Total pages in book: 133
Estimated words: 125866 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 629(@200wpm)___ 503(@250wpm)___ 420(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 125866 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 629(@200wpm)___ 503(@250wpm)___ 420(@300wpm)
Kyle flicked him off while everyone else laughed, but then he let out a long breath, his eyes falling to the table and then flicking over to where I stood beside him.
Something caught in his expression when our eyes met, his brows furrowing. He searched my gaze in a way that made me feel like maybe I wasn’t hiding my emotions as well as I thought I was. The conversation with my mother from earlier was still buzzing loud in my ears, and the weight of what I had to tell Kyle later sat on my chest like a pile of bricks.
“You know what,” he said, watching me for a moment longer before he turned to face his friends. “You’re right. I owe you all an apology.”
That shocked the table silent.
“Riley, I shouldn’t have been such an asshole to you. You were a great player from the moment you stepped on the field, and if I’m being honest, I was intimidated by you. I was also pissed to have to share the limelight when I felt like that media attention and those deals I was making were all that I had at the time.”
Riley’s jaw visibly slackened at that admission, and she looked at Julep and Mary with questions dancing in her eyes before looking at Kyle again. “Thank you.”
Kyle nodded, his mouth tugging to the side before he looked at Julep. “I’m sorry most of all to you, Julep. That night at The Pit when you were drunk… I shouldn’t have had you in my room — not even if to prove a point to my stupid roommate who couldn’t get his head out of his ass,” he added with a pointed glare at Holden. “But I promise you, I never would have hurt you or done anything to cross the line. I was just… fucked up, if I’m being honest.”
He paused, sucking in a breath with his eyes on his drink now.
My throat tightened the longer that silence stretched, the more I realized how hard it was for him to say all this. I wanted to reach for him, to comfort him in that moment, but everything about his body language told me he needed space to get through what he needed to say to his friends. So, I stayed by his side, my gaze steady, letting him know I was there for him without saying a word.
“I didn’t have the best family life,” he admitted, and he swallowed hard before his eyes found me.
I nodded softly, keeping my eyes locked on his.
“But no one knew that — not at NBU, anyway.” He looked at his friends. “I may have shown it in an asshole way, but I care about you guys. I always have. And if I ever annoyed you, if I ever pushed you, if I ever made you want to punch me in the jaw — it was because I was desperate for someone to recognize my existence.” He tongued his cheek. “Sometimes, I just needed to know that someone still knew I was alive and gave a shit.”
I covered my mouth with my hands, closing my eyes and hoping like hell that I didn’t let a tear sneak free.
For a long time, no one said a word.
Then, finally, I heard a clap on a shoulder, and I opened my eyes to find Holden embracing Kyle in a fierce hug.
“There’s a reason you were invited to my wedding,” he said, pulling back but still holding onto Kyle’s arms. “And to this one. There’s a reason no one ever tried to kick you out of The Pit.”
“We saw you,” Leo filled in. “Even when you tried damn hard to make that impossible to do. I’ll never forget when I fell apart over Mary, and you were right there for me.”
Kyle nodded, his eyes sliding to Mary on a grin. “I don’t have anything to apologize to you for,” he said with a wink. “Still think your tattoos are sick. Still think you’re one nasty girl. And would still call you Daddy if I didn’t think Leo would break my jaw for it.”
The tension at the table shattered, everyone laughing as Mary side-stepped Leo and threw her arms around Kyle’s neck. She kissed his cheek, and one by one, I watched Kyle’s friends embrace him.
I felt like I was snooping on a private moment, and at the same time, like I had been a part of everything they’d just talked about.
Like I was already in the family, too.
“Alright,” Julep said with a clap of her hands. “Now that we’ve had our cry for the night, I think it’s time to dance.”
The rest of the wedding night was magical.
I audibly gasped when we walked into the reception area, seeing how beautifully everything was decorated. It was a large cabin-like venue with A-frame windows larger than anything I’d ever seen showing off the mountains in the distance. The sun had set, Edison lights hanging from one end of the room to the other, and every detail was elegant and refined.