He ran a hand through his hair as he looked her over. “Do you want to go for a walk?”
Jessie nodded automatically, even though she wasn’t sure if that was what she wanted or not. A part of her wanted to go back to her grandmother’s room and hide under the blankets with her, like she used to when she was five. Another part of her still wanted to hide under the covers with Kai. She immediately hated that part of herself.
He started walking, not looking to see if she was following. Shaking her head, she hurried to catch up. Once she did, he glanced her way. “I can’t believe this. I just can’t believe this…” His hand touched his stomach again.
Jessie let out a shaky breath as his eyes flicked over her face. “I can’t either. I mean…what are the odds that we would…?” As they walked down the hall, nurses and patients scooting around them, Jessie truly debated that question. Of all the cities, of all the clubs, of all the nights she’d let herself go, she’d run into her cousin…who, until recently, had lived his entire life on an island she’d never even been to. Crazy. Irritated at the universe, she glared at him. “Why didn’t you recognize me? You knew I lived here?”
As they walked through a set of double doors into the main artery of the hospital, Kai’s expression turned incredulous. “I haven’t seen a picture of you in years. And the last one I did see, I think you were twelve.” He flung his hand out at her body. “You certainly didn’t look like this.” His eyes lingered on her hips for a moment, before quickly pulling away.
Jessie flushed and tried to shield herself as they walked down to the first floor. “Well, you could have recognized my name. I did give it to you.”
He stopped walking. “You’re joking, right?” She was about to speak when he added, “They all call you Jessica Marie. You introduced yourself as Jessie. How was I supposed to make that leap?”
Putting her hands on her hips, Jessie watched Kai’s face as he struggled to keep his gaze above her neck. Irritated at his very good point, she took a step toward him. “You’re the one who came here, a city where you knew I lived. You should have been looking out for me.”
With a tight jaw, he cocked his head and said, “I wasn’t expecting you to throw yourself at me.” Her eyes widened and as her mouth dropped open, she considered storming off. His next comment firmly ground her though. “Besides, Gran had nine kids, and they all had a crap load of kids. Do you have any idea how many cousins I have?”
Annoyed again at his good point, Jessie snapped, “Yes! I get the yearly Christmas letter too!”
Kai cringed, but recovered quickly. When he spoke again, irritation was thick in his voice too. “Why didn’t you recognize my name? How many Kais have you heard of around here?”
Jessie’s hands dropped to her side as she sputtered on something intelligent to say. He made a very good argument. Several of them. But she had thought he was still thousands of miles away. She hadn’t expected him to show up at April’s favorite club, looking all hot and lonely. Plus, she’d sort of forgotten his name…right after he’d said it.
Seeing that she was at a loss for words, Kai smirked. “You didn’t remember my name, did you?” Stepping back, Jessie tried to look defiant and offended. He saw right through it, and with amusement in his eyes, he crossed his arms over his chest. The movement reminded Jessie of his tattoo; horribly enough, she wanted to see it again. “Admit it. Immediately after you commented on my eyes, you forgot my name, didn’t you?”
Jessie really hated how that sounded. She was generally very good with names, but she’d had quite a few drinks at that point in the evening, and barely remembered. Although she thought she faintly recalled the stupid rhyme he was referring to. “I was a little…out of sorts.”
His crooked grin turned disturbingly sexy. “You were wasted.”
Her hands returned to her hips. “And you were supposed to be on a tiny island in the middle of nowhere, not in my backyard.” She let out a defeated sigh. “Yes, I didn’t remember your name. But Grams didn’t know exactly when you were coming, and I wasn’t expecting to come across you at a club in my city.”
He only stared at her with his eyebrow still cocked. How damn attractive that was made Jessie inwardly swoon, even as her stomach churned. With a groan, she grudgingly added, “Yes, I was wasted, okay. I’ve been having a bad streak lately.” A bad streak that had somehow shifted into an atrocious streak.