Page 83 of Wild King

Kellen grows quiet and looks away. “You know, I get that a lot of this has been hard on you. I’ve got some unsavory parts tomy past that have been thrown in your face over and over during this mess. I’m sorry about that, Salem. It makes the fact that you’re still here with me pretty amazing.”

“Everybody’s got a past, Kellen. Some are a bit more exciting than others. You never know. One of these days a guy may pop up out of nowhere, and you’ll have to deal with him with me.”

Surprised, he asks, “Really? Are you saying Salem Roberts has a checkered past?”

Since I know my past is about a mundane as a nun’s, it’s highly doubtful anyone would use the word checkered to describe it. Then again, there was my wild period in my sophomore year in college when I dated that drummer from that band for two months.

The truth is the wildest I’ve ever been is with the man sitting right next to me. He doesn’t know that, though.

A girl can’t give away all her secrets, now can she?

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

Kellen

Four monthslater

I check my watch and see it’s quitting time, so I log off my work computer and lean back in my chair to relax at the end of a long day. It’s been a good few months that I’ve been back at my job, but I still prefer to work from home. In part, it’s because I’m a little gun-shy about working face-to-face with people after that Gina mess, but mostly it’s because I like not having to wear a suit and doing my work from the privacy of my home.

Of course, it’s not just my place anymore since Salem moved in last month. After spending every day and night together while she was fixing my reputation, it seemed like the right thing to do since we’re crazy about one another. She’s not a fan of working from home, but every night we spend together.

Who would have thought Kellen King would be settled down with a woman he loves? Not this guy. I used to think that kind of thing was fine for Ronan and Matthias, but somewhere in the mess that my life became, I found Salem and she turned my world upside down.

“Kellen? Where are you?” she calls out from the living room.

Right on time. I can set my watch by her. Every day she returns by six o’clock after leaving at nine that morning. It’s the most regulated I’ve ever seen someone, but it works for her.

Me, I prefer a more relaxed schedule, but that’s what makes us so great together. We’re as different as night is to day, but somehow that works for us.

“I’m in my office. Hang on. I just finished work,” I call out.

When I walk into the hallway, she’s waiting for me with a smile. “I missed you. I had to deal with a certain star pitcher who seems to have found himself in a sex scandal. He’s my newest client.”

I kiss her, loving the feel of her lips on mine, and pull her to me. “I missed you too. I haven’t heard anything about this client of yours on the news, and I had it on all day while I was working.”

She looks up at me with confusion in her eyes. “You still do that after what happened to you?”

Shrugging, I admit the boring truth. “Old habits die hard. Now I just assume whatever they’re saying is fact isn’t or they haven’t bothered to check it out yet. So what did Mr. Star Pitcher do? Is it juicy?”

Salem taps the tip of my nose before turning out of my hold. “You know I can’t tell you. Let’s just say it involves a barely legal girl and her mother.”

Damn! Whoever this guy is, he likes it freaky. Now I’m not sure I want to hear about this from Salem or the news.

“So how are you going to make him look like a choir boy?”

She spins on her heel and glares at me. “You know that’s not what I do. My job is to make my clients be seen as something other than bad guys. I can’t change the truth, although I suspect there’s more to the story with this client than meets the eye.”

I walk to where she stands and take her in my arms. “Who’s trying to shake him down? Mom or the daughter? And for how much?”

The truth is that’s what most of Salem’s clients face, including me. The facts rarely fit the story that first leaks out to the world, so it’s her job to make sure that on one hand the truth comes out and on the other her clients show the public that they may have made mistakes but they aren’t the villains they’re being made out to be.

And she’s damn good at her job. I should know.

“So what are we doing for dinner tonight? Take out, cook, or go somewhere?” I ask, already hungry.

For a long moment, she stares at me like I’ve grown another head. What was so wrong about that question?

“Did you forget we have to be at Matthias and Ava’s in about an hour?”