“That is going to be perfect. Mia’s starting to send me book inventory, and I think I finally figured out all the programs I’m going to be using, but I’m mostly excited to figure out a bit of a routine where I’m actually working again. Haley starts school next week, so…”
At the bottom of the stairs, he motioned for her to walk ahead of him into the office. “So the timing will be perfect for you to really be able to get organized.”
In the office, she paused. “Oh, Kyle, you got so much done! This is amazing!”
He loved the praise. In all actuality, it wasn’t a lot of work. It was a matter of organizing and decluttering what her sister and brother-in-law had stored down there and cleaning the space up. After that, it was a quick coat of paint and furniture assembly. There had already been a desk down here, and Sydney had decided to use it rather than buying a new one, but he knew eventually she’d want to remedy that.
“There’s a great home décor place in town—Shore Décor—and I think if you go there, you can get some great accent pieces to really brighten up the place and personalize it a little. Jake’s wife Mallory owns it. I’m sure if you went in there, she’d help you out and maybe even give you a discount.”
She grinned. “I’ve been in there and I’m slightly obsessed with it, but I had no idea she was Jake’s wife! How cool is that?”
“I’m not really sure cool is the right word…”
“I mean, he builds or renovates a house and Mallory helps decorate it! That is very cool,” she reasoned.
“I guess.” Pausing, Kyle watched her walk around the room. “So we’re at the end of the third week here. The outside is done and down here is done. On Monday, I’ll be starting upstairs. I’ve got two guys coming with me to help demo the master bath.”
Nodding, Sydney said, “Jake emailed me my options for the tile for the shower and the vanity. I have to admit, I would have been fine with something pre-fab for the shower and maybe just repainting the existing vanity. I feel bad that so much is being done to customize the space.”
“Don’t feel bad. You know how people in Magnolia are; we take care of our own.” And he meant it. Nothing about the budget he’d been given for Sydney’s place surprised him. If he had a bigger crew, they would almost be done by now, but after the kiss the other day, he was glad it was just him here.
Which reminded him…
Cautiously, he moved closer to her. “Maybe we should go back upstairs to the bedroom and…”
Gasping, Sydney turned to him with wide eyes. “Excuse me?”
It took him a moment to realize how what he’d said could have been misconstrued. “I meant to look at the master and make sure we’re on the same page for what we’re going to do.”
Then he moved even closer.
“Although…I have a confession to make.”
He saw her swallow hard. “You…you do?”
He nodded. “I do.” Pausing, he slowly reached for one of her hands and just caressed it. “I’ve been thinking a lot about what happened the other day. If Jake hadn’t shown up…”
He noticed how she looked away, blushing, but he couldn’t seem to make himself stop.
“I hate how we got interrupted, and I’d really love to take you out sometime and…I don’t know…see where this goes.”
“We already know how it’s going to go,” she said quietly. “What happened the other day was a mistake. We had no right opening that door again.”
“I disagree.”
Sydney faced him, her expression bleak. “It’s not going to go anywhere, Kyle. There’s too much going on in my life right now. I’m not looking to get involved with anyone.”
“But…upstairs when…”
“No.” She held up a hand to stop him. “That was a mistake. I was upset, and…it just never should have happened. I’m sorry if I gave you the wrong idea.”
Kyle was a good judge of character and even better at reading people. He also knew that Sydney believed what she was saying, but…her eyes said something else entirely. There was no way he would force her to change her mind, but he also wasn’t giving up on her. Them. This. He knew what he felt with her, and the timing might suck, but he’d never backed away from a challenge before and wasn’t about to start now.
Taking a step back, he said. “It’s okay, Syd. Really.” Pausing, he took another step back. “Why don’t we go look at the master? Let me grab my iPad and we’ll make sure everything matches up, okay?”
She looked at him warily—like she didn’t believe he wasn’t going to argue with her. “Uh, sure. That would be great.”
Together, they spent the next hour discussing color choices and the timeline for each task they were going to do.
“I feel like I’m taking advantage of people’s generosity,” she said again.
“Syd, we’ve been over this. No one put any stipulations on what you could and couldn’t have. Everyone just wants the place to be fixed from top to bottom for you and Haley. Most people would be ecstatic about having all this work done. Why are you fighting it so damn much?”
Her shoulders sagged as she sat down on the corner of the bed. “I told you. I feel like I’m being rewarded for something I don’t deserve.” She shook her head. “Maybe I should have just sold the house and moved Haley back to Boston with me.”
“You could have. No one would have blamed you.”
“I know. I thought I was doing the right thing—keeping her someplace familiar. But now that all the work’s being done, it’s not going to even be that.” She sighed. “I’m stressed out and fumbling my way through everything and I’m completely overwhelmed…”
This all looked and sounded very familiar…
“And it’s all completely normal,” he interrupted before she could beat herself up any further. “What you’re doing is very admirable, and in the grand scheme of things, this is all just a bump in the road—the reno and all the house stuff. I think it’s adding to how you’re feeling right now. But once I’m done here and there’s no one coming around every day to knock things down or tear things up, you’re going to start to really settle in.”
She let out a mirthless laugh. “Believe it or not, it’s been a good distraction. I’m afraid once it’s all done and I’m here alone, it’s all going to hit me—about Tracy and Daren really being gone. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I’m pretending they’re just away and thought it would be funny to leave me in charge of the renovations. Once they’re all done and no one comes home…”
Shit. He’d made her cry.
Again.
Wrapping his arm around her, he pulled her close until she rested her head on his shoulder.
Yeah. This was all very familiar.
Beside him, she let out a small groan. “I wish I could stop this—stop the crying, stop freaking out. I want to feel normal and happy for just one damn day!” she cried. “Maybe that’s selfish of me…”
“It’s not,” he countered. “It’s definitely not. You’re allowed to be happy. No one’s going to think less of you if you laugh or smile.”