The Future of Love (Bachelor Billionaire #6) (19 page)

Kyle
didn't answer her. Each second that passed made her realize more and
more that she didn't belong in his life. She never had, and she never
would.

Jenny
shoved her feet into her running shoes. Then she grabbed her phone,
purse, keys, and Kyle's laptop before heading out the door. She
didn't care what time it was, she needed to be done. Her stomach felt
sick the entire drive to his house. When she got there, she knocked
on the door. There were lights on, but he didn't answer. She used the
key he'd given her to let herself in but couldn't help be nervous
about what she was walking into.

When
she walked in, she saw his jacket, tie, and pants thrown over a chair
in the living room. The television was off. The basement was dark.
She walked to the kitchen, but he wasn't there. Jenny put the laptop
and Kyle's key on the dining room table. Then she went upstairs to
get the things she had left in the guest room during the two months
of their friendship. All of the lights were off. He wasn't up there.
She quickly put all of her things in the bag she'd taken the laptop
out of. When she walked out of the room, there wasn't a sign of her
left. She turned the lock on his door and pulled it shut behind her.
Tears poured down her cheeks as she walked to her car and drove down
his driveway. She really was going to miss him.

Her
feelings for him had grown so much in those two months. She knew she
was going to feel it for a very long time. Walking in on her husband
fucking someone else in their bed didn't even come close to what she
felt over losing Kyle. She never had him really, but she'd always
hoped that his feelings would change for her. Jenny honestly thought
he'd learn to care about her. That was the problem. She'd learned
with her ex that it didn't work that way. Kyle didn't feel for her
the way she felt for him. She needed to face it and move on.

When
she got home, she went to her room and fell onto her bed. There was
no way she was getting up early to go running. Maybe she wouldn't get
out of bed until Monday. Her face felt puffy and her eyes were
swollen. She dried her tears and finally fell asleep knowing she'd
never have the man she wanted.

Kyle

Kyle
ran for almost two hours. He ran until he was more exhausted than he
had been in a long time. As soon as he opened the front door, he
looked around his quiet house. His entire week was spent waiting for
the weekend. The weekend was there, and he was alone. She brought
happiness and laughter into his home. Walking into the silence made
him shiver. He walked into the kitchen and grabbed a water from the
fridge. On his way to the stairs, he saw it on the dining room table,
and his heart broke. She'd brought back the laptop he'd given her.
Then he felt his world crash down around him. On top of the laptop
was the key to his house.

Kyle
took off up the stairs and down the hall. He flipped the light on in
her room and looked around. It was gone. Everything was gone. She'd
taken it all with her. Every reminder of her being there had
vanished.

He
felt in his pocket for his phone, but it wasn't there. When he got to
his room, he saw it on the stand next to his bed. He was so hurt when
he left that he'd forgotten to grab it. Kyle picked it up to find one
text. He read it over and over until his tears blurred his vision and
he couldn't read it anymore. He wasn't sure how long she'd been gone
from his house. Kyle wanted to go after her, but he couldn't just
show up at Gavin's house in the middle of the night. He called her
phone but it went to her message. Then he started typing.

Kyle:
That woman does not belong anywhere near my world. She's just like
the rest of them. I didn't want her around me, but she wouldn't go
away. You do belong in my world. I never said you didn't. I was going
to ask you to go with me. You told me you were busy with Gavin for
work. You are a million times the woman she was. I swear that I
didn't want her anywhere near me. That was Ethan's seat. We are
equals, Jenny. I would never put myself above you. I don't give a
shit about money or material things. Family comes first in my life. I
can't believe you'd say that I act like I don't know you. The only
reason I ever kept my distance was so that Gavin didn't give you shit
for talking to me. Do you know he told me to stay away from you the
very first time I saw you? I wanted to dance with you tonight. I was
ready to put it all out there in front of him and everyone else. You
turned me down. I care about you, Jenny. I don't want to lose our
friendship. I don't know what your problem was tonight being there. I
didn't see anyone there that was better than you. Everyone that was
there was donating money to that charity. You were there with Gavin
and his company. I would have loved having you there with me. I will
be waiting Sunday morning at your running spot. I hope you'll be
there.

He
went to bed and finally fell asleep as light was shining through the
window. It was going to be a rough day. When he finally woke up, he
stayed in bed and only got up to grab food and take a shower. He
checked his phone here and there, but there was never a response.
When he heard his doorbell ring, he jumped out of bed and took off
down the stairs. He opened the door and was shocked when Becky pushed
by him and walked into his house.

“
What
the hell is going on?” she asked.

“
What?”
he asked.

“
Okay,”
she said. “I'm not an idiot. I know damn well you're the friend
she's been practically living with. She won't leave her room after
the super nice function she was at last night. Her face is a puffy
mess. I know you were there last night. Your company donates way more
than ours to that charity. Seeing you looking like shit just confirms
what I already thought. You are the cause of the mess in my spare
room. I didn't expect you to look like this though. Start talking,
Kyle.”

Kyle
knew that John's friends were nosy and up each other's asses, but he
didn't realize Becky was as bad as the guys. He motioned for her to
go into the living room and went to the kitchen to grab two waters.
When he got back, he flopped down onto his couch.

“
We're
just friends. She says it all the damn time. I think you're smart
enough to know I like her. I've liked her since the day I first saw
her. Gavin gave me shit and told me to stay away from her. I'd just
moved here. My goal was to build my life into something great where I
would be able to take care of a family. I knew I needed to impress
Ethan and work hard. I did everything I could to stay away from her.
She fucking got married. Then she got divorced. We started hanging
out right after Hawaii.”

“
You've
been talking for two months?” Becky interrupted.

“
Yes,”
he said. “She stays here on the weekends. We run together every
morning.”

“
Are
you serious?” she asked.

“
Yep,”
he said. “I got her a laptop and loaded my games on it. She's
even been coding herself.”

“
No
shit!” Becky said.

“
She's
pretty good at it. We cook together here and hang out all weekend.
It's absolutely perfect. I've never made a move or anything. I know
she doesn't like me. I was right fucking there, and she married that
asshole. I was going to invite her to that event. She told me she was
busy that night with Gavin. I didn't even think about it. Some slut
started hanging all over me as soon as I got there. You know how they
are. Now that they know who I am, they're all over my ass. I can't
stand it. I couldn't shake this one. She even sat in Ethan's chair
for dinner. I sent Jenny a text and asked her to dance. I was ready
to put it out there. Gavin would have been pissed, but I didn't care.
I wanted to dance with her so damn bad. She was beautiful. She said
no. She seemed mad. We were at tables across the room from each
other. The next thing I knew, she was gone. We were supposed to come
back here after, but she text me that she wasn't coming. I was
pissed. I felt like I was good enough to spend time with here but not
good enough to be seen with at some fancy event. I took off for a
run. When I got home, my house key and laptop were on the table and
everything she had in my guest room was gone.”

“
She
had a key to your house? She had her stuff in a room here? You two
never even kissed, right?” Becky asked.

“
We
only kissed once in Hawaii. You already knew about that. Here's the
text she sent. It tore my heart out.”

Kyle
showed her Jenny's text and his response.

“
If
all I can have with her is friendship, I'll take it. I can't fucking
lose that.”

Becky
looked up at him with sad eyes.

“
You
really like her,” she whispered. “She likes you too.”

“
Bullshit,”
he said. “She doesn't.”

“
I've
seen the way she looks at you, Kyle. She really cares about you. She
liked someone before she got married, but she never thought he liked
her. I think it might have been you. If she didn't like you, why
would she have gotten all pissed off that there was a woman hanging
all over you?”

“
You
have no idea how hard it was seeing her married to someone else. Why
didn't Gavin threaten him? He ended up hurting her.”

“
You
be at that running spot tomorrow morning. What time do you usually
run?” Becky asked.

“
Seven,”
he answered. “You can't tell her you talked to me, Becky.”

“
She'll
be there,” Becky said. “You just make sure you don't look
like this. You'll scare her ass away.”

Kyle
wrapped his arms around Becky and laughed.

“
Thank
you,” he said. “Your man will be pissed if he finds out
you helped me.”

“
I'll
deal with his ass,” she said. “Get some sleep and clean
your ass up.”

“
I'm
on it,” he said, as he closed the door behind her.

Jenny

Jenny
was under her covers with her tablet in her hand when Becky walked
in. She approached with caution. If Jenny wasn't so sad, she would
have burst into laughter. Becky sat down at the end of the bed
quietly. After a few minutes of Jenny saying nothing, Becky finally
spoke.

“
What
has you in a funk?” Becky asked.

“
Nothing,”
Jenny answered. “Don't feel like getting out of bed.”

“
Why
were you crying?” Becky asked.

“
Just
thinking about things. I'm fine.”

“
How
was the event?”

“
Good,”
Jenny answered.

“
You're
not going to give me anything here are you?” Becky asked.

“
Nope,”
Jenny answered.

Jenny
was relieved when Becky left the room. She didn't hear from her the
rest of the night. Jenny read Kyle's last text over and over. She
couldn't decide if she was going to show up in the morning or not.
There was no way she was going to get hurt by another asshole. Kyle
had the ability to hurt her beyond repair. She had no claim to him.
They'd said the entire time that they were friends. He was allowed to
fuck whoever he wanted. Seeing that woman's hands on him made Jenny
sick to her stomach. She couldn't be friends with him and see him
with someone. It would eventually happen. There was no way he was
going to stay single forever. He obviously wasn't interested in her.
She'd slept a room away from him so many times, and he'd never made a
move on her. She wasn't going to be the one to put her heart out
there. What if he rejected her? What would she do? What if they got
together and he decided she wasn't enough anymore? There were bound
to be women all around him. What if she walked in on him and someone
else? She couldn't do it. There was no way she could ever recover
from that. She had too many feelings for him.

Jenny
jumped when she heard her door open. She looked over at the clock. It
was just after six in the morning. What the hell did she want? Maybe
it was Gavin or the kids, she thought. Jenny sat up in bed.