The Other Side of Greed by Lily Zante

Chapter Forty

KYRA

We walk back to his car silently. After a while, he asks, “Do you believe me now?”

He was obviously desperate to prove it to me. I don’t know this woman from the next stranger, and here I am, intruding in her personal space, at the hospital of all places. And this after her traumatic car crash.

The cynic in me rises to the fore. I can’t trust anyone enough to get close to them, and maybe this is what it takes. I should give the guy a break. I should let this go and allow myself to open up to someone again.

“Thank you for doing that. I shouldn’t have asked you to go this far.”

“This far?” He quirks an eyebrow. “You have doubts about me, Kyra, and I don’t blame you. There are many things unexplained; things you probably wonder about. The last thing I wanted was for you to think I was a cheat.”

He leans against the car, arms folded as if he’s not ready to get in until we’ve sorted this out. I let out a shaky breath. I’m lucky to have someone like Brad, someone who went to such lengths to prove to me that he isn’t a cheat.

He seems like the type of man who would move mountains for me, and maybe, for once, I should let myself enjoy the moment. Taking his hand, I tiptoe up and kiss him, missing his lips intentionally and placing a kiss just to the right of his mouth.

“Is that all I get?” He tugs my hand and pulls me towards him. This time, he lowers his head and plants a kiss on my lips. It’s chaste by comparison to the way he’s kissed me before—all hot and heavy and needy. My insides still heat at the memories of the last time we’d kissed and, as if they remember, the cells in my body jump to attention. I kiss him back, sliding my tongue between his lips, putting my arms around his neck. Just as we begin to deepen the kiss, he slowly moves my arms away, then slides his hands down to hold mine. He breaks our kiss. “Does this mean we’re back?”

“Back to what? I don’t want to sneak around anymore.”

“Me neither.” He strokes my face, and my skin tingles at his touch, a reminder of where we had last left things. “I want to do something nice for you.”

“Something nice?” Surprise makes me smile. “This is nice.”

“This?” His eyes grow round. “Being nice to you, kissing you, is nice?”

“Yes.”

“He must have really hurt you,” he says, quiet as a mouse.

I muster a brave smile. I have tried to hold back and keep my distance from this man, but it seems as if Brad Hartley and I can’t keep apart. I lean my face towards his stroking finger.

“It rips you up, tears you down. Makes you think you’re worthless. That’s why I’m just extra cautious now.”

He nods, understanding heavy in his eyes as he pulls me into him and holds me. We have gone from zero to one hundred. He wants me, but he seems to be in a contemplative mood again. I can’t read the expression on his face, and I can’t gauge his thoughts. But he holds me tight, and I lean against him because, after a long time of putting up my walls, I’ve finally find the courage to trust again.

BRAD

We go our separate ways. She might think I have cooled off and wonder why we’re not continuing on from where we left off, but I can’t go into this being Brad Hartley, the guy who has lied to her about everything.

I want to show her the real me, but who is the real me?

Am I Brandon Hawks, the man who wants Greenways? Or am I Brandon Clements—a poor neglected and unwanted child?

I still want Kyra, but I want to also do things properly. It means I’ll have to reveal everything slowly. Bit by bit, and only the parts I am comfortable for her to know about.