Page 154 of The Route to You

As if there were any other option.

I’ve missed this man. Not once, when Evan had gone on work trips, had she felt as relieved to be held, to be in his presence again. If anything, there’d always been a slight stab of unease. But Kyle? With Kyle, she felt she was home.

She pulled away and cupped his cheeks. “Are you okay? Have you been crying? What happened?”

“I’m fine—just . . .” He cleared his throat, stepping back.

“No.” She gave him a firm look. “No, I’m fine. Tell me. Because I love you and I want to help. Please.”

He lifted his gaze, his eyes warming at her words. “I opened the letter Granny left me a couple of hours ago. Read it a few times.” He moistened his lips. “I was supposed to read it when I scattered her ashes, but I haven’t . . .”

Oh . . .

She wrapped her arms around him without hesitation. “I’m so sorry. Grief is so hard, and it never goes away completely, no matter how much time passes. But something like that definitely rips the scab off and makes it hurt all over again.”

“If you’ve ever let it scab in the first place,” he said softly.

“True.” She squeezed him and stepped back. “To be honest, I don’t know if you’ve ever really let yourself grieve. And it’s partially my fault. I got in the way of your plans to lay her to rest and then⁠—”

“It’s not your fault. I wasn’t ready. I was grateful for the excuse to put it off, even if I couldn’t admit it.”

She regarded him closely. “And you’re ready now?”

“Nope.” He gave her a grim smile. “But I’m working on it.” He studied the floor, his demeanor shifting as though he didn’t want to talk about it anymore. Then he added, “You didn’t call me enough.”

Was that what this was about? Maybe she should have known. He was sensitive about that sort of thing.

“I’m sorry.”

“Scared the shit out of me, Sloan.”

Then she understood.

He’d been afraid . . . afraid that she was running from him again.

She deserved that. He was insecure about how she felt about him—not that she blamed him, given how much she’d hurt him and broken his trust before.

Her breath hitched, and she grabbed his hands and squeezed them. “I’m never going to hurt you like that again, Kyle. I promised you that, and I mean it.”

He searched her eyes for a few more seconds. “Still should have called.”

“You’re right, I should have, but I was trying to spend as much time with my dad and Penny as possible, and I lost track of time a lot.”

He quirked his eyebrow, questioning her words.

“Come on,” she said, tugging him down the hall. “Let’s talk.”

That provoked a wary look, and she smiled. “Not a bad talk. I just have a lot to tell you about my trip.” She led him, flipping on some lights along the way. She brought him toward the kitchen. “Did you eat dinner yet? I’m starved.”

“There’s not a lot to eat.”

She cocked her head to the side and opened the pantry. “There’s not a lot that’s ready to eat, but there’s plenty of food, you helpless man. What, have you been surviving off pizza and carry-out?”

“No,” he said, lips twitching.

She gave him a sharp look.

“Yes.” He rested his hands against the counter. “But that’s nothing new. How’s Penny?”