Do you love being famous? Do you have everything you’ve ever wanted? Some days I hope so. Others, I hope you’re as lonely as me. I wonder, did I ever really know you? - Unsent text message from Liam to Kennedy

I felt a twinge of something like disappointment as Kennedy walked away. I should be pleased she was leaving without a fuss and seemed to have genuinely dropped by only to give me a coffee and nothing else, but deep down, I wanted her to keep trying to talk to me. After all, if she’d really missed me and wanted to make things right, shouldn’t it take more for her to give up than just a week of being ignored and a bad day on the job?

Yeah, I’d admit it to myself if to no one else. I was disappointed she hadn’t fought harder for me.

I forced myself away from thoughts of our relationship as I reentered the fire station, my mind instead traveling to the guy who’d been with her this morning. From what she’d said, they were barely acquaintances, but he’d clearly been interested in her. Who wouldn’t be? She was stunning, rich, and successful. But I’d definitely got the feeling she didn’t want anything to do with him, and that rubbed me the wrong way. Did she feel obligated to be polite to him because of that deep-seated need she’d always had not to cause a fuss? I’d assumed she’d gotten over that during her years in the limelight, but maybe she never had.

The entire encounter unsettled me.

“Hey, man.” Asher clapped my shoulder as I flopped onto the sofa beside him, coffee still in hand. “What was that about?”

I cringed. He was going to make a big deal of this. “I visited Kennedy last night. I wanted to make sure she was okay, since she hightailed it out of here so fast yesterday. This is a thank-you coffee.”

Asher opened his mouth, the intention of delivering a lecture stamped all over his face.

“Ash,” I interrupted as he prepared to launch into it. “Just don’t, okay?”

He closed his mouth and fell silent for a moment. “I don’t want you hurt again,” he said quietly. “Today, it’s coffee, but tomorrow it could be something else. Just promise you’ll be careful.”

I nodded, knowing he was right. It was a slippery slope, and he was looking out for me. “I will.”

“Good.”

We sat together without talking for a while. Zane was playing solitaire at the table, and even though he glanced our way, he opted not to weigh in. Zane and I had become friendly over the years, but we were work friends, not close friends. He didn’t pry into my personal life, and I stayed out of his, for the most part.