Say It's Not Fake

Was it sad that I was actually relieved by her statement?

“Give it a rest, Shelly. Everyone can see you’re riddled with insecurity over getting knocked up after graduation and never going anywhere,” a deep voice piped up, and I wished I could crawl under the bar and hide.

Shelly’s mouth thinned, and her expression soured. “Of course, Kyle Webber jumps in to defend the Queen of Southport. Some things never change.” She hooked her arm with Laura’s and turned away, ending the torturous exchange.

I glanced at Kyle, steeling myself, but he was trying to wave down the bartender. “Thanks, but it wasn’t needed,” I said, feeling every muscle in my body clench. Looking at Kyle Webber was hard. It shouldn’t be after all this time, but if anything, it had gotten harder.

Because when I looked at him, all I could see was the way he used to look at me.

Like I was someone that mattered.

Now when our eyes dared to meet, all I saw was disappointment and distance.

“Shelly Thompson—now Givens—is a nasty piece of work. Always has been. I wasn’t just doing it for you; I did it for everyone who has ever crossed paths with her.” Kyle wouldn’t look at me. He seemed to be doing everything in his power not to look at me.

God, it hurt.

God, I wished it didn’t.

“She seems to have gotten a little ... well, bitter, in the last few years. But she used to be really nice.” I felt the need to defend my former friend. If she was a jerk just now, it was because I deserved it.

Kyle snorted and took a long drink from his beer bottle. I tried not to stare at his profile. Kyle was like a fine wine; he’d only gotten better with age. He’d always been good looking, but he used to be overshadowed by Adam, who was runway handsome. Adam was the hot one; Kyle was the nice one. But I had always thought that he should have been labeled the hot one too. Because he was. And now he was gorgeous. All thick dark brown hair and tanned skin from working outdoors. He was tall, taller than almost everyone I knew, with broad shoulders and thick, corded muscles.

He was rugged and beautiful and at one time had been madly in love with me.

I was full of enough self-awareness to know I had been a complete idiot to turn him away. But there was nothing I could do about that now. Too much time had passed. And by the way he refused to make eye contact and the stiffness of his well-toned body, I could tell he wanted to be anywhere but near me.

I hadn’t seen much of Kyle since I had moved back, and the few times our paths had crossed had been awkward. There had been one time where we had talked—right around the time Lena, Adam’s younger sister, had found out she was pregnant. I thought that maybe we could be something like friends at least.

But then ... nothing.

And now it seemed he was back to avoiding me at all costs.

“The only people who thought Shelly Thompson was nice were you and Laura. Everyone else knew better,” Kyle retorted.

“Okay, then. Well, that’s news to me.” I didn’t know what else to say. Why were we even talking about Shelly?

“Doesn’t surprise me you were oblivious. That seems to be your M.O.,” Kyle replied.

Ouch.

“I was wondering what was keeping you. Now I get it.” Meg appeared like some sort of guardian angel. As if picking up on the uncomfortable tension radiating between Kyle and myself, she angled her girth between us so that she could give her best friend a long hug. “You were hogging the best-looking guy in the room all to yourself, sis.” It seemed she had forgiven my earlier dickishness. Meg was a good person and an even better sister.

I met Kyle’s eyes briefly, and a strange buzzing started in my ears. In unison, we quickly looked away.

Kyle turned all of his attention to my sister, his face brightening, and his pretty hazel eyes were only looking at her. It was a similar look of adoration that he used to give me. I hadn’t realized how much I missed it.

I swallowed thickly and took a step back, feeling the need for space. It’s what I did best, after all.

“What are you doing out at a bar, Galloway? Shouldn’t you be at home with your feet up and Decate taking care of your every need?” Kyle chided her good-naturedly.

“Eh, I’m a big girl, I can take care of my own needs, thank you very much,” Meg insisted, then realizing how that sounded, she and Kyle laughed, his deep timbre reaching down into my guts and swirling up all sorts of nonsense.

“Whit texted me asking if I wanted to come out for a bit, and I jumped at the chance. I haven’t been out in forever. Skylar has been MIA for weeks working on that design project, and you and Adam keep leaving me out of all your guy stuff.” She pouted, and Kyle put his arm around her, pulling her into his side.