WALKING BACK DOWN the aisle with Ryley at the end of the ceremony, I caught Kyle’s gaze. He looked uncomfortable, surrounded by people who loathed him.
Ryley leaned toward my ear. “I don’t think anyone expected him to show up. What the hell’s going on?”
“If I told you, you’d probably shit a brick.”
We followed the others inside the house and he pulled me to the side. “The rumors aren’t true are they? Gabby told me but I thought she was kidding.”
“Well . . .” I began, biting my lip with a sheepish smile.
His mouth gaped open. “What the actual fuck. This is horseshit.”
I rolled my eyes and watched as the audience dispersed and started heading toward the covered tent where the reception was to be held. Kyle lingered alone and I knew I needed to get to him. Ryley followed my line of sight and sighed. “He may not be quite as psycho as your ex, but Kyle’s a goddamn manipulator.”
“And so are you, Ry,” I chuckled. “I seem to remember you and Camden coercing women to sleep with you both. If that’s not manipulation, I don’t know what is. And look at you now . . . you’re married with two, sweet little babies. You changed your ways and so can he.”
Pursing his lips, he leaned against the wall, defeated. “Fine, you win. I just hope you know what you’re doing.”
Smiling, I kissed him on the cheek. “I do. Trust me.” I left him and rushed outside, Kyle breathed a sigh of relief when he saw me approach. “You okay?” I asked, reaching for his hand. He took it and held it tight.
“Surprisingly, yes. Everyone’s staying as far away from me as possible. I think I have some idea how lepers must’ve felt.”
“Can you blame them? Imagine what they must be thinking.”
“That they want to kill me?” he joked.
“Probably, but I won’t let that happen. You’re my date tonight and I’m not into necrophilia. Now come on, the bridal party has to have pictures taken. I don’t think I can leave you alone to the wolves.”
“I’m sure I can manage,” he said.
“I know you can, but I want to be there when you face your demons.”
Pulling me close, he leaned down and kissed me, causing whispered responses all around. I didn’t care and I wasn’t ashamed. “I didn’t think you’d let me do that here,” he murmured.
I lifted up on my toes and kissed him again. “I have nothing to hide. Now let’s go before the bride brings her wrath down on us.” We hurried inside where everyone stood congregating. When Kyle and I came into the room, everyone went silent.
The photographer picked up on the tension and waved her hands in the air. “All right, let’s go back outside and finish these up.”
We lagged behind the group and joined them outside. I had to leave Kyle to finish the pictures, but he stood there watching with a smile on his face. After all was said and done, it was time to join the party. But Kacey had other plans. She called out to the photographer.
“Do you mind taking a few more with me and my brother?”
Kyle’s eyes went wide. He looked to me and then back to his sister before tentatively walking over to her. Tyler stepped away from Kacey and made his way over to stand by me.
“You do realize you two are family now, right?”
He snorted. “Don’t remind me. Although, I have to say it’s not as bad as I thought it would be. Seeing some of the expressions in the crowd was kind of funny. Hopefully, someone videotaped it.”
“I’m sure they did,” I laughed. “If I don’t get the chance to talk to you before the night is up, I hope you have fun on your honeymoon. Take lots of pictures.”
He put his arm around me and squeezed. “We will. And don’t forget my dad will be around to help you at the gym if you need it. But I doubt you will with Kyle around.”
Kacey and Kyle were done with pictures and joined us. “Are you ready, Mr. Rushing?” Kacey called.
Tyler winked and took her arm. “If I have to be.”
Kyle and I hung back so they could make their grand entrance into the reception tent. Everyone hooted and hollered, camera lights flashing. The food smelled amazing and we both piled our plates high and took a seat.
Kyle leaned over and whispered in my ear. “How much you want to bet that no one other than Gabby and Pax sits with us.”
I searched around the room at everyone else taking seats. It made my heart hurt for him.
When Gabby and Pax joined us, they glanced around the room at everyone giving us a wide berth. “Damn, it’s like we have the plague or something,” Gabby joked.
Pax chuckled. “Hey, that leaves more elbow room for us. I’m not complaining.”
Ryley and Ashleigh took seats with Camden and Brooklyn, and Matt and Shelby. Ryley even waved and mouthed he was sorry since there were only two seats available left at ours. They weren’t vacant for long when they were taken by Mason and Claire Bradley. I’d heard that Claire used to dance for Jake at the Labyrinth before taking over her family’s vineyard out in California. Her wines were the best I’d ever tasted. And of course, Mason was like a god in the MMA world.
“Can we sit here?” Mason asked.
Gabby rolled her eyes. “Like we’re going to tell you no.”
“Good, because we were going to sit here anyway.” He took the seat beside me while Claire sat beside Gabby. “How do you like living in Vegas? I don’t think I’ve spoken to you since you left.”
“It’s been good. I bought a house with one of my friends and I have a great job. Tyler promoted me to manager.”
“Congratulations. I’m glad to see it’s all working out for you. I thought I would see you at Darryl’s funeral but you weren’t there.”
I almost choked on a piece of bread and coughed, my eyes burning. “Excuse me?”
He nodded slowly, his brows furrowed. “He died three months ago. Did you not know?”
I slapped a hand over my mouth, tears welling in my eyes and spilling down my face. Kyle moved closer, putting his arm around me. “No, I didn’t,” I cried. “What happened?”
“I’m so sorry to tell you like this. I thought you knew.” He patted my arm. “From what I gathered, it was a heart attack.”
“Oh my God, I don’t know what to say. Darryl was like a father to me. I bet Cindy was devastated.” Darryl and his wife checked up on me every week after the Alex attack. Cindy would also bake my favorite treats and bring them over. Hopefully, she’d understand why I didn’t show up.
“She was, but thankfully, their kids are older and were there to comfort her.”
“We can always stop by and visit her when we go out to California next week,” Kyle suggested.
I wiped away the tears and nodded. “Okay, that’s a good idea. Let’s do that.” My heart hurt, but I knew I couldn’t let it keep me down tonight.
After eating, Tyler and Kacey made their way to the dance floor and danced to their song, All of Me by John Legend. As I looked around the room, so many of my friends had found their soulmates. Kyle had his arm around me, caressing my bare shoulder with his fingers. Was he mine? I had no clue, but it felt right being in his arms.
Everyone clapped when the song was over but then Tyler pulled his mother out onto the floor while Kacey walked over to us, extending her hand to Kyle. “Since Dad’s not here, this one’s for you.”
Kyle’s eyes sparkled and when they took the dance floor, I couldn’t stop the tears from falling. “I have to ask,” Mason whispered. I wiped away my tears and looked at him. “What the hell did you do to Andrews?”
“I didn’t do anything,” I admitted truthfully. “He came around like this all on his own. The time he spent in the wheel chair really made him figure out what was important to him. I’m just glad I’ve been around to witness it.”
His brows lifted. “Well, I’ll be damned. I never thought I’d see the day.”
“Neither did anyone else,” Gabby cut in. “I’m just curious to see what Matt and Shelby have to say about all of this. I’ve intentionally been avoiding them since being here. When lover boy’s ready to talk to them, we’ll go over there,” she said, nodding toward her brother and his wife.
Kyle and Kacey’s dance ended with them hugging in the middle of the dance floor. They shocked the crowd again, but this time I could feel some of the tension ebb. Maybe once everyone saw how he’d earned Kacey’s love, they’d realize he wasn’t so bad after all. It was a long shot, but it was all we had. When he joined us, he held out his hand.
“You ready to protect me?” he teased.
Taking his hand, I motioned for Gabby to join us. We followed behind her as she strolled across the dance floor to where my friends sat. My heart thumped so hard against my chest, it hurt. I could only imagine how Kyle felt. Matt’s expression was guarded, so I had no clue what kind of greeting we were going to get. He had the same glare Gabby always had when she was pissed. It didn’t help they looked exactly alike with their dark hair and green eyes.
“I don’t know if I can protect you physically, but I’ll certainly try to use my charm.”
Gabby snorted. “Good luck with that.”
Ryley and Camden both sat back in their chairs at the same time, with curiosity gleaming in their eyes. Matt, on the other hand, stood and faced us head on. Gabby cleared her throat and stepped out of the way, putting Kyle right in front of Matt. “Kyle has something he wants to say to both of you,” she began.
Shelby set her glass of water down and stood beside Matt, her narrowed eyes on Kyle. About five years ago, Kyle did something to them that went lower than anything I could ever imagine. The whole situation was heartbreaking. I could understand if they didn’t forgive him, but it took a lot of courage for him to stand in front of them and ask for it.
Kyle cleared his throat. “I want to apologize . . . to say that I’m sorry for everything in our past. I would do anything to take it back.”
Time stood still as we waited for Matt to speak, but he just stood there. Even Gabby looked nervous when I glanced over at her for guidance. When it was apparent nothing was going to be said, Kyle nodded and slowly backed away. “I know you don’t believe a word I’m saying, but it’s the truth. One day, I hope to prove to you that I’ve changed.” He spun around to walk away.
Before he could take another step, Matt stopped us. “Wait,” he called out.
Kyle froze mid-step and slowly turned around. Matt took a step forward and blew out a sigh. “There’s no way in hell I can forget what you did, but if Kacey and Tyler can forgive you after what you did to them, I’ll think about it. It’ll just take some time.”
“That’s all I can ask for.” Kyle nodded and turned to walk away. I squeezed his hand and felt his despair, but he kept his head held high. We knew going into this, it wasn’t going to be an easy path. Forgiveness isn’t something that can be forced. He would just have to continue to prove himself and hold out hope.