his voice. There was no way he wanted to share that he was just getting over a raging hard-on or how his arrival had interrupted one of the hottest make-out sessions he’d had in years.
Yeah, so not the thing to share with his boss.
Looking over her shoulder at him, he could see the slight flush on Sydney’s face. Stepping forward, he was careful not to touch her.
Jake’s easy smile proved he didn’t notice anything amiss as he stepped inside. “I was in the neighborhood and thought I’d stop by and see how everything’s going.”
The nervous laugh was out before Kyle could stop it. “In the neighborhood. Good one.” He grinned, and when he noticed everyone was looking at him oddly, he clarified, “All our current jobs are here in Magnolia, so…you know…of course you’d be in the neighborhood.”
“Ah. Gotcha,” Jake said, glancing around. “So, what are you working on today?”
“Oh, um…” Sydney began. “Kyle just finished up the rec space for Haley downstairs.”
“Rec space?”
Sydney looked at Kyle and then back at Jake, but before she could speak, Kyle knew he needed to step in. “Yeah, the rec space for Haley,” he repeated and motioned for Jake to follow him down the stairs. “It was really a quick project and it looks great, don’t you think?”
Off in the distance, he heard Sydney’s phone ring and almost sagged with relief that she wasn’t following them down. At the bottom of the stairs, he took a step back so Jake could inspect the space.
It was the longest three minutes of his life.
“This all looks great, Kyle, but…correct me if I’m wrong, this wasn’t part of the plan.”
“Uh…yeah. I know.” Scrubbing his hand along the back of his neck, he let out a long breath. A quick glance up the stairs showed that Sydney was out of earshot and he knew he needed to come clean. “Look, I know the downstairs wasn’t part of the plan, but…she asked, and it seemed really important to her, and so I did it. I know I should have run it by you first, but it’s not going to take anything away from the budget.”
Jake studied him hard for a moment. “Want to explain how that’s possible?”
Another glance to make sure she wasn’t coming. “I paid for it,” he said evenly.
“Excuse me?”
Nodding, Kyle went on, “Yeah. I paid for all the materials and I planned on working overtime to even out the hours.”
Jake’s expression never wavered. “Why would you do something like this?”
Good question…
“It didn’t seem like a big deal. No major demo was involved. It was all cosmetic.” He paused, feeling mildly uncomfortable. “It seemed important to Sydney and something that would help Haley.” Another pause. “I’m sorry I didn’t talk to you about it, but…I don’t know…I just figured I’d make it all work out.”
“I see.” Jake roamed the space again and then walked toward the back of the house where the second space was that was going to become Sydney’s office before turning and walking back toward him. He studied Haley’s area again and with a curt nod, he said, “Looks great. You putting a TV in here?”
“That’s what we were just doing when you rang the bell. We’re taking one from the guest room and moving it down here.”
Sydney came down the stairs just then, looking slightly flustered but smiling. “Sorry about that.”
“No problem,” Jake replied easily. “So...it looks like you’re almost done with this area, huh?” He turned toward Kyle, smiling, and Kyle felt himself sag with relief.
“Yeah. Just a few finishing touches and then it will be ready for Haley and her friends to hang out. It really makes a lot of sense to have the two spaces down here so there’s less mess and clutter up in the main living area,” he explained.
“I know it wasn’t really part of the original plan,” Sydney chimed in. “But I’m so thankful for the extra donations. Now that we’re doing it, I’m so relieved. I was worried about how I was going to find a job and handle full-time care of Haley.” Then she shook her head. “I mean, she’s going to be starting school soon, but I want to be accessible to her whenever she needs me. Especially since this is all new.”
“So what is it you’re going to be doing? Is your job from back in…was it Boston? Are they allowing you to work remotely?”
She shook her head. “No. I had to leave my job. I was working for the local news