Falling for the Enemy, page 2
For one thing, despite the bad history between their families, he still liked her. For a second, he wanted to help her rebuild her strength and transform back into that brave, fearless girl she’d once been...
Kit blew out a frustrated breath. It seemed like every time he was ready to wreak vengeance down on the Gilberts for what they’d done, there was some sort of universal intervention showing him that they had already wrecked themselves.
“Hey, it’s okay,” he said, walking over to her. She had one arm wrapped around her own waist, and the song sounded almost manic at the speed she was singing it at.
He put his arm around her, slowly recognizing that she was having an anxiety attack, having seen his own mother in a similar state more than once. Rory didn’t seem to feel his touch and he pulled her close into the curve of his body. She closed her eyes and he drew her even tighter against him, ignoring his own reaction to her nearness. He started talking in a low, calm tone.
“We are on a tropical island, the sand under our feet is powdery soft and so white it almost seems like no one else has ever habited this place before. The sun on our skin is warm and soothing, not too hot. Your hand is in mine and when you look up, you see the blue waves washing gently on the shore. The breeze wraps around us, and as you exhale in one long breath, the stress gradually seeps away.”
He stopped talking as her breathing started to slow and she stopped singing. He wasn’t sure if she still needed him to talk her through this or not.
But she lifted her head and opened her eyes. Her blue eyes were bright and clear, but in his mind he knew they still had clouds in them. He had thought she was the key to Dash’s undoing but she might be the key for him, the key to closure on the past and the anger and revenge he’d always wanted but had never been able to commit to.
He knew revenge was what his family needed and he’d always been the soft brother. The one who’d been more like their mom. Losing his brother and then watching his father’s slow descent into alcoholism had changed Kit. Or had forced him to stop being the son that had never measured up in his father’s eyes.
He just wasn’t the type of man his father and brother had been. He had legally changed his name after Dash had ruined them and he’d chosen Palmer. He couldn’t use someone else to get what he wanted; he knew that now.
“You okay?” he asked quietly.
“No, but I’m better. Thank you,” she whispered. “I don’t know if this is what you signed up for, but I have a feeling there are going to be a lot more moments like it.”
“That’s fine,” he assured her. “But I have to tell you, I’m not the person you hired.”
Her eyes widened. “You’re not?”
“No. But I think we can help each other, which is why I showed up here today,” he said. Throwing out revenge meant nothing if he continued to lie to her. He couldn’t let her think she’d hired him. That was deceit at its worst.
“Well...the person I hired was a stranger, which I thought would make it easier than someone who knows me and my entire family history.”
“I can see why you’d want that.” His conscience pricked at him, but he decided not to reveal that they’d known each other in the past, or that his brother had been involved in the car crash that had put her into a coma. If he did, he knew she’d shut him out. Rightly so? He had no idea.
“The movers are almost done here and I am supposed to be trying to leave the house more,” she said, then hesitated, suddenly looking very nervous.
“Why don’t we go to Java and get a coffee and talk?” she asked, the words running together in a rush. “But... Hang on a second. If you aren’t the guy I hired, why are you here?”
“I am moving into the cottage next to yours,” he said. Which was the partial truth. He had planned to move back into his childhood home. The home that had symbolized the last time he’d been happy. He might have had ulterior motives for returning to it, but now that he’d crossed paths with Rory Gilbert again, he knew that his plans were changing and he hoped that he’d be able to figure out what was next.
“You are? Well, then, we’re neighbors. That’s good,” she said, scrunching her forehead in thought. “So...coffee?”
“Yes, we can have coffee if you like. What did you mean by you’re supposed to go out?”
“I... I was in a coma for ten years—so tragic, right?” She tried to laugh it off, but her discomfort was obvious. “Anyway, I’ve been out of it for six months but have found myself unable to actually start living again. I mean at first I needed to recover my strength physically, but as you just saw... I’m not at my best,” she said.
“I saw nothing of the sort. You handled yourself beautifully, standing up to your brother and championing your cause. Then when it was over you just needed some recovery time.”
She let out a long, slow breath and nodded over at him, the smallest smile playing around her full mouth.
“I think I’m going to like having you as a neighbor, Kit,” she said.
“I think I will like being neighbors, too.”
They agreed to meet at two that afternoon for coffee, and as he watched her walk back to the movers, an uneasy feeling settled in his chest. He knew that he was going to have to tell her who he was, but at this point in time, he knew it wouldn’t help her. Of course, it wouldn’t help him either.
Two
Indy Belmont was Rory’s soon to be cousin-in-law. But she was also instrumental in revitalizing Gilbert Corners. She’d moved to this town about two years ago and brought her popular show Hometown, Home Again, which aired on the Home Living TV network, here to film. She’d started with Indy’s Treasures, her bookshop on Main Street, and had slowly been working to get other projects off the ground.
When Rory had decided she had to leave Gilbert Manor, Indy and Elle had been her biggest supporters. And it had been Indy who had suggested possibly buying one of the Victorian-era duplexes and redoing it to help Rory adjust to being back in the world.
So, because she had a lot of love and respect for Indy, as soon as the movers left and she was alone in her new home, she was tempted to call her. She needed advice about Kit.
Kit.
He had the dreamiest brown eyes and she couldn’t stop fantasizing about how his thick dark hair would feel beneath her fingers. She remembered when he’d wrapped his arms around her and helped calm her down with the soothing, deep timbre of his voice. His body had felt solid against hers...and she hadn’t panicked.
She’d been so afraid she would when a man held her because the last memory she had of the night of the car crash was being forcibly kissed and held against the wall by Declan Orr, the man who had died in the car crash that had left her in a coma.
But in Kit’s arms she hadn’t felt scared. Maybe it had been his voice or the woodsy scent of his aftershave. Or perhaps it was the solid beating of his heart, which she had heard under her cheek. Whatever the reason...she couldn’t stop thinking about him.
She was a bit bummed that he wasn’t from the agency she’d hired, because the person they were sending was supposed to help her figure out how to kiss and have sex. All of her knowledge of that stuff had been a few brief make-out sessions in high school and then that one sexual attack that had scared her.
What was she going to do? Maybe this entire plan to meet Kit for coffee and talk to him again was a mistake.
But Elle, who was also her doctor, had said that mistakes were bound to happen. And that Rory would learn from them and become stronger by making them. Also, what was the worst that could happen?
That was what Conrad said to her every time they talked. Her cousin had been in the same car accident as Rory, and recovered, though it had left him badly scarred. He had confessed that it had taken him years to feel anything close to normal and he liked to do things that scared him. His advice to her was to go for anything that wouldn’t land her back in the hospital.
So, what was the worst that could happen if she met Kit?
He might not show up. Fair enough and that would be fine. But, on the flip side, he might come through for her and prove to be that kind of man who could be an ally. Also fine.
And if he did show up, they might hit it off and then she’d want to kiss him and... Her mind whirled with the possibilities. She’d be in his arms again and this time their lips would meet. And that would be more than fine. She figured she had to have a first real kiss... Why not Kit?
Though he might not want to be her first-time guy.
It would not be the end of the world if that happened, but she wondered if she’d have the courage to ask someone else. But she was also supposed to be doing things that scared her, so in this case she was going to do it.
Rory got dressed, taking her time. She had a long, jagged scar on her leg. Things were different now, and she was trying to come to terms with the body she’d woken up in. So of course the scars were to be expected. But they just made her feel less like herself. The Rory she remembered had long, slim legs. These were flabby with cellulite on her thighs that Indy had reassured her everyone had.
Rory stood in front of the mirror in the wrap dress with the skirt that ended at the top of her knees. She saw the imperfections but shook her head, pushing those thoughts firmly out of her mind. She couldn’t hate the flaws, because they made her who she was, and if Kit did...then he wasn’t the man she was hoping he’d be.
She grabbed her purse, put on her sunglasses and blew herself a kiss in the mirror before opening the front door and stepping outside.
This was it. Her new life started today and she was going to seize every opportunity that came to her.
No more hiding in her bed and being afraid of the outside world.
* * *
Kit slid his car into a spot in the public parking lot near the park that was across the street from the train station. Behind the park were the shops on Main Street. He had contemplated not coming to meet Rory. But the truth was he had to.
Whatever fantasy he’d entertained about her over the years had paled compared to what he felt when he’d held her. It was sexual, but more than that. He’d never allowed himself to think of the future or to really have a permanent relationship with anyone because he’d been so focused on vengeance. But one moment with Rory and now he was questioning it? Was it just the remembered childhood feelings of friendship or something more?
He couldn’t deny he was excited just being with her. His phone pinged and he glanced down to see it was a text from his aunt Mal. Mal was his father’s sister. The two of them were all that was left of the family and they had been working together to restore their fortunes—which they had—even though Dash Gilbert hadn’t left them much to rebuild with.
Did you find the sister?
Kit thumbs-upped her question. He wasn’t sure what else to say. He really didn’t have any news for her. And he certainly wasn’t going to text Aunt Mal that he’d changed his mind about using Rory. He sucked in a breath. And was he even sure that he had?
Yes.
Kit and Aunt Mal had reformed the company using his middle name Palmer into Palmer Industries and they were thriving. It was only as Gilbert Corners was being revitalized and new industry was coming back to the town that he and his aunt had thought about what the Gilbert family had taken from them once again. They were interested in buying into the old factory that Declan had been meant to run before his death, and wanted to put in their own manufacturing plant there.
But they both knew that they were going to have to be careful about how they approached the deal. Hence him coming to town to figure out how to get some leverage with Dash Gilbert.
His aunt texted again.
Call me when you’re leaving GC.
He replied: I might be a while. I’m having a look around town for potential investment properties.
The girl won’t work?
Not sure yet.
Aunt Mal ended the conversation with Talk later. He pocketed his phone. Mal was his last living blood relative. Although he had distant cousins, he wasn’t close to any of them. He and Mal had had each other’s back for longer than Kit could remember. As much as he wanted to think that he could figure out something that would benefit both him and his aunt, while hurting the Gilbert family in the process, nothing in his past dealings with them had proven fruitful to that end.
He knew that part of his reluctance to involve Rory in his plans was that he didn’t want to use Rory the way that the Gilbert family had used his brother. Yet wouldn’t that be the perfect revenge?
Sitting in his car, waiting and watching the town that was somehow cheerier than he could remember from his childhood, just served to remind him of all that he had lost. Sure, Rory hadn’t really been responsible for those actions, but she was a part of the family. She had, according to his father, led his brother on and then accused him of misreading her advances and had him thrown out of the party after Conrad had punched him.
Kit shook his head. When he’d seen her earlier, he’d been catapulted back to his childhood and the innocent girl Rory had been before she’d grown into a Gilbert woman. He had to remember that.
He saw her walking toward the coffee shop with her cane and got out of his car. His breath caught in his chest as her long blond hair, stirred by the wind, flew around her face and shoulders. She tipped her head back toward the breeze, a smile playing around her lips. As he glanced at the scoop-necked dress she wore and noticed the gentle curves of her breasts, he remembered how she’d felt in his arms.
Now that she wasn’t in distress, he recalled how perfectly she’d fit against him. Her head on his chest and her arms wound tight around him. He remembered the floral scent of her hair and the way she’d exhaled softly, the warmth of her breath brushing against his neck and stirring him.
He wanted her.
She was his enemy’s sister.
She was also his long-lost crush.
Kit shoved a hand through his hair and exhaled a frustrated breath. She was complicated and, honestly, he knew the smart thing to do would be to turn around and leave and let Aunt Mal come back and figure out a way to use her to get to Dash.
But she noticed him, lifted her hand and waved at him, and it was too late to resort to plan B. So instead, he found himself locking his car and heading across the green, well-manicured park toward her. As he got closer, he realized that everyone was watching her and then began noticing her watching him.
Rory had said she was trying to find her way back to living outside the mansion and he could see the struggle it would be for her. Again he wanted to help her. Wanted to be the hero that she’d been to him when they’d been children. But could he really be that for her, and was she truly deserving of it?
He sighed. All he knew for sure was that he had to come clean and tell her his name. He didn’t want to deceive her the way her family had his brother. He needed to know that when he and Aunt Mal were finally in a position of power over the Gilbert family, they could be satisfied that they had done it aboveboard.
Which meant no sneaking and deceiving the way that Lance Gilbert had been with them. And while he suspected that earlier he might have been swayed by lust and nostalgia, he couldn’t afford to be now. It was time to remember who was responsible for all of the destruction that had happened the night of the ball.
* * *
Kit smiled at her as he got closer. “If I knew you were walking to town, I would have joined you.”
Yeah, so now she had to tell him she didn’t drive. But she could be vague as to the reason why. She didn’t have to say that she still freaked out a bit every time she was in a car. That being around people made her uneasy.
On the other hand, the ability to be outside and walk was something... Magical wasn’t quite the right word because she’d worked damned hard at physical therapy to get to this point, but it did feel special to be able to walk.
She sort of smiled and then realized that Kit was awaiting her response.
“Oh, that’s okay. I don’t drive yet,” she said.
“You don’t?”
“Yeah, you know I was in a coma forever.”
“I guess I’d forgotten that,” he said with a sheepish look that was way too charming. In high school she would have flirted back but it had been ten years since she’d talked to a man who wasn’t related to her or a medical professional, and she was so rusty.
“So outside or inside?” he asked.
“I’d prefer to be outside if you don’t mind...”
“I don’t. Why don’t you grab a table and I’ll go and get our drinks?” he suggested.
She asked him to get her an iced coffee of the day. And then went to find a table away from the others in the shade. As she sat down, her phone buzzed and she took it out. It was in her group chat with Indy and Rory. Indy had a good view of the coffee shop from her bookstore.
Indy: Who’s the hottie?
Rory: Kit. He’s my new neighbor.
Elle: I’ve got a patient in five. But I want all the details. Drinks at Indy’s shop tonight?
Rory thumbs-upped the message and then put her phone away. She didn’t have any good girl friends that she remembered from before the accident, and Indy and Elle had welcomed her as if she were their sister. The more her memories had returned, the more she realized that she hadn’t had any friends in the town of Gilbert Corners. That her grandfather had deliberately kept her and Dash and Conrad apart from the townspeople.
She didn’t like the fact that she’d been so easily led by his selfish desires. But she did remember that they had all been a little bit afraid of him.
“The coffee of the day was a strawberry white mocha,” he said.
“Great. I haven’t tried that before. But Lulu hired a new barista who has been experimenting and I haven’t been disappointed yet.”
