“It didn’t take long, maybe a week since I had nothing else to do but think about it, but I quickly realized that it was the idea of us and loving you that I’d clung to for those years. All I thought about was how it had been between us when we were married, what I’d continued thinking about while I was gone, and how it felt now that I was near you again. I figured out that I loved you, but I had fallen out of love with you sometime while I was gone. Not consciously, but probably because in my mind I was still cutting ties—and that included not loving you—and I knew that I had to prepare for you not to be waiting. Like I said, it wasn’t conscious, because I’d been hoping for the opposite that whole time, but it didn’t change the reality of my feelings for you now.
“I should have left then. I should have apologized for turning your world upside down again, and left you to go back to your life. But I couldn’t. You’d moved on, but you were still giving us a chance like I’d asked for, and I knew I had to give us that chance too. I knew no matter what you decided, I would be happy. But something has changed in the last couple weeks, and to be completely honest with you, I’ve been terrified that you would choose me. I just didn’t know how to ask you not to after asking you to give me a second chance.”
Throughout his entire speech, I sat there with wide eyes, and I was pretty sure I’d stopped eating at some point during that time. As he got closer to finishing, I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “You’re not mad? Wait! What’s happened in the last couple weeks?”
A secretive smile I’d known well a long time ago crossed his face, and he dropped his head. When he lifted it again, he asked, “Is it okay if I’m not ready to tell you yet? There’s someone else I need to talk to first.”
The question surprised me, and I opened my mouth to respond but shut it when I realized I had no idea what I’d been about to say. “Uh, yeah. Yeah, it’s okay. I wasn’t expecting this, but I know I’ve said that exact same thing before . . . so I have to be okay with waiting.”
“I will tell you, Kennedy. Just not yet.”
I smiled and nodded. “I know you will.” I looked at our half-eaten meals and laughed. “Well! We just got a conversation I’ve been dreading out of the way. And I’m guessing you feel as relieved as I do?” He sent me a confirming smile, and I asked, “How about we finish this dinner and then get out of here?”
“Sounds perfect.”
Once we were finished and the bill was paid, we stood to leave. Rhys walked directly behind me out of the restaurant, and helped me into his truck. We talked about the dinner, and the relief we felt now that everything was out there in the open. Everything about our conversation felt perfect. It felt easy. It felt like a friendship. A friendship I should have had with him for over a month.
When we pulled up to the condo, I touched his arm to stop him from getting out of his truck. “I’m going to grab the keys to the car, and then I’m going to leave so I can talk to Liam. I want you to know that just because we know for sure nothing will happen between us, you do not have to leave. Kira and I both really like having you here, and if you want to stay, please do.”
That secretive smile was back. “I appreciate it.”
Leaning over the console, I wrapped an arm around his neck and pulled him closer so I could press a kiss to his cheek. “Thank you, Rhys. For everything. You showing up in California was the best gift you could have ever given me.”
18
December 5
Liam
I’D BARELY BEEN home long enough to take a shower before Kennedy was at my door, but that knocking couldn’t have come soon enough. The hours while she was with Rhys had dragged.
As soon as the door was open, she was launching herself at me and clinging to me like she was afraid I’d disappear.
“Hey, did it go okay?”
“Better than okay. I’m still in shock at how okay it went. Rhys said he’d realized soon after he moved here that he was no longer in love with me. But he felt like he owed it to me to give us the chance that he’d asked me for.”
My eyes widened. “Are you serious?”
“Ye—” Her words cut off abruptly when I pushed her against the wall and pressed my mouth to hers.
Kennedy’s hands immediately went to the bottom of my shirt and began lifting it, but just as fast as they got there, she released the fabric and pushed against my stomach. “Liam, wait. I need to talk to you, and if you keep kissing me then I’ll skip the talking.”
I grinned wickedly, and she giggled against my next kiss.