She grinned. “I’m looking forward to introducing him to Wes.”
Kit frowned and shook her head. “Wait, wait, wait. That’s it? You two had a coming to Jesus moment and now you’re besties again after all this time? All this time when we thought he was dead and he never reached out to us? After all that time when I thought my heart would never mend? Lex, I…”
She took Kit’s hand in hers and stared at her. “Hear me out, Kitty. Life is too short to harbor ill feelings toward anyone, including Kirby. Hear him out.”
Kit met Alexa’s eyes. “If he thinks he can pick up where he left off with me, he’s got another thing coming.”
Alexa sighed. “Oh boy. Ok. That’s fair, but can I remind you that up until recently, you wanted nothing more than to see him and talk to him again and explore another chance with him. You had that relationship up on a pedestal. Are you sitting here telling me you’re seeing the reality of it?”
She shifted her eyes away and nodded. “Lex, I can’t go backward, only forward. I have no idea what’s going to happen when he shares what happened with me.”
She then met her eyes. “But I can tell you one thing. The beauty of everything that has transpired in the last few weeks has helped me get really clear on what I want in my life, who I want in my life and how I’m feeling. Right now, a big dose of reality is hitting. I can’t make promises about anything in this moment. Suddenly it feels confusing and I’m thinking it was better off when he was presumed dead.”
Alexa nodded. “Let’s get you some clarity, ok? I think I have a good idea of how this is going to pan out.” She patted her on the knee. “Just be patient with the process. Go through it with him today. At the very least, it will give you closure on that time in your life.”
Kit let a chuckle escape. “My therapist would love you right about now.” She nodded. “Ok. You’re right. I’ll hear him out. I want to know what happened.” She met Alexa’s eyes again. “Tell me one thing.”
Alexa stared at her. “Depends on what it is. I want him to be the one answering all your questions.”
Her green eyes pleaded. “C’mon, Lex. This is a girl question. I need to know.”
Alexa slowly nodded, surveying her. “What is it?”
She sighed. “Lex, did he ever marry?”
Alexa shrugged her shoulders. “I dunno. I didn’t pose the question and he didn’t volunteer the information. There is one thing I do know...” She let out a long sigh. “…He meant what he said back at the restaurant, Kitty. He never stopped loving you. It’s true.”
Kit closed her eyes in hopes of keeping the tears at bay, but her body started shuttering and the sobs burst out before she could stop them. Alexa took her into her arms and held her.
CHAPTER 21
The conversation over lunch was awkward at best, as Alexa and Kyle kept it to small talk before delving into all the details of the last ten years of his life.
Kit glanced around the condo. It was nice yet sparse, which didn’t surprise her. He had always been the frugal type when it came to home environment, keeping things a little too simple, borderline austere. She recalled that it was something that drove her crazy when they lived together.
The high-rise condo with a desirable 90210 zip code in the Wilshire Corridor suited his New York roots to the tee with its floor to ceiling windows and view of the city, conveniently located down the street from where she was presently living.
As he cleared their plates from lunch, she leaned over the table and stared at Alexa. “I want to go. This is weird. I don’t care about where he’s been for the last decade. I’m done.”
Before she continued, Kyle entered the room and stared at her. “If you really mean that, Kit, I won’t hold you anymore. Go ahead and go.”
She looked up and met his eyes, feeling her rage start to bubble up again. She recalled his passive aggressive patterns toward her from time to time when they were together. He had a way of flipping the tables in his favor. Despite knowing he was bending her to his will, a nagging voice inside her encouraged her to stay.
She let out a defeated sigh and looked away. “Fine, I’ll stay.”
He exchanged a look with Alexa. “Let’s head into the living room.”
He watched Kit carefully until she took a seat on his sofa next to Alexa. He opted to take a seat on the chair adjacent to where Kit was sitting. He inched forward on his seat and rested his elbows on his knees, folding his hands in the process, desperate for her to look at him.
Realizing she wouldn’t, he resorted to clearing his throat to capture her attention. “Kit, please look at me.”
She reluctantly shifted her gaze to him, still finding his eyes too dangerous for her. She felt like she was being pulled in. Invisible butterflies started fluttering around in her gut and she swallowed hard.
He nodded. “I’ll start from the beginning. I’ll give you the nutshell version and then you can ask questions afterward. Fair?” She nodded slowly, silently waiting for him to continue.
He sighed. “When we were in Philly, I had started working with the Feds, feeding them information about my dad and some illegal dealings. While all that was going on, I’m ashamed to admit that I had
