She yanked away from him. “Why? Was it supposed to be something else?”
“I had hoped so,” he said quietly, trying to get his anger and frustrations under control. “The start of a committed relationship was how I saw things.”
“But I can’t become involved with anyone until Tiffany leaves home.”
“Why?”
“Because I can’t!”
“Then let me tell you what I think is your reason, which in my opinion is a damn poor excuse. Your parents have convinced you that getting pregnant at sixteen was a bad thing, and every since then you have worked your ass off trying to be a good girl in their eyes. So much so that you won’t allow a man in your life. At first I thought it was all about the men in your life letting you down and not being dependable, and that still may be a part of it. But since you claim you trust me, why are you so afraid of letting me into your life?”
“I have to set an example for my daughter. Why can’t you understand that?”
He frowned. “And not having a real life, not having a man around to show her how two people can share a loving relationship is setting an example for her?”
“There’s more to life than people getting involved, Chance.”
“What about people falling in love? Would it mean anything if I were to tell you that I love you? That I fell in love with you probably the first time I saw you that day?”
Kylie’s eyes widened and then she shook her head and felt the tears that stung her eyes. “No, it wouldn’t matter because I could tell you the same thing, Chance. I love you, too. And I probably fell in love with you that day as well.”
“But then—”
“No. You loving me and me loving you won’t make it okay. We still have to put our kids first. They think they’re in love, too, and we can’t downplay their feelings just because we’ve discovered ours. Just think of how it will look. The father loves the mother and the daughter loves the son. How dysfunctional can that be?”
His frown deepened. “So what are you suggesting? That we wait to see what becomes of our kids’ romance before seeking our own? Well, I don’t plan to do that. If you love me, and I mean truly love me, you’ll know that we’ll work things out together. But you have to be willing to step out on love and believe it.”
She bowed her head and took a deep breath and then she looked back at him. “No, it won’t work, Chance. Please try to understand. There are times in life when sacrifices have to be made.”
“Well, if you’re willing to let your love for me be the sacrificial lamb then it must not be the real thing, Kylie, because I can’t think of anything that will ever stop me from loving you and wanting a committed relationship with you.”
Without saying anything else he walked out of the room, and moments later Kylie heard the door slam shut behind him.
Chapter 14
“Mom?”
“Hmm?”
“Are you sure you’re okay?”
Kylie pulled two bottles of apple juice out of the refrigerator before turning to her daughter. “I’m okay, sweetheart. What makes you think I’m not?”
Tiffany lifted one shoulder in a dainty shrug. “I don’t know. It’s just a feeling I have. Every since you picked me up from the airport yesterday you’ve been quiet.”
“Well, I guess I have a lot on my mind, but I’m okay.”
“Why are you still wearing that scarf? You usually don’t wear scarfs.”
Kylie’s hand automatically went to the scarf around her neck, the one she was wearing to hide the two hickeys that Chance had placed there. “My throat had gotten sort of scratchy with the changing of the weather, I guess. I thought I’d take all precautions. The last thing I need to catch is a cold.”
“But you’re wearing it in the house.”
Kylie gave Tiffany a pointed look. “I’m aware of where I am Tiffany. Is wearing a scarf in the house a crime?”
“No, ma’am.”
“Okay, then.”
The kitchen got silent and Kylie regretted having gotten upset with Tiffany when she was only showing her concern. With a mantle of guilt on her shoulders, Kylie crossed the room and sat down at the table opposite her daughter. “Hey, how about you and I going to a movie this weekend?” she asked, trying to reclaim the easy camaraderie they’d started recently, at least before this past weekend.
Tiffany smiled. “Oh, that’ll be neat. Will it be okay to invite Marcus and his dad?”
Kylie’s body tensed with her daughter’s question. The last person she wanted to be around this weekend was Chance. “I was hoping we could make it a girls’ thing. We could even invite Lena to come with us.”