“Please, Kiera.” He raked a hand through his hair. “I only want to talk and work things out between us. I miss you.”
She missed him too, but she’d never tell him that. “There’s nothing to talk about, Gray. You’re free to see anyone you want. Have a great life.”
“I can’t accept that.” He came toward her and took her hands. “You love me as much as I love you. We’ll work through this.”
Tears gathered in her eyes, and she blinked to keep them from falling. “Correction, I loved you. Past tense. There’s nothing to work out.” She tugged her hands free. “Please go and leave your key here.”
She didn’t need any more surprise visits from him, and the building manager would charge her to change the locks.
“You don’t mean that.”
“I’ve never meant anything more. Go.”
His shoulders slumped. “If you change your mind, I moved into The Hillcrest yesterday.”
She watched him walk down the stairs. If he’d done almost anything else, she could forgive him. No one was perfect. Cheating… That, she couldn’t get past. She’d rather be alone than be with someone who cheated on her.
Kiera stood until she heard the door close downstairs. Confident that she was alone, she let the tears she’d held back flow. How she wished she’d never gone for lunch with Gray after Trent’s wedding. If she had declined the invitation, she could have saved herself so much heartache.
***
Life sucked. Gray rested his head in his hands. How had everything gone south so damn fast? One minute, they had been discussing wedding dates, and the next she was walking out the door on him. It all seemed like a bad dream. Unfortunately, he knew that he was wide-awake. The constant ache in his chest reminded him twenty-four seven.
What was his next step? Today’s conversation proved she was as upset now as when she left their hotel room.
She still loved him. He knew she did. She might say otherwise, but Kiera couldn’t turn her emotions on and off like that. She only said she didn’t love him to either protect herself or hurt him. Or both. It didn’t matter. He needed her to believe him. It looked like in order to make that happen, though, he would need to tell her the truth about his work with the Agency. Something he couldn’t do yet.
The wait until he could was going to kill him.
He needed some fresh air. He yanked the door open and came face to face with his brother.
“You moved in,” Trent said, his hand up as if about to knock. “Addie said she saw you in the lobby when she left this morning.”
“I moved in a few days ago. I guess I didn’t see her down there.”
His older brother looked happy. The way he’d felt the night Kiera accepted his proposal.
“Are you going to let me in?”
He could use a distraction. “Yeah, sure.”
Gray walked back toward the kitchen. Other than the bedroom, it was the only area that had furniture.
“Going for the minimalist look?” Trent paused in the living room before he joined Gray in the kitchen. “You and Kiera can stay with us if you want until this place is ready.”
“I’ve got furniture coming tomorrow.”
“Addie wanted me to invite you two up for dinner tonight.”
One word described how he viewed a night with his happily married brother. Hell.
“Thanks, but I’ll pass.”
“If Kiera’s working tonight, how about tomorrow? She might like some company besides you. I know I would.”
“Go to hell.” He should’ve shut the door in his brother’s face rather than let him in.
Trent shot him a dirty look. “For someone who just got engaged, you’re in a foul mood. Did Kiera kick you to the dog house already?”