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She grabbed the door handle, threw back her shoulders, pasted on a brilliant smile, and opened the door.
Chandler was standing there. He looked incredible in a fitted black T-shirt and black pants, his arm muscles pronounced and his blue eyes piercing. He’d be part of the special ops crew with his brothers Aiden, Thor, and Greer and his cousin Colton. With men like this around, how dare she be afraid?
His mouth fell open and his blue eyes filled with appreciation and warmth. “Kylee …” His voice was almost worshipful as he slowly looked her over. “You are so exquisitely beautiful.”
Her brilliant smile faded to a shy one. He seemed so sincere. How could she doubt him? How could she not just pull him in and kiss him until he knew he was far more beautiful than anyone to her?
“Thank you,” she managed. “Is it time?”
He shook his head and took a step closer. “Papa and the rest of the guys aren’t back yet. They’ll be here soon and fit you with the earpiece, camera, and mic.”
“Okay.” She drew in a breath and put her free hand to her stomach. “It all feels so surreal.”
“I bet. Are you feeling all right? I hate to have you be the one going in there.”
She put her hand on his arm and savored the feel of his firm flesh. He looked at her hand, then back at her.
“I’m okay, Chandler. I just prayed and I … I feel like it’s going to work out. Somehow.”
“I’ve been praying too,” he admitted. He eased in closer yet again and she could’ve backed farther into the room, but she stood her ground and looked up at his clear blue eyes. With her heels on, she was a bit closer to his handsome face.
He gently cupped her cheek and said in a gravelly voice, “I’ve been praying you’ll all be safe.”
“Thank you.”
“And I’ve been praying that you will know without any shadow of doubt how beautiful, incredible, and impressive you are to me.”
Her eyes widened at that. She should move away, but his gaze and hand captivated her.
“And I’ve been praying that you will believe I’m telling you the truth that I sent a text all those years ago.”
He didn’t say more about her return text, but she couldn’t help but ask, “Could one of your other girlfriends have sent that text and you confused us?”
His blue eyes widened in disbelief. “Kylee, I wasn’t dating anyone else that summer. It was you. It’s always been you for me.”
She stared at him, and she believed him. At least that she was the only one he’d been dating that summer. Biting her lip, she said, “I want to believe you about not ghosting me, but trust me, I would remember. You were my every hope and dream. So much in my life would have been different if ….”
His gaze got intense, and he said, “Kylee, could someone else have taken your phone, sent that text, and then deleted the text stream and blocked my number?”
She stared at him. “Why would someone …” Her own eyes widened as the truth hit her like a punch in the gut. It was instantly clear, and she couldn’t believe she hadn’t seen it before.
“Mimi,” she muttered darkly, upset at herself for not thinking of that possibility sooner. Of course. Mimi would do anything to hurt Kylee.
“It’s the only explanation I can come up with,” he said. “Because I remember clearly the moment I texted you. I went to that spot we found along the creek, where the water sounded like music over the stones. It took me way too long to compose the perfect text. And even though I got a text back that hurt worse than a lacrosse ball to the face, I believe you when you say that you never saw it and that you didn’t send the breakup text.”
“Wow. I can’t believe she would … yet I can.”
She tried to think it through. In the Denver airport, she remembered running to get some food for the flight with her parents while Mimi and Grandpa stayed with the luggage. Kylee’s phone had been sitting in her backpack. Mimi had been complaining that they couldn’t get a chartered flight and how she hated being around all these … lower-class citizens. It had ticked her dad off, so her mom had suggested the three of them go get food. Mimi must have heard a text alert and pulled the phone out. She’d used her dad’s birth year for every four-digit code and Mimi had known that.
After her parents’ deaths, Mimi and Grandpa’s financial situation had completely changed. She’d always assumed Mimi had taken all the life insurance money to support her affluent lifestyle, but even that wouldn’t have been enough. She believed now that Mimi had sold her soul for wealth and influence.
“I’m sorry I called you a liar,” she said quietly.
Doors opened and closed downstairs and footsteps and voices floated up.
“Thank you.” Chandler leaned in and wrapped his free arm around her waist. “I pray you can believe that I would never ghost the most important woman in the world to me, but more importantly, I pray you can know how perfect you are. You’re more than enough, Kylee. Please don’t believe anything your grandmother tried to feed you. Please believe that in my eyes you’re the most incredible woman ever created, and I want you to be by my side always. I want you to be my everything. And I pray I can be there to protect, love, and cherish you.”
The words were so beautiful, but also so big. She’d fallen in love with Chandler at sixteen, but she had always tried to convince herself it was just a shallow teenage relationship. It had been the only way for her to reconcile it in her mind when she thought he’d dumped her.
