. “Don’t look so surprised, Kane,” she teased. “I can have humility, too.”
    “You can ,” I said slowly, egging her on.
    She crinkled her nose and ran her hand over her shaggy-short blonde hair. Short in the back and long in the front, with a million layers in between. It was blonde today, anyway. No bets on what tomorrow would hold. But, as usual, she had a red bandana tying it back. A smudge of flour was evident on the side, from the bakery. I brushed it away with my thumb.
    “Bringing your work out to play?” I teased.
    “He just riles me up,” she said of CJ, ignoring my attempt at lightness. “He has no self-respect, and less for women.”
    I tilted my head to the side. “I wasn’t going to say anything …” I started, then thought better of it.
    “What?” she demanded. “Tell me.”
    I sighed, blowing air out with puffed cheeks. “He mentioned his dad today.”
    Her mouth dropped open, eyes almost as wide as they’d go. “What? Did he hear from him or something?”
    I shook my head. “God no, are you kidding? He … he said he thought he was just going to end up like him.” I took another sip of beer.
    Georgia’s face went from angry to anxious in a second. “Oh, no … He hasn’t been down this dark road in years . Like, high school years. Seriously? He said that?”
    I nodded. “I swear to God if you tell him—”
    She put up her hand. “I won’t. Promise,” she said as CJ emerged from the restroom and sauntered back to his seat on the other side of me.
    “What are we talking about?” he asked after the bartender slid him his second frosty mug.
    “Your treatment of women … as a whole,” she answered, trying to suppress a grin.
    He leaned to the side and eyed Georgia with playful malice. “Not this again. G, give it a rest. I love women, am an equal-opportunity provider, and am just having fun. Just because you went ahead and grew up, doesn’t mean the rest of us have to.”
    “Whatever you say, Heff,” she retorted, keeping it light and playful, like their usual selves.
    “What, so you’re not pissed at me anymore?” CJ asked, catching on to Georgia’s drastic change in demeanor from earlier in