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My insides squirmed uncomfortably, dissonance hitting me once again. Had I woken up in an alternate universe where Kit actually liked me?
“You call her Kota?” I asked to change the subject. “That’s an adorable nickname.”
“He’s the only one who uses it,” she said, rolling into the empty spot at the table, where there was no chair. “Well, except for Felipe.”
“Ohhh, Felipe,” Kit said, seizing on the chance to give her a little of her own medicine.
He teased her about her boyfriend as we ate. The bacon was perfectly salty and crisp. The eggs fluffy. The pancakes soft and sweet with the dark syrup I’d poured over them.
I ate way too much and was floating in a delicious food afterglow that had me thinking that maybe things really had changed.
“This was really good, Kit,” I said. “Thank you.”
He didn’t answer. He’d picked up his phone and was now frowning at the screen.
“Everything okay?” Dakota asked.
He tilted the screen for her to see. “Oh.” Her gaze flicked to me. “We should probably…”
“Yeah.” Kit looked up. “Sorry, Joey, but we have to cut the morning short. I need you to take off.”
“Oh.” I pushed back from the table. “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, but our dad is coming over, and I don’t want you to get any grief from him.”
“Oh.” Oh, shit. Did that mean… “He doesn’t know about you and me, I guess?”
“No, but it’s not just that,” Kit said grimly. “He’s not thrilled you’re back in our lives at all. He and Dakota had it out a few weeks ago.”
The bacon and eggs suddenly sat in my stomach like heavy rocks. I pressed a hand over my abs. “You fought with your dad?”
“He’s stubborn,” Dakota said apologetically. “He’s still hurting, you know? And we just don’t want him to take that out on you.”
“I’m surprised he’s coming over today,” Kit said. “I figured he’d cancel after how riled up he got the last time we talked.”
No. This was all wrong.
I’d already hurt their family so much. Now I was driving a wedge between them and their dad? That wasn’t okay.
“I better go,” I rasped, turning and fleeing for Kit’s room to grab my things. I didn’t even bother to change out of his shorts, just grabbed my jeans, phone, and keys.
Kit stepped into the doorway. “Sorry for this, Joey.”
“It’s fine. I don’t want to hurt your dad any more than I have,” I said, heading for the front door. “Don’t fight with him about me, okay? I’ve done enough damage to your family. If he wants me gone, I’m gone.”
“Wait.” Kit caught my arm to keep me from stepping out onto the porch. “What if that’s not what I want?”
I went still, his hand keeping me frozen as I wrestled with myself. But I knew what I had to do.
“It was selfish of me to write the letter to Dakota. I see that now. I thought I could give her some peace with my apology, but really, it was for me. To assuage my guilt.” I wet my lips. “I should have stayed away. I should have never seen you again, Kit. You could be with a nice guy that you could love, that your dad could accept.”
“Joey, that’s not—”
I tugged my arm free of his hold, backing toward the stairs. “We have no future, and we both know it. Just let me go, Kit. It’ll be easier for everyone.”
CHAPTER 28
KIT
