I nod. That reminds me of the advice that Zack gave me, and she’s right about an unbiased opinion.
I grab my bag and slip my shoes on. “I agree. Sometimes we have to come to conclusions on our own and it does help to talk to people who can look at the situation differently. I’ll be sure to let Kyle know how much he helped you. I know he will be happy to hear it.”
She opens her mouth to say something but stops.
“Is there something else?” I ask.
She shakes her head. “Never mind. Have fun.”
She gets up and wanders to her room, leaving me scratching my head. Hmmm . . . I wonder what that was about. I really want to ask her more about Zack, but first I have to close a chapter of my past.
~*~*~
I beat Kyle to the bakery, so I order a cup of hot chocolate and get a corner table by the window. I look out the window and watch people walk by. I really love this city. The good thing about taking a position with LivElle Performing Arts (Ugh, that name!) is that I won’t have to move again, at least for right now.
“Sorry I’m late,” Kyle says, dragging me away from my thoughts. I glance at the time, of course he’s only one minute late. But for Kyle, one minute is more like one hour.
“No worries, I just got here.”
He sits down, and for some reason, I get the feeling that something’s on his mind. I know the feeling.
“How have you been?” he asks.
I give him the standard answer. And this is how most of our conversations have been for a while now, just some small talk, other than that one night at my apartment of course.
“Thanks for meeting me. It’s nice to see a friendly face on these trips.”
I smile. I have to do this. I can’t put this off any longer.
“I’m actually glad you called tonight,” I tell him. “I’ve been wanting to talk to you and we seem to get interrupted quite a bit.”
Kyle shifts around nervously and puts his hand on his forehead. “I wanted to talk to you, too, actually about that last conversation we had.”
I bite my lower lip. “Yeah, about that.”
He holds up his hand. “Can I just say something?”
I close my mouth and nod.
“I’ve had a lot going on and I needed a friend that night. I should never have put you on the spot like that by trying to pressure you into us getting back together.”
I listen intently.
“I will always love you, Maris. But I know we’re not going to get back together.”
I stare at him. Could this really be happening right now? I was absolutely dreading the idea of breaking sweet Kyle’s heart. And after that last conversation, I thought he was going to continue to pursue reconciliation.
I reach for his hand. “No, we’re not. I will always care about you, too. But, I think we both moved on a long time ago.”
He exhales as if a heavy weight has been lifted off his shoulders, so I continue talking. “You’re one of the most sincere and loving men I’ve ever met. You deserve someone who will love you with their whole heart, not just a piece of it.”
He smiles. “And so do you. I hope we will stay friends,” he says worriedly.
I smile. “Of course we will, forever.”
He begins to tap his fingers on the side of his cup. I’ve known Kyle a while and I know he has something else to say.
“What are you still anxious about?” I ask.
He shakes his head. “There’s something else, and I don’t know how to ask or even if I should ask.”
I furrow my brow. “You can always talk to me. What is it?” I can’t imagine what else he has to say right now.
“I probably shouldn’t bring this up now.” He pauses. “Oh well, here goes. I’m interested in someone and I don’t know if it’s the right thing for me to pursue.”
I raise my eyebrows. “Kyle, you don’t have to be nervous about asking me for dating advice. We’re way past that point now.”
He grimaces. “I’m just not sure.”
I smack him on the forearm. “Come on.”
He throws his head back. “Okay, I’m interested in Layla.”
My mouth drops open. “Layla? My roommate?”
All of a sudden something occurs to me. Layla was acting funny when I mentioned Kyle, maybe it had nothing to do with Zack at all. I wonder if she’s interested in Kyle, too.
“Yes. That’s why I was worried. I will not pursue her if it will be too weird. I don’t want to cause a problem between you and your roommate. And she lives here and I don’t, so there’s that whole issue, too.”
I hold up my hand. “Wait, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with you being interested in Layla. In fact, she asked me to thank you for cheering her up the other night. She said you were the one who finally pushed her to get rid of that Bobby guy.”
His face lights up like a Christmas tree. Now that is exactly the reaction you should have when you have feelings for someone.
“So, you would be okay with me asking Layla out? Of course, she may not be okay with it but . . . well, I guess it’s worth a shot.”
I nod. “Absolutely.”
The thing is I really am okay with this. For some reason, it doesn’t bother me at all. I care about Kyle and that means caring about his happiness.
Kyle makes a face. “Is this weird? You being a matchmaker for me?”
I start laughing. “I suppose it should be . . . but it doesn’t feel weird.”
When I leave the bakery, I feel so much better. Finally, I feel like I’m moving forward. I promise Kyle that I will talk to Layla and feel her out. Based on my earlier conversation with her, I have a feeling she’s going to be very receptive.
Layla is doing her weekly food prep when I arrive home. It’s definitely interesting how different Zack and Layla are with their cooking—eating habits. I sit down at the table and look at my phone. I admit I was hoping for a text from Zack but nothing so far.
“How was your dessert date?” she asks over her shoulder.
Date?
“It wasn’t a date,” I insist.
“You know what I mean,” she says as she’s chopping vegetables.
I purse my lips. “Kyle and I actually had a great talk. We agreed that we would always be friends, but that’s it.”
“Oh, well, that’s good. Right?” she asks.
I smile. “It’s very good. I want Kyle to be happy.”
She continues to chop her vegetables, so I take advantage of this moment to ask her about him. “What do you think of Kyle?”
She stops chopping and turns around. “Why do you ask?”
I shrug. “I ask because when I relayed your message to him he seemed really happy to hear that he was able to help you.”
She tries to hide her smile. “He did?”
I start to laugh. “Yeah, I think he might be interested in you.”
She doesn’t say anything.
“I know you’re just getting over that whole thing with your ex, but Kyle is a really good guy, so just keep that in mind.”
After dropping a few more hints, I go to my room. I fall down on my bed and stretch out. I’m really proud of myself. Even if nothing happens with Layla, I hope Kyle is able to find someone who can love him the way he loves others.
I let out a sigh after looking at my phone again. I need a distraction and fast. Since I’m too far away from home and my park, I grab a notepad and I start writing. I’ve had this idea for a song for a while, and I think now is the perfect time to write it.
Chapter 20
As I read through the lyrics of my song, I get a little choked up. It’s coming together very quickly; in fact, I think this is the fastest I’ve ever written a song. Normally, it takes me months, but I definitely feel like I’ve been inspired to write this one. I’ve been so caught up in trying to make the right decision in my career and in my relationships that I let my passion for writing music take a back seat.
“You’re up early,” Layla
says, standing in my doorway with a coffee cup.
I nod. “I couldn’t sleep. I hope I didn’t wake you,” I say as I play a few keys.
She shakes her head. “I’ve been up for a while.”
I know part of the reason I couldn’t sleep is that I’m supposed to meet with Liv and Giselle this evening and the other part is that I couldn’t wait to work on this song.
“Um, I just wanted to let you know that I spoke to Kyle last night,” she says, trying to hide her excitement. She’s not doing a very good job.
The corners of my mouth curl up into a smile.
“And how was that?”
She gets the same expression on her face that Kyle had on his face, except she looks like she’s glowing.
“It was great.” She pauses. “But, I still want to make sure you’re okay with this.”
I nod quickly. “Definitely.”
She exhales and I almost see her body relax a little. “Good.”
I play a few more keys on the keyboard, and she continues to linger in the doorway.
“How about you? Have you spoken to my annoying brother?”
I shake my head. “We haven’t spoken, but he texted me late last night. And he’s not that annoying.”
She laughs. “He is to me.”
I try to hide my disappointment about our lack of communication. He runs a restaurant and I understand how demanding that career can be.
“The restaurant takes up a lot of time,” she assures me. “He has zero social life. Hasn’t had one for years.”
I snort. I can definitely relate to that. I haven’t had much social life since I moved to the city. Unless you count random visits from Kyle and even Trevor when I first moved here.
“Oh, it’s getting late. I have to get ready for work,” she says abruptly. “I’ll see you tonight.”
As soon as she leaves, I go back to working on my song. My first lesson isn’t until eleven, so I have some time to kill. Before I know it, I completely lose track of time.
Layla knocks on my door again.
“I thought you’d left,” I say, taking the pencil out of my mouth.
“I was just about to, but there’s someone here to see you.” She raises her eyebrows.
“Who is it?” I say as I follow her to the living room. For a second, I get excited at the thought of Zack surprising me.
“Hi, Maris.”
I freeze as soon as I see him. Unfortunately, it’s not Zack.
“Trevor.”
I can only imagine what’s running through Layla’s mind right now. And honestly, I wouldn’t blame her. All that she knows is Kyle is my ex-boyfriend. I don’t remember if I told her anything about Trevor. Either way, men keep showing up to see me. Not to mention I like her brother. Holy crap, my life has turned into a trashy talk show. The only person missing is JJ Johnson, my high school crush, although I seriously doubt he will be showing up at my apartment.
She’s still staring at Trevor, and in her defense, Trevor is really hot so it may have nothing to do with him coming to see me.
“Layla, this is my friend Trevor,” I introduce them. “He’s Beatrice’s grandson, remember I told you about my friend who recently passed away.”
Her eyes grow wide, and I can see her relax a little.
“Nice meeting you, Trevor. I’m sorry about your grandmother.”
He flashes her his standard I know how good-looking I am smile.
“Thank you.”
She looks back and forth between us. “I have to get to work. So . . . um . . . have a nice day.”
She grabs her bag and practically runs out the door. I let out a sigh. I’m definitely going to have some explaining to do later.
We both stand awkwardly in the middle of my living room. I can’t believe he’s here in my apartment. I don’t know where to start or what to say to him.
“How have you been?” he asks, breaking the wretched silence.
I sit down on the couch and fold my arms. “I’ve been fine. How about you?
He shrugs. “It’s been hard without Gran around, but I’m doing okay.”
Ugh. Of course, I feel incredibly guilty now. Regardless of him getting back together with Giselle, I should have been a friend to him because I promised Beatrice. Hmm . . . maybe Cassie was right about me after all.
“What are you doing in town?” I ask.
He looks at the floor. “I came to talk to you.”
I smirk. “You came all the way to New York to talk to me?”
He nods. “I tried to talk you on the phone but you basically ripped me a new one. After giving you some space and time to cool off, I figured it was finally time we cleared up a few things.”
I give him a skeptical look. It sure is strange that he came to talk to me today of all days. Maybe it’s a coincidence that he’s here now and I have my meeting with Liv and Giselle tonight.
“What made you decide to come today?” I ask curiously.
He shrugs. “I didn’t have much going on at work, and it’s been a while since I’ve been in the city.”
I shake my head. “Trevor.”
He stands up and paces around the living room. “Okay, Liv asked me to talk to you.”
Ha! I knew it.
“Just hear me out,” he pleads. “First of all, I wanted to tell you that Giselle and I are not back together. I know how it looked at the funeral, but you completely overreacted.”
I glare at him. “Overreacted? Five minutes before the funeral we were talking about spending time together and it seemed like things were finally . . . anyway, I get up to sing and there she is right by your side, comforting you. And to make matters worse, she was glued to you for the remainder of the day.”
He throws his head back in frustration. “Maris, it wasn’t like that. She didn’t know anyone else at the service so we invited her to sit with us. It was completely innocent.”
I want to believe him, but I also know what I saw. Body language says it all, and as hard as he’s trying to convince me, that body language was not only one-sided.
“Trevor, the fact is it’s none of my business. We aren’t in a relationship, so you are free to be with Giselle or anyone else you want.”
He grits his teeth. “How many times do I have to tell you that I don’t want to be with Giselle? And Liv told me all your hesitation to work with her company. You can’t give up an opportunity like this because of me.”
I give him a strange look. “You?”
“You know what I mean.”
I shake my head. “There’s a lot more involved in this decision than my connection with you and Giselle. Although, I admit the possibility of working for her makes me a little nauseous.”
He begins to fidget. “She’s really not that bad. You met her when things were chaotic. We were at a bad place in our relationship so she came across a certain way.”
I shake my head. This conversation isn’t going anywhere. “Look, Trevor. I appreciate that you came to talk to me and give me an explanation about the funeral. I will be sure to tell Liv that you did your part.”
He runs his hands through his hair just like he always does when he’s nervous. “You really think that’s the only reason I’m here?”
I shrug. “That’s what you said.”
He sits down next to me. “You know damn well the real reason I’m here.”
My heart begins to beat faster. “And why is that?”
He leans in to kiss me just as my phone rings. Perfect timing. I jump off the couch to grab my phone. I close my eyes as soon as I see Zack’s calling. Talk about bad timing. I’ve been waiting for him to call for days and of all the times he chooses to call me. I excuse myself to answer the call.
“Hello.”
“Ah, can I just tell you how good it is to hear your voice?”
I blush. “Thanks.”
“I was just making breakfast and wishing you were here with me.”
Seriously? This guy can even make me blush from long dist
ance.
See You Later Broadway (Broadway Series Book 2) Page 13
