I really appreciate you inviting us over,” she said to Hunter. “Right now, Violet is in the rock star category for Haley. This means a lot that she’s getting some personal coaching from someone so talented. Has she considered coaching?”
Hunter shook his head. “This really just started by accident—as a way to entertain Eli. Then she was teaching him and one of the other kids in his daycare. Then Kyle heard about it and…”
“Here we are,” she finished for him. “Well, then I kind of feel bad—like we’re taking advantage of her.” Looking up at Kyle, she added, “I should go in there and try to change the subject or something.” When she made to move, he stopped her.
“Syd, we didn’t ambush Violet. I talked to her about this, and if she didn’t want to do it, she wouldn’t.”
As if she didn’t believe him, she looked over at Hunter.
“He’s right. Vi’s not the kind of person who’s afraid to say no. The gymnastics thing isn’t something she’d want to do at this point as a job, but it’s a fun distraction for her,” Hunter explained. “Plus, she loves encouraging kids who enjoy it so it’s kind of a win-win for her. Please don’t worry about it, Sydney. She was really looking forward to meeting you both today and seeing what level Haley was at.”
“Oh,” she said, sounding relieved. “Okay then.”
“Great!” Kyle interjected, smiling. “Now that we have that settled, how do you feel Haley’s doing with all the gymnastics?”
“I think she’s amazing, but I feel like all I’m doing is standing there saying ‘Great job!’ and ‘Awesome!’ and honestly, I have no idea if she really is good at this or if I’m just cheering for the sake of cheering. I never paid much attention to gymnastics before so it all looks impressive to me. I know I can’t do anything like that.”
“Much to my brother’s dismay,” Hunter mumbled, and Kyle kicked him again.
Sighing dramatically, Sydney said, “Okay, that’s my cue to go inside because clearly the two of you have things to work through.” She had turned to walk toward the house when Haley opened the back door.
“Aunt Syd? I was texting Janie about all the cool stuff I’m doing with Violet and she invited me to sleepover! Can I?”
Please say yes, please say yes, please say yes…
“Of course! We’ll drop you off after dinner, okay?”
“Thanks! You’re the best!” Haley called out before disappearing in the house.
Kyle wrapped his arms around Sydney’s waist and kissed her neck, utterly heedless of his brother standing right there. “That’s what I was going to say,” he murmured against her throat. “You are the best.”
It was weird to be nervous, but…she was.
After running home to grab stuff for her sleepover, they dropped Haley off at Janie’s before returning to Sydney’s. There was a part of her that wasn’t sure if it was where she wanted to be—the space still didn’t quite feel like it was hers—but Kyle had whispered some wicked promises about them making memories there.
How could she possibly resist?
As they walked into the house, Kyle kept the conversation going by talking about all the work they’d accomplished. The exterior was done, the whole downstairs was finished, and up here on the main floor, the bathrooms and the master bedroom were done, all new flooring had been laid in the main living area and kitchen, and the new appliances were due to arrive next week. The renovations were almost complete and she couldn’t wait to wake up to a day where there wasn’t the sound of hammers and power tools.
That would also mean a day without seeing Kyle.
It was funny how she’d gone from just dealing with the fact that all she wanted with him was a fling, to wondering if this really could be something more.
Something with a little more permanence.
Something like she’d dreamed of when they dated so many years ago.
Not that she was going to be bringing that up tonight.
Nope. Tonight was about relaxing and unwinding and enjoying the company of the one man who could turn her inside out with just a grin or the touch of his incredibly talented hand.
Placing her purse down on the kitchen table, she realized he was still talking.
“And once the appliances are in and the last of the furniture gets delivered, I’ll deal with staining the new steps out front.”
“Um…what? I thought they were done.”
Shaking his head, Kyle stepped around her and helped himself to a bottle of water in the refrigerator