Page 123 of The Route to You

She crossed her arms. “When? Today? Or after my life blew up in January?” She took a step toward him, her own frustration growing. “Because I already explained that to you. And my life was in shambles.”

“Did you, though? Because I get the whole not having my phone number and having a hard time finding me . . . but you know what? You’re not the only person whose life blew up. And I was just an innocent bystander, going to a wedding as a guest for a friend. I ended up jobless, arrested, my name dragged through the mud—which, by the way, you made no effort to correct—and then I was in the hospital and lost my autonomy, too. And I’m still paying the price, trying to piece my life back together. So, yeah, your explanation seems a little thin.”

She flinched. He wasn’t wrong. His life had imploded because she’d reached out to him when she’d felt she had nowhere else to turn. But I’m not responsible for everything he’s gone through, and I need to stand up for myself here too. “I had nothing to do with your accident.”

“Debatable.”

“No, not debatable.” Her tone was colder than she wanted it to be. “No one made you take risks on a Jet Ski but you.”

He nodded. “That’s true. No one did.” His gaze hardened. “But I didn’t have my head on straight in Cabo, and I know without a shadow of a doubt that had everything to do with what happened with you.”

That hurt in a way she didn’t want to admit. Because the entire drive from San Francisco, she’d wondered what she would have done if he’d died, rather than just been injured?

“W-what was I supposed to do? I didn’t mean for any of that stuff to happen. What, would you have preferred I just stay with Evan? Get married to a total asshole who clearly didn’t love me?”

“No, I didn’t say that⁠—”

“Then what? What did you want? For me not to involve you? I’m sorry I did, Kyle. I truly am, but I was desp⁠—”

“No, I don’t care about that. I’m glad I could help you, Sloan. But you couldn’t have, I don’t know, released a statement about what actually happened? Told the journalists that it was your fucking ex who was the cheating douche instead of me? Hell, you could still do it.”

Sloan pinched the bridge of her nose. “I couldn’t . . . and I can’t,” she said softly.

Something in his expression flickered. “Got it.” He started to move past her.

Her hand shot out and caught him by the forearm. “Where are you going?”

“Bathroom. I want to brush my teeth.”

“Stop. Wait. Listen to me.” She dropped her hand from his arm. “I couldn’t because I was surrounded by lawyers at first, telling me what I could and couldn’t do. And with Evan being a congressman, I was scared. His mom was being awful, threatening me in every legal way possible.” She drew a breath, trying not to think about how cruel Bernice had been.

“And Evan was horrible, too,” she continued. “He carried on with the narrative that I was a . . . slut . . . who’d hopped into the bed of the first man I ran into. I don’t know if it just made him feel better to pretend that I was a cheater, too, or he just wanted to stick to that story so that he wouldn’t be accused of defamation. Maybe he just wanted to have something over me so I wouldn’t release the evidence I was given about his affair. And surprise, surprise, he found all sorts of people willing to come out and put on paper that they had seen us together long before Vail.”

Kyle’s chin jerked up. “What?”

“People are always willing to curry favors with politicians for a price.”

His jaw clenched so hard she could see it.

“I wanted it to go away —him to go away. So . . . I signed a nondisclosure agreement. Strictly speaking, I’m not even sure I’m supposed to tell you anything about that, but I know you won’t say anything anyway.”

He covered his face with his hands for a moment. Sloan had never seen Kyle so angry, and she hated that she was the one who’d made him that way. Thanks to Evan fucking Tipton.

“I mean, you’re still able to sue if you want. And if I were subpoenaed, I could testify⁠—”

A short huff left his lips as he dropped his hands. “I have zero interest in doing that. You just said it yourself—he’s a congressman. You think I want to get dragged through the nightmare that is the US legal system, opposing expensive lawyers I can’t possibly hope to win against? Hell, I can’t even afford a lawyer for that right now. I lost my insurance when I was fired. Medical bills . . . weren’t cheap.”

Oh yikes. She had never even considered the insurance aspect.

“And your family can’t help? Aren’t Liddy and Elle pretty well off? They might be able to lend you the money.”

He studied her, his expression dark. “Well, for that matter, why not just break the NDA and get your father to foot the bill for whatever financial penalty you face?”

Ugh. Fair. “I get your point.”

“I don’t have a lot,” he said wearily. “But I still have my pride. Sort of.”

She reached for his hand. “Of course you do. Kyle . . . you’re one of the most honest, honorable men I’ve ever met. You should be proud of that.” She squeezed his hand, her heart swelling.