“That’s my girl,” he whispered.
Nodding, she reached down between them and let him know that playtime was over.
“We’ve got all night,” he reminded her.
“I know,” she said, kissing his chest, his shoulder. “But I just thought you should know that I really want…
He never let her finish because he was completely in sync with her.
He gave her everything she wanted and so much more.
Repeatedly.
And it was better than she remembered.
7
That night started a whole new pattern for them.
For two weeks, they spent every single day together—primarily because he was working on the house—but he would stay for dinner almost every night and then take Sydney and Haley out on the weekends. And the thing was…he was loving it. Normally he wouldn’t think there was anything wrong with it, but…he and Sydney had yet to do anything more than some heavy making out since the night at his house.
But that didn’t mean he wasn’t dying for more.
He knew it was important for them to take it slow, but he also knew he was desperate to spend the night with her.
Again.
And without her worrying about Haley.
Although, the kid was great. Honestly, Kyle had no issues with her at all. She was back in school and trying out for the gymnastics team and had a wicked sense of humor that Kyle could appreciate. He genuinely enjoyed hanging out with her, getting to know her, and seeing her happy.
And it was the main reason he was going to make the request he was about to make.
“Kyle! This is a surprise. Come on in!” His future sister-in-law stepped aside as he walked into the house. He kissed her on the cheek before she followed him into the living room. “What brings you by? Hunter’s not home yet, so…”
Perfect…
He sat down on the sofa and smiled at her. “Is Hunter off this weekend by chance?”
Nodding, Violet sat beside him. “He is. Why? You looking to do a double date?”
“Actually, I was hoping you guys could do me a favor and watch Haley so I could take Sydney out on a proper date.”
“Ah…watch her? She doesn’t really need a babysitter, Kyle. If anything, she could be the babysitter.” She paused. “Wait, were you hoping she could sleep over too?
He chuckled and felt himself blush. “Well, I was hopeful.”
She frowned. “Wait…are we talking about Haley sleeping over here or Sydney sleeping over at your place?”
“Uh…both?”
She laughed even as she shook her head. “Be thankful your brother isn’t here for this conversation. I have a feeling he’d be making all kinds of fun of you right about now.”
“Yeah. I know,” he said, scrubbing a hand along the back of his neck. “I’ve been afraid to even ask. And honestly, I haven’t run it by Sydney yet, so…”
Reaching over, Violet rested her hand on his knee. “I think it’s sweet that you want to do this and trust me, I know exactly how you feel. When Hunter and I started dating…well…it was a lot to handle because we always had to be mindful of Eli.”
He nodded. “Did it ever bother you?”
She let out a long breath. “To be honest? Once or twice. I wasn’t used to the whole thing. I never had to take someone into consideration in every single thing I did before. Sometimes it was frustrating, and sometimes it meant us having to change our plans, but…I love that little guy like he’s my own.”
“It shows, Vi. It really shows.” He paused. “You’ve been good for him. Well, for both Eli and Hunter. They’re lucky to have you.”
She blushed. “I’m the lucky one.” Pulling her hand back, she studied him. “What about you? How are you doing with all this?”
“You mean with Haley?”
“Yeah. This whole situation seems…and please don’t take offense to this…but this just seems way out of character for you. Are you sure you should be pursuing it and getting more involved?”
As much as he wanted to be annoyed with her question, he knew she was only asking because she cared. “I’ll admit, you’re not the first one to voice concern about this, but…I don’t know. There’s something about Sydney that just…I can’t stay away. She was the first girl I ever loved,” he admitted. “I knew from the first time I saw her that things were going to happen between us.”
“So…what happened? I mean, I obviously know the two of you broke up, and she went off to college and all that, but…what broke the two of you up?”
Groaning, he collapsed back against the cushions. “My colossal ego broke us up.”
“Wow,” she said with a small laugh. “That’s brutally honest.”
“Yeah, well…I’ve been thinking a lot about it since Sydney moved back.”
“Have you guys talked about it?”
“Hell no. I think we both avoid that topic—at least, the specifics of it.”
“That’s probably smart.” She leaned back before turning and looking at him. “So, ego, huh?”
“Yeah. Sydney always had plans to go away to school. She was never shy about talking about it. But once she started sending out her applications and acceptance letters started coming in…it was rough. I considered asking her to marry me so she wouldn’t leave, but ultimately decided against it. Then I was kind of a dick about the whole thing.” He shook his head.
“And…?”
“I started giving her ultimatums—like if she went away, then she shouldn’t expect me to be faithful and told her how so many girls were just waiting for her to leave so they could go out with me.”
“Oh God, Kyle,” Vi groaned with mild disgust. “That is the worst thing I’ve ever heard a guy say. It’s amazing she didn’t throat punch you when you showed up at her house to do the work.”
“I know. And believe me, it took a while for me to realize she had every reason to feel the way she did about me. I can never change it, but…the past is the past. All I can do is prove to her that I’m not that guy anymore. And maybe she’ll want to seriously give us another chance.”
“Okay,” she said with a sigh. “I’ve got to ask this.”
He groaned.
“Are you sure we’re still not dealing with ego here?”
“What do you mean?”
She gave him a sympathetic look. “Kyle, come on. What’s the end goal here? You say you want her to give you another chance but…to what end? Do you think you want to marry her? Or is this about making yourself feel better about the past and maybe easing some of your guilt for your crappy behavior?”
He opted to let that obvious jab slide since she wasn’t saying anything he hadn’t already asked himself. Before he could respond, his brother walked in the door.
“Hey!” Hunter said with an easy grin. “I didn’t know you were going to be here. You joining us for dinner?”
And again, before he could say anything, Violet spoke. “Actually, Kyle stopped by to ask a favor of us.” Then she explained the situation to Hunter.