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.”
But she shook her head. “I was supposed to go out with the girls tonight, but…I feel bad. I know Haley’s going to sleep at her friend Morgan’s house, and she’s looking forward to it, but it still feels weird.” She let out a long breath but didn’t move away. “I know she’s not a baby, but she’s still got a little anxiety about when I go out without her. I don’t want her