He wasn’t given a chance to ask because she turned toward her office, went inside and closed the door behind her.
He had been dismissed with a finality that he felt all the way to the bone.
“YOU LOOK LIKE crap, Kaegan.”
He rubbed a hand down his face. Of all people, he didn’t need Vashti to tell him that. Besides, he had news for her—he felt like crap, as well. When he left Bryce’s office, he’d come here to Shelby by the Sea. He needed to see Vashti because she was one of his best friends. Always had been. More than anything, he knew he owed her an apology.
Since returning to the cove and finding out about his and Bryce’s strained relationship, Vashti had, on more than one occasion, tried intervening. Now he wished more than anything that he would have heeded her advice. Hell, he wished she would have knocked some damn sense into him.
“I owe you an apology and you can go ahead and say ‘I told you so,’ Vashti.”
She looked at him over her shoulder as he followed her to her office. “Apology accepted. You have to admit I tried.”
“Yes, but now I wish you could have been a little more forceful with it.”
Vashti went over to the chair behind her desk and sat down. “It’s not easy being best friends with both you and Bryce. I felt like I was caught in the middle and at times I thought that I was the only sane person in the room. I was convinced the two of you were trying to drive me crazy.”
Kaegan could only imagine. “How could you even put up with me, knowing what you knew?” he asked, taking the chair across from her desk.
“That’s just it. I didn’t know everything. I knew about what happened with Samuel, but until just recently I didn’t know that she’d traveled all the way to that marine base to see you and tell you everything. In fact, it was the night of your party when the two of you had that little tiff. That’s when she told me. You don’t know how hard it was for me to even talk to you after that. If you noticed, I didn’t for a week.”
He’d noticed. “I’ve been such an ass.”
“Yes, you have.” She paused and then said, “She’s hurting and I believe you’re hurting, as well, because of the pain you know you’ve caused her. Just so you know, I promised Bryce I wouldn’t intervene on your behalf, no matter what. I guess you know what that means.”
Yes, he knew. He’d gotten himself into this mess and he was the only one who could get himself out of it. He met Vashti’s gaze. “I intend to earn back her trust and love.”
Vashti nodded. “Good luck. You are definitely going to need it because it’s not going to be easy. But then, I have a feeling you know that.”
He nodded. “Yes, I know it, but I am a determined man.”
“I believe you. I love you both, you know.”
“Yes, I know. Any words of advice?”
Vashti didn’t say anything for a minute. Then she said, “Ten years is a long time, Kaegan. Earning back her love sounds good, but more than anything, I think you should let Bryce get to know the man you are now, and you should get to know the woman she’s become.”
BRYCE SAT CROSS-LEGGED on the floor in her home with various papers spread out around her. Since she often worked half days on Saturdays at her office, she would normally close at noon on Wednesdays. More times than not, she would help out her parents at the café, but decided not to do so today. In fact, she hadn’t been to the café since Monday, and had deliberately avoided being there the last two mornings. Because she knew her parents needed her help, she intended to shape up, get herself together and be there tomorrow morning. She had needed the last two days to stay busy and try to put things in perspective as much as she could.
In a way, nothing between her and Kaegan had changed other than he now knew the truth. It was up to him how he chose to deal with it as long as it didn’t involve her. She’d had ten years to know he’d wronged her. Now he needed his ten years.
Her brothers must have mentioned something to her parents because her mother had called yesterday wanting to know if she was okay. In fact, she had been talking to her mom when Kaegan had shown up at her office yesterday. She had assured her mother she was fine and that her argument with Kaegan hadn’t been a big deal.
She glanced up at the sound of the doorbell and wondered who would be visiting her. Very few people knew where to find her today, since she usually would be at the café helping her parents and brothers.
She got up and headed for the door. Looking out the peephole, she saw it was a young man with flowers. Surely he had the wrong address since nobody ever sent her flowers.
Opening the door, she smiled at Paul and Samantha Jenkins’s oldest son, who’d graduated from high school last year and worked at his parents’ flower shop. “Hi, Mellon.”
“Hello, Miss Bryce. I have a delivery for you.”
“You sure it’s for me?”
“Yes,” he said, handing her the flowers. She looked at them and knew who’d sent them. Only one person knew the kind of flowers she liked, calla lilies. Kaegan. He used to sneak into old lady Lula’s flower garden to pick them for Bryce when they’d been teens. Once Ms. Lula discovered the mystery of the disappearing lilies, she would save him the trouble and have a bunch ready for him to give to Bryce each week. He’d said that he had wanted to make his last year in high school, the last year he would get to spend with her, special. There had been no doubt in either of their minds that once he graduated, he would be leaving town to join the marines.
“They’re pretty, aren’t they?” Mellon asked her, smiling.
“Yes, they are pretty.” And they were. An assortment of different colors, some fully bloomed, others not, made up the stunning arrangement, which was in a beautiful ceramic vase with a huge purple bow. Purple was her favorite color and Kaegan knew it.
“Have a nice day, Miss Bryce.”
“Wait. Let me give you a tip.”
“No need. The sender covered it.”
What she should do was tell Mellon that she wouldn’t accept them and give them back to him, but she would accept them. The arrangement was too beautiful for her not to. It didn’t matter if she didn’t like the sender—she did like the flowers.
She closed the door and went to place the vase in the perfect spot on the coffee table. They looked simply beautiful there. Then she pulled off the card that was attached and read it.
I hope that one day you will forgive me for not believing in you.
Kaegan
The message had been written in Kaegan’s handwriting, which meant he’d gone into the florist’s himself and written out the card. Bryce placed the card beside the arrangement
