Chapter Eleven
Three months later . . .
Kyle leaned back against the tailgate of his truck, his legs crossed at the ankles and his arms folded over his chest as he admired what he’d created for his mother in the past three months. The once dilapidated property had been transformed into a beautiful building, inside and out, that had the entire town excited about having a brand-new bakery and a venue for events . . . except, of course, Ella’s father.
Kyle wasn’t sure what Charles was more upset about. The fact that Kyle had purchased the building for his mother—which unfortunately resulted in Ella losing the opportunity to expand the market—or the events of the past that the bitter older man still judged him by and couldn’t let go of.
At this point, Kyle was beginning not to care what the reasons were, except that it affected Ella’s views on their relationship. Or rather, their secret affair, because that’s exactly what it had been since the night they’d fallen back into bed together. Stolen moments on the weekends. Him sneaking into her bedroom—and sneaking right back out after their too short time together. Seeing her at the market while he worked on the building, yet maintaining their distance to keep any gossip at bay.
There were no fun, casual dates that normal couples went out on. No holding her hand and hanging out in public together. No, everything was reserved for those few hours they had together in her bedroom, and during the week, it was sporadic phone calls and texts that kept him going until the next time he could see her, be with her.
He fucking hated it. He’d played by Ella’s rules, and on some level, he even understood why she was so guarded, that old habits died hard and for the past ten years, all she’d known was working at the market and taking care of her father. That had been her life because she’d been cast as the responsible one. The dependable one. And she clearly took the role seriously.
But something had to change, because they couldn’t keep going on like this. And for the past three months, he’d been patient. He hadn’t pushed her for more than she’d been willing to give, though he’d felt an undeniable shift between them over the course of that time, had seen and felt the evidence that there was more than just sex between them.
He already knew he was in love with Ella. Hell, he even understood that she was the reason he hadn’t committed to any other woman in the past, because Ella gave him everything he needed. Everything he’d ever wanted. Except her love. Her heart was the one thing she’d kept under lock and key.
Then again, he hadn’t said those three little words to her, either, mostly because he already knew how it would all play out. Instead of being overjoyed, she’d panic. Instead of jumping into his arms and declaring her love, as well, she’d push him away. He knew this because the few times he’d mentioned taking their relationship outside the bedroom, it hadn’t gone well. Her doubts and fears had been immediate, and her fallback excuse was always the same: You’re going back to the city, where your life is, and I’m staying here, where I need to be for my father. A long-term, long-distance relationship isn’t fair to either one of us.
It always came back to that, and it was difficult to argue about her father and not come across as an insensitive asshole. But something had to give somewhere, and now that his time and work here in Woodmont were done, Kyle’s biggest fear was that he was going to be the one Ella cut loose. Unless he did something about it. He just wished he knew what would or could change her mind.
With a sigh, he glanced over to the storefront for the bakery, smiling when he saw his mother bustling around inside. It hadn’t taken her long to jump in and get involved and enjoy the prospect of being a business owner. She was a better decorator than she’d given herself credit for, because she’d gone with an awesome magical tea party theme inside the bakery with Alice in Wonderland elements, and everyone who glanced inside oohed and awed and couldn’t wait until the place opened.
The industrial baking equipment he’d ordered would be delivered and installed that week, and every day, huge boxes of supplies and stock arrived, which kept his mother busy from morning until evening as she and the few other women she’d hired worked to put the place together for the grand opening that was happening in two weeks’ time.
His gaze drifted to the main part of the building, which was over ten thousand square feet of venue space on its own, including a fully functional kitchen for catering. His mother had opted to go with a rustic, shabby-chic kind of look for the interior, and Kyle had to admit that he’d been more than a little leery when she’d used the word “shabby” to describe how she wanted to decorate the place—until he realized she meant vintage. Overall, the space had a pretty country vibe to it with just a touch of elegance, which suited the small town more than sophistication or glamour would have.
And then there was his secret project. A labor of love, literally. Over two thousand square feet devoted to Ella to make her dream come true. While his crew worked on the renovations for the venue and bakery, he’d spent his time in the sectioned-off area that was right up against the grocery store. Once the walls had gone up to split it off from the other part of the building, Kyle had spent most of his time creating all the shelves and displays that would allow her to expand to her heart’s desire, and enable her to also help all the artisans in the area who wanted to get their merchandise into the hands of customers. The storefront was made of glass windows for shoppers to look inside, along with a separate door leading into the place. All that was left to do was break out a small section and install a large doorway that would connect the market to the new square footage, if that’s what she wanted to do.
Surprisingly, she’d only asked him once what the space was for, and he’d been vague with his answer, telling her it was all part of the venue. She’d given him a slightly confused look because it seemed so out of place in comparison to the event center, but she hadn’t questioned him again.
The object of his thoughts walked out of Fisher’s Grocery, and much to his shock, she headed to where he was still leaning against the truck’s tailgate. Very rarely did she seek him out on the weekends while he was working, so this was a rare and welcome treat.
She stopped a respectable distance away and gave him a warm smile. “I believe congratulations are in order,” she said, as she glanced up at the CELEBRATIONS sign that had been installed earlier that morning.
Per his mother’s request, the name of the venue and bakery had been engraved into a large piece of distressed wood. The old-style script had been painted a deep rose color, and the edges of the sign were outlined with an antique-looking moulding that tied it all together.
Ella looked back at him and pushed her fingers into the back pockets of her jeans when she should have been right next to his side, with his arm around her shoulder, as they looked at the new building together. That familiar frustration gnawed at him, but he didn’t let it show. Not here and not now.
“The signage looks great, and the venue and bakery look phenomenal,” she said, complimenting him. “You did good, City Boy. I think your mom is going to have a lot of success here.”
“I hope so. Regardless, she’ll be doing what she loves.” Ella’s words meant a lot to him, and he was grateful knowing that while he was working in the city, she’d be right next door if his mother needed help with something in a pinch.
That was one good thing that had come of him renovating the building. While Ella was reluctant to spend too much time around him while he was there, she had no issues talking to his mother or visiting Patricia while she was setting up the bakery or assisting her when there was something she needed a hand with. For his mother and Ella, at least, they’d rekindled that close bond they’d shared when he and Ella had been dating in high school.
“So, does this mean your work here is done?” There was a sadness in her voice, but a reluctant acceptance, too.
“With the venue and bakery, it is.” With her, not so much. Not if he had his way.
But he knew this wasn’t the time or place to have that discussion. Instead, he decided it was time to make Ella’s dream a reality. “I have something for you,” he said, pushing away from the tailgate. “Hang on while I get it.”
She tipped her head curiously, causing the tail of her braid to swish over her shoulder. “Okay.”
He rounded the truck, opened the passenger door, and retrieved the small square box he’d tucked into the glove box before leaving the city on Friday night. Daphne had helped him out with the presentation, insisting that the small white box needed a bow for some flourish, and she’d tied a big, fat pink ribbon around it. Kyle had to admit it looked pretty, and he was glad that Daphne had given it a woman’s touch.
He returned to where Ella was still standing, her gaze more than a little wary as she glanced at the gift he held out to her. She didn’t take it, and instead her eyes jumped up to his, wide and hesitant.
“What’s this?” she asked, her hands still jammed into the back pockets of her jeans.
“It’s exactly what it looks like,” he said with an encouraging smile. “It’s a gift for you. Something I want you to have because you deserve it and I want you to be happy.”
Tentatively, she finally accepted the present, and a sudden bout of nerves and anticipation flip-flopped in his stomach as he watched her unravel the ribbon, then lift the lid.
Confusion etched her expression as she glanced from the item in the box to him. “A key? For what?”
“Turn around and look at the building, Ella,” he coaxed softly, relieved when she did as he asked, even though her bewilderment was still apparent. “Remember when you asked me what that space on the left was for? The one right next to the market with its own separate door?”
“Yes. It’s part of the event center,” she said, still not connecting the dots.
“No, it’s yours, Sunshine,” he said gently.
Her breath hitched in her throat as she turned her head his way, those beautiful green eyes filled with the slightest bit of hope. “What do you mean, mine?”
“I built it for you.” It took every ounce of willpower he had not to touch her in that moment like he ached to. “It’s yours, to do with as you please.”
“What?” She shook her head in shock. “No, I can’t just take it.”
He smiled, because he’d anticipated that reaction and had a ready response. “You’re not taking it. I’m giving it to you. As a gift. And that key fits into the front door. Unfortunately, I’m not able to put just that one section into your name because the property can’t be split up that way, but it’s all yours. Not your father’s. Yours,” he stressed, then added, “No strings attached.” It was important that she knew, that, too. The store didn’t come with conditions and whether or not things worked out with them had no bearing on it.
Her eyes shone with awe and tears he wasn’t sure how to interpret. “You honest-to-God built that for me?” she asked in disbelief.
He’d build her a hundred of them if it meant he could see that happy look in her eyes every single day. “I honest-to-God did. And now that you have it, I can make that store so it connects directly to the market or leave it as a separate storefront. The choice is yours.”
“I don’t even know what to say,” she whispered as she hugged the box and key to her chest. “Thank you doesn’t seem adequate.”
“You’re welcome,” he said, realizing how different this all should have been.
Instead of her hiding her excitement because they were a secret, he should have been picking her up in his arms and spinning her around while she squealed with joy. He should have been kissing her long and hard in front of anyone who was watching before rushing her over to the store so they could start making plans for the future together.
Problem was, he wasn’t sure where their future stood.
Right now, he understood that she was overwhelmed. That she needed time to process what had just happened and wrap her mind around the gift he’d given her. And he also knew she needed time to figure out how to tell her father that Kyle had built a storefront for her. He didn’t like it, but he couldn’t change it, either.
“Are you coming over tonight?” she asked, her happiness subdued for now.
“Yes.” But not for what she was insinuating. In her mind, she was probably thinking of all the ways she could show her appreciation, but sex wasn’t what he wanted. It wasn’t what his heart wanted. It wanted answers and reassurances and far more than just another night in her bed.
He wanted forever, and he had no idea if Ella was capable of giving him what he needed. But this time, he’d be the one issuing the ultimatum.
All of her or nothing at all.
* * *
For the very last time, Kyle crawled through Ella’s bedroom window a little after ten, when her father was normally in bed for the evening. The next time he came to see Ella, if there was one after their conversation tonight, he’d be walking through the front door like a normal guy who was dating her would. Or he’d never step foot into this house again. The decision was up to her, and the fate of their future was in her hands.
She was standing in the middle of the room, anxiously waiting for him, bouncing from foot to foot like an excited little kid. As soon as he cleared the window and the curtain fell back in place, she flung her hands around his neck. She jumped up into his arms, her legs wrapped enthusiastically around his waist as her mouth landed on his—exactly how her reaction should have been when he’d given her the key to her new storefront earlier today.
With his hands holding her ass to help keep her from sliding down his body, he let Ella kiss him, because he wasn’t sure if this would be the last chance he’d get to taste her. Her mouth was soft and warm, her lips sliding and melding against his like a perfect dream. It was a kiss of gratitude and appreciation, with an underlying trace of seduction. She moaned so sweetly when she finally lifted her head again, and he let go of her butt so she could stand on her own two feet.
She touched her palm to his cheek, her fingers sensually caressing the short beard covering his jaw. “Kyle,” she whispered so reverently it made him ache deep inside. “I still can’t believe that storefront is all mine.”
“Did you tell your father?” It was a question he had to ask, and the storefront certainly wasn’t something she’d be able to hide from her father for long.
She bit her bottom lip, the shine from her gaze dimming with uncertainty. “Not yet. I’m figuring out how to tell him so he doesn’t have another stroke,” she muttered, glancing away.
He wasn’t sure if she was being facetious or not, but when it boiled right down to the heart of the matter, the fact that she was delaying her own happiness to accommodate her father just didn’t bode well for them as a couple. At some point, she had to stand up to her father, for herself. For them.
With his stomach in knots, he grabbed her hands and pulled them away so she was no longer touching him, because he couldn’t think straight otherwise. “Ella . . . we need to talk.”
She swallowed hard, as if knowing where this conversation was headed, though she didn’t say a word. But the wariness in her gaze, mixed in with a dose of fear, spoke for itself.
“I can’t keep doing this, Ella. We can’t keep doing this,” he said, getting right to the point.
“This?” she asked, her voice strained, even as she hedged with her reply to avoid the inevitable.
“Being a secret from everyone, and especially from your father. Only seeing you a few hours every weekend here in your bedroom.” That familiar frustration rose up again, and he pushed his fingers through his hair, forcing himself to keep calm. “I’ve spent three months accepting whatever you were willing to give to this thing between us . . . but it’s not enough.”
Her fingers fluttered anxiously up to her throat, her eyes big and filled with dismay. “It has to be enough for now.”
“For now?” he repeated, his tone rising incredulously as he jammed his hands on his hips. “And when does that end, Ella? When does for now become something more than me crawling through your window for a quick fuck?” His words were crude, but he was starting to feel desperate, like the best thing that had ever happened to him was slipping through his fingers for the second time in his life. “When will I be able to take you out on a date like normal couples do? When can we start building toward some kind of future together?”
“What if we can’t have a future together?” she demanded, her voice suddenly thick with tears. “Are you forgetting that I live here in Woodmont, and you live in the city, which I hate? But that’s where your job is. That’s where your life is and has been for the past ten years. And this is where my life will always be.”
Despite his anger at the situation, he understood her concerns. “We’ll figure it out, but we can’t even do that because our relationship hasn’t extended outside of the fucking bedroom.”
“That’s because there isn’t anything to figure out,” she nearly yelled at him.
“I love you, Ella.” The words came tumbling out, and it nearly gutted him when he saw the pain in her eyes, when he didn’t hear the same response from her lips even though he knew she had to feel the same. “For ten long years, I’ve felt so empty inside, waiting to feel something again for another woman, and it never happened and you want to know why? Because you are the one, Ella. You will always be the one. Doesn’t that count for something? Anything?”
“I don’t know,” she said, squeezing her eyes shut for a moment, her voice conflicted and confused. “I don’t know.”
“I want you in my life.” He couldn’t be more open and honest and straight-forward about that.
“This is my life,” she said, waving a hand in the air around her to indicate where she was and who she was with and where she would stay.
“No, this is the life you think you need to lead,” he said more firmly. “Out of a sense of obligation to your father. Because your sister isn’t around to help and you feel like it’s all on you to shoulder everything at the expense of your own happiness. What about you, Ella? What about what you want? What about your life and your future? When does any of that matter?”
She never had the opportunity to answer, because the rattling of the doorknob, then a loud knock on the door made them both freeze in place at the sudden interruption.
“Ella?” her father said from the other side, his voice gruff. “Who’s in your room with you and why is your door jammed shut?”
The panic that passed across Ella’s features was instantaneous. “No one’s here, Dad,” she said, holding Kyle’s gaze with a plea in her own for him to remain quiet.
“Ella, I heard loud voices. One distinctly male,” her father insisted, giving the door another push, but the stopper beneath the bottom made it impossible for him to get inside. “What’s going on in there?”
Ella never broke eye contact with Kyle. “Nothing,” she replied, forcing an airy quality to her voice that didn’t ring true, no matter how hard she was trying. “I’m just getting ready for bed.”
Kyle actually found irony in this moment. Three months of sneaking into this house to spend time with Ella, and tonight of all nights her father discovered them together. He hated Ella’s denial, that she was driven by fear, and he realized he had two choices. He could give in to the silent request in her eyes and slip back out the window like he’d never been here so she could open the door and prove to father that she was alone, or Kyle could confront the past that stood between them.
It didn’t take him long to make his decision. He started for the bedroom door.
“Kyle,” she hissed in a frantic voice, but he didn’t stop his approach.
Reaching the only thing separating himself from Ella’s father, Kyle kicked the rubber wedge out from under the door, then pulled it open. Charles gasped and took a step back as he stared at Kyle in shock.
“What are you doing here?” Charles demanded.
“I’m here for your daughter,” Kyle said calmly, even as he felt Ella right behind him, her anxiety nearly palpable. “I’m here because I love her,” he went on, despite the flush of rage spreading across the other man’s face. “I’m here because I want her in my life.”
“You don’t deserve my daughter,” Charles said, his features twisting with bitterness and resentment. “Your family is responsible for everything this family has suffered!”
“Dad, please,” Ella said, trying to calm down her father. “Don’t do this.”
Charles started breathing hard, his chest rising and falling more rapidly. “It’s true, and I don’t want you anywhere near Ella. Ever.”
Kyle’s jaw clenched in anger. He was done with being condemned for his brother’s sins, for his father’s actions. For being accused of something he’d had no part of. “The only two people in my family who are to blame for anything, are my father and my brother. But mostly Todd, because what he did to Gwen was a really shitty thing and unforgiveable. But my mother has done nothing to deserve your contempt, and as for me, the only thing I’m guilty of is loving and caring for Ella. Back then and now.”
The older man pointed a stern finger at Kyle. “Stay . . . away . . . from my daughter,” Charles huffed, then grabbed at his chest as he stumbled backward.
“Dad!” Ella called out in alarm.
Shit, was the guy having another stroke? Instinctively, Kyle reached out and caught the man’s arm before he could hit the wall, and in the next instant, Ella was next to her father, tucking herself under Charles’ arm and guiding him down the hallway to the living room.
“Dad, you need to take deep breaths,” she said, her voice quivering with worry and fear, even as she took control of the situation.
“I want him out of my house,” Charles wheezed as Ella sat him down in a leather recliner, then she pulled a drawer open on the end table and retrieved a bottle of pills.
Kyle had no idea what was going on, and despite the older man’s insistent orders for him to get out, Kyle wasn’t about to leave until he knew everything was okay. “Let me call the paramedics,” he said, reaching into his pocket for his cell phone.
“He’ll be fine,” Ella snapped at him, stopping Kyle before he could connect the call to 911. “He’s not having a stroke. He’s having an anxiety attack. He’ll be okay once he calms down.”
From Kyle’s perspective, it looked equally bad, and he couldn’t stop the twinge of guilt for pushing the man to his breaking point. “What can I do to help?”
“Nothing,” she said, her voice as flat as the look in her eyes as she assisted her father in taking his meds. “You can’t be here, Kyle. You need to go. Now.”
Everything inside of Kyle went ice-cold, her words taking him straight back to the night when he’d lost Ella the first time, and the similar demand she’d made then, too: The only thing I want right now is for you to get out of my life.
The only thing missing was a slap to his face.
Without another word, he walked out the front door. He headed back to his mother’s, picked up the duffel bag of belongings he’d brought with him for the weekend, gave his mom a quick explanation of what had happened, then drove to his condo in the city.
Ella had made her choice, and it wasn’t him.