Sunday (Timeless Series #7) (8 page)

Glide

Rose

This was exactly what I wanted.

I wanted Kyle to stop pursuing me. I wanted Kyle to give up on us and let me go. I wanted to move on with my life because I could never trust him again. But now that’d he given me what I wanted, I felt incomplete.

I spent my time alone in my apartment, watching basketball and hockey while wishing he were there. Anytime I went to work, I hoped he would stop by. When he seemed indifferent to me I hoped it was all just an act.

Did I make a mistake?

Did I overreact and persecute him for an innocent act?

Was I wrong?

I couldn’t picture myself being with anyone else. Kyle completed me in a way no one else ever had. Even before that terrible night, I never had a connection like that. In my heart I knew it meant something. For me to ever love someone after what happened was a miracle.

And Kyle was that miracle.

I stared at my phone before I grabbed it and typed a message.
Hey, do you think we can talk?
I stared at the message while my thumb hovered over the send button. It shook slightly with hesitation. Then I chickened out and deleted the message altogether.

I continued to sit in my living room as I tried to figure out what to do. I could just go to bed and try to forget about these feelings, but I wouldn’t get any sleep anyway.

My heart was pounding in my chest, not in a good way. It was late in the evening but I knew Kyle would be awake. He didn’t seem to go to bed until after midnight. And I suspected he wasn’t sleeping anyway, just the way I couldn’t sleep.

Still filled with dread, I grabbed my stuff and walked out.

***

I waited in front of his door and stared at the wood. I raised my palm against it then quickly lowered it. Even if I did knock and he opened the door, what would I say? What would he say? Maybe this whole thing was a bad idea. But what if I went back to my apartment? What would that accomplish?

After debating for nearly ten minutes and wasting more time, I knocked. The sound thudded against my ears like an echo, and now I knew I couldn’t take back what I just did. If he heard it, he would come.

Heavy footsteps erupted from the living room and they slowly approached the door. They approached too slowly, like it wasn’t Kyle at all. Maybe someone else was in his apartment. I couldn’t tell.

It took forever for the door to get unlocked. The lock was twisted and unlocked then locked again, and then he tried the door. It stayed in the panel because the lock was activated. Then he twisted back when he finally realized what the problem was.

What was going on here?

He opened the door and stumbled slightly, like he expected the door to be much lighter than it was. “Whoa…” He grabbed the door again and steadied himself. It took him a second to focus his attention on me. He stared at me without any realization. It was as if he was staring at a blank wall. Heartbeats passed, and slowly the familiarity stretched across his face. “Real…or not real?”

“Real.”

He continued to hold onto the door for balance.

Something was off. He wasn’t himself in the least. “Kyle, are you okay?”

“Fine.” He rubbed his temple with a sigh. His eyes were bloodshot and he had an unnatural stance. He swayed like he was in a dream.

“Are you drunk…?”

“No…yes…no.” He rubbed his eye to remove the sleep particles. Then his voice suddenly turned hostile. “What do you want?”

“Uh…” He’d never spoken to me like that, even when he was at his worst moment. “I just—”

“Just what?” he asked. “Came back here because you’re lonely? Came back because you want something? Bored? You’ll be here for five minutes, get the assurance you need, and then you’ll be on your way again. Rose, I may be a sappy and sensitive guy, but I don’t let any woman just walk all over me and take me for a ride. So whatever it is you want, I’m not giving it to you.”

I let the insults wash over me, but a few of them seeped deep into my skin.

“Now leave me alone, Rose. You’ve terrorized me enough.” He shut the door in my face and locked it.

I heard the audible click as the lock turned. Then his footsteps drifted away into the background. I heard an audible fall as his body hit the couch. Even though he wasn’t going to open the door again I stood there. Now I understood just how much I hurt him—how much this break up hurt both of us.

***

I didn’t speak to Kyle for the next few days. He didn’t call me, not that I expected him to. But he was on my mind constantly. I was certain he was drunk that night, but his state didn’t really make a difference. He meant every word he said.

I was sitting in my office when Kyle walked inside, looking just as pissed off as he did the other night. He carried a folder under his arm and immediately plopped down into the chair without giving a single greeting. “Busy?”

Were we down to one-word sentences now? “No.”

“Hawke wanted me to drop this off.” He tossed the folder across the desk. “They’re the changes he wants. That man is meticulous so I expect he’ll be making several more changes before this project is complete.”

I opened the folder and flipped through the pages. “That’s fine. I want my clients to get exactly what they want.”

“Good.” Instead of marching out he stayed put. “Do you have any progress on my place?”

“Uh, yeah.” I opened my drawer and pulled out a file. “I’ve made a few more additions.”

He flipped through the pages and studied each detail. “Why are there only four bedrooms?”

“I thought you said you only needed four.”

“I never said that. I said I need a house for a family of four.”

“Then what’s the purpose of the last bedroom?”

“An office,” he said. “My wife will need one.”

“And you won’t?”

“No. I never work from home but she does.”

She does? Did he already know who his wife was? “Uh…what?”

“I mean, I assume she’ll work from home most of the time.” He turned the page. “So, I want white shelves constructed into the walls, and I want a large window that looks over the beach. It needs to be on the opposite side of where the kids’ bedrooms are. I don’t want them to disturb her.”

“Okay…”

“And for the master bedroom, I want a walk-in closet.”

“I didn’t realize you needed that.”

“But she will. It’s every woman’s dream, right?”

“I suppose.”

“I want this house to have everything. Since we’re building it from the ground up we may as well include everything. It’s not like we can go back and change it.”

“Actually, you can.”

“I prefer to have everything done. Which brings me to my next point. I want a pool. Every beach house should have a pool, right? That way my kids can have all their friends over in the summer.”

He’d been putting a lot of thought into this. Did he have a date recently? And did that date go well? Is that why he shut the door in my face the other night? His demeanor was exactly the same as it used to be. It was like that night never happened.

“Is that cool?” he asked.

“Whatever you want, I can make it happen.”

“Good attitude.” He turned the page again. “I want an outside fireplace and I also want a pizza oven in the kitchen.”

“You like pizza?”

“Yeah. But I suspect she will too.”

I made the notes.

He turned the page again. “That’s all I can think of for now. Not sure if I want a hot tub or not.”

“It gets pretty cool in the evenings.”

“True. Yeah, throw that in there too.”

“These changes will affect the cost.” I’m sure he knew that but I had to say it anyway.

“No problem.”

“Okay.” I made a list of all the changes he wanted.

“I’ll leave this for you.” He shut the folder and pushed it toward me. “Give me a call whenever you’re finished.”

Were we not going to mention what happened the other night? Was it that insignificant to him? “Kyle?”

“Hmm?” When he stood up he buttoned the front of his jacket before he straightened his tie. He hardly looked at me anymore, like I was someone not worth paying attention to.

“About the other night…I’m sorry I stopped by.”

“Stopped by where?” he asked in a bored voice.

Did he not remember? He was drunk that night—the drunkest I’ve ever seen him. Did he black out the second I left? “Your apartment…”

“You stopped by?” he asked. “Why?”

So, he really didn’t remember.
“I just…wanted to drop off some paperwork.”

“Oh. Well, just mail them to me next time.” He headed to the door.

It was like we never loved each other. It was like we never had that connection. It was like…we never meant anything.

“See ya.” He said the words without looking back, and then he walked out.

I suddenly felt the urge to cry, to weep as hard and loud as I could. Going our separate ways was the best for both of us, but then why did I feel so terrible deep inside? Why did I feel like I’d never be happy again as long as I lived?

***

It took me a few days to make the changes he requested, and by the time I did I was feeling worse. Now doubt plagued my mind every second of the day. I questioned my own reasoning and logic.

I questioned my own heart.

When I called him I felt the nerves get to me as they always did. I listened to the phone ring endlessly, wondering if he would pick up. He always did, so why would it be any different now?

“Steele.”

That was his last name but I never heard him introduce himself that way before. “Kyle?”

“What’s up?” I heard voices in the background.

“I have the changes for the beach house.”

“Oh okay,” he said in a bored voice. “Can you drop them off at my office? I’m swamped today.”

“Yeah, I—”

Click.

I listened to the line go dead. The phone was still held to my ear and the sound echoed loudly. I slowly put it down and felt the blood drain from my veins. My greatest fear was true. I really did mean nothing to him.

It took nearly half an hour for me to gather my bearings and find the courage to go over there. The cold way he brushed me off was forever ingrained in my mind. We went from needing each other desperately to tossing each other aside like garbage.

I walked into his office and realized I hadn’t been there since my own trial. The firm was called Steele and Steele but I never made the connection with Kyle’s last name. Actually, I didn’t know what it was until just a few moments ago. The memories came flooding back. I worked with Mark in his office, preparing to take the stand as a witness and give my testimony. Actually, I spent a lot of time there. I wondered if I’d met Kyle’s father without realizing it.

“Can I help you?” The secretary looked up at me, a beautiful blonde woman.

“Hi…I’m here to see Kyle.”

“Mr. Steele?” she corrected. “Do you have an appointment?”

“No. But he asked me to stop by and bring him something. Did he mention I was coming?”

“No.” She stared at me like I was gum on the bottom of her shoe.

“Oh…” I gripped the folder in my hands, feeling smaller and smaller by the second.

His office door opened and he stepped out. “Thanks for coming by. I’ll see you later.”

A brunette woman that made me look like a troll stepped out with him. “We should get dinner.”

Kyle glanced at me when he noticed I was there. “Yeah. Sounds like a good idea.” He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before he smiled.

She waved then walked off, wearing heels that were so tall she would break her ankle if she took one wrong step.

Kyle’s smile disappeared when he looked at me. “Come in.” Instead of waiting for me he walked inside and left the door open.

I was still processing what I witnessed. He kissed her on the cheek, showing her affection that could be friendly or something more. I wanted to know which it was but realized I had no right to ask.

“So, you’re done?” He sat behind his desk and extended his hand to the folder.

With a shaky hand I gave it to him.

He opened it and quickly browsed through it like he wanted to get this over with as quickly as possible. “It looks good but not exactly what I imagined.” He grabbed a pencil then marked up the paper. “The fireplace should be here…I want the pool to face this way…and I want the shelves in the walk-in closet to be a little bigger. You know, so she can put her boots inside.”

Was the woman he wanted to be with that woman who just left? Did he picture her as his future wife? Was I forgotten that easily? I never wore heels like that, and I certainly didn’t have that kind of confidence. “Okay…” I stood there awkwardly, feeling my heart race painfully.

He made a few more notes before he shut the folder. “Let me know when you’re done.” He slid the folder across the surface then grabbed his phone.