had to deal with having people traipsing through the house all day every day. Do you have any idea how hard it is to try to learn an entirely new career with the sound of power tools?”
“Not exactly,” Jake murmured.
“So if you think that in the midst of all of that craziness that I am taking advantage of Kyle and having sex with him while he’s working, then you need to get right with Jesus and get your mind out of the gutter! Kyle and I are dating—no one’s denying that—but we’re adults, and as such, we can certainly manage to control ourselves while he’s on the job.”
And as if Kyle wasn’t dazzled enough by her rant, he watched as she went nearly nose-to-nose with Jake. “Next time you want to talk trash about me, make sure you involve me in the conversation.”
Jake took a small step back and looked embarrassed. “Sydney, I wasn’t talking trash about you. That wasn’t what I was saying at all.”
“You accused Kyle of messing around on the job with me. That directly involves me. I would appreciate you being mature enough to speak to both of us then.”
“Exactly,” Kyle chimed in, but clearly, Sydney was on a roll.
“And you!” she said, turning to him and stabbing him in the chest with her finger. “What kind of deviant have you become over the years that your boss automatically assumes you’re going to try to sleep with all the female clients you do work for?”
“Um…”
“Is this something you usually do? Are we just messing around here? Or are you just trying to settle some sense of curiosity—to see if I was still into you?”
“What?! No!” he cried. “That’s not what this is, I swear!”
“Um…maybe I should go,” Jake said, and before either of them could comment, he practically sprinted from the yard.
Neither noticed.
“Oh, really? Then why was it one of the first things Jake accused you of, huh?” she demanded. “I mean, I don’t know why I’m so surprised. It’s the exact kind of behavior you threatened me with back when we were dating and I wanted to go away to college! You were all like ‘I’ll date every woman in this town’ and ‘Even the older women want me.’ God, you’re such a pig!”
That’s when he knew he’d had enough, and if he didn’t cut her off and gain some control here, she was going to say something she was going to regret.
Or more things she was going to regret
“What was I thinking? Why did I think things would be different?” she continued, her arms waving around, and that’s when Kyle stepped in and grabbed them—grabbed her and gave her a slight shake.
“That’s enough,” he said with more than a little heat.
“Let go of me!”
“Not until you listen to me!” he yelled back.
She gave him a curt nod and Kyle immediately released her. “Say what you have to say, but make it quick.”
Dropping his hands to his side, he sighed. “For the record, this is not something I usually do. I don’t sleep with clients, Syd. Never have. Jake’s pissed, and I can’t possibly explain why he said what he said.” Pausing, he shook his head. “I have a reputation in this town, and for a long time, I was proud of it. But now? Now I’d give anything to erase it.”
She snorted with disbelief.
“It was easy for me to be a serial dater because it kept me from getting too close with anyone,” he went on. “I didn’t want to feel what I felt for you ever again.”
Now she looked slightly less hostile.
“I knew I would never love someone the way I loved you, but I also knew I wasn’t willing to take the chance of getting hurt the way I did when you left.” He held out his arms helplessly and knew he needed to put it all on the line right now. “We’re not just messing around here and this had nothing to do with some warped sense of curiosity. This happened because I love you, Sydney. I’ve always loved you, and I’m always going to love you.” His words were low and gruff and his heart was beating so damn loud that he could barely hear anything else.
Then all he could do was hold his breath and wait.
He saw the tears form in her eyes and it simply broke him. Stepping in, he took Sydney in his arms and held her tight—placing a soft kiss on her forehead. “I love you,