to find something positive to focus on. Even if Ridge weren’t in the picture, I wouldn’t be coming back to you,” I say gently.
Ridge kisses my temple.
“We can work through this,” Cal pleads.
“Enough!” Ridge says, his voice raised. “She’s told you that she’s not interested. There is nothing here for you.”
“I love you, Kendall,” Cal says, sadness in his eyes.
“Out!” Ridge roars.
“Ridge.” I grip his shirt, and he looks down at me. “I love you,” I tell him.
He squeezes my hip.
“Cal, please go. I’m proud of you for getting clean, but it’s time for you to move on.”
He looks up at me, and I can see in his eyes he truly thought I would come back to him. My heart hurts for him, but it’s too late for us.
“Are you happy?”
“Yes,” I say without hesitation. The man holding me tight against his side will guarantee that I am.
“Okay.” He reaches into his pocket and Ridge steps forward, as if he needs to protect me. Cal pulls out a white envelope. “This came to your old address, but they delivered it to mine. I’ve had it for a while now. I wanted to find a job before I came back for you. Wanted you to see I’ve changed.” He sets the envelope on the coffee table. “You’re going to want to read it,” he says, his sad eyes finding mine.
“Good-bye, Cal.”
He stares at me for what seems like eternity, and it’s uncomfortable for everyone. Finally, he says, “Good-bye, Kendall. For what it’s worth, I’m sorry for everything that happened between us.” Then he looks at Ridge. “Take care of her.”
Ridge doesn’t acknowledge him. Cal gets the hint, offering a sad wave before he leaves, the door clicking softly behind him.
“You okay?” Dawn asks.
I nod against Ridge’s chest; he has me crushed to him. He lowers his head to whisper in my ear. “I love you, Kendall.” Those four words pull me out of the sadness Cal brought with him. I meant what I said, that I’m proud of him, but Ridge is my heart.
“How about we order in?” Dawn asks.
“Yeah, that’s a good idea,” Ridge agrees.
“Pizza?” Mark suggests. “You girls like the place just down the street, right?”
“Perfect.” Dawn grins at him. “We’ll go pick it up, give these two some time.”
“Thanks,” Ridge says to them.
When they’re gone, he leads me to the couch and pulls me onto his lap. “You good?”
“Yeah. I mean, I’m surprised he showed up after all this time, but I don’t want him. You’re where I want to be.”
“I know that.” He kisses my bare shoulder. “I also know that seeing him again probably brought up a lot of those old memories.”
“Yeah, but I’m good, really. I feel bad for him, I do, but there was never a choice to make, Ridge. I’m in love with you.”
“I know that, but I still love to hear those words fall from your lips.” He kisses my shoulder again. “So, what do you think’s in the envelope?”
“Honestly, I have no idea. I guess I should look.” I stand and walk to the table by the door, grabbing the envelope. It’s addressed to me at my old apartment, but there’s no return contact information. Not sure what I’m going to find, I sit on the opposite end of the couch as Ridge. I see his face fall, but he doesn’t push me. Mr. ‘I need to touch you at all times’ knows I need a minute to see what’s inside.
“It doesn’t have a return address,” I tell him.
“You want me to open it?” he offers.
“No, it’s probably a letter from him, trying to convince me. Honestly, I have no idea what else it could be.”
“Pizza’s here,” Dawn announces, setting the boxes down on the coffee table. “I’ll grab plates and napkins. What do you guys want to drink?” she yells from the kitchen.
I laugh at her, place the letter aside, and help her gather everything we’ll need.
Two large pizzas later, we’re all groaning that we ate too much. It was so good, though.
“So, what was in the envelope?” Dawn asks.
I shrug. “Don’t know, haven’t opened it yet.”
“What are you waiting for?” she asks.
I laugh at her, reach for the envelope, and tear it open.
Kendall,
It’s taken me a while to find you, as adoption papers are sealed pretty tight. I’m your sister, Melissa. We’re twins, not sure if you knew that or not. I was told by the private investigator that I hired that you know you were adopted. I wanted