Midwest Fighter (Kendall Family Book 2) by Jennifer Ann Read Free Book Online Page A

dress like the room is encased in flames. Not only does something feel off by the way he avoids looking my way, but it also makes me feel like some kind of slag.
    “Did I say something wrong?” I ask, wondering if he can hear the bite to my words.
    “I have to go,” he replies, slipping into his coat.
    Without another word, he’s gone from the room, leaving me to stare at the worn ceiling. Restless and aching in the most delicious way, I’m left to wonder if sleeping with someone going through such a distressing experience was, in fact, a mistake. It seems inevitable it was a one-night thing. This couldn't possibly be anything more. James lives in an entirely different world from the hustle and bustle of the city that I adore. This was nothing more than two lonely souls looking for a thrill.
    Besides, anyone I’ve ever developed deep feelings for has left. Dad was always absent, working impossible hours, Mum returned to England with her drugs, and even Evelyn left to be with her husband, though I can’t say I blame her. And Richard, the only man I ever gave my heart to, felt a need to get his rocks off elsewhere. Why should I expect James to be any different?
    As I drift off to sleep, I’m unable to stop dwelling on the intensity of James’s gaze or the delightfully feminine way he made me feel. The man has essentially ruined me for any future suitors, and I kind of fancy the idea.

    * * *
    T he next couple of days James is so caught up in the planning of their dad’s service, checking in with the authorities, meeting with the family attorney, and dealing with incoming siblings, that we aren’t afforded any time alone. Or so I tell myself. I can't pretend he isn’t going out of his way to avoid my company when that seems to be exactly the case. At least Evelyn doesn’t seem to notice anything is off when I do my best to play the loyal mate, consoling her at every turn and being the rock she needs whenever Charlie is busy.
    After the service and burial, Evelyn’s family gathers in the small basement of a church for sandwiches and the strangest array of warm “hot-dishes” as they call them. James was understandably stoic when I passed through the queue with Lorenzo and Dante to convey my sympathies, though I swear he held onto me a little longer when we embraced. His eyes didn’t so much as linger on me for an added second; however, before he was greeting the old woman behind me.
    While a part of me still likes to think we shared a special connection that night in my hotel room, I’m also struggling with the notion that I took advantage of him in a time of weakness.
    Weary of the idle conversation between Charlie’s bodyguard and some of Evelyn’s older relatives, I take the time to study the closest members of Evelyn’s family from afar. At her wedding, it was painfully clear the siblings had drifted apart in their separate corners of life. Now, as they’re made orphans, it would do them good to sort things out, make the best of what they have. While I, myself, am the product of a money-hungry workaholic and a brainless, pill-popping drifter who never assimilated my need for a traditional family, my heart aches when I consider their dad may have been the last thread holding this family together.
    Braden, the youngest of the three boys but quite easily the largest, flew in on the first available flight home from his military assignment in Japan, barely making it in time for the service. Standing near the kitchen, he flirts with two young women, flashing a sly grin at every opportunity. In dress blues and a neatly cropped hairdo, he’s clean cut as well as the most approachable of the bunch despite his intimidatingly immense size. I was easily charmed by his soft brown gaze when he took me out for a dance at Evelyn and Charlie’s wedding. Though a bit too cocky for his own good, I favor his personality the most of James and Evelyn’s siblings.
    Angelina, the oldest child, fills up half the room with