Twist of Fate (A Holiday Romance Novella) Read Online Free PDF Page B

planned to propose that same night but never got the chance.”
    Once again, the wipers filled the silence, sounding louder than ever. Ty suddenly felt exposed, as if he’d opened a box of memories that should have been kept closed.
    “So that’s why you don’t like Christmas. Or your mother,” Kenzie’s quiet voiced filled the car. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
    “I hoped you’d take the hint, and I wouldn’t have to. It’s not a story I like to relive.”
    Kenzie dropped her head to her hands and groaned. “Oh gosh, I really wish you would have told me before now.” The words sounded almost tortured, as if it pained Kenzie to say them.
    Ty slowed the car for a stoplight and glanced at her. She squirmed in her seat, and a feeling of dread came over him. “Why?”
    “Because.” She swallowed, refusing to look at him. “I did something really stupid. I invited her to come. On Sunday. She already has her flight booked.”
    “You what?”
    A car horn blared from behind, so Ty punched the gas and practically slid through the intersection before pulling to the side of the road and stopping the car. His eyes met Kenzie’s.
    “I’m sorry!” she said. “But you said I could write her back, so I did, and she ended up calling me. She sounded so miserable that the next thing I knew I’d invited her to come and even offered to let her sleep on my couch.”
    “You. Did. What?” Ty repeated, louder this time. He didn’t want to believe it. How could Kenzie do this to him when she knew how he felt about his mom? Ty suddenly felt betrayed. Manipulated. Controlled. Like a character in a computer game.
    “I’m sorry, Ty. If I would have known—“
    “That’s just it, Kenzie, you didn’t know. Which is why you should have stayed out of it,” Ty said. “I can’t believe you would do something like this without asking first. The main reason I moved here was so that I could live my life the way I wanted—something I thought I’d achieved until now.”
    Kenzie flinched. Moisture appeared in her eyes as she stared at him. “We’ve been best friends for nearly a year, and this is something you should have told me. I never would’ve emailed her or invited her to come if I’d known.”
    “I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want to.” Ty’s hand hit the steering wheel as he fought for control. “Geez, Kenz. Don’t you get it? You have the best relationship with your family. You’re close to your parents and siblings and in-laws and cousins and everyone else. They only live a few hours away and you like to go home on weekends to see them.” Ty let out a breath and turned his gaze out his window. “I didn’t want you to know that my mom is a control freak or that my dad hides behind golf and newspapers because my mom’s a control freak. I already lost one person in my life because of her. I didn’t want to lose you, too.”
    A moment of silence passed before Kenzie’s hand covered his. Ty glanced her way and immediately wished he hadn’t. A tear made a path down her cheek, reflecting the lamplight and making her look both beautiful and miserable at the same time.
    “I was just trying to help, Ty. I promise. I never meant to—” Another tear fell, and Kenzie quickly swiped it away.
    Ty had never seen Kenzie cry before, and he didn’t like it. At all. He dropped his head against the back of the headrest and let out a breath. “My mom’s really not as bad as I made her out. I mean, with Nicole she was, but it’s not like she goes around giving away kittens to anyone who doesn’t like them. And, as much as I hate to admit it, she was right about Nicole. We weren’t a good fit.” Although it wasn’t until Ty had met Kenzie that he’d realized that.
    “That being said,” continued Ty, “it still should have been my choice—not hers—and I’m just not ready to let her back in my life yet.” Especially not now, when things were so fragile with Kenzie. The last thing Ty needed was his