waist. “And I’d really like to give you some one-on-one attention.”
Sydney felt herself blush. “Kyle…”
But he instantly interrupted. “If you’re not comfortable with this or if it’s something Haley doesn’t want to do, then we’ll forget all about it.” He rested his forehead against hers. “I just miss you, Syd.”
“We see each other every day,” she said softly, her hands resting on his chest.
“That’s not what I mean and you know it. I miss being alone with you. Spending the night with you.”
And the thing was, she really missed him too.
Like seriously, it was bordering on painful.
It wasn’t like they never had time alone, because they did. But it seemed like this job for Mia was way more challenging than she thought it would be. It was having to learn an entirely new industry and she didn’t want to screw up. There was a huge learning curve, and she was taking things slow and making sure she didn’t make any mistakes. Luckily Mia was very understanding and patient; it was Sydney who was beating herself up.
Still, Kyle showed up every morning as Haley was leaving for school, and there was so much work going on around the house to keep him busy, and then Sydney was down in the office doing her thing. Honestly, she was trying to keep things professional while he was working on the house so there wasn’t a repeat of the day his boss showed up unexpectedly. Although, it wasn’t like they were only treating each other as contractor and homeowner. There were plenty of kisses and touching, but she knew it would be very easy to slip into a routine where neither of them was going to get any work done on anything.
Except each other.
And while that wouldn’t be a bad thing, per se, it wasn’t going to be helpful to their careers. Right now, a lot was riding on Sydney’s success at her new position, and she knew it was the same for him. Jake Summerford had come to check on the progress of the house and told her a little more funding came in, so that meant she could get some new appliances. It utterly humbled her and she had to force herself to accept the generosity of the people of Magnolia. It was something she never would have experienced if she still lived in a big city.
“Hey,” Kyle said softly, interrupting her thoughts. “Where’d you go?”
If anything, her blush deepened. “Sorry, my mind wandered.”
A bark of laughter was his first response. “I guess that’s not saying a lot about my appeal, huh?”
“Oh, stop. You have nothing to worry about there and you know it,” she reassured. “I’m just not sure about this whole thing, but I also get what you’re saying. As much as we have the opportunity to be alone and...you know...there’s just been no time where it’s been practical.”
“Sex isn’t about being practical,” he said, and she heard the hint of uncertainty there.
Reaching up, she cupped his cheek. “You know what I’m saying, Kyle. We’ve both got work to do, but maybe we could try a little harder to make time for just the two of us.”
“I’m serious though, Syd. Haley going over to Hunter and Violet’s was just an option. I really just wanted the opportunity to take you out on a real date rather than taking advantage of a few hours and jumping into bed together.” Then he gave her the sexy grin she had never forgotten. “But if you just want to get naked as soon as she’s gone, then who am I to argue, right?”
That broke some of the tension she was feeling and made her laugh. “I would totally be on board with that and just ordering some pizza.”
His eyes went wide. “You...I mean...really?” He cleared his throat. “Because...uh...I was going to make us reservations at the country club or something, and...you know…”
She thought it was incredibly sweet that he’d put so much thought into this. “First, relax. I love how much you want to do this, and I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t thought about what it would be like to go on a grown-up date with you.” She sighed and moved out of his embrace. “The last time you and I went on a date, I was 18 and it was…”
“We went to Michael’s for dinner,” he finished for her, his voice solemn. “You ordered the chicken parm and I had the fettuccine alfredo.”