The realtor shrugged. “Hell man I don’t know. Maybe you can try the landlord. I’m sure he’s got a forwarding.”
Jarred nodded and turned to walk out the door, stopping before he reached it and turned around. “How much?”
22
“Kinsley, darling, do you want to join us for dinner?”
Kinsley looked up from the book she was attempting to read, seeing her aunt in the doorway of the bedroom. “No, I’m just going to find something here.”
Her aunt tsked, giving her a smile. “Darling you really should get out and about. It’s been over a week and you haven’t left not once.”
Kinsley shook her head, hoping that she didn’t look as dejected as she felt. “I’m fine. I promise I’ll go out tomorrow.”
Her aunt nodded and disappeared from the doorway, leaving Kinsley to the relative silence of her childhood room she used to share with Rachel. But Rachel was on her honeymoon and Kinsley was nowhere in her life: no job, no home, and no Jarred. The thought of his name caused her eyes to water yet again and she dashed them away as she heard the front door open and close, her aunt chattering to her uncle as they left for dinner. At some point, she was going to have to forget Jarred and move on, find another career that didn’t run the risk of falling in love with someone like him. But her heart wouldn’t let her move on. Her heart was still stuck on the man who had broken it and left it in pieces.
Kinsley sighed and threw the book on the bed, standing to stretch her aching muscles. Without the funds, she couldn’t afford her flat anymore, not that she would have taken any funds to begin with. She would rather live out her life in a hovel than to accept any money for that ridiculous agreement. It had been doomed from the beginning and now she was forced to pick up the pieces.
The doorbell rang and Kinsley walked out of the bedroom to the front door, hoping it wasn’t the kids next door again, selling those chocolate bars. She had already bought nearly a dozen. Opening the door, her smile faded as she looked at her visitor. Even seeing him made her chest hurt unbearably. “What are you doing here?”
Jarred’s face didn’t break out into a smile, his expression somber and cautious. “Hey beautiful.”
“You, I have nothing to say to you,” she stated, attempting to shut the door. He pushed back and opened it once more, his jaw clenched tightly.
“I, at least should be allowed to tell you my side of that picture Kinsley.”
Kinsley crossed her arms over her chest, gritting her teeth. “Nothing you say will change the fact that you were kissing her Jarred.”
He swore under his breath, running a hand through his hair. “Can I come in?”
“No,” she stated, not wanting him in this house. She didn’t even want him on the doorstep.
“Fine,” he said, looking up at her. There was exhaustion on his face, some of the cockiness she was used to seeing no longer there. Instead, he looked, well, how she felt: hurt, torn, sad. “I did not kiss Susan. She kissed me. She had this sob story about how Baron was treating her and do you know what I told her?”
“What?” Kinsley asked. Jarred gave her a little smile then, though it didn’t reach his eyes. “I told her not to settle.”
“And she kissed you for that?” Kinsley said.
Jarred shrugged, sadness in his eyes. “I didn’t kiss her. I would not fucking do that to you Kinsley. You are the only one I want to be kissing.”
Kinsley tried not to let his words go to heart, but they were. He looked extremely upset, which thawed some of the anger she had built up around her heart, not wanting to get hurt again.
He stepped forward, his arms at his side. “I can’t make up for the hurt Kinsley, but I’ll tell you, I love you. I love you more than anything on this fucking planet. I literally can’t breathe now unless you are in my presence. You occupy my thoughts. I want to see you in my bed every morning and kiss you goodnight every evening. I want to marry you, have kids with you. I’ve hurt you but I’ll never hurt you again.”
Kinsley’s eyes welled up with tears as Jarred’s words flowed over her, hearing what was coming from his heart. Did she dare to trust him? “I know it’ll take some time,” he continued, reaching into his pocket. “But I want to spend a lifetime making it up to you.”
He reached for her hand and pressed a box in it. “You can hold onto that until you are ready. I’ll give you the space you want but I won’t give up. I’ll never give up.”
A sob escaped her and she ran into his arms, Jarred crushing her against him tightly. “I’m so fucking sorry,” he breathed into her hair.
“It’s okay,” she forced out, clinging to him. “I love you, too.”
He let out a shaky breath, kissing her neck lightly. “God, I thought I would never hear those words.” Jarred pulled back and framed her face with his hands, his eyes searching hers. “I promise you, you will always be happy with me.”
“I know,” she answered, some of the tension and stress melting away. She believed him. Releasing him, she held up the box. “What’s in this?”
“Our future,” he said as she cracked open the lid. Inside, nestled in velvet, was a key. “I have a ring,” Jarred added hastily, reaching into his other pocket and producing a gorgeous diamond. “But I thought you would want the key first.”
Kinsley pulled out the key, turning it over in the palm of her hand. “What’s so special about it?” she asked, looking up at him.
He grinned. “It’s the key to your flat. I purchased it for us.”
He had bought her flat, one of the things that had meant so much to her. If that wasn’t an expression of love, she didn’t know what was. With a cry, she threw her arms around him, placing kisses all over his face. “I love you,” she said in between the kisses.
“And I love you,” he laughed. She hugged him close, her heart overflowing with love for Jarred. It was going to be okay, they were going to be okay. He was where her heart lived.
“Hey,” he said, kissing her neck once more. “Do you want the ring?”
“Later,” she said. They had other things to do first.
Epilogue
Eight Months Later
“You look beautiful Kinsley. It’s so funny to be on this side of the fence this time.”
Kinsley looked at the dress in the mirror and grinned, knowing exactly what Rachel meant. It was hard to believe that just a few months ago she had been a bridesmaid and now she was a bride, about to walk down the aisle to the man who had made her so unbelievably happy over the last few months. She woke up every morning thinking that today she was going to finally hit the peak of her love for Jarred and every night she realized that it was never going to happen. Every day she fell in love with him just a little bit more.
With a sigh, she turned around, looking at Rachel’s bump that was barely visible under the material of her dress. “Well, I did not have that going on last time.”
Rachel touched her stomach protectively, a soft smile on her face. “Yeah well things happen on your honeymoon. Don’t forget that.”