Kyle's Return (18 page)

WALKING BACK DOWN the aisle with Ryley at the
end of the ceremony, I caught Kyle’s gaze. He looked uncomfortable,
surrounded by people who loathed him.

Ryley leaned toward my ear. “I don’t think anyone
expected him to show up. What the hell’s going on?”

“If I told you, you’d probably shit a brick.”

We followed the others inside the house and he pulled
me to the side. “The rumors aren’t true are they? Gabby told me but
I thought she was kidding.”

“Well . . .” I began, biting my lip with a sheepish
smile.

His mouth gaped open. “What the actual
fuck
.
This is horseshit.”

I rolled my eyes and watched as the audience
dispersed and started heading toward the covered tent where the
reception was to be held. Kyle lingered alone and I knew I needed
to get to him. Ryley followed my line of sight and sighed. “He may
not be quite as psycho as your ex, but Kyle’s a goddamn
manipulator.”

“And so are you, Ry,” I chuckled. “I seem to remember
you and Camden coercing women to sleep with you both. If that’s not
manipulation, I don’t know what is. And look at you now . . .
you’re married with two, sweet little babies. You changed your ways
and so can he.”

Pursing his lips, he leaned against the wall,
defeated. “Fine, you win. I just hope you know what you’re
doing.”

Smiling, I kissed him on the cheek. “I do. Trust me.”
I left him and rushed outside, Kyle breathed a sigh of relief when
he saw me approach. “You okay?” I asked, reaching for his hand. He
took it and held it tight.

“Surprisingly, yes. Everyone’s staying as far away
from me as possible. I think I have some idea how lepers must’ve
felt.”

“Can you blame them? Imagine what they must be
thinking.”

“That they want to kill me?” he joked.

“Probably, but I won’t let that happen. You’re my
date tonight and I’m not into necrophilia. Now come on, the bridal
party has to have pictures taken. I don’t think I can leave you
alone to the wolves.”

“I’m sure I can manage,” he said.

“I know you can, but I want to be there when you face
your demons.”

Pulling me close, he leaned down and kissed me,
causing whispered responses all around. I didn’t care and I wasn’t
ashamed. “I didn’t think you’d let me do that here,” he
murmured.

I lifted up on my toes and kissed him again. “I have
nothing to hide. Now let’s go before the bride brings her wrath
down on us.” We hurried inside where everyone stood congregating.
When Kyle and I came into the room, everyone went silent.

The photographer picked up on the tension and waved
her hands in the air. “All right, let’s go back outside and finish
these up.”

We lagged behind the group and joined them outside. I
had to leave Kyle to finish the pictures, but he stood there
watching with a smile on his face. After all was said and done, it
was time to join the party. But Kacey had other plans. She called
out to the photographer.

“Do you mind taking a few more with me and my
brother?”

Kyle’s eyes went wide. He looked to me and then back
to his sister before tentatively walking over to her. Tyler stepped
away from Kacey and made his way over to stand by me.

“You do realize you two are family now, right?”

He snorted. “Don’t remind me. Although, I have to say
it’s not as bad as I thought it would be. Seeing some of the
expressions in the crowd was kind of funny. Hopefully, someone
videotaped it.”

“I’m sure they did,” I laughed. “If I don’t get the
chance to talk to you before the night is up, I hope you have fun
on your honeymoon. Take lots of pictures.”

He put his arm around me and squeezed. “We will. And
don’t forget my dad will be around to help you at the gym if you
need it. But I doubt you will with Kyle around.”

Kacey and Kyle were done with pictures and joined us.
“Are you ready, Mr. Rushing?” Kacey called.

Tyler winked and took her arm. “If I have to be.”

Kyle and I hung back so they could make their grand
entrance into the reception tent. Everyone hooted and hollered,
camera lights flashing. The food smelled amazing and we both piled
our plates high and took a seat.

Kyle leaned over and whispered in my ear. “How much
you want to bet that no one other than Gabby and Pax sits with
us.”

I searched around the room at everyone else taking
seats. It made my heart hurt for him.

When Gabby and Pax joined us, they glanced around the
room at everyone giving us a wide berth. “Damn, it’s like we have
the plague or something,” Gabby joked.

Pax chuckled. “Hey, that leaves more elbow room for
us. I’m not complaining.”

Ryley and Ashleigh took seats with Camden and
Brooklyn, and Matt and Shelby. Ryley even waved and mouthed he was
sorry since there were only two seats available left at ours. They
weren’t vacant for long when they were taken by Mason and Claire
Bradley. I’d heard that Claire used to dance for Jake at the
Labyrinth before taking over her family’s vineyard out in
California. Her wines were the best I’d ever tasted. And of course,
Mason was like a god in the MMA world.

“Can we sit here?” Mason asked.

Gabby rolled her eyes. “Like we’re going to tell you
no.”

“Good, because we were going to sit here anyway.” He
took the seat beside me while Claire sat beside Gabby. “How do you
like living in Vegas? I don’t think I’ve spoken to you since you
left.”

“It’s been good. I bought a house with one of my
friends and I have a great job. Tyler promoted me to manager.”

“Congratulations. I’m glad to see it’s all working
out for you. I thought I would see you at Darryl’s funeral but you
weren’t there.”

I almost choked on a piece of bread and coughed, my
eyes burning. “Excuse me?”

He nodded slowly, his brows furrowed. “He died three
months ago. Did you not know?”

I slapped a hand over my mouth, tears welling in my
eyes and spilling down my face. Kyle moved closer, putting his arm
around me. “No, I didn’t,” I cried. “What happened?”

“I’m so sorry to tell you like this. I thought you
knew.” He patted my arm. “From what I gathered, it was a heart
attack.”

“Oh my God, I don’t know what to say. Darryl was like
a father to me. I bet Cindy was devastated.” Darryl and his wife
checked up on me every week after the Alex attack. Cindy would also
bake my favorite treats and bring them over. Hopefully, she’d
understand why I didn’t show up.

“She was, but thankfully, their kids are older and
were there to comfort her.”

“We can always stop by and visit her when we go out
to California next week,” Kyle suggested.

I wiped away the tears and nodded. “Okay, that’s a
good idea. Let’s do that.” My heart hurt, but I knew I couldn’t let
it keep me down tonight.

After eating, Tyler and Kacey made their way to the
dance floor and danced to their song,
All of Me
by John
Legend. As I looked around the room, so many of my friends had
found their soulmates. Kyle had his arm around me, caressing my
bare shoulder with his fingers. Was he mine? I had no clue, but it
felt right being in his arms.

Everyone clapped when the song was over but then
Tyler pulled his mother out onto the floor while Kacey walked over
to us, extending her hand to Kyle. “Since Dad’s not here, this
one’s for you.”

Kyle’s eyes sparkled and when they took the dance
floor, I couldn’t stop the tears from falling. “I have to ask,”
Mason whispered. I wiped away my tears and looked at him. “What the
hell did you do to Andrews?”

“I didn’t do anything,” I admitted truthfully. “He
came around like this all on his own. The time he spent in the
wheel chair really made him figure out what was important to him.
I’m just glad I’ve been around to witness it.”

His brows lifted. “Well, I’ll be damned. I never
thought I’d see the day.”

“Neither did anyone else,” Gabby cut in. “I’m just
curious to see what Matt and Shelby have to say about all of this.
I’ve intentionally been avoiding them since being here. When lover
boy’s ready to talk to them, we’ll go over there,” she said,
nodding toward her brother and his wife.

Kyle and Kacey’s dance ended with them hugging in the
middle of the dance floor. They shocked the crowd again, but this
time I could feel some of the tension ebb. Maybe once everyone saw
how he’d earned Kacey’s love, they’d realize he wasn’t so bad after
all. It was a long shot, but it was all we had. When he joined us,
he held out his hand.

“You ready to protect me?” he teased.

Taking his hand, I motioned for Gabby to join us. We
followed behind her as she strolled across the dance floor to where
my friends sat. My heart thumped so hard against my chest, it hurt.
I could only imagine how Kyle felt. Matt’s expression was guarded,
so I had no clue what kind of greeting we were going to get. He had
the same glare Gabby always had when she was pissed. It didn’t help
they looked exactly alike with their dark hair and green eyes.

“I don’t know if I can protect you physically, but
I’ll certainly try to use my charm.”

Gabby snorted. “Good luck with that.”

Ryley and Camden both sat back in their chairs at the
same time, with curiosity gleaming in their eyes. Matt, on the
other hand, stood and faced us head on. Gabby cleared her throat
and stepped out of the way, putting Kyle right in front of Matt.
“Kyle has something he wants to say to both of you,” she began.

Shelby set her glass of water down and stood beside
Matt, her narrowed eyes on Kyle. About five years ago, Kyle did
something to them that went lower than anything I could ever
imagine. The whole situation was heartbreaking. I could understand
if they didn’t forgive him, but it took a lot of courage for him to
stand in front of them and ask for it.

Kyle cleared his throat. “I want to apologize . . .
to say that I’m sorry for everything in our past. I would do
anything to take it back.”

Time stood still as we waited for Matt to speak, but
he just stood there. Even Gabby looked nervous when I glanced over
at her for guidance. When it was apparent nothing was going to be
said, Kyle nodded and slowly backed away. “I know you don’t believe
a word I’m saying, but it’s the truth. One day, I hope to prove to
you that I’ve changed.” He spun around to walk away.

Before he could take another step, Matt stopped us.
“Wait,” he called out.

Kyle froze mid-step and slowly turned around. Matt
took a step forward and blew out a sigh. “There’s no way in hell I
can forget what you did, but if Kacey and Tyler can forgive you
after what you did to them, I’ll think about it. It’ll just take
some time.”

“That’s all I can ask for.” Kyle nodded and turned to
walk away. I squeezed his hand and felt his despair, but he kept
his head held high. We knew going into this, it wasn’t going to be
an easy path. Forgiveness isn’t something that can be forced. He
would just have to continue to prove himself and hold out hope.

***