Chapter 26

 

Surprisingly I didn't feel as nervous as I thought I would when I opened my door. On the other side stood Dean decked out in another tailor-made suit that fit his frame perfectly. He flicked his wrist, pulled back his sleeve and smiled a nervous smile.

"I made reservations at that new French place you wanted to try out." His gaze swept over me. "Uh, shall I wait while you get changed?"

I was still wearing my jeans and off-the-shoulder blouse. Shaking my head, I opened the door further. "I thought we could stay in and order takeout?"

Dean looked at me as if I just spoke a foreign language and to an extent, maybe I had. I wish I could say I was one of those domestic goddesses that could whip up a meal a Michelin chef would be proud of. What I knew about cooking was limited to omelets and scrambled eggs.

If we weren't having dinner with potential clients at some fancy restaurant or with either of our parents, Dean used to cook for us. With a puzzled look on his face, he came inside, his eyes searching with every step.

I closed the door and headed straight for the kitchen, I grabbed a bottle of his favorite wine from the rack along with two glasses before I padded back to the living room. Dean had shrugged out of his jacket and loosened his tie slightly. With his hands on his hips, he paced in front of the fireplace.

"Wine?"

He turned to face me, regarded the wine I held up and shook his head. "Kenzie, what's going on? You've been acting strange for a while."

After setting the glasses and unopened wine on the coffee table, I perched on the edge of my couch. He paced some more and even from where I was sitting I could feel his frustration.

With a sigh, he lowered his frame to the seat opposite me. Legs spread wide, arms folded, he waited.

I took a breath and began, "I have to tell you something and for you to at least understand some of it, I need to start at the beginning—" He listened as I told him about my relationship with Brett, how he'd given up his freedom for me and how my parents had kept us apart.

"It’s a sad story," he remarked. "But I don’t understand what it has to do with us."

"You will in a minute," Eyeing the wine, I cursed the fact that it was still sealed. "While I waited for my car to get fixed, I ran into Brett." I paused and waited for the weight of my words to settle. When realization dawned on his face, I continued, "I don't know how to say this, so I'm just going to say it."

Dean turned his head to the fireplace, and I knew that he knew what I was about to confess. "We kissed."

Frowning, his gaze snapped to mine, "Just a kiss?"

Oh, it was so much more than that. He breathed life into my lungs with that kiss. "Yes." I wrung my hands together in my lap as I tried to find the words that kept eluding me.

"After all these years, you’re still in love with him?"

I looked up from my fidgeting hands, "I am," the confession came without hesitation. "Dean, you're a good man—"

"Just not the right one, apparently."

"Not for me, no." I pushed to my feet and took another breath. "I could—should—tell you how sorry I am, but I can't. It's hard to regret something that felt so right." Once I started, I couldn't stop the words from coming. "And to be honest, I don't think you and I really love each other."

Dean jumped up, "I asked you to move in with me, how can you say I don't love you?"

"You only asked because our mothers pushed you into doing it."

He opened his mouth and then shut it abruptly, pulling his lips into a thin line. Tentatively, I approached him and placed my hand on his arm. "I'm not saying that we don't care for each other, I think it's more a case of us growing comfortable with one another, you know?"

He side-eyed me, his mouth still stretched thin. "Are you going to him?" he asked.

I shook my head, "I don’t know, I have a lot of things to figure out."

"Well, good luck with that." Dean pulled away from me and grabbed his jacket off the armrest of the couch. Thrusting his arms into the expensive fabric, he glared at me. "If you think I'm going to stand here and congratulate you on ripping the ground right from under me, you're wrong."

He stomped to the door, yanked it open and then paused to give me another angry stare. "Amongst those things you need to figure out, make sure you put love and loyalty right at the top. Clearly, you are clueless." The slamming door signaled not only his departure from my apartment but my life too.

Not caring that it was in the middle of the night, I raced up Zoe's steps and banged on her door. I waited and waited, but no one came. Walking backward, I looked up and scanned the row of windows.

Soft yellow wisps spilled from her bedroom, I marched back to the front door and banged louder this time. I had to pound my fists against the wood another few times before the door flew open revealing a half-naked man—a sweaty, half-naked man.

"Uh," I tried to peek around his broad shoulders, but his bulk filled the frame. "Is Zoe home?"

Half-naked Guy's lips lifted into a salacious grin. "She's a little tied up at the moment."

This is what I get for showing up without calling first. "Who's at the door, Andy?" Zoe's voice carried through the house.

Andy aimed a questioning look in my direction. Instead of answering him, I did something that I had never done before. I pushed past him and bounded up the stairs.

Big mistake. Trust me, it didn't matter if two people were as close as sisters, no one needed to see their friend's goodies on display like that. "I'm sorry," I yelped as I quickly turned around and covered my eyes.

"Kenzie? What the hell are you doing here?"

"Clearly interrupting something, but I kinda need to talk to you." Leaning my forehead against the wall in front of me, I breathed out "I broke up with Dean."

"You what?" I heard her tug and pull on the restraints around her arms and legs. "Ugh, Andy!"

A second later Andy came sauntering in, "She joining us?"

"No, you big oaf." More tugging and pulling. "Untie me," Zoe demanded.

"But we just—"

"Andy!"

There was something very wrong with me because all I wanted to do was giggle like a little schoolgirl. "I'll just wait downstairs." I raced back down the stairs. So fast, that I stumbled on the bottom few. My arm flew to the side as I steadied myself against the wall.

Maybe it was shock or just the emotional toll of the day, but I burst out laughing and couldn't stop. I moved to the far end of Zoe's living room where she kept her easel and paint supplies. After a few—more like a lot of—steadying breaths I finally regained my composure. Turning my attention to the window, with nothing but darkness behind it, I felt panic creep up my spine.

What the hell am I going to do?

My hands flew to my face and this time thick, hot tears spilled from my eyes. Yeah, I was a mess alright.

"Hey," Zoe appeared in front of me and pulled me in for a hug which felt a bit awkward considering how short she was. But awkward or not, it felt good to be comforted, and that just made me cry even harder. "Sweetie, you're scaring me," my friend whispered.

I pulled away from her slightly and wiped my eyes with the heels of my palms. "I'm sorry." My gaze traveled to the staircase, and I wondered if Andy was up there waiting for Zoe.

As if she heard my silent question, she answered, "He went home."

Scrunching up my nose, I looked at her, "I ruined your night, didn't I? I'm a horrible friend."

"Pfft," she nonchalantly sliced her arm through the air, and then her brown eyes turned serious, "You needed me, that's more important."

Like a hormonal mess, I wanted to bawl my eyes out again, but by some miracle, I managed to keep the tears at bay. I followed Zoe to her little kitchen where she made us hot chocolate—aka her cure for everything.

"Okay, Kenz, tell me what happened," she urged after we seated ourselves at her dinette.

With both my hands wrapped around the mug, I cradled it to my chest and told Zoe about how my dad had arranged for mine and Brett's letters to be intercepted. I also confessed that the methylphenidate was mine and not his. Of course, that news didn't surprise her nor did it bother her.

"—so after we figured out what really happened," I paused to take a sip of my warm chocolate drink. "He kissed me." Nibbling on my lip, I waited for her reaction.

Zoe's face remained void of emotion for a few seconds before her lips started to twitch and a wide smile broke free. "I told you to get closure, not jump his bones."

My own smile spread across my face while I shook my head. "There was no jumping on any bones."

My friend's cheerful laughter filled the space around us. She flicked her blonde locks over her shoulder and pushed her shoulders back, "Well that's bloody unfortunate." She laughed again, but this time my smile faltered as I remembered what happened right after that amazing kiss. Zoe stood and slipped onto the chair next to me. Touching my shoulder, she said, "It was just a joke, Sweetie."

I patted her hand, "It's not that." Staring into my mug, I relived my last few moments with Brett. "He is just so infuriating!" I voiced my thoughts. "A stubborn, thick-headed man who refuses to see reason."

"And yet, you love him," Zoe stated. I didn’t have to see it to know she was smiling at me.

"So much," I conceded when I turned my gaze to her.

My friend pushed to her feet and planted her fists on her rounded hips, "Then go to him." She snatched the mug from me and placed it on the table before she grabbed both my hands. "Take a leap of faith, Kenzie!"