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“Chandler, Kylee.” Papa walked up to them, and Kylee realized they were the only ones left in the room. His blue eyes focused in on Kylee and though they were crystal clear and bright like Chandler’s, they had a very different power. “I can’t imagine how overwhelming this is. Thank you for your willingness to help.”
She shook her head. “Papa, thank you.” She swallowed and continued on, “You believe me, you’ve all protected me, fed me, clothed me.”
Ohana means family, she thought of the line from Lilo and Stitch.Family means nobody gets left behind. Her own family didn’t watch out for her, but the Deltas would.
She blinked to clear the emotion and almost admitted how terribly alone she was, but instead she forced a watery smile. “I love your family. Always have.” She didn’t let herself look at Chandler, but she could feel the intensity of his stare. “Even though it’s under hard circumstances, I’m very, very grateful to be here with you and very, very grateful for you and your expertise and kick-buttedness.”
Papa smiled at her last word, but then he reached out and gathered her close. Something about his build and even his smell—was it seriously Old Spice?—reminded her of her grandpa and the tears she’d been fighting threatened to spill over. She hugged him back and then pulled away.
Papa looked very serious as he said, “You always have a spot here with us, Kylee. Always.”
“Thanks,” she managed.
“And just between the two of us …” He lowered his voice and looked out the open conference room door. “I keep praying that Ross is innocent. I just can’t believe that loyal, brave, good-to-the-bone man could betray his country, but more especially that he could ever let harm come to you. The military is good at building hard shells around lifelong soldiers. Ross doesn’t know how to show his affection, but he loves you, Kylee, and he wouldn’t let anybody hurt you.”
The tears spilled over then. She wanted to believe him, but were they both deluded? She reached for the necklace that wasn’t there. Her grandfather had given her that necklace. He had tried to shelter her from Mimi’s barbs but had mostly failed. How could he be married to Mimi for all these years and not have her evil rub off on him?
Papa smiled and then turned and walked away. Chandler said nothing, as if letting her soak in the words.
She blew out a breath and turned to him. “Shall we start on self-defense training tonight?”
He looked her over as if she were fragile emotionally. “We can wait until the morning.”
“No.” She shook her head. “I need to be ready to walk into that party with confidence.”
You, confident? That’s a laugh.
Spegnerlo!
She swallowed hard. There was no world where she could walk into that party with true confidence, but at least she could feel better knowing she could defend herself. If only she could undo all the negative Mimi had put into her head.
Chandler’s gaze was warm on her. “You can, Kylee. You can hold your head high knowing the Delta family has your back and God will be watching over you as well.”
She liked that a lot. She would pray harder than ever and hopefully the Deltas and heaven would carry her through with minimal injury, physical or emotional.
“Plus…” He eased in closer. “You’ll easily be the most gorgeous woman at that party. Distracting King Frederick and everyone else with your beauty.”
Her eyes widened.
Gorgeous? Beauty? Ha! You? Tell the boy he is delus—
“I know you try to dismiss every compliment given to you,” he said huskily, his blue eyes full of meaning and his sincere words miraculously cutting off Mimi’s voice. “But believe me, Kylee. You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen in my life. Beauty that starts inside and radiates out. You shine with pure, innocent, irresistible beauty.”
Kylee blinked at him. Were his words as genuine and heartfelt as they seemed? His gaze said they were. His blue eyes were begging her to believe him. It was the most touching and sincere compliment she’d ever received. She wanted to internalize it. She wanted to kiss him, but she needed time to process his words. She’d had a pastor once tell her she was enough to her Father in Heaven and if she could truly believe that, she would never doubt her eternal worth again. Chandler’s sincere gaze and compliment seemed to back up that pastor’s words. God loved her and saw her worth, and Chandler seconded it. What more did she need?
ChapterEleven
Kylee stepped back away from Chandler, needing time to process and dissect his profound words, and how he’d managed to shut down Mimi’s snark mid-sentence. The other option was throwing herself into his arms and begging him to kiss her.
The emotions fighting inside her were getting far too intense. She needed to focus on this terrifying party first, and then maybe she could try to internalize what Chandler was saying and sort out if they could truly have a future.
“Where should we do the training?” she asked.
He looked surprised and Kylee almost laughed, despite how serious everything felt. Had he ever had a woman not fall to his feet? Was he really some womanizer? She’d assumed so and wasn’t sure she wanted the full story.
“There’s an empty bedroom just down the hall,” he said.
“Perfect.” She walked out into the hallway, and he stepped up to her side and directed her to an open door. The room was carpeted and had a window with a concrete window well and a closet, but nothing else.
