Da Capo

Chapter 28

Chapter 28

"Are you alright, Steph?"

Stephanie had kept her face buried in Kyle's shoulder and her arms wrapped around his waist for a while after Leon was escorted out, and she didn't want to move. Being in Kyle's arms like this felt too good, and the fact that he had so fiercely defended her against her awful ex-boyfriend made her more reluctant to let go of him.

He was truly her knight in shining armor.

"...Yeah, I'm alright," Stephanie sighed after a moment, shifting her face over so she could look up at Kyle. He gazed down at her with a soft, sympathetic expression on his face. "How are you?"

"I'll be fine," Kyle assured her. "It's going to take a lot more than that to frighten me off. I'm only concerned about you."

Stephanie gave him a soft, tender smile. "Thanks."

"He's gone, Steph."

Stephanie looked over to see Morgan approach them, looking understandably upset. "I'm so sorry he came here and started harassing you. I have no idea how he got in when we were so careful about security. But rest assured, if he comes back here we're calling the police."

"It's okay Morgan. This isn't your fault," Stephanie said, finally pulling away from Kyle so she could face her. "I appreciate you guys getting him out of here, though. I'm sorry he had to ruin your big day."

"Are you kidding? That asshole didn't ruin anything," Morgan rolled her eyes. "He's going to have to try a lot harder than that."

"Well, let's hope he doesn't," Stephanie said sardonically, folding her arms. She glanced over at Kyle, and noticed he had an odd expression on his face as he gazed off into space. After a moment, he met Stephanie's eyes before grimacing slightly, not saying anything.

"Marcus and his dad are coming back over here," Morgan said, glancing over her shoulder at her husband and father-in-law walking back from the building's entrance. "I think that means Leon is gone."

"Good," Stephanie nodded in relief. "Hopefully he stays gone."

Stephanie looked over at Kyle again, and once again, she noticed he had that odd expression on his face. It was as if he were warring with himself on something, and Stephanie frowned slightly, feeling concerned.

Is he alright?

"Kyle?" Stephanie asked quietly, placing a hand lightly on his arm. His eyes met hers, and the unreadable expression on his face flickered slightly as he frowned at her. "Is everything okay?"

Kyle gazed at her for one more moment before glancing over at Morgan, who had begun moving toward Marcus and her father-in-law to speak with them. Without a word, Kyle took Stephanie's hand and walked them over to a nearby corner of the room, where they were in relative privacy. Stephanie allowed him to lead her there, feeling her heart pounding anxiously as she wondered what was going on with him.

Why isn't he saying anything? Did Leon's presence make him rethink his decision to come to America with me? Did this whole experience ruin his view of me?

Stephanie was desperate to know, and it was eating her up inside knowing that he was upset about something she couldn't fix.

"Kyle, I'm so sorry you were upset by Leon showing up," Stephanie said immediately once they had stopped and Kyle faced her. "If there's any way I can make it up to you, maybe I could talk to Marcus and he could –?"

"I love you."

Stephanie froze, staring at him in shock. That was the last thing she expected to come out of his mouth. "What?"