of like a month long hangover and no amount of aspirin
was going to help it either.
But
now, seeing him standing on the bottom step of her front porch, she was
reminded of exactly who had brought the long buried misery to her doorstep all
these years later. So if he was here to talk, she was pretty sure she couldn’t
emotionally handle any more conversations with him.
“I’m
sorry,” Gage said, his tone reflecting what sounded like remorse.
Sorry? His timing sucked.
“I
bet,” Kylie retorted snidely. It was a little late to apologize in her opinion.
“Kylie,
I really am sorry –”
Kylie
was pretty sure he could stand there all day and say the words, and she still
wouldn’t feel a thing for this man. The outer layer of ice that had formed around
her heart and her soul was ten inches thick at this point. As far as she was
concerned, he could go to –
Wait.
Actually, she did have one question...
“Why’d
you do it?”
The
question had burned on the tip of her tongue ever since she climbed into Beau
Bennett’s kickass truck and listened to Florida Georgia Line stomp out a cool country
beat on the way home.
“Do
what?”
Lord,
please grant me patience. Please don’t let me lose it right here on this man.
“Seriously,
Gage? You show up at my house, telling me you want to talk and you ask me
that?” Kylie stared up at him, anger and frustration flowing like a raging
river threatening to spill over its banks.
She
wasn’t sure she’d felt this much resentment for one person in all of her life.
Not even Travis after he walked out with the flimsiest of breakup excuses she’d
ever had the pleasure of receiving. At least he hadn’t been dishonest about it.
She might not have liked that he did walk away, but he had the decency to tell
her, rather than blindsiding her the way Gage had.
Propping
himself on the railing that outlined her porch, Gage sat at an angle, his hands
resting on one leg as he stared out at the yard, or maybe something beyond that
only he could see, Kylie wasn’t sure.
She
wasn’t going to prompt him to talk. If he had something to say, she was sure he
would say it. Glancing down at her toes she figured he had about three minutes
tops and then she was going back in the house and calling it a night. She
didn’t care if it was – Kylie thumbed her phone to remove the screen saver – three
o’clock in the afternoon.
“I
like you,” he said, his voice almost too low to hear.
Wow .
Was he kidding?
“You’ve
got a funny way of showing it.” Kylie didn’t know what else to say to that. She
wasn’t even sure how to interpret that statement.
They’d
known each other for two months before he brought her peaceful little world
crashing in on her, and honestly, she had thought they were getting along
nicely. They’d gone to dinner a few times, shared some laughs, and even a few kisses
that had turned her knees into Play-Doh. But none of that mattered much when
the person you trusted throws a curveball at you… And aims straight for your
face.
When
the silence got to be too much, Kylie picked up her iced tea and her nail
polish and stood to go inside. She didn’t have the restraint to sit out here
and wait for him to talk. As far as she was concerned, Gage couldn’t say
anything to right the wrong as it was. There was no reason to listen to him
try.
“Well,
I’ve got things to do, so you’re welcome to go try to sell sorry somewhere
else,” Kylie said through clenched teeth as she moved to the door.
Just
before she reached the knob on the screen door, Gage’s strong fingers wrapped
around her arm and damn it all to hell, the heat in his touch was like an
electric current plugged directly into her vein. On instinct, she jerked away
from him and whirled around until they were face to face, spilling tea down the
front of her shirt in the process, but she ignored it.
With
as much of a glare as she could muster, Kylie met Gage’s knowing brown eyes.
“I
shouldn’t have
was going to help it either.
But
now, seeing him standing on the bottom step of her front porch, she was
reminded of exactly who had brought the long buried misery to her doorstep all
these years later. So if he was here to talk, she was pretty sure she couldn’t
emotionally handle any more conversations with him.
“I’m
sorry,” Gage said, his tone reflecting what sounded like remorse.
Sorry? His timing sucked.
“I
bet,” Kylie retorted snidely. It was a little late to apologize in her opinion.
“Kylie,
I really am sorry –”
Kylie
was pretty sure he could stand there all day and say the words, and she still
wouldn’t feel a thing for this man. The outer layer of ice that had formed around
her heart and her soul was ten inches thick at this point. As far as she was
concerned, he could go to –
Wait.
Actually, she did have one question...
“Why’d
you do it?”
The
question had burned on the tip of her tongue ever since she climbed into Beau
Bennett’s kickass truck and listened to Florida Georgia Line stomp out a cool country
beat on the way home.
“Do
what?”
Lord,
please grant me patience. Please don’t let me lose it right here on this man.
“Seriously,
Gage? You show up at my house, telling me you want to talk and you ask me
that?” Kylie stared up at him, anger and frustration flowing like a raging
river threatening to spill over its banks.
She
wasn’t sure she’d felt this much resentment for one person in all of her life.
Not even Travis after he walked out with the flimsiest of breakup excuses she’d
ever had the pleasure of receiving. At least he hadn’t been dishonest about it.
She might not have liked that he did walk away, but he had the decency to tell
her, rather than blindsiding her the way Gage had.
Propping
himself on the railing that outlined her porch, Gage sat at an angle, his hands
resting on one leg as he stared out at the yard, or maybe something beyond that
only he could see, Kylie wasn’t sure.
She
wasn’t going to prompt him to talk. If he had something to say, she was sure he
would say it. Glancing down at her toes she figured he had about three minutes
tops and then she was going back in the house and calling it a night. She
didn’t care if it was – Kylie thumbed her phone to remove the screen saver – three
o’clock in the afternoon.
“I
like you,” he said, his voice almost too low to hear.
Wow .
Was he kidding?
“You’ve
got a funny way of showing it.” Kylie didn’t know what else to say to that. She
wasn’t even sure how to interpret that statement.
They’d
known each other for two months before he brought her peaceful little world
crashing in on her, and honestly, she had thought they were getting along
nicely. They’d gone to dinner a few times, shared some laughs, and even a few kisses
that had turned her knees into Play-Doh. But none of that mattered much when
the person you trusted throws a curveball at you… And aims straight for your
face.
When
the silence got to be too much, Kylie picked up her iced tea and her nail
polish and stood to go inside. She didn’t have the restraint to sit out here
and wait for him to talk. As far as she was concerned, Gage couldn’t say
anything to right the wrong as it was. There was no reason to listen to him
try.
“Well,
I’ve got things to do, so you’re welcome to go try to sell sorry somewhere
else,” Kylie said through clenched teeth as she moved to the door.
Just
before she reached the knob on the screen door, Gage’s strong fingers wrapped
around her arm and damn it all to hell, the heat in his touch was like an
electric current plugged directly into her vein. On instinct, she jerked away
from him and whirled around until they were face to face, spilling tea down the
front of her shirt in the process, but she ignored it.
With
as much of a glare as she could muster, Kylie met Gage’s knowing brown eyes.
“I
shouldn’t have
Similar Books
