Page 53 of Finding Chloe

The scraping of a barstool ripped my attention from Kyle. Matt was headed for the door.

“Matt?” I called after him, but he disappeared without a backward glance. The ache inside my chest grew. I’d thought this would have gotten his attention, but it hadn’t. I could feel the tears burning in the backs of my eyes, just waiting to break free.

The sun was blinding as I left the dining hall, needing some air. The crunching of footsteps followed as I approached one of the paddocks. It had to be either Hunter or Kyle. I needed to clear my thoughts, and the quiet beauty of the scenery would help calm me.

I stopped in front of the fence, resting my hands along the top railing. The splintering wood beneath my palms demanded my attention, making me focus on not getting a piece of wood under my skin. Soon, Kyle stood beside me, and I let my hands fall to my sides.

We stood there in silence. I loved that Kyle gave me the space to gather my thoughts.

“I don’t know what to do.” I let out a choked breath.

He turned to me. “Is there any way you would want to be with just us and forget about Matt?”

“No,” I said without hesitation. I couldn’t choose them over him. And in this moment, I realized the certainty of that statement. “Kyle, it’s not that I?—”

“You don’t need to explain. I understand.”

I leaned my head against his shoulder, loving when his arm went around my waist.

“We have to figure out a way to win Matt over. I don’t want to lose you.” Kyle cupped my cheek. His eyes were so full of emotion, and I knew in my heart I wasn’t the only one who had fallen. I wasn’t going to be the only one who was heartbroken if this didn’t work out. I just didn’t see any way to move forward. The four of us were meant to be together. “I watched Hunter search for you for months. And now that he has finally found you, he’s not going to let you go either.”

“How can we convince Matt? He doesn’t want to share. I asked him to keep an open mind, hoping he would come around, but maybe it was just wishful thinking on my part. I hate that I might have ruined anything I had with him.”

“Do you regret me and Hunter?” he asked, a stricken look entering his eyes, and I realized how I must have sounded.

“Absolutely not.” I reached for him. “I can’t imagine this relationship without any one of you.”

My heart felt like it was being torn in three. With the wedding approaching, I didn’t have time to focus on myself. I needed to execute the best wedding ever and get my degree. But how could I figure this out when my attention was being torn? My degree was important to me and so were the guys. If I couldn’t figure this out, would I have to walk away?

When life was complicated, it was easier to focus on work, and I felt myself slipping into that distraction. “I have to take care of a few things.”

Kyle frowned but allowed me space.

“I’ll find you guys later.” I kissed Kyle on the cheek and went to the dining hall for my things.

CHLOE

Ihad a list of all the extra rooms being offered to the priority guests, like Garrett Kingston and his friends. The four of them were separated into a few houses who had spare rooms. Their mother and fathers were housed in the big house, as well as a few of the other dignitaries. Mrs. Halloway’s bed and breakfast was booked up, along with anything else available in town.

Guests were starting to arrive, and my schedule was full. When I entered the big house, the kitchen was booming. The parental Kingstons, brother Kingston and his group, and Thomas, Declan, and Alex were all in the room, grabbing breakfast from the spread laid out buffet-style over every surface. It was a lot of food, but it had to be to feed this crowd.

“Chloe, grab something to eat. We’re just finishing, and then we can go over whatever you need.” Thomas handed me a plate, and Garrett, the youngest Kingston, offered his barstool. His friends, Sawyer, Nate, and Julian, all sidled up next to me.

I added a few things to my plate to be polite, but I didn’t go overboard. My stomach was churning from my brain running the last two days. Was I ready to give up Hunter and Kyle if Mattdidn’t want this? I needed to find Matt and talk to him, but I also needed to focus on the wedding.

“So you’re the wedding planner?” Garrett asked, leaning against the counter just as I’d taken a bite of my crispy bacon. I glanced at him, then noticed the rest of his clan staring at me out of the corner of my eyes. I swallowed my food with a gulp of orange juice before answering.

“That’s me.”

Garrett nodded along with Nate and Sawyer like they were entranced by my words, but Julian had a gleam in his eyes I’d seen in Hunter’s.

“Which reminds me…” I pointed at Garrett. “We need to meet later. I want to make sure you have everything you need as the best man. If there’s anything last minute, I can work on getting that for you from town.”

“You know, I love a woman who takes charge. One who can handle her own in a place dominated by men.” Julian’s voice dropped an octave as he leaned in closely.

Declan smacked Julian and Garrett on the backs of their heads. “She’s taken, boys. Behave.” He winked at me and returned to his mother’s side, where he slipped right back into their conversation. I couldn’t help but laugh as they rubbed their heads.

“Sorry,” Garrett mumbled.

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