Kiss Me (Townsend Legacy)

Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

T aehyun

“Hyung,” I greet as Dae approaches.

“What the hell are you doing?” Dae asks in Korean.

I hold up the two cups of hot chocolate with marshmallows. “Looks like I’m delivering hot chocolate to my date.”

“Since when are you dating Tania Casey?”

I glance at the woman in question over his shoulder. She’s laughing as Eve and Kennedy’s younger sister, Stasi, stand over her, talking about snowboarding.

For a split second her eyes lock with mine. Weird sensations I don’t want to put a name to pop off in my belly.

“Since tonight, apparently,” I answer.

My cousin knows me better than just about anyone.

“Isn’t she the same Tania Casey who turned you down six months ago at the ski resort in Colorado?”

It’s my turn to glare at him. “Why the hell would you bring that up?”

“Because you bitched about it for more than a week.”

“I don’t bitch.”

He snorts. “What would you call it then?”

“Bansa,” I tell him, using the Korean slang term for ‘back at you.’ “Not a damn thing because it’s no longer relevant.”

A total fucking lie. If it wasn’t relevant, I wouldn’t have Tania with me here tonight.

He doesn’t need to know that, though.

“You’re a lying son of a bitch.”

I roll my eyes skyward. “You’re the second person who’s said those very words to me tonight. If I’m not careful, I could develop a complex.”

My cousin cracks a smile but quickly stifles it.

When he cocks his head to the side, I know he’s returned to serious mode. He turns and looks at something over his shoulder. Following his line of sight, my gaze lands on Tania.

Something weird happens in the pit of my stomach when I see her signing something Stasi holds out to her.

“Are you going to tell me what you’re holding over her?”

Reluctantly, I pull my gaze away from Tania and peer at my cousin.

I ask, “Do you truly think so little of me to believe that I …” I draw out the last word, feigning offense, “would stoop so low as to hold something over a woman to get her to go on a date with me?”

He shakes his head. “No.”

“Thank you?—”

“I fucking know it,” he adds. “I also know how you, more than anyone, hate rejection and will do whatever you can to get what you want.”

I point at him. “It’s the reason our business has been so damn successful,” I remind him.

“It’s one of the reasons. I had something to do with our business’ growth.”

I tip my head in acknowledgement. Dae’s business acumen when he took over as CEO of Lee Corporation after the death of my father undoubtedly contributed to us doubling our net worth in the past five years.

He nods in gratitude when I say as much.

“And you still do whatever it takes to get your way,” he adds. “So, what are you holding over her?”

“My charm and disarming wit.”

He snorts. “And?”

“What else could there be?”

“You do understand that blackmail is illegal, correct?”

“Someone else with the damn legal advice,” I gripe. “Also, that’s pretty rich coming from someone who locked his girlfriend in his damn house.”

Dae scowls. “I only did that to keep her safe.”

“So you keep telling us.” Kennedy comes up behind my cousin to stand next to him.

I’m unsurprised when his expression softens.

“Something I’ll never do again,” he says with a serious weightiness in his voice.

I don’t doubt he means it. That crazy stunt almost cost him the love of the woman he’d literally obsessed over for more than a decade.

As I stare between my cousin and his wife, talking in hushed voices to one another, I expect the typical apathy I feel in the presence of couples to manifest.

It never arises, however.

“Kiss, kiss, kiss,” three of the Townsend girls, led by Kennedy’s sister, Stasi, cheer while she holds mistletoe over the couple’s heads.

Dae and Kennedy oblige while laughing. Alarmingly, my attention darts over to Tania. The urge for Stasi to hold mistletoe over our heads, encouraging us to kiss, hits me with a pang in my gut.

I assume it’s only because I’ve wondered what Tania’s lips taste like for the better part of the day.

That’s it. Nothing more.

I don’t even believe in the whole love thing.

Not for me, anyway.

I give Dae and Kennedy one last glance. The expression on Dae’s face imprints on my memory. It’s not the first time I’ve seen the glow my cousin wears whenever he’s in his wife’s presence.

But this is the first time that a part of me, and I mean, a super small part, has an inkling to know what it feels like. To be so deeply devoted to a woman.

I shake the thought off and head back to the table where Tania’s seated.

“How’s your ankle doing?” Liza asks, standing over her.

I can tell her assistant is extremely competent and devoted. Yet, her presence begins to piss me off.

“I’m certain her ankle is fine,” I answer for Tania. “And if it’s not, she’ll let me know.” I glance around and spot the waiter from earlier in the day who was checking Liza out, again throwing glances her way.

“I think that table over there is looking a little empty,” I tell her, pointing at the table with the least amount of family members, which is also closest to the waiter. “Maybe you can help them out since the competition is about to start soon.”

It’s not a question.

Liza’s eyes widen and she looks down at Tania, who clears her throat and adjusts her propped up leg.

“Yes, I don’t think they’ll mind you sitting with them,” Tania says.

“Alright … just let me know if you need anything,” Liza says before giving Tania one final look and heading off to the table on the opposite side of the room.

Alone at last.

“How is that ankle of yours doing?” I grin as I place one of the mugs of hot chocolate in front of her and take the empty seat next to her.

The way she glowers makes me smirk. I lean in to her. “Do you need another ice pack?”

“You’re going to need an ice pack for your face very soon.”

I mock shiver. “That sounded like a threat.”

She starts to say something but the matriarch of the family, Deborah Townsend, stands at the head of the room with a microphone.

“Okay, okay, this is the first of our Annual Townsend Family Christmas events. Let us all remember this is just for fun.” Her gaze, none too discreetly, crosses the room to glare at her husband and then at her youngest son, Tyler Townsend.

“There will be no fighting among anyone like last year’s gingerbread contest.”

A series of groans sound around the room.

“For the record, it was Father who started it,” Tyler yells out.

“I second that, little brother,” Carter Townsend, the oldest brother, replies.

“I was there, and it was totally Uncle Tyler who started it,” Kennedy supplies.

“That’s not fair! My daddy is innocent,” Chloe Townsend yells out.

Naturally, a series of back and forths start over who caused last year’s blow up.

“Anyway,” Deborah Townsend says, “the same thing won’t happen this year.” Her voice, though stern, holds a hint of playfulness.

Tania turns to me. “What happened last year?” she whispers.

I shrug and shake my head. “This is my first time spending the holidays with my cousin’s new family.”

“Dae’s your cousin?” she questions, glancing between the two of us. “You two look like you could be brothers.”

“We practically are,” I tell her.

She gives me a questioning look.

“It’s a long story.”

I jut my head toward the resort staff who’ve begun handing out the candies and extra supplies to make our gingerbread houses.

“The teams have been chosen for the first competition. Kayla, Patience, and Sandra are tonight’s judges.”

“Eve and I are together,” Stasi calls out, making almost everyone laugh. Apparently the two are super close despite the nearly five year age difference.

“That means you’re on my team.”

I expect Tania to give me some saucy comeback about how she’s only on my team because I forced her to be here.

Yet, she replies with a finger in my direction as she says, “And you better not drop the ball.”

The seriousness in her voice surprises me.

“Someone’s taking gingerbread house building pretty seriously.”

Her eyes widen. “You’re not? This isn’t a game. This is competition. Hand me that box.”

She holds out her hand for the box that has the gingerbread house inside.

Wordlessly, we undo the box and sort out the supplies that are our materials to construct our first house together.

Why that idea seems suddenly appealing to me, I have no idea.