Page 29 of Push

I kept my eyes trained on the coffee machine and didn’t move. I knew I couldn’t avoid Kayleigh forever, but I wasn’t sure how to handle this situation. I hadn’t talked to the lawyer. I didn’t know the right things to say. Maybe if I imagined my wife standingbeside me, I’d say the words that would make her proud, even if she wasn’t there.

Professional. Detached. Nothing going on here.

I slowly turned.

Kayleigh hovered just inside the break room. She twisted the hem of her purple scrubs in nervous fingers. “It’s so good to see you.” Her eyes stayed locked on the black sneakers she’d always complained were ugly. “I missed you yesterday.”

I acknowledged her only with a sharp jerk of my chin. “Miss Roberts.”

Kayleigh’s face was a landslide. “Miss Roberts?” Her gaze lifted, cautious and unsure. “Not…Kay?”

“No.” I’d promised Gwen.

“But you’ve always called me Kay.”

And I shouldn’t have. I didn’t say that, though. I ignored the comment completely. “I’m making a coffee.” I turned back to the counter but quickly added, “I’ll be finished in a minute.”

“You hate the coffee here.” Footsteps scurried closer. I glanced over my shoulder to see her standing way too close. A hopeful smile crept on her face. “No one would mind if we snuck out to grab one—”

“I’m not going anywhere with you. You can’t be here—anywhere—alone with me. Didn’t Judy explain that to you?”

“She did, but it doesn’t make sense. I mean…after the other night…” Her smile was still there, but it was shaky.

“Stay away from me.”

Kayleigh blinked at me, confused. “But…” She bit her lip. “Our kiss. I can’t stop thinking about the way you touched me.”

“That was a mistake. I shouldn’t have done that.”

“Of course you should have. I want this, Toby. I wantus.”

“There is nous. As your boss and as…as ahusband…I had a responsibility not to blur the boundary between us. I may have crossed the line once, but it will never happen again.”

“You can’t pretend that night didn’t happen. I felt your body—”

“Christ, Kayleigh! Stop!”

“Toby, Iknowyou feel it, too. You opened up. You trusted me. We’resogood together.”

Blowing out a breath, I raked my fingers through my hair. This conversation was a dangerous waste of time. Kayleigh wasn’t hearing a word out of my mouth. “Stop” and “no” were only gas pedals for her to keep talking. I was giving too much airtime to her flawed thoughts.

“There’s no you and me,” I said. “There’s nothing between us. I have no feelings for you.”

“Why are you lying to yourself?” Kayleigh’s voice was strong despite her clouded eyes betraying how much my words had hurt. “Is it because of Judy? Ian? I heard what the other girls were saying, too. I don’t care about money. You don’t need to pay me to keep quiet. And I did, Toby. I didn’t say a word even when Judy grilled me with a hundred questions. She said she’s getting a mediator—someoutsider—to talk to us about these stupidboundaries. I don’t care about the mediator. I don’t care about this job. I don’t want boundaries. There are a hundred other clinics in Sydney. The only reason I stayed working here was because of you.”

“Then start looking for a new job.”

I’d been so blind. I should’ve seen the signs Kayleigh was getting too attached, but I’d brushed aside all the comments and glances that should’ve tripped my alarm bells. I’d ignored the warnings we were speeding too close to an unforgivable line.

Andwhy?

Sure, I’d enjoyed the noise, but it was more than that. The answer lurked in the darkest, ugliest part of my soul: I liked the attention. I was a mess.

Kayleigh watched me with cautious eyes as I squared my shoulders. This was it.

“Gwen and my son are my whole world. I made a mistake.” I let out a hollow laugh. Talk about sugarcoating my screw-ups. “Actually, I’ve made a lot of mistakes. I should’ve been a better boss, but more than anything, I should’ve done better by Gwen. I love my wife. I choose her. There willneverbe anything between you and me.Ever.”

I left my coffee mug forgotten on the counter and pushed past the woman crumbling in front of me. She could claw at my coat, shriek at me, and beg me to reconsider, but I just kept shrugging her off to bolt out the door. The only person I needed to talk to as I burst down the corridor was my wife.

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