Page 100 of Now That It's You
Kyle pulled her closer, putting both arms around her in an awkward, sideways hug. “I know,” he said, wishing he could think of something more comforting to offer. “I know.”
“Do you think—” she drew back, looking at him with an earnest expression before casting her eyes down at the closed photo album. “Never mind. I suppose now’s not the time.”
“What, Mom? Say it.”
She looked up at him with a flicker of hope in her eyes. “I just wondered if you ever thought about settling down. Finding a nice girl, maybe having a child of your own.”
The ache started deep in Kyle’s chest and spread outward, radiating through his arms and legs. It took him a moment to catch his breath. “Sure,” he said at last. “I’ve thought about it.”
“I mean, I guess you’d want to be in a relationship first. That’s important.”
His subconscious poked him in the ribs. Tell her. Tell her about Meg.
But he couldn’t say that. He didn’t know where things stood with Meg, but he hadn’t stopped thinking about her all week. They’d called and texted and flirted on the phone until two in the morning in the three days since they’d melted their relationship relics. Since then, she’d been busy with radio interviews and catering jobs, but they’d made loose plans to see each other Friday night.
He looked at his mom and wondered what she’d think if she knew. Would it break her heart? Lord knew the last thing his mother needed right now was more heartache.
Then again, she used to like Meg. Loved her like a daughter, she’d said, or at least she used to before Meg’s disappearing act.
“I want you to be happy, baby,” his mom was saying. “You’ve dated a lot of lovely girls over the years. I know I told you I thought Cara might’ve been the one?—”
“She wasn’t.” He started to apologize for the gruffness of his reply, but his mom didn’t seem fazed.
“I know that,” she said. “And I know she wanted to get married and you didn’t. So did Melody. So did?—”
“Mom, I couldn’t see myself spending the rest of my life with them.”
She blinked up at him with watery eyes. “So you do see it with someone?”
“I—” he stopped himself, not sure what it meant that he was picturing Meg again. Meg smiling up at him with a veil in her hair and a bouquet of daisies clutched in her hand. Meg sleeping beside him, her curls spread across the pillow in a tangled web. Meg holding a baby—his baby—or cheering at a Little League game or hugging him at a high school graduation ceremony . . .
“I don’t mean someone specific,” his mom said. “But you think there’s a woman out there that you could spend the rest of your life with?”
The hope in her voice was almost too much for him to bear. He thought about telling her then. About confessing everything, not just the last three weeks of growing closer to Meg, but everything. The years of pining silently for her, watching from afar, picturing himself in Matt’s shoes, in Matt’s life, in her?—
“Mom, I?—”
The doorbell chimed, and his mom stiffened under his arm. She glanced toward the door, then looked down at her watch. “She’s early.” Sylvia sighed. “She never could show up on time. Always five minutes early, never right on the hour.”
Kyle felt all the blood drain from his face. He knew someone who fit that description. “Who’s she?”
“Meg Delaney. She called this morning, said she had something she needed to show me. She’s bringing her lawyer with her, so obviously I’ve got Albert joining me, but he can’t make it until three-thirty.”
His mom stood up and started for the door while Kyle sat frozen on the sofa. Part of him wanted to flee. Maybe he could make it out the back door and let his mother handle this alone. Meg had her lawyer, and his mom would have hers. Neither of them needed him here. A smart man would remove himself from the situation and let them work things out without him.
He stood and grabbed his keys, ready to make a run for it. But the instant his mom threw open the door, his chance of escape vanished. “Hello, Meg,” Sylvia said crisply. “I assume this is your attorney?”
“Franklin Hatfield, pleasure to meet you.”
Kyle stood up, his hands balled at his sides as though his subconscious expected a fistfight. The room tilted a little as he moved toward the door. He stepped up beside his mother, who turned and smiled up at him. The love in her eyes was so fierce that Kyle stepped closer, feeling oddly protective.
Then he looked back at Meg. Her eyes had gone wide, and she looked at him like he was the last person on earth she wanted to see.
“Kyle,” she said, licking her lips. “I wasn’t expecting you to be here.”
“I didn’t realize you were stopping by.”
“Yes, well, we’re all here now.” His mom swung the door wide open. “I’ll grab some refreshments and we can wait for Albert to arrive. Kyle? Would you mind showing them to the study?”
