“Oh.” He had nothing to say to that.
She rushed away, and he watched her go.
“She’s pretty,” Bentley said, pumping his eyebrows.
Chandler laughed and slung his arm around Bentley’s shoulder. “She’s more than pretty, my friend.”
“Uh-huh,” Bentley agreed.
They got into a discussion on lacrosse and before Chandler knew it, he needed to go shower for dinner. Dinner was a noisy and fun affair, with Papa grilling steak and chicken kabobs and everyone talking and enjoying each other. He sat by Kylee, but she was definitely not herself. Bailey was on her other side and Chandler heard her ask quietly if she was nervous about tomorrow. Kylee admitted she was, and Chandler relaxed a bit. Whatever was going on wasn’t her pulling away from him after their incredible re-connection and kisses last night. That was a relief.
The evening was fun, but then grew serious as Papa took those flying with them tomorrow to the conference room and went over everything from how they would incapacitate, without hurting, three of the servers closest to Klein, Reed, and Bailey’s sizes, to the floor plan of the Seamons’ home, with Kylee giving input whenever she was asked, to the fact that they still had no confirmation of help from the military or government. That was surprising with Papa’s status and influence with the military, but everyone seemed terrified of Frederick’s cache of nuclear weapons and was hesitant to rock the boat.
At this point, the vile dictator could probably stroll into the White House and the President would smile and shake his hand. It was sickening, and they had to somehow keep America safe with no backup. Nuclear winter was a terrifying prospect, so Chandler couldn’t blame the politicians and military leaders for treading carefully. He had no idea of a solution to the issue. Frederick ruled with threats, intimidation, murder, and loads of financial backing. He kept hiring more and more mercenaries, offering money no military personnel had ever seen. There was some theorizing that China was funding him, and Chandler sure hoped that wasn’t true. Frederick’s troops were now fighting against Poland and Germany and nobody was making a move to help, bound by the fear of him launching his nukes.
As they finally finished and the group dispersed, Papa asked them all to get some rest as they’d leave for the airport in Denver at eight a.m. the next morning.
Chandler and Kylee said goodnight to their family members and headed upstairs. He stopped by her bedroom door, hoping he could at least hold her and reassure her everything would be okay. But he was nervous. Frederick seemed untouchable. She only had to get the hair. He and Colton wondered if it had something to do with DNA and the weapon, but who knew?
“You all right?” he asked softly.
Her dark eyes flashed at him. “I’m fine, thank you. Goodnight.”
Goodnight? What was going on?
Chandler placed his hands on either side of her shoulders, pinning her to the wall and preventing her from escaping. The warning in her eyes should’ve made him back up. “Kylee? What’s going on?”
“Nothing. Just nervous about tomorrow.”
He studied her. “Why are you pushing me away?”
“I’m pushing you away?” she asked. She pushed out a huffy breath. “After you overheard me reciting stats with Bentley, I thought your head would be so big you wouldn’t believe the obsessed fan girl could ever push you away.”
He shook his head. “I thought it was incredible that you knew my stats and have watched all my games.”
“It’s humiliating that you know that.” She wouldn’t meet his gaze.
“No, it’s not,” he insisted. “It’s adorable. I love that you’re an ‘obsessed fan girl.’”
“Well, I don’t,” she shot back at him. “And it just means that I know Bentley is right and ‘the stud’ gets every woman he ever looks twice at. I’ve seenallthe social media posts, Chandler.”
“Ah, that’s what’s going on.” He stared at her, bugged that she still thought he was some player. “Kylee. I’ve dated a lot of women.” He wouldn’t lie to her; dating wasn’t a crime. “But no woman has ever compared to what I felt for you as an inexperienced sixteen-year-old.”
“Don’t try that with me.”
“Excuse me?”
“I know you’re a womanizer. Don’t claim I’m special to you.”
“Kylee.” He shook his head in frustration. Why wouldn’t she believe him? “I am not some womanizer. I don’t take advantage of women and then dump them. I treat women with respect. And you are special. You’ve always been the only one for me.”
Her dark eyes seemed to soften.
He bent closer. “You’re the most incredible and beautiful woman I’ve ever known.”
Her jaw tightened. “And there you go with the empty compliments.”
“Excuse me?” He straightened. “Empty compliments? I’ve meant every compliment I’ve ever given you.”