Abbie was surprised, but everything then fell into place. Kitty had been nothing but nice to her but always became prickly whenever Kyle’s name came up.
‘But this was over ten years ago now?’ she asked.
‘Sixteen years ago. And, apparently, she’s still mad at me about it. I’m sure when she meets her Prince Charming it’ll all be forgotten, but I’m sorry you got caught in the crossfire.’
Abbie hesitantly asked her next question. ‘If she’s still mad at you about it, surely if anything happens with us, she’ll be angry at both of us? And that wouldn’t be easy, with us all working together.’ She looked down and noticed she had bunched up both of her hands into a ball.
Kyle sighed again. ‘You know what? She’s a grown-up and neither of us have done anything wrong or would be doing anything wrong if things develop. Which, I’m going to lay it on the line here, I hope they do.’
He gazed straight at her as he said this and she felt her last bit of resolve melt away. She wanted to explore this thing with him and she couldn’t keep pushing her feelings away.
She slowly nodded at him and he shifted his chair so he was sitting right next to her. Her breath quickened as he cupped her face with his hand and brought his lips down to meet her own.
He tasted of coffee and she melted into the gentle kiss.
They were brought back to earth by the ping of his mobile phone and, remembering where they were, they separated and smiled at each other.
‘My beauty is fixed. Let’s go home?’
She nodded yes and they intertwined hands as they headed out.
CHAPTER 16
During their long drive back to Salt Lake City, she and Kyle chatted constantly. Any walls she still had up to keep him out had been battered down that morning at breakfast. He had been honest with her and everything now made sense. With those last barriers coming down, her feelings for him had flooded to the surface. She had been trying to keep them at bay, but now she was a goner, good and proper. Trying to play it cool wasn’t going to be easy, but he didn’t seem to want that. He was as open as ever and pulled her into him on the bench seat as they drove home, his right arm draped around her shoulder, only lifting when he needed to change gear.
When he dropped her home, they shared another kiss but she didn’t invite him in, feeling she should probably put up some kind of pretence that they should ‘date’ a bit before dragging him kicking and screaming to her bedroom.
She managed to save the whole story to tell Rose the next night, as they went to watch a big rock band from Germany play at The Saltair. They were taking it in turns to write up the reviews, or writing them together when they had the time, and it still didn’t feel like work. She kept expecting to feel the dread of having to go to another gig like she used to, but she enjoyed doing this with Rose. Because there wasn’t much money involved, it was all purely for the love of the music and the writing and, more than anything, the brilliant friendship she and Rose were continuing to grow.
Sweaty and exhausted from dancing right in the middle of the crowds in the pits, they headed out to Abbie’s car to drive back to Rose’s place. They were both flooded with adrenaline from the gig and there was no way they could sleep anytime soon so they decided to write up their blog that night.
Rose had taken on the responsibility of updating their gig listings as she proclaimed she had more time during the day than Abbie, and it was better to use her time wisely or else she would just buy things she didn’t need. She had managed to get even more venues to agree to a cut of the ticket if they were bought after linking from The Salt Scene, and they had already earned a few hundred dollars over the past month. It was pretty incredible for an idea that had been born without a strategy over quite a lot of the Malbec region’s finest.
As they refined their blog post, giving a four-star review to the five-piece that shook the floor of The Saltair with their gritty anthems and vibrating bass, Abbie casually asked Rose if she might be able to ask the promoter of the gig they were attending the following night for an extra ticket. It was going to be at a smaller venue in the city that had a night on for up-and-coming local singers and bands, with a line-up of five acts.
‘Yeah, I’m sure it’ll be okay. That’s one of the places that’s been all over us as we’ve been sending clients their way. What’s the name? I’ll ask them to add it to the guest list.’ Rose barely looked up as she replied while tapping away.
‘Um, it’s Kyle Miller,’ she said, feeling her cheeks glow.
Rose’s head sprang up and her fingers paused in mid-air.
She yelped with glee when Abbie filled her in on what had happened at the weekend, asking for more and more details of who said what and who gave what facial expression when, analysing every minute detail until Abbie didn’t have any more to give.
Abbie was exhilarated. She didn’t remember feeling this excited and having all these butterflies when she was with Josh. Thinking back, she was always trying to please him and feeling anxious if she felt like she wasn’t, whereas, with Kyle, she felt that she could be completely herself. She was excited to bring together her two favourite people in Salt Lake City, and she only had to wait a day for it to happen.
The following night couldn’t have gone better. The three of them grabbed a small table in the centre of the room, still with a clear view of the small stage, but not so close that they couldn’t have a conversation. It was as if Rose and Kyle had known each other forever. They swapped stories about the city they had both lived in their whole lives, not believing they hadn’t crossed each other’s paths before as they talked about mutual places they had hung out and people they knew.
Abbie and Rose then told Kyle all about how The Salt Scene had come about that night in The Live Joint where they had celebrated the idea over tequila, and about some of the great bands they had seen over the past few months.
A young singer from the south of the state took to the stage with his guitar, and Abbie and Rose were entranced by his gravelly voice as he sang a cover of an Aretha Franklin song, followed by two of his own compositions. Rose scribbled some notes in her battered book as Abbie searched for him online to link to the piece they would later write. As she looked up, she saw Kyle watching her intently, his dark eyes making her stomach flip.
He leant over, whispering into her ear. ‘It makes me so happy to see you so excited doing something just for the love of it. Reminds me of how it felt when I first kicked a ball around a field.’
His low voice sent vibrations through her as his lips brushed her ear. It was everything she could do not to jump him on the spot.
Rose proudly told him how local places were clamouring to partner with them and how she now had venues up in Park City asking her to add them to their listings. To Abbie’s complete surprise, she revealed that the Sundance Film Festival had been in touch just a few hours before to invite them to their music programme for the following year. That would mark Abbie’s anniversary of arriving in the city and the end of the time she’d committed to; she wondered if she’d still be there or not.
Sundance Film Festival. Lily would be so impressed.
Kyle went to buy celebratory drinks while Abbie and Rose squealed at the unlikeliness of the whole thing.
As soon as he was out of earshot, Rose spoke breathlessly. ‘Oh my god he’s gorgeous and amazing and how in the hell did you managed to restrain yourself from ripping off his clothes immediately when you laid eyes on him?’
‘I’m not quite sure myself,’ Abbie replied as they both collapsed into giggles.
They then had to pretend they were laughing at a meme on Rose’s phone when Kyle arrived back at the table.
After dropping Rose home, Kyle drove Abbie to San Giovanni’s, which she guessed was going to be their place. She’d already admitted she had no food in the house as she was too busy getting ready for the move and with work to bother cooking, so he said he wanted to make sure she had at least one good meal that week.
After
an extravagant welcome from Rafaele, they settled down in the cosy corner the waiter had seated them in. Over steaming bowls of spicy tomato pasta, warm crusty bread and huge, juicy Nocellara olives, he looked at her thoughtfully.
‘You know something, England. I’m proud of you. It can’t have been easy for you to move so far from home, and you seem to be grabbing life with both hands. And, you were right, Rose is brilliant.’
She grinned. ‘I told you! I can’t imagine how anyone would think otherwise, but I’m thrilled that you got along.’ If everything kept going in the right direction, Kyle and Rose might be seeing quite a bit of each other.
She filled him in on her conversation with her old boss, Dave Jones, and how she had proposed sending some of the Utah Saints youth team to England in the summer for a training camp. Dave had thought it was a brilliant idea and said they could run a week-long programme which would end up in a match versus the London Town FC youth squad. If they timed it right, they could do a return trip where the LTFC kids visited Utah. He said it would be a good chance for him to check she hadn’t gone too American on him and that she was being looked after. Abbie secretly thought it probably had more to do with him getting away from Margaret Jones for a week, who was probably the only person on earth who could scare the living daylights out of her husband.
‘This is absolutely amazing! In fact, I’m going to email Kitty right now and get her to book us an appointment with Hank so we can pitch him the idea. I’m sure he’ll love it, and the kids would love it even more; you know already from them that the Premiership is where they look for their heroes and this would be an amazing possibility for them.’
They talked about what she missed most about England and she told Kyle that it was really only the people. If living in Salt Lake City had taught her anything, it was that it wasn’t the place you were that made something home, it was the people you were with. She told him more about her parents and about Lily. And about Polly and how happy she was now, living with Damian the artist. She told him all about their old flat in Camden and what it was like living in London.
She couldn’t imagine picking Kyle up and dropping him in her old neighbourhood – he was too outdoorsy. Her mind flashed back to him showing her how to snowboard and leading her expertly through a freaking desert. He would be too constrained in a city like London. And that pickup truck would never fit in the local supermarket car park.
Then, and she didn’t know what made her do it, she told him about Violet. She told him about her best friend since university and how she suddenly seemed to be avoiding Abbie. How it was the only thing marring what was an amazing decision to come here to America and how it hit her at different points in the day and was making her feel anxious.
In his usual Kyle way, he seemed concerned but practical.
‘Babe, send her an email. Just ask her what’s going on. I’m sure it’s nothing you’ve done, maybe she’s missing you and finding it hard to keep up with the time difference.’
It was what Abbie had thought herself but it didn’t take away from the fact she was missing her best friend like crazy. Especially at a time when she had some exciting news that the Violet of a few months ago would have been eager to hear.
Kyle continued trying to soothe her. ‘I had a friend that did a similar thing a few years back. It turned out he was getting a divorce and needed some space to handle things.’
‘I know you’re right and there must be an explanation. It’s just, if something is going on, I want to be there for her like she’s always been for me,’ she said. He reached across and squeezed her hand.
He drove her home after that and, feeling like they had got even closer as they opened up to each other more, Abbie invited him in for a coffee.
As she stood at the kitchen counter spooning instant coffee into two mugs and waiting for the kettle to boil, she felt the warmth of his presence behind her. He reached around her, took the teaspoon out of her hand and placed it on the counter, then softly put his hands on either side of her waist and turned her round to face him.
Clasping her hands in his own he met her gaze, and her stomach fizzed as she lost herself in his dark eyes. He took a step forward, gently but firmly pinning her to the counter with the weight of him. Her body responded instantly to his touch, electricity flowing between them, and she arched her back to bring them even closer.
So slowly she thought she would explode, he lowered his head and grazed his lips along her own, then traced her jawline and collarbone with light kisses.
She reached up and twisted her fingers into his dark hair, and he wrapped one arm tightly around her back, his lips finding hers again.
As the kiss intensified, she didn’t want to wait any longer, and she could feel he didn’t either. She freed her hands, tugged off his t-shirt and let it drop to the ground.
‘Shall we move this somewhere more comfortable?’ he asked, barely taking his lips away from her.
She nodded, and he lifted her off the floor in one move and carried her along the hallway to the bedroom, Abbie murmuring directions as they went.
From high in the sky above the mountains, the moon shone through the open blinds and threw a glow on the otherwise dark room.
Kyle placed her on the bed, never once stopping the kiss, and trailed his hand along her body.
Pausing and propping himself up on his elbow, he looked at her intently. ‘Are you okay? You’re sure?’
‘I can’t remember ever being this okay,’ she replied, pulled him back towards her.
Afterwards, he wrapped his arms around her as she nestled onto his chest, and they slept entwined until the sun peeked through the blinds and woke them.
He took his time with her again the following morning. It was the best alarm call either of them could have asked for.
‘Good morning,’ he murmured after they lay in satisfied silence for a while, the two of them facing each other as they snuggled under the covers.
‘Is there something better to say than good morning? I’m not sure it does justice to how I’m feeling right now,’ she replied as he leant down and pressed his lips to her forehead.
‘A morning beyond compare?’ he offered.
‘Faultless,’ she responded. ‘I do have a question for you, though.’
‘The answer is, “that thing I did is definitely legal.”’
‘You’re an idiot,’ she said laughingly. ‘Although my question was – is there anything you’re not phenomenal at?’
‘Hmmm, the million-dollar question. We haven’t found anything yet, although timekeeping might be on the list if we stay here much longer. We’re going to be late.’
Grudgingly, they got up for work, and she groaned in mock protest all the way to the bathroom. As much as she wanted to forget the outside world existed and drink in Kyle for several days, real life was calling.
He brought her a cup of coffee after she got out of the shower, and they kissed like teenagers until they got in their separate cars to head off for the day.
She didn’t care what the day had to throw at her. She was on top of the world.
CHAPTER 17
Before she knew it, Wednesday had arrived or, as it was noted in her diary, moving day. As Kyle lifted the last of her suitcases with ease into the back of his pickup and clicked shut the tailgate, Abbie reached her arms up around his neck and kissed him. He snaked his arm around her waist and pulled her in tight.
Kissing her on the forehead, he looked her up and down. ‘You even look cute in your decorating gear.’
‘This isn’t decorating gear.’ She swatted his arm, pretending to be offended as she looked down at her soft, pale blue denim dungarees which she had teamed with a distressed Rolling Stones tee. ‘These are my favourite dungarees, so you better get used to them.’
‘Dungarees are for toddlers and farmers. And last time I checked, you weren’t either of those.’
‘You’re still getting to know me. You don’t know half of my skills yet. Maybe I throw
the best tantrums you’ve ever seen. Maybe I’m a crack sheep herder or highly adept at delivering foals.’
‘I think I can fairly confidently say that, although you’re amazing and clever and creative and incredibly skilled at some things that I personally am benefitting from, sheep herding and delivering baby foals are not in your portfolio of talents. I still think you’re hot, though. Even in dungarees.’
He kissed her again then got into his truck to drive over to the new house with her boxes and cases and wait for the furniture to start being delivered. She was staying for the final inspection with the estate agent, then she’d join him.
She had no clue how she would have done this move without him. It made her slightly nervous that they were doing things together that normally wouldn’t happen this early in a relationship. They weren’t even ‘officially’ dating, she guessed, but equally, it all felt so right and he seemed to be relishing the chance to help her. She guessed he secretly liked being a bit of a hero, and it made her laugh.
Alone in the apartment, she walked from room to room around the place that had been home for the past few months. Thinking back to how it felt packing this time compared to how it had been in London, she was pleasantly surprised how a few short months could change things so considerably.
Sorting her things in London had almost been a detox. She had thrown out the old and exorcised some of her demons, ditching the clothes that had been a mask to hide her away from the world and throwing out unhappy memories of Josh. She could never forget that scan of her lost baby. It would be imprinted on her mind forever, but the thoughts were becoming less frequent and less guilt-laced.
She pushed the thought away as she looked out of her bedroom window out to the Wasatch Mountains. This place had changed her and, for the first time in a long time, her future felt full of possibilities. She was happy.
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