Bachelor Swap - Lacey Black Page 0,83

sat on the swing. She still doesn’t say anything. Those wheels in her beautiful head must be spinning a thousand miles a second. The worry remains that she’ll just get up and leave, never to be heard from or seen again.

I can’t let that happen.

Needing to bridge the line of communication, I ask, “How did you find me?”

“Matthew.”

That answer is unexpected and like a punch in the gut. All air seems to leave my lungs in one quick whoosh.

“I called him last week and asked him to meet with me. I had a few things I needed to say.”

I nod slowly, trying to anticipate whatever she’s about to say.

“I needed to look him in the eye when I told him I was disappointed in him. He actually sat there and listened to me get it all off my chest.”

“Wh-where did you meet him?” I don’t know why I ask that. Okay, fine I do. The thought of Kyla meeting Matthew at his place or hers makes me a little ragey, which is stupid because she was his before she was mine.

“At the coffee shop near the shelter. It was midmorning and fairly empty. It was actually kind of comical seeing him in one of his black power suits, sitting in a booth with ripped red vinyl seats,” she says with a grin, kicking at a small clump of dirt on the porch.

I can picture it now, and the image is pretty funny. “I’m sure it was good for him to step out of his comfort zone.”

She turns and meets my gaze. “He said he’s been talking to you.”

“He has,” I confirm. “We’re both making an attempt. We talk every week. On Sunday, mostly, when he’s working from home.” After a few seconds, I ask, “I heard the deal between your dad and him went through as planned.”

Kyla nods. “It did. Dad was going to terminate it, but I told him not to. Ultimately, Matthew was the one my dad felt comfortable enough with to sell his company to. My father made his choice before everything went down, and I believe it was the right one for him. I don’t like what Matthew did, but I’m not the judge or the jury.”

I swallow over the thickness in my throat. “That’s big of you, Ky. You could have very easily made sure that deal fell through, leaving my brother without the company he was coveting. Eye for an eye, if you will.”

She keeps her eyes trained down. “I must have gone back and forth for an entire day, but ultimately, I just didn’t want to carry the hurt and anger with me, and it was what my father said about looking past your brother’s flaws and seeing the decent he hides from the world.”

I can’t help but snort a laugh. “My brother? Decent?”

“Believe me, I didn’t really want to see it either, but I do think it’s there. He just keeps it well concealed behind a no-nonsense demeanor and very thick skin.”

I nod, wondering if there’s a chance she’ll forgive me as easily as she did my brother, and maybe, just maybe, it has something to do with why she’s here tonight. A man can hope, right? I’d rather think of that than the alternative. That she’s here to speak her piece so she can move on with her life. I’m not sure I could handle it if she does.

“I don’t consider him a friend, but I don’t hate him either. In fact, I’m a little grateful to him,” she says, her sweet voice soft.

That catches me by surprise. “You are?”

She nods and shifts in the swing, meeting my gaze head on. “I am. He brought me you,” she whispers so quietly, I almost didn’t hear her. In fact, after a few long seconds of silence, I wonder if I imagined it, but as I continue to search her hazel eyes, I see a light I haven’t witnessed in four long weeks. “I understand why you did what you did.”

“You do?”

Kyla nods. “I’m sure it wasn’t an easy decision to make. I know you mentioned that night your ranch was in trouble, but Matthew explained it in a little more detail, and I finally started to understand. You felt trapped and out of options.”

She takes another deep breath. “What you did, it may not have been the right thing to do, but I understand. You weren’t out to hurt me.”

I feel the ball of tension in my body seem to subtly relax.