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