07

KAYLA SUMMERS

Kayla wasn’t happy. Not at all. Especially when the flash went off as the paparazzi took pics as they entered the party, her arm looped through his.

She dug her nails in his arm. A low hiss reached her ears and she smiled but it faltered as she saw him smile and not complain about the fact that she was hurting him.

They were pretty late but it didn’t matter because it was Daniel’s own family. And the ladies were her family.

With her new restaurant’s opening only a few months away, she was more busy than she’d ever been.

Lexi had tried to talk Kayla into getting the work done in a month. Kayla was sure Lexi could help her. Especially when she had turned her own grandfather’s mansion into a resort of sorts within a month.

Kay had refused only because she wanted this new restaurant to be her own. She wanted every single thing of her own. She didn’t want anybody’s help. Sure she had to work her ass off to earn enough to fund the whole thing. But it was worth it.

It was her baby and she was sure she would get it up and running in a few months.

« Kayla, it’s so good to see you. »

Kayla snapped out of her daydream the moment she heard Cassandra’s sweet voice. Cassandra Hunt was a beautiful, sweet and caring woman in her mid sixties. And apparently none of her son’s had taken after her sweet nature.

« You too. » She smiled and leaned down to kiss Cass on her cheek.

The old woman smiled at her. Kay had been dating Logan back in college when she had first met Cass. Even after they broke up, Cass was still in touch with Kay.

She came to her restaurant every week with her friends and Kayla would always cook something new and serve them.

« You look beautiful. » Kayla complimented her and Cass’s smile widened.

« Isn’t it beautiful ? Lexi designed it for me. »

Of course she did. Lexi designed a dress for every single person that was close to her. It was just how she was. Lexi was one of the reasons why Kay hadn’t fallen deep in depression.

After her one night stand with Dan, she had drifted apart from the Hunt brothers. With Sydney in Cali at that time, Kay was left alone. She met Lexi while she was in college and grew close to her pretty soon. At that time when Lexi had made herself a jumpsuit, Kayla was in awe. Before she knew it, Lexi had made her one too. She still had it in her closet back at her home.

After getting her degree, Sydney had been back to New York and soon entered modeling. But the moment she was back, she had forced her way in Kay’s life and they had been friends since then.

Kayla loved the ladies. They were her family. Sure her father was still alive but he had moved back to Texas. He had his own security firm and was living a happy life with his wife. Kayla was happy for him.

Kayla owed a lot to Lexi. She had been with her through thick and thin. Same as Sydney but what she liked about Lexi was she was always just one phone call away. Now that Lexi had married Logan, Kay didn’t want to bother her. She was happy and pregnant and Kay didn’t want to go to her with her problems.

That was one of the reasons why Kay hadn’t called the very next moment to grumble about the fact that she was married to Dan for the past nine years.

« Why, son, you look like hell ! » Startled, Kay turned to see George frowning at Daniel.

Now George was a complete opposite to his wife, Cassandra. Maybe opposites do attract. They had been happily married for more than 30 years and still so in love.

« What ? » Dan said, taken aback looking down at the navy blue suit he was wearing.

« You haven’t been sleeping. » George mumbled.

« I am sleeping just fine. » he replied.

George’s observation brought her to a halt. She turned towards Daniel and looked at him for the very first time. Dan looked way beyond tired. Sure he had cleaned up pretty well. He looked sexy in that suit of his. But what she hadn’t noticed was that it looked a little loose on him. Light shadows beneath his eyes. He definitely hadn’t been sleeping. He looked weary and goddamn why hadn’t she noticed it before.

« Stop looking at me like that. »

« Are you okay ? » she asked softly.

« What are you talking about ? » he frowned « I’m good. »

« You don’t look good. »

He swallowed and then turned around. « Whatever. I need a drink. » He turned and walked over to the bar.

« I didn’t know you were going out. » She turned to see Cass looking at her, her head cocked as she studied Kay.

« Yeah. We decided to come here together. » she just mumbled and sat on the chair beside Cass.

What was wrong with him ? Was he sick ?

« So he finally did it, huh ? »

Kayla didn’t understand what she was talking about. She was still wondering what it was that was nagging him so much. Was it her ?

« Kay » Cass called out.

« What ? » Kayla snapped out of her thoughts.

« Are you okay, honey ? »

« Yeah. » she muttered. « I’m sorry, what were you saying ? »

« I said that he finally did it. »

« Did what ? »

« Confessed his feelings. » Cass said with a smile and clapped her hands. « I’m so happy. He was so in –«

She stopped mid sentence as George started coughing. Resting the glass back on the table he pressed his handkerchief to his mouth.

« Sorry. » he muttered but Kay didn’t miss the small shake of his head that George directed towards Cass.

Kayla wanted to know what Cass had meant but then she didn’t wanna force it out of the sweet woman when George had just stopped her.

She sat back and the topic changed to her new restaurant. Conversation flowed between them smoothly. When a sweet waltz started to play, George pulled Cass to the dance floor and the couple danced slowly in each other’s arms.

Kay longed for what they had. She really did. But the bond that they shared with each other got her to question her relationship with Rory. Unfortunately, she couldn’t imagine herself in his arms swaying just like George and Cass were. She didn’t know if Rory would be the one for her. And Dan was out of the question. He even had left her alone here. In a roomful of hundreds of people, Kayla suddenly felt lonely. Lexi had Logan, Tess had David, Sydney had Sean. And she had no one to lean on.

At that moment, Kayla was so confused that she couldn’t do anything but walk out of there.