Beautiful Chances (The Beautiful Series) (28 page)

“Okay.” I tried my best to agree that things would get better. “I’ll try.” I let out a strained breath as I stood up.

Jeanine followed, and we began walking back to the house.

“It was great talking with you, Lily. I look forward to doing so again in the near future.”

“You, too. Thank you for seeing me on such short notice.”

The closer we came to the house, the lighter I felt from our conversation. I had harbored my feelings for so long, and I was glad that I had told my story to someone besides Kyle. I wasn’t sure where I would go from here, but I was elated to have taken the first step.

I walked into the kitchen to see Kyle making ham and cheese wraps. Jeanine said her good-byes and promised to be in contact soon. Kyle thanked her and showed her out.

A moment later, he was beside me, trying to gauge my emotional state. It was probably pretty crappy.

“You’re back.” Kyle closed the distance and kissed me lovingly on the forehead and then on the center of my cheek. “How are you?” he whispered in my ear.

“I’m okay.” I smiled, my heart clenching at his thoughtfulness.

He always seemed to worry about me.

“I thought you might be hungry.” Kyle said. “So, I made us sandwiches. Do you want to eat inside or outside?”

“It’s beautiful outside. Do you mind if we eat on the patio or down by the water?”

“Water sounds great.”

Kyle kissed me once more, like he hadn’t seen me in forever and he needed the contact. The thought warmed me as he went to grab our plates.

It was then that I noticed my brownie platter was half gone. I glanced at Kyle’s guilty face.

“About that…those were really good. You can definitely make more of those anytime, beautiful.”

His boyish grin almost made me forget the brownies—almost.

“You ate all those?” I scolded.

Kyle hesitated. “Harley helped?”

His looked adorable. He couldn’t lie for shit.

“That’s funny…” I tried to bite back my laugh and be serious. “He was with me.”

“Damn. Then, in my defense, it’s your fault. They were too good,” he answered good-heartedly.

“I can see that.” I chortled.

“I had every intention of just making sandwiches, but then I ate one…and another.”

When Kyle smiled broadly, my heart almost stopped.

“You are a great cook by the way.”

I shook my head. I knew his game. He was trying to distract me.

“How can you possibly be hungry for sandwiches when you just ate all those?” I asked incredulously.

“I’m a big guy.” Kyle smirked playfully. “And we are always hungry. Maybe I will even share one.”

I rolled my eyes. “That might be too much trouble for you,” I teased and gestured to the door. “Come on,
big guy
. Let’s go eat.”

We walked down to the lake and went to the same tree where we had our picnic. Today, it was a bit hotter outside and a tad more humid with no clouds in sight.

Kyle sat and took a big bite of his sandwich wrap. I kicked off my sandals, plopped down next to him, and took a bite of my own. It was a glazed honey ham with lots of cheese and bacon rolled up into perfection.

“This is delicious. Where did you get this recipe?”

“My dad made them for us when we were kids. My brother and I used to fight over the leftovers.” He smiled at the fond memory.

“I bet it was quite a war.” I took another bite and looked up at Kyle.

“Oh, it was. Mom’s apple pie was usually the next fight.” His mouth split into a grin, like a boy who had won a grand prize. “And I would win because I was bigger than Ryan,”

I rolled my eyes at his male ego taking over. “I’m sure you did. What about Abbey?”

“She always got pie, too, because she was the only girl. Mom and Dad made sure we were nice to her and looked out for her. She didn’t enjoy that so much during her teenage years though. Having two older brothers around meant she didn’t have much of a life. I wanted to beat anyone’s ass who even looked at her.”

I laughed. “Poor Abbey.”

“She got by just fine. I still try to keep tabs on her though.”

“She’s a big girl. I’m sure she can handle herself. And I think she has a great sense of character.”

“I think so, too.” Kyle glanced at me with adoration in his eyes. “I’m glad you had a good time with her.”

“I am, too.” I took another bite of my wrap before I spoke my thoughts out loud. “I had this vision of us becoming very good friends. At first, it felt kind of weird to feel that way toward someone I didn’t know at all, but now, I can see it being true.” My words always seemed to flow around Kyle. I wasn’t sure why I’d felt the need to tell him that, but I thought he should know.

“I’m very happy to hear that.”

His eyes sparkled as he took in my words. It made me feel better about telling him.

A brief moment passed as the wind shifted. We had both finished eating, and we were now lying down to get more comfortable as we watched the water. I was on my stomach with my head propped on my forearms while Kyle was on his side next to me.

Harley had joined us at some point, and he was chewing on one of his stuffed animals.

“So, what did you think of Jeanine?” His hand started to stroke my back as his eyes fixated on mine.

“I think she was great.”

“Just great?” he teased as his hand continued to work its magic.

“I think she has great potential.”

Kyle gave me a keep-talking look.

I let out a long sigh. “At first, I was very nervous. I didn’t want to talk about it. I couldn’t decide what to say or not to say. Once I told her about the accident and my nightmares, it got a little easier.” I looked out at the water and then closed my eyes, soaking up the sun.

“Are you going to talk with her again?”

“I think so, but I’m sure most of it will be over the phone, considering the distance.”

His expression changed as if he were about to say something and then thought better of it. “That’s good news. I think the two of you will get along very well.”

“I think so, too. She also mentioned that she was happy to see you happy. What did she mean by that?” I lifted my gaze to his, wanting to see his reaction.

“She helped me when I first got out of the Army. I had seen a lot of bad things.”

Kyle’s expression saddened, and I could see in his eyes that there was much more to that story.

“I needed help processing it, so I could move forward. Jeanine served in the Army to pay for her education. She worked on the base for a few years, and that’s how we met. We have stayed in contact ever since. When I found out about your past, I was hoping she might be able to help you the way she helped me.”

My pulse sped up at his thoughtfulness. “Thank you for caring and wanting to help me,” I whispered, feeling an ache within my chest. “I’m sorry that I didn’t take it so well when you first approached me.” I was now ashamed of the way I had acted when he had only tried to help.

He caressed my shoulder. “It’s okay, Lily. It took me some time to be ready to talk about it, too. And you’ll talk about it and move forward when you are ready. We all handle things differently. I only ask that you let me help you and that you’ll talk to me, not shut me out.”

I pushed myself forward and gave him a light kiss on the lips. “Thank you, and I’ll try.”

“You’re welcome. Now, have you gotten enough sun for one day? Or do you want to stay out and fry some more?” Kyle chuckled, already knowing my answer. “We have a bit longer before it’s time to start getting ready for our date.”

“Need more sun.” I settled back and closed my eyes while my body soaked up some more vitamin D.

As we walked inside together, Kyle’s phone started to ring.

He quickly glanced at it and then gestured for me to go on without him. “You go ahead and get a head start. I’ll be in shortly. We have to leave in about forty-five minutes. We can’t be late.”

I nodded and walked into his room to give him privacy. I laid my new black dress on the bed and then went into the bathroom to take a shower. I had just put shampoo in my hair when Kyle stepped into the stall behind me. He wrapped his arms around my waist and snuggled into my neck.

“Now, this is a sight not to be missed. I definitely like seeing you naked and wet in my shower, but I can’t wait to see you in that little black dress you put on the bed,” he said before kissing my neck.

His warm breath on my skin made me shudder. He stepped under the water to wet his hair. I reached for his shampoo, rubbed it in my palms, and then started to work the suds into his hair. He tipped his head toward me as he let out a breathy moan. His hair was very soft, and it was the perfect length. I loved it. Kyle closed his eyes as I let my nails gently massage his scalp.

“That. Feels. Good,” he groaned.

Tipping his head back, I reached on my toes and rinsed the shampoo out of his hair. Washing someone’s hair was a very simple act, but with Kyle, it felt very intimate. I was also surprised by how normal it felt.

“Your turn,” Kyle breathed, pivoting me in the direction of the stream.

“That’s okay, I can do—”

“Oh no. You washed mine, so I get to wash yours. Not another word. Now, tip your head back,” Kyle commanded.

I felt so exposed, letting a man wash my hair, but feeling his hands on me quickly overruled any self-conscious feelings. He grabbed the conditioner and gently ran his fingers through my hair, working it in with such gentleness. It was my turn to moan as I closed my eyes and let my head fall back.

Kyle hands paused from massaging my head. “Keep that up,” he threatened in an unsteady voice, “and I’m going to take you up against this shower wall.”

I opened my eyes as I blushed at the thought of shower sex. “Won’t we be late?”

“Yes, so behave.” He gave me a gorgeous smirk.

After drying off, I made my way to the bedroom to get dressed. To go along with my outfit, I searched my dresser for the black garter set with a matching black lace bra that Kyle had packed for me.

Kyle walked in and came to an abrupt stop as I was shimmying the dress up my thighs and over my stockings.

He inhaled sharply. “Jesus…”

I continued to raise the dress over my hips and then up my waist. “Do you like it?” I asked nervously, biting my lip while waiting for his response.

“
Like
it?” Kyle asked incredulously, clearing his throat. “I fucking
love
it.”

He took another step toward me while his heated gaze looked over my clothing a second time. I then noticed that he was dressed in what was becoming my favorite pair of jeans on him. He had cuffed the sleeves up on his solid black dress shirt, exposing his muscled forearms and the thick veins traveling up them. He looked sexy with his golden brown tan and dampened hair.

I turned around and glanced over my shoulder at him. “Will you zip me up?” My voice was sweet and innocent even though many naughty thoughts were crossing my mind.

Although a part of me was very excited for our date, I could hardly wait to be back home with Kyle, and I was sure he felt the same way.

His fingers skimmed across my back as he swept my hair out of the way. He carefully raised the zipper, and then very slowly, he trailed his hands back down my sides. Gripping my waist, he pulled my backside against his body.

“I look forward to taking this off of you tonight,” he breathed in my ear.

His voice was on edge, and I could tell he was trying to maintain control.

The doorbell rang, pulling us out of the moment.

“That’s the limo.” He glanced at his watch. “He’s early. You have about fifteen minutes before we have to leave.”

“Okay.”

He kissed my cheek before walking out of the bedroom.

I pushed the thoughts of hot, dreamy sex out of my mind and hurried to be ready on time.