Bailey, Debbie - Stephanie's Homecoming [Men of Kinsey 4] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (3 page)

“What’s up with the two of you? You’re acting like I’m some kind of stranger.” Jenny didn’t like to be ignored and would probably go to almost any length to get their attention.

“I can’t believe you’re still living at home with your parents, Jenny.” Kane smirked. “You’re well past the age of consent, so why aren’t you out on your own?”

“Why the hell would I want to be out on my own when I can live free and clear in a huge mansion with servants at my beck and call? If I lived on my own, I’d have to cook for myself and do laundry, and there are just so many more fun things that I could be doing.” The way Jenny looked at them, they knew what kind of fun things she was referring to.

“I don’t know why we haven’t gotten married yet, Kane. You know that we belong together, we always have. All my friends think that we make the perfect couple, so why can’t you see it?” Kane looked at Jenny, he really looked at her this time, and all he saw was a spoiled, rich bitch who had set her sights on him ten years ago and was still under the illusion that she even had a ghost of a chance. Well, it was time for him to make sure she finally understood that he would never be hers.

“Are you serious, Jenny? You don’t think that I would marry a spoiled little bitch like you, do you? Ten years ago you made sure to give the illusion that you and I had had sex.” Cringing noticeably at just the thought, Kane made sure to let Jenny see.

“I have never, nor would I ever have, wanted anything physical to do with you. So I want you to get it through that thick head of yours that you have never had a chance with me.” Hoping that would be enough to deter her, Kane realized quickly that he’d only made her more determined.

Standing up beside their table, Jenny looked directly at Kane and, in an overly loud voice, said, “Your time is up, Kane Bryson. You and I will be married by the end of the month, or there will be hell to pay.”

* * * *

Turk had sat quietly and listened to this crazy lady spew her drivel, but when she issued her threat, he wasn’t going to sit idly by any longer.

“You really are fucking crazy, aren’t you, Jenny? Do you not get it? Are you so self-possessed that you’ve put blinders on to what everyone else can clearly see?” Turk was making sure that his voice was just as loud as Jenny’s. He wanted to make sure that everyone was aware of just who held their attention.

“You haven’t stood a chance with Kane. You had to set up some fake rape attempt ten years ago just so you could get close enough to destroy his relationship with Steph. How fucking pathetic is that? And even after all your tricks, he still didn’t even ask you out on a date, and now that Stephanie’s back you might as well set your sights on someone else, because this time he’s going to make sure she knows just how much she means to him, and if I have anything to say about it, it won’t be you walking down the aisle next month, it will be her.” Thunderous applause broke out in the diner after Turk’s little speech.

“What do you mean, Stephanie’s back?” she said. It was all that Jenny seemed to focus on.

“Exactly what he just told you, Jenny. I’m back, and although I can’t say I agree with a wedding in a month, after hearing your little spiel, I understand a hell of a lot more now.”

* * * *

“Well, well, well…look what the cat dragged in.” Jenny turned to face Stephanie for the first time in ten years. This was the woman who had broken her heart all those years ago, and it pissed Steph off that she had let it happen. Ten years ago when she’d walked in on Kane and Jenny, she should have given Kane a chance to explain, but instead, she ran like a scared, hurt little girl and left the best man she’d ever known behind, believing him to be a liar and a cheat. Not only was she pissed at Jenny, but she was also pissed at herself.

“So how long are you here for, Steph? Maybe you and I can have lunch while you’re here on your visit.” Stephanie smiled, knowing how much Jenny hoped that she would be leaving soon.

“Oh, I don’t think I would be able to stomach lunch with you, Jenny. And besides, I’ve got so much to do now that I own the
Kinsey Pictorial
. There is just so much to catch up on around here, as well as mending a few fences.” Steph looked directly at Kane and smiled.

Stephanie watched as Kane sat there like a cat that’d just swallowed a canary. And she hated it. She knew now just how truly foolish she had been ten years ago. There was a noticeable silence around the whole diner at Stephanie’s announcement. It seemed like everyone was just waiting for the next shoe to drop, and Jenny wasn’t about to disappoint them.

“You own the newspaper,” she said laughing. “Well, I can see that business going under real quick.” Looking around the diner with her fake smile, Jenny was hoping to see some form of support but realized she was sadly mistaken.

Joe had come over to enjoy the excitement, bringing along their burgers and sitting down to join Kane and Turk.

“Do you know who this is, Jenny? Do you have any idea at all?” Joe started to laugh.

“Of course I do, Joe. She’s the same little girl who couldn’t take the competition for her man, so she ran away.” Jenny’s smile was pure malice when she looked at Steph.

Joe couldn’t hold his laughter in any longer and was quickly joined by three quarters of the patrons in the diner.

“What the hell is so funny, Joe? It’s just Stephanie Morrison, our own hometown princess.” Jenny kept looking around at different people, trying to get a handle on why everyone was laughing so hard.

“You know, Jenny, you really should get your head out of your ass once in a while. Maybe then you’d find out that there are more important things in this world than you.” Joe sneered at her.

“Stephanie is the former editor in chief of the largest paper in the country. She was also the youngest. She’s won numerous awards for not only her writing but for her editorial style as well. So, her taking over the paper is probably the best thing to happen around here in a long time. She has some great ideas to bring the paper up-to-date and even plans of having a gossip column. Which I’m sure you’ll figure prominently in, Jenny.”

* * * *

Moving past Jenny, Stephanie went to stand beside Kane, placing a proprietary hand on his shoulder. Glancing down, she smiled when she felt his hand cover hers.

“Ten years ago, I was young and stupid and allowed a spoiled, petulant woman-child to scare me away from someone who was, at the time, becoming very important to me. I fucked up royally and have a lot to make up for, but in some ways you also did me a huge favor. I was so pissed when I left here that I worked nonstop for the next five years until I ran into Joe, and he talked me into buying part of the paper.” She knew that would be a surprise to Kane because she’d made it part of the deal that no one would know she owned any of it.

Using her hip, she nudged Kane farther into the booth so that she could sit down.

“When Joe decided that he wanted to retire, he gave me first option to buy it, and I jumped at it. My reasons were simple, I wanted to come back home, and I wanted to rub my success in Kane Bryson’s face.”

Steph could feel the heat of embarrassment rising in her face, but she wasn’t going to stop. Kane needed to hear it all, and so did Jenny.

“Thanks to you
again
, and the little show you put on here, I found out what a complete ass I had been, and best of all, you’ve shown your true colors to many people in town. How sad it must be for you to still be trying to get a man into bed with you that has, obviously, told you he isn’t interested?”

Jenny paled at her last comment, and then her face became this ashen shade of gray right before she exploded.

“You always were a smart-mouthed piece of trash, Steph. Kane has always been mine. He just hasn’t realized all the benefits he could get from marrying me. I bet you don’t even know about his playroom at the club and about all the women he shares with Turk.”

“Well, having just met Turk myself, he seems like a wonderful man who has also been a good friend to Kane, so…” Steph heard the gasp from Joe and knew she had just let the cat out of the bag.

“As for his
playroom
at the club, oh, honey, I’ve known about Club Kinsey since the day it opened. I am in the newspaper business, and since Kane is one of the owners of the club, I figured that he was well into the BDSM scene. I’m just hoping to get a chance to see it one day.” Stephanie could feel Kane and Turk’s eyes on her, their gazes felt almost heated on her skin.

Turk was the first to respond to her statement because Kane’s voice didn’t seem to be working properly.

“You most certainly will get to see his playroom up close and personal if I have anything to say about it. I think it may take Kane a little while to absorb some of your revelations today, but trust me, baby, he’s been dying to get you tied to our St. Andrew’s cross.”

Jenny’s mouth just flopped open and closed like a fish out of water before she suddenly turned on Kane.

“Dammit, Kane, say something. You can’t honestly believe that this, this…woman,” she spat and pointed at Stephanie, “could possibly do for you as much as I could. My family connections can open up so many doors for you and your business…”

It must have been Jenny’s mention of their business that finally enabled Kane’s vocal chords to work again, because the moment she started spouting off about her connections and their business, Kane saw red.

“Shut the fuck up, Jenny,” he said in an almost too quiet voice.

“Kane Bryson, you can’t speak to me like that” she sputtered at him

* * * *

Leaning over, Kane whispered something in Stephanie’s ear and then lifted her up and out of his way so he could stand up, and then he indicated for Turk to slide around the booth, and he placed her back down on his lap.

“Hold on to her, and don’t let her get away,” he ordered then gently kissed her forehead before turning to face the woman who seemed dead set on her delusion.

“Understand this, Jenny, I have never needed your
connections
,
family or otherwise, to build my business. Turk and I built it together, and I’m damned proud that we make such a great team. You need to get it out of your head once and for all that it doesn’t matter how many places you show up at where I am, or how you try to cajole or bully me into a relationship with you, it’s never going to happen. It hasn’t for ten years, even with Stephanie gone, and if she left tomorrow, which, if she ever tries to leave again, her ass is going to be over my knee so fast she won’t sit down for a week, but if she left tomorrow, I would still not date, have a relationship with, and most definitely not marry you. You actually make my skin crawl, to be honest. Now, I’m not usually one to say such things about a woman, but, lady, you are a viper, and I wouldn’t touch you with a ten-foot pole. Now take your nasty ass away from me, and keep it away. I don’t want anything ever to do with you.”

The whole diner went silent waiting for Jenny to burst into tears and run out the door, but instead, she started laughing, and not a normal, happy laugh but an actual crazy, maniacal-sounding laugh.

“You just fucked with the wrong woman, Kane. If you think that you’re going to get away with speaking to me like this, then you’re insane.

Hell, she thought he was insane. This woman really needed to get a reality check.

“When my parents get back, they’ll make your little bitch pay, and then you’ll come running back to me.” As the crowd that had gathered parted to let Jenny through, she turned just before reaching the door and said, “One month, Kane, and you’ll be mine. I’m tired of waiting, and now that Stephanie is back, my plans will have to be moved along faster than I thought. But once she’s out of the way again, then you’ll see things more clearly.” And she left the diner.

Loud conversation broke out all over once she had left.

“Jenny Black is one crazy-assed bitch,” Joe said, just staring at the door. “I’ve known her parents for years, and where she got this idea that they’ll help her hurt anyone is beyond me. Josie and Verne are two of the sweetest people, and if they had any idea what Jenny was doing, they would be appalled, I’m sure.