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She twisted to face him as if anticipating an answer. “About what?”
He sucked in a breath as he shrugged. “About us.”
Julia offered him an unimpressed glance, trying to project the emotions she felt the last time they had this conversation. “Kyle, there is no us. I’m married.”
“And you shouldn’t be.”
She offered an exasperated sigh as she crossed her arms. “That’s not your decision to make.”
“Maybe not, but I’m not going to stop trying to convince you that your marriage to my father is a huge mistake.”
Julia flicked her gaze to the floor, the words hitting her a little too hard. She wondered how much of this was staged and how much he really meant. “Can we please go back?”
“No,” Kyle said with a shake of his head. “Not until we’ve talked about this.”
“There’s nothing to talk about!” she exclaimed.
“Yes, Julia, there is. There are dozens of points to talk about. Tons of reasons I can give you on why you should walk away from him.”
“I don’t need to hear them. We’ve been over this before.” She pressed her hands together as she wagged them at him. “Kyle, you need to stop this.”
“I can’t, Julia.” His forehead creased as he set his hands on his hips and shook his head, his gaze falling to the floor. “I can’t just stand back and watch you with him. I know you’re not happy. And I’m not going anywhere until we’ve talked through this.”
Julia crossed her arms, pressing her lips into a thin line.
Kyle moved closer to her, wrapping his hands around her arms and rubbing them. “I know you don’t want to face this, but hear me out. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking, about everything. About him, about you, about us. And about how I feel about you.”
“Kyle, please,” she said, pressing a hand against his chest as she flicked her gaze up to him.
“No, Julia. I need you to hear all of this. Starting with how much you mean to me.”
Kyle moved closer, wrapping his arms around her before he leaned in for a kiss, tilting them slightly toward the camera as he cupped her face.
The kiss, though a ruse, had an unsettling amount of warmth to it that unnerved her. It was supposed to be all for show, but she questioned how real it was for Kyle.
She pushed back against him as she shook her head, glancing up at him. “You need to stop.”
He pressed his forehead against hers. “But I can’t stop my feelings for you.”
Julia again wondered how much of this was faked for the camera and how much of it was real. He kissed her again before she leaned away from him.
“Kyle…” she breathed quietly.
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have done that. But I’m at a crossroads here. I’m questioning everything–my loyalties, my decisions. You’re the only person who has ever listened to me, who has ever understood me. I need you right now. Even if you just listen. Please, Julia. I need someone to talk to. Someone who understands me.”
Julia hesitated, searching for words that would sound credible but that would also feed into their plan. He needed to keep her there, but it wouldn’t look right for her to simply agree, would it? “I should call Grant and let him know–”
“No,” Kyle answered, his voice incredulous. “Julia, he’ll come after us. He’ll…no, you can’t tell him. Please.”
“He’s going to wonder–”
“Then let him. Let him wonder, Julia. Why is it okay that he keeps such close tabs on you? It’s not healthy.”
“I think my disappearing randomly would cause anyone concern.”
“You didn’t disappear. You could be out for a walk or researching a book. We can’t call him, and I really need you right now.”
Julia bit her lower lip as she remained in his arms before she slowly nodded. “Okay. We’ll talk, but you have to promise to listen, too.”
