Leila and Brandon. His new friends.
Whatever happened, he couldn’t please everyone, and he suspected there was going to be a huge clash. For the first time inhis life, he had no clue what was right and what was wrong. He just knew what he wanted—Kaitlin. He took a deep breath and concentrated on the kiss.
“I kissed her.”
“I presume you mean Kaitlin. What did she do?”
“Well, I’m still alive.” He shrugged. “She kissed me back and then she left and went to London, where she’s going to put her life in danger. Just to spite me.” But he knew that was a lie even as he said the words.
“Not just to spite you. Though I’m guessing that’s an added bonus. I didn’t know Kaitlin before, but Jake talks about her a lot, and she wasn’t always this reckless and impulsive. She was the strongest of them all, she held them together as a group. But she changed when her brother died. Lost faith in humanity. But she still has a strong urge to do good. She needs to save the world.”
He knew that. Maybe part of the problem was that he’d always expected to be the one to save the world. That was his mission. He almost smiled at that thought. “I’m scared. I don’t know what I’ll do if she’s hurt or...” He took a deep breath. “And I feel guilty. I was trying to convince myself I’d done the right thing, the only thing, by coming back here.”
“And did you succeed?”
“No,” he growled, and some of his tension relaxed as he admitted the truth. “I should have gone with her to London. The time machine will wait.” Saying those words almost felt sacrilegious. And he hoped they were true. But as he uttered them, his shoulders slumped and the last of the tension oozed from him. “I put the mission first again. I was supposed to go with her, keep her safe. Instead, here I am. I’m not very good at admitting I’m wrong,” he said.
She patted his arm. “And yet, you did it. You can teach an old dog new tricks after all.”
He flashed her a smile at that. “Except I’m still halfway around the world from her.”
“Jake says the plane we came on is heading back to the UK in twenty minutes. And you can be on it, if that’s what you want.”
He narrowed his eyes. “Jake said that?”
“He was worried about you.”
“So why didn’t he tell me himself?”
“He asked me to. He says I’m good at persuading people to do the right thing.”
“You’re very good. Thank you. I believe I have a plane to catch.”
“For what it’s worth, I think you’re doing the right thing. I also think that deep down—okay, very deep down—Kaitlin cares about you.”
Hope fluttered inside him. He wasn’t so sure, but maybe Jake had seen something in Kaitlin’s head that he had shared with his wife. But he couldn’t quite bring himself to ask. “You’ll keep me updated about what’s going on?”
“Every step of the way.”
“Thank you.” He leaned toward her and kissed her on the forehead. “Jake’s a lucky man.”
“I know. I tell him that all the time.”
He turned and headed for the door, just as Jake entered. “You’re going?”
He nodded.
“Good. Keep her safe.”
“I’ll do my best. But it’s not going to be easy.”
“Nothing that’s worth it ever is.”
Chapter 17
The buzzing from beside the bed pulled her from sleep. Kaitlin blinked open her eyes and grabbed for the phone.
“It’s Janelle. I’ve ordered room service. Breakfast for all of us. You have fifteen minutes to get here.”
