Page 46

“Addy,” Kyle calls as soon as I step out of my car, and I wave, forcing a smile to my face. Before my mom got sick, I never would have believed that smiling could be so exhausting but it is – especially when it feels like your entire world is crumbling around you. In that moment, smiling is one of the hardest things you’ll ever do.

God, I should tell Kyle that this was a bad idea and go home to wait for Trey to get off work. That’s what I really want to do but there’s also this really annoying part of me that’s curious why Kyle sent the flowers and called. I know it will drive me crazy if I don’t go in there and get answers, so instead of doing the smart thing, I close the door and start making my way across the lot.

My heels click against the pavement, and I can’t help but think that Trey would never let me walk across the lot all by myself while he stood there waiting for me. In fact, Trey would have probably been waiting at my door as soon as I parked. I can’t help but compare the two men and wonder what the hell I was thinking those six months that I was dating Kyle. We were so wrong for each other, so wrong that I don’t know how I even convinced myself that it was a good idea. I guess I wasn’t thinking though. At the time, I was just avoiding and trying to survive another day. Kyle provided a good distraction for that.

“Hey, Addy,” Kyle says when I stop in front of him, beaming at me. He leans in for a hug, and I awkwardly wrap one arm around him, surprised by his embrace.

“Hi, Kyle.”

“Hungry?” he asks as he releases me and guides me inside with a hand at the small of my back. It feels too intimate, and I’m regretting this dinner even more.

“Starving.”

We go inside and the waitress seats us right away, back in the corner where we usually sat when we came here. After leaving menus in front of us, she leaves and Kyle smiles at me.

“It’s really great to see you, Addy. You look amazing.”

“Oh, uh…thank you.” I look down at the jeans and blouse that I picked out specifically because it would give off a friend vibe instead of date but he doesn’t seem to be getting that.

“How is everything? Work still going well?” he asks, folding his hands on top of his menu as he studies me. It feels weird to have his full attention like this. When we were dating before, he was nice but he always seemed more focused on work, and it was all he ever talked about. The fact that he’s even asking me about my job is surprising.

“Yeah, business is good. How about you? How is the trip going?”

“Very well, actually. They sent me up there to restructure the branch, and I thought I was going to be in for a hell of a time but things have been smooth so far. Fingers crossed.” He laughs, and I smile at him, relieved that this isn’t getting weird and that things are going well for him. Something catches my eye over at the bar and when I peek over, my heart skips a beat, and I suck in a nervous breath. There, on a bar stool glaring at me, is Trey in all his sexy, possessive glory.

Shit, I should have told him.

The waitress comes to the table, distracting me, and both Kyle and I order our usual as I peek up at Trey again. God, the look in his eyes makes my heart pound. It reminds me of that night I danced with the stranger in the bar and Trey dragged me into the storeroom. Just remembering how bossy and demanding he was that night sends chills across my skin.

When the waitress leaves, Kyle continues telling me about the work he’s doing but I can’t focus for more than a few seconds before I’m glancing up at Trey again. After the first few times, he grins, like he knows that he’s got me hook, line, and sinker. He doesn’t do anything else – just sits there, sipping the soda the bartender brought him and pins me to my chair with his amber eyes.

“So, listen,” Kyle says, snapping my attention back to him, “the reason that I wanted to see you tonight was that I’ve been thinking a lot about us since I left, and I can see how maybe I didn’t treat you as well as you deserved.”

Oh, no.

“Kyle, it’s okay. Really. It’s in the past.” I don’t even know what he’s talking about. He was always good to me.

“No, it’s not okay. I realize now that I took you for granted. I was so focused on my work and rising in the company that I didn’t realize or appreciate the amazing person I had.”

I glance up at Trey again, and his face is stone as he glares at the back of Kyle’s head. There’s no way that he can hear our conversation, is there? No, he’s too far away but he’s looking at the man sitting across from me with rage on his face. Kyle takes my hand, and even from halfway across the room, I can see Trey’s jaw tick.

“Addy,” Kyle says, drawing my eyes back to him, “I know I really screwed this up before, and I see now why you ended things. Not only was I too focused on work but things would have never worked after I left – not without the major wake-up call you gave me when you broke up with me. I can see all of that now, and I hope that you’ll think about giving me a second chance.”

“I…”

“No, don’t give me an answer right now. Please just think about it.”

I shake my head. “Kyle, you are a very sweet guy but this doesn’t change anything. I just see you as a friend. I’m so sorry.”

He squeezes my hand and smiles, not looking the least bit deterred. “Just think about it. I want you to take some time and really think about what you want. I’m not giving up on you, on us.”

I look at him with my mouth hanging open. I don’t know what else to say to make him understand that my heart is currently beating in the chest of the man sitting at the bar behind him.