Page 162 of The Route to You

He deserved this for thinking his family would be excited for him.

That had all gone out the window in Cabo.

But Sloan . . . he’d thought she might understand. Might even see it as a huge thing for him if he presented it as a big surprise he’d been waiting to reveal. She’d seen the efforts he’d been putting into his business.

And she’d encouraged him during that time.

“That would be good,” Sloan said, a smile returning to her face as she went toward the serving table.

Ouch.

He wasn’t sure what was worse—her anger or her ignoring his announcement altogether.

Either way, any enjoyment he’d felt in having this family dinner had been sucked away like the air from a balloon, replaced only by dread, by worry, and by the sharp reality of the words from Granny’s letter hanging down over his head.

41

SLOAN

“So that’s it then? He’s just made up his mind and left no room for discussion?” Delilah asked, peeking out from behind a canvas where she was designing a new project.

Sloan nodded, propping her feet up on the bar between her stool’s legs. “Basically.” She gave a grudging huff. “I mean, if I told him how much I hate the idea, he might not do it, but how can I ask that of him? I’m the reason he lost his show in the first place.”

“But then why didn’t he tell you when it first came up?”

“Because I had to go to San Francisco, and now he says it’s that he wanted it to be a surprise. Make some new memories in Jackson.”

Delilah swirled her brush in a circular stroke. “It sounds like he was well aware he was thinking about doing something he knew you would totally have a problem with.”

Sloan propped her elbows on her knees and dragged her hands down her face. “Ugh. I don’t get it. We had a perfect few days. You know?”

“I know,” Delilah said dryly. “You were glowing on Friday. It was sickening.” She winked. “It is amazing what great sex will do, though.”

“It’s more than just sex, though.” Sloan ran her hand through her hair. “I know it is. But I just don’t understand why he wouldn’t say anything. Especially considering that if something goes wrong, it’s just one more reason for his family to blame me for him having to resort to this, since Evan’s accusations ensured he was fired.” Not that she’d even fought with him about it yet. She hadn’t been able to bring herself to do that after his family left because he’d looked sad.

So, they’d gone to bed. Had sex.

And she’d swallowed just how goddamn terrified she was by his surprise and just focused on loving him, because she didn’t know what else she could do.

“Maybe he was scared? Didn’t want to tell you until it was too late for you to object?”

“I’m sure that’s part of it.” Sloan pursed her lips. The lack of honesty bothered her for sure, even if it was a lie by omission. Especially considering that Evan’s lie had started out being by omission, too. But she couldn’t talk about that with Delilah, much as she wanted to. Evan’s NDA meant that the only people she’d been able to talk to about what she’d been through with him were people who she’d already told, like her family, Cheyenne and her parents, and Kyle.

And she hated, hated how much that NDA had affected Kyle.

“So, what are you going to do?” Delilah rinsed her brush in a cup of water. She wiped the brush on a paper towel. “And I’m not asking as your boss, because I can block off that time in the calendar for you right now if you need.”

“I don’t know. I don’t know how to tell him I don’t want him to do this when I can’t offer him any help or advice about what he should be doing instead.” Her shoulders lifted and dropped with a heavy sigh.

“You could always try to make him sweat a little,” Delilah said with a wink. “I wouldn’t let him off the hook too easily.”

She forced a smile. The truth was, she knew she couldn’t do that either. She wasn’t happy with him. Not by a long shot.

But if she made Kyle feel like her love for him was less than secure, it would do so much damage. She hadn’t come this far to ruin things so quickly in their relationship.

“I keep thinking about how much harder it will be for his family to ever accept me back into their fold if they think this all started because of me. There’s a chance this could blow up in my face, no matter what I do. I don’t know why, but I just have this feeling I need to let him do this. For him. Even if it pisses me off. Even if I want to scream at him for potentially wrecking his shoulder if something bad happens.”

Delilah took a break from mixing colors on her palette to study Sloan. “Then maybe that’s your answer right there. I’m a big fan of trusting your gut instincts. They’re not always right, but they exist for reasons we don’t always understand. Maybe loving him means accepting him for who he is and stepping out in faith too. Maybe you’re meant to be by his side. With him. ”