“Did you think he would judge you differently? I just don’t understand why you thought you had to hide this from him.”
I shrugged helplessly as I thought about it. “I don’t know. In a way, I guess I’m afraid everyone will judge me differently. I’ve always been treated a certain way because of who I am—well, was. I didn’t want that. I wanted normal; I wanted a new start. And as you can see”—I gestured toward the crews still outside—“this happens as the result of someone figuring out who I am.”
“Anyone can see you’re not like them—well . . .”
“Kinlee, he looked like I’d crushed him.”
“He’ll understand, he’s just upset right now. Go get him, Kam.”
My eyes drifted to the back of my store, and she waved me away.
“I’ll tell them, and they’ll understand too. Just go get my brother-in-law back. You brought him back to us, I can’t have him leaving us again now.”
“I’ll call you to let you know.”
Unlocking the door, I ran past the news crews and hopped into my car, praying like hell that I would find him. I drove quickly through the streets on the way back to my condo. The entire time my body stayed tense as I worried about Brody’s reaction and thought about the different possible outcomes of what had just happened. I called his cell a second time, but like the first time, it went straight to voice mail. Tears filled my eyes, but I refused to believe that Brody and I couldn’t work through this too . . . after everything we’d already been through . . . there was no way this would be the thing to break us.
After looking at my condo, Jace and Kinlee’s, and his parents’ house, and not finding him, I finally drove back to my bakery, exhausted and defeated.
Grace and Andy didn’t ask if I’d found him. I think they knew based simply on the fact that I was already back and probably looked like hell. After asking me to stop trying to hide my accent and whether I preferred Kamryn or KC, they handed me a few cupcakes, turned the music up loud, and pointed me toward our “Mondays suck” wall to let out my anger before we went back to baking like it was a normal day.
Every time the door chimed I ran out, hoping it would be Brody. And every few minutes I called his phone, hoping it would finally be turned on again. Every time my hope was crushed I felt like I was that much closer to losing him.
I gasped and almost dropped the cream puffs I was holding when the chime went off again. Putting the tray on a counter, I burst through the swinging doors, only to have anger quickly flood my veins.
“Leave. Now!”
Charles smirked and took long steps to the counter. “I decided a day was too much time for you to think and get more of your insane ideas in your head.”
“Do you not understand? I want you to leave. I don’t want to see you again. How is that so hard to get?”
His smirk was turning into more of a sneer. “Oh, no, doll. I got it. What you’re not understanding is that you’re making the wrong decision, and I’m trying to make all of this go away for you right now. Your parents and mine will forgive you, I’ll forgive you, and we’ll all move on the way we were supposed to. You leaving messed up more than you could imagine.”
“Like the fact that you couldn’t merge the stables? I don’t care about the stables, Charles! I’ve never cared! I don’t want to be seen as property to be sold off to a family. This is what I care about,” I said as I waved my arms at my bakery. “Falling in love with someone who wants to be with me. Just. Me. That’s what I want.”
“You think I didn’t love you, Kamryn? You think I don’t still love you? You think your disappearance didn’t kill me?”
“No! I don’t! I think you’ve always seen me as an opportunity—”
“Bullshit!” he yelled, slamming his fist down on the counter. “If this is what you want, Kamryn, I’ll give you it. I’ll build you a goddamn bakery. You want your hair to stay this way? When you’re my wife, your mom won’t be able to say shit. Do what you want, I don’t care. Just let me take you back to Lexington. You and I both know I will be able to take care of you better than anyone. Your parents’ status, babe . . . we’ll top that. We’ll f**king rule the racing world,” he whispered, his eyes brightening. “You and me.”
“Oh, my God! Do you not see? That’s all you want! You want me to help you ‘rule.’ I told you, you see me as an opportunity.”
“Right now I see you as a spoiled girl who pulled some ridiculous stunt because she wanted attention. Now I’m giving you the attention you wanted, baby, and you’re done playing this game.” Grabbing a box out of his pocket, he opened it and put it on the counter. “I’ve held on to this for far too long, Kamryn. You will put that ring on. You will be leaving this shop with me tonight. And we will be going back to Kentucky together.”
I glanced at the diamond that had to have cost as much as my bakery, and swallowed back bile as I looked up at Charles and saw the man walking into the bakery from over his shoulder.
“We’re going to finally get married, I’ll give you another bakery in Kentucky, and then we’re merging the stables.”
“Brody,” I whispered as my eyes filled with tears.
Charles turned and hissed a curse. “Oh, Christ. Do you mind?”
Brody didn’t move, and he didn’t respond for a long moment as tears steadily fell down my cheeks. His eyes just stayed glued on the box sitting on the counter, with the ring fully displayed.