to the side as he regarded me. “I don’t know. I’m sitting here looking at a woman that reminds me a lot of the girl I used to know. The girl I liked a whole hell of a lot.”
My cheeks flamed hot, and the warmth grew inside me, enveloping me. Our dinner arrived just then, and we spent the next few minutes sharing our food and smiling at each other. It was nice. Better than nice.
But I noticed as the meal drew to a close, Kyle became antsy again—his mood restless.
“Thanks for asking me to dinner, Kyle. I’ve really enjoyed this,” I said when our once easy conversation dried up.
Kyle was tapping his fingers against the water glass. “Actually, Whitney, there’s a reason I asked you to dinner tonight.” He cleared his throat.
Right. That something he wanted to run past me. I had started to think it was an excuse to ask me out without really asking me out.
It seemed I was wrong. Big surprise there.
“Okay …”
“This custody thing with Josie is terrifying,” he began. It was the topic I hadn’t wanted to venture into until he opened the door. Well, here we were.
“I can’t even imagine, Kyle. Have you spoken any more to Adam about it? Have you heard anything from Josie?” I asked.
Kyle folded his hands on the table, probably to stop them from shaking so much. “Yeah, I’ve spoken to Adam at length about my chances. And while the fact that I’ve been Katie’s sole provider for nearly two years will definitely matter, at the end of the day, Josie is her mother. And the fact that she’s undergone extensive mental health treatment and is making every effort to create a stable home life for her will also matter. It will matter a lot. There’s a good possibility we could be awarded joint custody, but Josie could get physical custody. It’s really all down to who looks the best on the day.” He cleared his throat again. “Adam actually had an interesting idea about how to improve my chances of maintaining physical custody.”
I sat up straighter. “Oh, that sounds promising. It’s a good thing, right?”
Kyle ran a hand through his hair. “Actually, I dismissed it initially. I told him he was nuts. That it would never work.” He let out a sharp bark of laughter. Finally, he met my eyes. “But the longer I thought about it, the more I think Adam might be right. It could work. And Whitney, I’ll do anything to keep my daughter. Anything.”
Not able to help myself, I reached across the table and took his hand. “Of course, you will. That’s what makes you an incredible dad. I have nothing but respect for how you’ve raised Katie. She’s an amazing little girl, and you have yourself to thank for that. And I told you, if there’s anything I can do to help, I’ll do it.”
Kyle squeezed my fingers. “I’m glad you said that because you’re part of this plan.”
“Me?” I asked, confused.
“Yeah. You’re the only one that can make this work actually. Will you hear me out? Don’t say anything until I’m finished explaining it.” His eyes pleaded with me. He was worried. And it had to do with me.
What was going on here?
“So, because the courts generally rule in favor of the mother, I, as the father, have to prove that I can provide a secure and stable home life for Katie. And even though I think this is an antiquated notion, apparently being married will help that.” He started to gnaw on his bottom lip. “And since I’m not exactly dating anyone currently, I thought the idea was ridiculous.”
My insides started to churn again.
“But then I started thinking about losing Katie. About her moving to Florida with Josie, and I knew that I couldn’t allow that to happen.” His eyes started to glisten with tears, and I felt my throat getting tight at the emotion I saw on his face. I felt for him. His fear, his desperation. It clawed its way up my chest.
“I can’t lose her, Whit. She’s my baby girl. My everything. So …” He took a deep breath. “Will you marry me?”
My entire body went rigid.
“What?” I gaped. Whatever I had been expecting him to say, it was definitely not that.
Kyle’s grip on my hand became borderline painful. “I know how it sounds, but it won’t be forever. We’ll get married, you can move in with me, only until custody is determined. This will all be