Chapter 16
Jordan's mind latched onto the words 'Boone, my ex,' and couldn't go any farther. The syllables knocked around inside him along with his heartbeat as Kayla took her arm from around his waist and crossed a few uncertain steps toward the new man and said, "Boone, what are you doing here?"
It was hard to even hear her: blood rushed in Jordan's ears, and he remembered how she had said the relationship hadn't gone bad, it was just that they'd wanted different things. Wanting different things could be worked around. Obviously Boone had realized that, and had come all the way from Los Angeles to work it out. He was saying something, something aboutI had to see you again,but it was hard for Jordan to hear him, too, through the pounding of blood in his own ears and the way his breathing seemed way too loud.
The worst part was that like Kayla's costars, Boone was ludicrously attractive, with warm dark eyes and a full mouth and chiseled features and an almost impossibly square jaw and a rugged outdoorsy vibe that suggested he could probably take up a sword and fight a dragon as effortlessly as he could start a fire or pitch a tent or sweep a woman off her feet and carry herinto the sunset on horseback. He wore a leather jacket and jeans, an open-necked chambray button-down beneath it, and his hair, which had seemed short at first place, proved to be long and tied back in a wavy ponytail.
That's it,Jordan thought helplessly.I've lost the girl.
He'd known all along it was basically impossible.All along,he said to himself, as if he hadn't just re-met Kayla three days earlier. But she was a movie star who lived on the other side of the country, and she deserved a guy who looked like Aragorn had a baby with Duncan MacLeod. He faltered where he was, trying to get a smile into place, though he was almost certain he'd been entirely forgotten about. Kayla was at Boone's side now, frowning up at him with delicate surprise, and he ducked his head over hers, murmuring. Jordan couldn't even hear them if he wanted to, and he wasn't at all sure he wanted to.
Then Kayla glanced back at him, and Jordan thought his heart would implode with misery. Her beautiful, deep blue gaze was full of uncertainty and confusion. He tried again for a smile, wanting to make her feel better, wanting her to know he understood that she'd always been out of his league and this had been a nice little fairy tale while it lasted.
As she glanced at him, Jordan came into Boone's awareness for what was obviously the first time. The big handsome Californian looked up, too, his eyebrows drawn down in confusion as he looked Jordan up and down. There was a hint of something in his eyes: territoriality, or maybe just disbelief. Before that expression, that emotion, decided on what it wanted to be, Jordan made his own decision and stepped forward, hand extended, a plastic-feeling smile on his face. "Hi. Jordan Rhodes. Kayla and I were friends when we were kids."
Every hint of animosity in Boone's good-looking face bled away into a delighted grin that now understood everything:obviouslyJordan hadn't been any kind of rival for Kayla'saffections.Obviouslythere was no way Jordan could possibly compete with the complete package Boone presented. "Jordan!" Boone said with apparent genuine pleasure. "I'm Boone McKelvie. Great that Kayla's got somebody here she can rely on as a local guide! This looks like a nice little town."
His voice was deep and rich and melodious. Jordan wanted to kick him. Instead he fixed his smile in place more firmly. "It is, yes. Welcome to Virtue."
"Thanks! Look, I know Kayla's got to be on set in about two minutes, so do you mind if I steal her away just to reconnect? We've been apart for weeks now."
Apart,Jordan echoed mentally. He was absolutely sure Kayla had said they'd broken up. He glanced down at her, looking for guidance, and her gaze bounced between the two men with a combination of dismay and continued confusion before she said, "Um. Yeah, I think…I think Boone and I have some things to clear up, J. Maybe give us…a minute."
Jordan felt his smile go even more wooden than it was, though he tried to keep it soft for Kayla's sake. She didn't need to know his heart was breaking. It was absurd to think she'd care that his heart was breaking. They had really only just re-met. But she'd called himJ,the nickname she'd given him, and it cut through him like a blade. "Yeah, of course. Um, let me know if you…"
He didn't know how to finish that sentence. 'Let me know if you want to let me down easy' didn't seem like the right thing to say in front of her boyfriend. Ex-boyfriend. Only, who was Jordan kidding: Boone probably wasn't an ex, not anymore, not if he'd flown across the country to make a grand gesture. Jordan's smile faltered and he said, "Well, you have my number," to Kayla, then added, "Boone," with a nod, and walked away, trying to look casual and collected instead of like his heart was being stabbed into a thousand bleeding pieces. He managednot to glance back until he'd gotten up to the verandas that stretched in front of the businesses along the west side of the square.
Kayla and Boone had moved up to the historical society's front steps, almost hidden in its doorway. The big man was bent, listening intently to Kayla, whose entire attention seemed to be focused completely on him. Jordan could read intimacy in their body language, but he couldn't tell if it was tension-ridden or just surprised. As he watched, Kayla glanced his way, and although they were now a considerable distance apart, it felt as though that piercing blue gaze of hers sliced right through him. He turned away quickly, hurrying toward the far end of the strip where he could at least duck into Kate's Cafe and breathe for a minute.
Once he was indoors, out of Kayla's line of sight, Jordan closed his eyes and promised himself one thing: he'd walk out of Kayla's life as easily as he'd walked in, if that's what she wanted…
…but if she gave even the slightest hint of wanting him over Boone McKelvie, Jordan was going to fight for her with everything he had.
Chapter 17
When she'd arrived in Virtue, the last thing Kayla had wanted was to run into somebody who might recognize her as Kylie Quinn. It turned out having her ex-boyfriend show up on set was much, much worse.
Boone McKelvie was every bit as gorgeous as she remembered. Of course he was: it had only been a few weeks since they'd broken up. Not really enough time to get over a broken heart, though staring up at him now, Kayla couldn't quite remember if she'd been broken-hearted or just sad and disappointed. They'd worked so well on paper: Boone, although handsome enough to make it in Hollywood, wasn't an actor at all, and the flexible hours of his job as a day trader let him be available when Kayla's schedule was open, while allowing him the freedom to work from wherever when she was on set. They liked a lot of the same things, including travel, and even Kayla had thought they were on a slow, comfortable train toward a happily ever after.
It was true that she'd never once thought it was the magic of fate striking, but not all shifters found fated mates. And the fact that she hadn't told Boone about her owl…well, it wasn'tsomething she could hide forever, not if they wanted to have kids someday, but she'd thought there was time, that there would be a moment when it all fell into place.
But on some level Kayla had known, deep down, that she had never really seen a future with Boone. Not the kind he wanted. Not the kind that had led him to propose and suggest starting a family right away. She understood his urgency: she was thirty-six, and as much as she hated the fact of the matter, itwasfact that if she wanted kids, sooner was better than later.
And now Boone, big handsome kind-hearted Boone, was saying, "I shouldn't have pushed it, Kay. I got so fixated on the idea of kids that I forgot how lucky I was to haveyou. But I haven't been able to get you out of my mind, Kayla. I've been kicking myself since the minute you walked out the door. Giving up what we had for a future that might never happen anyway? That was just stupid of me. I hope you can forgive me."
"Boone, I?—"
As Kayla started to speak, her assistant Trina appeared from inside the building, the bright smile on her face suddenly going rigid as she saw Boone. "Oh. Uh, hi, Boone, I didn't realize you were coming to Virtue. Kayla, I'm sorry, but we need you on set now. Where's, um…" Her gaze darted past Kayla like she was searching for Jordan, then came back to Kayla, questioning.
"Anderson's on his way," Kayla said with a fixed smile of her own. Trina's expression clearly said that Anderson was already inside and ready to go, but she forced her smile brighter, nodded, and gestured for Kayla to join her.
"May I join you?" Boone said pleasantly. "I know how to stay out of the way."
"Sorry," Trina said before Kayla could speak. "There's not much room in here and it's crew only. But there's a great doughnut shop down on the other end of the block, if you want to wait."
"Sure thing." Boone dropped a kiss toward Kayla's mouth, though she managed to turn quickly enough for it to land on her cheek, instead. Darkness flashed in his eyes, but he smiled and said, "See you in a while," then trotted down the steps to the sidewalk.
Trina didn'tquitegrab Kayla's arm and haul her inside, but it was a near thing. Once the door was closed, the assistant popped her eyes at Kayla and hissed, "What's he doing here??"
