By the time they were able to get out of there, they’d both been starving, so they stopped in at the diner, ate without a whole lot of conversation. Kaden had considered asking Keegan if they could stop by Bristol’s on the way home, but he held off. Last thing he wanted was to ruin Keegan’s good mood.
Didn’t mean he wasn’t going to attempt to talk to her. Ever since he’d gotten the approval for the loan, there was only one person he’d wanted to share the news with. Of course, they’d called their parents, filled in their siblings, and got word to Curtis, but he didn’t get the opportunity share his good news with Bristol. Why it seemed to all come down to that, he couldn’t explain, but it pained him that she wasn’t going to be part of it.
Kaden knew it wasn’t a good idea to go talk to Bristol without informing his brother, but he had to. He could no longer sit back and let that incident go without a discussion. And he seriously doubted either of them were going to take the lead, so it was up to him to attempt to make amends.
He waited until Keegan went to his room for the night, then slipped out of the house. He figured if his brother heard the truck start up, he could come up with a lie on the fly. Hungry, thirsty, whatever. Then again, he doubted Keegan would notice. The man had been in his own little world since Griffin informed them they got the ranch.
It only took a few minutes to make his way over to Bristol’s. She lived in the same area as their cousin Brendon, a neat and tidy little neighborhood comprised mostly of 1950s ranch-style one-stories. There were a few houses that still had their Halloween decorations up, but for the most part, the lawns were neat and tidy, security lights on on a few, the rest dark.
When he pulled up to her house, nerves took over. What would he do if she slammed the door in his face? Told him she never wanted to see him again? At the moment, they were in limbo. Once he went to that door, he would know exactly where they stood. Did he really want to hear her thoughts on the matter?
He decided he did, forced his body to move. Getting out of the truck was the easy part. Convincing his hand to knock was something else entirely. Kaden stood on her front porch for the better part of a minute before he got up the nerve.
Instead of opening it, Bristol shouted through the door. “What do you want, Kaden?”
Well, at least she was home and she’d made the effort to look out. Although, he was surprised she’d been able to tell them apart in the dark, but hey, if his parents could, why couldn’t she?
“To talk.”
“There’s nothin’ to talk about.”
“You know there is, Bristol.”
“I’m not in the mood right now.”
Christ. He hadn’t anticipated it going this way. At the very least he’d expected to see her. For whatever reason, he needed to see with his own two eyes that she was all right. After she’d slipped away from the auction, he hadn’t seen her. For the first time in a very, very long time, she hadn’t gone to Curtis and Lorrie’s for dinner yesterday. Now she was relegating him to a conversation through the door.
“Please open the door.”
“No.”
“Bristol…” He took a step closer so he could speak without shouting. “Let me in so we can talk.”
“Go away. I have nothin’ more to say to you or your brother.”
Kaden leaned his forehead against the door and closed his eyes. “Please. You have to let me apologize.”
“What? You’re sorry we slept together? Well, so am I. No apology necessary. It cancels itself out, Kaden.”
His stomach twisted in a knot. He damn sure wasn’t sorry they’d slept together. Hell, if he had his way, she would’ve been in his bed every night since then and every night going forward. He’d played this game for so long, Kaden was tired of waiting. He was ready to get on with his life now and he wanted Bristol to be part of it.
“Would it make a difference if I told you I love you?”
There was no response. Not right away. And that hurt. Like a fucking arrow in the chest.
“I’m not giving in on this, Kaden, so you might as well leave.” This time her voice wavered, like perhaps she was crying.
Goddamn, but she was stubborn.
“I’m sorry,” he finally told her. “I’m sorry for what Keegan said. I’m sorry that he can be an ass. But I’m not sorry for what happened. All three of us wanted it. Hell, Istillwant it.”
“Yeah, well, Keegan made it clear that he doesn’t.”
“No, Keegan made it clear that he’s scared, Bristol. That’s what he does when he gets scared.”
A mirthless laugh resounded inside. “Scared? Of what? Does he think I expected a marriage proposal after one night?”
No, the opposite. That youdon’texpect it.
