Chapter 5
FIVE
Kye
Sienna hums softly under her breath as she wipes her hands on a dish towel and heads into the kitchen. I follow a few steps behind her, doing my best not to stare at the sway of her hips.
The pizza should be here soon, and I’m borderline vibrating with anticipation—not for the food, but for more time with Sienna. Every second with her feels like breathing fresh mountain air after a lifetime underground.
We’ve only known each other for a few days, but she already feels like a part of my world—like she belongs here with me. I’ve always hated when people say crap like that. Like they just knew. I thought it was a load of nonsense. Until her.
I reach for two plates from the cabinet and glance over to see her leaning against the counter, peering out the window toward the valley. The late afternoon sun catches in the strands of her dark brown hair in its ponytail, making her look like something out of a damn dream.
“You like the view?” I ask, my voice a little gruff. I’ve been told I sound intense when I’m nervous, and I realize I’ve been nervous around Sienna since I met her.
Her smile hits me like it always does—warm and devastating. “I love it. This whole place is incredible. You’re lucky, you know.”
“Yeah, I am,” I say softly, and I’m not talking about the mountains.
The doorbell chimes before she can respond, and I’m thankful for the interruption.
I grab the pizza from the delivery kid, toss him a tip, and bring the box to the table, setting it down with two cold sodas I pulled from the fridge.
We sit across from each other, and I try not to react when Sienna moans softly around her first bite of pizza. It’s not easy. Everything she does captivates me. It’s ridiculous how far gone I already am.
“This is so good,” she says between bites. “I swear, food tastes better in Wolf Valley.”
“Maybe you’re just in a better mood,” I offer.
Her lips curve up. “That’s probably true. I do feel... lighter here. Like I can breathe again.”
I frown. “You couldn’t breathe before?”
She shrugs. “It was more like I couldn’t take a deep breath. I was… stifled. Or… I don’t know.” She pauses to organize her thoughts. “I was overlooked. I was the funny fat friend. The sidekick. I was stuck in a rut. I needed a change, you know?”
“Yeah, I know what you mean.”
“You’ve been stuck before?”
I nod. “Yeah, it was… boring.”
“It is boring!” she agrees with a wide smile.
I can’t help but smile back at her. “Well, I, for one, am glad you broke out of that old bubble and moved to Wolf Valley.”
“Me too.”
I bite into my slice of pizza as I try to work up the nerve to say what I’ve been thinking about since she got here. I should just ask her. Ask her out. But every time I try, my throat closes up, and I overthink everything.
“What brought you here? What made you choose Wolf Valley?” I ask instead.
Sienna tilts her head, chewing thoughtfully before answering. “I guess I needed a change. A fresh start. Orlando was fine, but it never felt like home. It was loud, crowded, and I always felt like I was waiting for something. I didn’t know what exactly, just that I wouldn’t find it there. I picked a place as far away and as different from Florida as possible.”
I want to tell her that maybe she was waiting for me because I’ve sure as hell been waiting for her.
“I think you made the right choice,” I murmur.
She looks up, eyes meeting mine across the table. For a moment, I swear the air charges between us. I can’t tell if she also feels it or if I’m hoping too hard.
We keep talking, sharing little pieces of ourselves between bites. I tell her about Camden and about growing up here in Wolf Valley. How I’ve never quite fit in, but I love the quiet. The stillness. How I spent hours hiking the trails behind my house, trying to find something that would make me feel like I belonged.
“You’re a mystery, Kye Lightfield,” Sienna mumbles over her third slice.
“I’m not that complicated,” I say with a shrug. “I like quiet. I like fixing things with my hands. I don’t like crowds. And I don’t talk to people unless I absolutely have to.”
“And yet here you are, talking to me,” she says, her voice light, teasing.
I look at her, let her see the truth in my eyes. “You’re not just anyone.”
She stops, her smile faltering a little before she looks down at her plate, cheeks turning pink. My heart hammers in my chest. I’ve said too much, too soon. Maybe she’s not ready. Maybe I’ve made things weird?—
But then she looks up and smiles softly, and I know I didn’t mess up. Not yet.
By the time we finish eating, the sun has dipped, casting golden light across the living room and kitchen.
Sienna stretches and checks her phone. “I should probably get going. The stain still needs to dry, and we got a good amount done today.”
My stomach sinks a little. It’s Friday, and if I don’t do something, I won’t see her again until Monday. Two whole days without her smile, her laugh, the way she lights up the room just by existing? I can’t do it. I won’t .
“Wait,” I say too quickly.
She pauses halfway to the door and turns to look at me, one eyebrow lifted in question. “Yeah?”
I run a hand through my hair, pacing away from her before turning back. I feel like an idiot, like I’m in high school again and about to fumble asking my crush to prom.
But I’ve never felt like this before, and I don’t want to waste it.
“Do you want to have dinner with me tomorrow night?” I blurt out, unable to look away from her now that it’s out there. “Like—not as your boss. As just… me. Kye.”
Sienna’s eyes widen, and I can practically see the gears turning in her head. “You mean like… a date?”
“Yeah. A date.”
The silence stretches between us. I feel like I’m holding my breath underwater, waiting to see if she’ll pull me up or let me drown.
Then she grins. “I’d love to.”
Relief slams into me like a wave, and I let out a shaky laugh, tension bleeding from my shoulders. “I’ll pick you up at five?”
“Perfect,” she says, a soft glow in her eyes that makes me feel ten feet tall.
I walk her out to her car, and she pauses with her hand on the door.
“Thanks again for the job, Kye,” she says softly. “I didn’t think I’d find something like this so fast. You kind of saved me.”
I shake my head. “You’ve got that backward. You saved me .”
Her smile falters for a second, something tender crossing her face. I wonder if I said too much again—but then she nods once, climbs into her car, and waves as she pulls away down the gravel driveway.
I stand there long after the purr of her engine fades. As the mountain breeze rustles through the trees behind me, I know one thing for certain.
This isn’t a crush.
This is it for me.
Sienna McKay is going to be my everything—I just have to make sure I don’t screw it up before she realizes it too.