Page 13 of After You

Kyle just kept rolling, pretending to be totally focused on the task. He wouldn’t admit that he’d had a similar thought a time or two. That it might have occurred to him it had been easier for Hannah to stay away over the past three years without a single trip home than it would be to actually leave Sapphire Falls, as she would have to do this time. And that when she was over a thousand miles away, she might be able to ignore everything she’d loved here, but once she was right in the middle of it, it would be impossible. Hannah had loved it here. This was home. Life here was what she’d always wanted.

He also wouldn’t admit to her sweet, big-hearted grandmother that he hoped being home was hard on Hannah. Really hard. That he hoped Hannah was smacked in the face by everything she’d left behind every single day she was here. He hoped she regretted it. He hoped she missed it. He hoped that leaving at the end of the six weeks would tear her heartout.

Kyle realized he’d rolled the dough far too thin and forced himself to relax. Yeah, he was definitely not admitting any of that to Alice.

“So, what are you going to do?” Ruby asked.

“Whatever it takes,” Alicesaid.

Kyle sighed. Alice was setting herself up for heartbreak. She was going to show Hannah everything Alice loved about Sapphire Falls, and then Hannah was going to essentially say “yeah, no thanks” when she got in her car and headed for the airport.

“You have her bedroom repainted and looking like it always did,” Ruby said. “You have everything ready for her favorite meal. Whatelse?”

“I’m going to have her go through things in the attic,” Alice said. “Tell her I need help cleaning some things out. All of my scrapbooks and her toys and things are up there.”

“You’re not going to throw any of that out,” Rubysaid.

“No. But she doesn’t knowthat.”

Ruby laughed. “You’re going to make her nostalgic by going through stuff, and then really make her want to cling to it all at the idea of throwing itaway?”

Alice frowned. “It’s symbolic of the other things she should be clingingto.”

“Wow, that’s hardball,” Ruby said, obviously impressed.

And that was just what Kyle needed—his grandmother getting ideas about how to manipulate the emotions of her grandchildren.

“If you really loved her and wanted her to be happy, wouldn’t you just be supportive?” Kyle asked.

Alice frowned at him. “She wants to come home. I know she does. And you,” she said, pointing a finger at Kyle, “knock it off with the supportive, do-whatever-you-need-to-do stuff."

Kyle blinked at her. “Excuseme?”

“You know if you’d begged her to come home, if you’d gone out there after her, she would be here rightnow.”

“I was being a good friend to her,” he said, ignoring the part of his conscience that said yeah, how come you never begged or even thought of getting on a plane?

But he had thought about getting on a plane. He’d just been way too hurt, and afraid of having her reject him to his face, to actually doit.

“You were supposed to be madly in love with her,” Alicesaid.

Kyle set the rolling pin down and faced her more squarely. “Are you questioning how I felt about Hannah?” Because that was bullshit.

Alice lifted her chin. “Maybe. It just seemed that it was really easy for you to let hergo.”

Kyle felt his eyes widen. Oh no, nobody doubted that Hannah had been his One. Not even Alice. Maybe especially Alice. “You’re mad at me because I was supportive of her following her dream and maintained our friendship in spite of the fact that she broke my heart?” Okay, so he hadn’t maintained their friendship. And supportive was not exactly the right word for how he’d been. But he didn’t know that Alice was upset with him. In fact, he’d been working really hard to be sure she wasn’t upset withhim.

“I’m hopeful,” Alice said, “that you realize this is your second chance.”

“My second chance,” he repeated. Then he narrowed his eyes. “To not be supportive? To be clingy and pathetic and beg her not to leave again?” Because he was not doing that. Probably. Because he was going to be avoiding her as much as possible.

“To show her that you wanther.”

The words hit him hard in the chest. There had been doubt about him wanting her? In anyone’s mind? Why did that make him a little crazy? “I wanted her, Alice,” he finally said seriously. “Her not coming home tore meup.”

“Good,” Alicesaid.

Kyle cocked an eyebrow.

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