The Future of Love (Bachelor Billionaire #6) (6 page)

When
he heard a soft familiar voice say “I'm fine,” he slowly
opened his eyes and sat up. Then he heard her say her name. Kyle saw
a tall, muscular guy standing there, but he couldn't see her on the
other side of him. He could hear the nervous tone in her voice when
she said she didn't want another drink. Kyle was surprised she didn't
have the confident tone she used to have around the office. He'd
heard her put Gavin in his place and stand up to him a few times over
the years. Kyle hadn't seen her since her divorce. During the few
months she was married, he'd seen her a couple of times. The smile
he'd seen on her face didn't seem to be there anymore. He did see
that smile earlier that night when he'd gone to get her and the girls
for dinner. She had that perfect, infectious smile while she'd waved
her wand around. Kyle watched the guy motion to the bartender. When
the guy put his fingers on her arm and moved them down toward her
hand, Kyle was on his feet. He didn't give a shit if it was his
business her not. He'd done it without thinking. He walked up behind
her just as the guy told her she should have one drink with him.

Kyle
wanted to break his fingers. It took all he had not snatch the jerks
hand from hers. He could feel his blood boiling. All he wanted to do
was pull her close and keep her safe, but he knew it wasn't his
place. She wouldn't want him too. She pulled her hand from the guys
and moved back right into Kyle's chest. Her head turned quick, and
her eyes connected with his. He leaned forward and softly kissed her
cheek. Kyle felt a spark shoot across his lips, and he saw her eyes
widen. He had to wonder if she felt it too.

“
Sorry,
baby,” he said with his lips close to her ear. “I didn't
see you walk in. I got a booth over in the corner for us.”

Kyle
still had his chest to her back and felt her shiver against him. She
stood up and his arm went around her back.

“
I
was waiting for you, babe,” she said with a little confidence.
“I was getting ready to walk back to the house.”

Kyle
smiled and looked up at the guy.

“
Thanks
for buying my girl a drink,” Kyle said.

He
picked up the drink and led her over to the booth he'd just gotten up
from. Jenny scooted into the seat, and he slid in next to her. When
she turned to look at him, she had an embarrassed look on her face.

“
Thank
you,” she whispered. “I just came down here to have a
minute to myself.”

“
Were
the fifty screaming kids too much for you?” he asked with a
laugh.

“
Not
at all,” she said in a serious tone. “I love being around
all of them. I think it's so great that they have such loving parents
that would do anything for them. It would be amazing if every child
had that kind of love in their life.”

Kyle
saw sadness in her eyes and felt his heart break for her.

“
Did
you have that?” he asked.

“
No,”
she said, as she held her drink tightly in her hands and looked at
her fingers wrapped around the glass.

“
I
know what you mean,” he said without thinking.

“
Yeah,
right,” she whispered. “Look at your family.”

“
What
about them?” he asked in a stern tone.

Kyle
felt his body stiffen at her words. What was up with her judging him,
he wondered? Jenny must have noticed it too. She looked up at the bar
and moved in her seat.

“
I
can't seem to say anything right,” she said with a shake of her
head. “I don't know what it is. I can see why you wouldn't like
me.”

She
whispered that last part more to herself, but he didn't miss it.

“
I
need to get up,” she said.

Kyle
stood up and she quickly got to her feet. Then she turned to face
him.

“
What
I meant was that John and Sandy seem so happy. It's amazing to see
how good he treats you, your sister, and her kids. You can see the
love he has just watching him. I'd love to have a dad or mom look at
me that way.”

“
It
wasn't always like that,” Kyle said.

Jenny
looked over at the bar. The guy who'd originally bought her the drink
was gone. She motioned toward the spot Kyle had originally found her
at.

“
Thanks
for saving me over there. I'm going to get back to the house.”

“
It's
getting late,” he said. “I'll walk you back.”

“
No,
stay and have a good time,” she said. “I'm a big girl. I
told Becky I shouldn't have left.”

“
I
said I'm walking you back,” he said sternly. “There is no
way I'm having you walk down that beach this late alone.”

Kyle
was surprised by his own words and tone. He wasn't taking the chance
of anything happening to her. It wasn't happening. Not with him
there.

Kyle
put his hand on her lower back, felt that damn spark again, and
pulled his hand back quickly. He walked next to her, leaving some
space between them, out of the bar.

“
How
much do you know about John and my mom?” he asked, as they were
walking down the beach.

She
stopped and turned to face him.

“
Not
too much,” she said. “I know John raised Ethan. I really
didn't know much about any of the guys until around the time you
started working with Ethan. I grew closer to Becky when the twins
were born. It's only been the last three years or so that I've been
going to things at their house.”

“
My
real dad is an asshole. He used to hold money over my mom's head. He
was not good to her or Kelly. I was different. He treated me better
than he did them. I used to get so upset with the way he'd treat
Kelly when we were kids. My mom waited to leave him until I was in
college. She knew he wouldn't take care of us if she took us, so she
waited. We ended up finding out that he tricked her. Kelly wasn't his
daughter. It wasn't until Julie did some digging around the time of
the divorce that she figured out Kelly was John's daughter. He'd had
a child and never known. I've not spoken to my father since. It was
hard for me for a bit. I really care about my sister. My dad was a
horrible person and hers wasn't. John said he was going to make up
for every second he'd missed with her. He said he was going to treat
me just like his own child too. I didn't believe him. I was so
pissed. You know what, he did. John has treated me better than my own
father ever did. He doesn't expect things from me. He encourages me
to follow my dreams and only do what I have passion for. When I first
moved here, he got me everything I needed to be able to do all of my
gaming and computer stuff. I know it cost him, but he never expected
anything from me. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't be where I am
now.”

Jenny
looked at him with caring eyes. She'd genuinely listened to every
single thing he'd said. Kyle took a deep breath and started walking
again. He knew he needed to stop putting things there that weren't
really there. She didn't like him. She was just a good person. He
could feel her walking next to him but didn't speak.

“
I
heard that you moved,” she said. “Ethan mentioned it last
week at the office. He said you bought a house. I bet that feels good
not to be in an apartment anymore. Sad to think I've got to go from a
house to an apartment. I had a house but lost it. I guess I gave it
away so I could be free. I need to move before I wear out my welcome
with Becky and Gavin. Anyway, how do you like your new place?”

What
did she mean she gave it away to be free, he wondered? Kyle made a
mental note to dig into that later.

“
It's
actually super quiet. I'm used to hearing my neighbors. I'm at the
office until late most days, so I'm not home very much. It's nice
though. The basement is awesome. I have televisions across the entire
wall. There are tables with computers everywhere. It's very cool. I
have some that have company stuff on them, but some of them are all
my games. You should come check it out.”

“
Really?”
she asked. “Come check out your house?”

"Sure,”
he said. “Why do you seem so shocked?”

“
No
reason,” she answered with a shrug.

“
What's
your family like? You said you didn't have the kind all the kids
have,” he asked without thinking she might not want to talk
about it.

“
We're
not really close,” she said, as she stopped on Gavin's beach
and turned to face the water.

Kyle
watched her as she watched the speckle of sun that remained in the
distance. It was almost completely dark. The water was quiet. Nobody
was around. The little bit of light bounced off of the small waves on
the water. She looked so beautiful standing there. He could tell she
was fighting her emotions. He put his hand on her lower back and
didn't move it when he felt the familiar spark.

“
Jenny,”
he said softly.

“
My
dad left when I was just a toddler. I don't really remember him. My
mom didn't keep any pictures with him in them. She's not much better.
It was more important to her that she was able to go out than to
spend time with me. She wasn't horrible. I had clothes and food. She
left me with sitters a lot. She never made crafts or did homework
with me. Her dating life came first. She never stayed with one man
long. She still doesn't. College was out of the question. That was
how I started working at Gavin's company. I became a secretary there
right out of high school. He will never know what he did for me
giving me that chance. I moved up to being his assistant pretty
quickly. It was only about a year. His assistant went on a leave and
never came back. I was only filling in. My plan was to only take one
year off of school. I was saving up as much as I could. Once the year
was up, I had just been promoted and didn't want to mess up what I
had with his company.”

“
Does
he know you passed up college for that job?” Kyle asked.

She
turned and put her hand on his arm.

“
You
can't tell him,” she said. “I never told him that. He
would still give me a huge lecture if he heard about it.”

Kyle
could see the sadness in her eyes from talking about her family.

“
Do
you have any siblings?” he asked.

“
No,”
she said. “Not that I know of anyway. It's better that way.”

“
Do
you talk to your mom often?” he asked.

“
Once
a year, maybe twice,” she said. “Only when I call her on
a holiday. Becky and Gavin have been more of a family to me than she
ever was. They were there for me when I needed someone. I will
forever owe them.”

Kyle
watched a tear slip from the corner of her eye and instantly reached
out to wipe it away with his thumb. He didn't move his hand away. The
feeling of her skin against his palm had his head spinning. When she
leaned into his hand, he thought he was going to lose it. Her eyes
moved up his face and connected with his, and that was it. The
connection he felt toward her was so strong, he couldn't stop
himself. He went forward and covered her lips with his just as his
other hand went to the back of her neck. Her arms went around his
neck with one hand buried in his hair. His tongue moved softly across
her lips, and she opened for him to enter. Her tongue found his and
slowly danced around it. It wasn't rough and demanding. It was soft,
loving, and pure bliss. He felt more heat in that one kiss than he
had ever felt with anyone before in his life.

When
they pulled apart from the kiss, he looked up toward Gavin's house
and was instantly brought back to reality.

“
I'm
sorry,” he said. “I shouldn't have done that.”

He
turned toward John's house.

“
I
have to go.”

He
started walking as he whispered.