26. Kyle
KYLE
The doorbell rang just as Kyle finished the job application and clicked Submit . He closed the laptop, exhaling as Charlie and Sadie exploded into barking.
“I know, I know, I’m coming. You’re both fakers anyway,” he called to the dogs, snapping the laptop shut and dropping it onto the couch. The dogs were more likely to roll over for treats than actually put up a defense.
He scrubbed a hand over his face. Nothing like spending the afternoon applying for jobs he didn’t want just to remind himself how badly he needed one.
But it wasn’t like he could keep living off his savings forever.
He hurried down the stairs, dogs spinning in manic circles around his legs, nearly taking him out at the knees. “Shit—okay, okay—another trip to the ER is not in the budget, guys.”
Jeremy stood on the other side of the glass door . . . along with Anna, a few feet behind him, dressed in a sundress that accentuated her considerable assets.
Goddamn Liddy and her predictions.
And immediately, Kyle knew deep in his bones, in that quiet, traitorous place that liked to ruin his life, that this was a colossal, spectacular mistake.
He should have asked Jeremy who was coming out tonight when he’d agreed to go out. Or after Liddy had reminded him of Anna.
“Hey,” Kyle said, unlocking the storm door. “Come on in. I just—uh—have to wrangle the beasts.”
“Hey, man,” Jeremy said, stepping inside, eyes already scanning the place with interest. “Nice setup.”
Anna leaned down immediately, undeterred by the chaos, reaching for Charlie as he tried to bulldoze past Kyle’s leg. “Oh my gosh, are these yours? They’re adorable.”
“Uh, no. My roommate’s.” Kyle grabbed both dogs by their collars before they could launch past him. “Let me just, uh, put them away.”
And before Jeremy could ask the one question Kyle absolutely did not want to answer— what roommate? —he hauled the dogs upstairs, heart already picking up speed.
This is fine. Totally fine. He was just going out for a beer . . . like a normal person. With a buddy and a normal woman. Who was not—
He shoved the thought down hard as he secured the dogs.
Thank goodness Sloan is out.
She’d left an hour earlier to talk to the owner of the paint shop, and she still hadn’t returned.
He paused in the kitchen, reaching into the basket Sloan had set out for their keys. A Post-it notepad glared up at him from inside, and he hesitated.
Should he leave Sloan a note? Tell her he’d gone out?
Would I do that for any other roommate?
No. No, you wouldn’t.
This isn’t a date. And even if it was, I’m doing nothing wrong. After all, Sloan almost got married. She’d obviously moved on after dumping him. They both had.
But, fuck , the other night she’d walked in flushed and glowing and alive , and he’d had to physically anchor himself to the couch to keep from pulling her into his lap and kissing her.
Have a little sense of self-preservation.
He set the pen back down.
“Ready.” He grabbed his keys and headed for the door. “Just us three tonight?” he asked as he rejoined them.
“Brandon’s meeting us out,” Jeremy answered, like he hadn’t changed the whole dynamic of hanging out tonight by inviting Anna, of all people.
Kyle nodded and stepped outside, locking up behind them when the low hum of an engine reached his ears.
Ah . . . fuck.
“Oh, I think you have company,” Anna said, lightly.
Kyle turned. And there it is. The universe was laughing directly in his face. Sloan’s car rolled to a stop in the driveway.
“Fantastic,” he muttered under his breath. “Love that for me.”
Anna might not recognize Sloan. Even if she’d seen anything in the news about her back in January, Kyle doubted she’d make that connection. The pictures Evan had given the media had all featured Sloan as a blond.
But there was no way in hell Jeremy wouldn’t recognize her.
She pushed the door open and stepped out, portfolio tucked under her arm, sunlight catching in the darker strands of her hair.
For a stupid, disloyal second, everything else—Jeremy, Anna, the situation he’d unintentionally created—fell away.
She looked happy, her eyes sparkling, and the sight of her hit him square in the chest before he could brace for it.
God.
“Hey,” she called, already walking toward him, a smile breaking across her face. “I got the job.”
“That’s”—he cleared his throat, forcing his voice to cooperate—“that’s amazing. Congratulations.” He fought the urge to step closer. To reach for her without thinking.
“Is this your roommate?” Anna asked, smiling at Sloan like this was all perfectly normal, and Kyle’s palms weren’t sweating.
One look at Jeremy’s face, and Kyle saw the recognition land, the confusion sharpen. Jeremy gave Kyle a quizzical glance, his dark brows furrowing.
Dammit.
How am I going to explain living with Sloan to him?
“Uh—yeah. Sloan, this is Anna. And”—he exhaled, resigned to his fate—“you might remember Jeremy.”
Sloan blinked for a few moments, then her eyes widened. “Jeremy Pinto? Oh my God. Wait . . .” She laughed, a little breathless. “I didn’t even recognize you. Hi. Wow. It’s—hi.”
“Hey,” Jeremy said, recovering with a grin, though his gaze flicked briefly back to Kyle. “Good to see you.”
Kyle resisted the urge to walk into traffic.
“So, you’re—what? Back in town?” Jeremy added.
“Yeah. Recently,” Sloan said, shifting her portfolio slightly, her posture going just a touch more polished. “Just getting settled.”
Now, Jeremy fixed his gaze firmly on Kyle’s face. “And you’re . . . uh, Kyle’s new roommate?”
Kyle had the urge to hide his face behind the palm of his hand.
“Only temporarily,” Sloan said, giving Kyle an uncertain glance. She had to realize Jeremy knew all about the way she’d dumped Kyle years ago. “Until his new apartment is ready.”
Something in the way Sloan studied Kyle made his chest hitch.
Kyle looked away.
“That’s nice of you,” Jeremy said, but there was an edge to it now. “Didn’t realize you two were . . . reconnecting.”
Oh, good. Great. Amazing. Let’s all unpack this in the driveway.
Kyle opened his mouth to answer, and then Anna lightly slid her hand onto his forearm.
Casually.
Yet . . . possessively enough to register. Kyle went still.
“You should come out with us,” she said to Sloan, smiling brightly. “We’re just grabbing drinks.”
Sloan’s gaze dropped to Anna’s hand, and something flickered in her gaze, then vanished—almost immediately—but not before he saw it.
“Oh, I wouldn’t want to intrude,” Sloan said, that smooth, controlled tone snapping into place.
“It’s not an intrusion,” Anna insisted. “It’ll be fun. Especially if you just got a new job. I’m sure you want to celebrate.”
Kyle stared at the crack in the concrete in the driveway. At anything that wasn’t Sloan.
Jeremy had offered to pick him up, and Kyle had said yes, not expecting him to get out of the car. But he should have just met them out. That would have been the smart thing to do.
But you’re not smart, Winnick.
Sloan cleared her throat. “I—”
“No, you should come, Sloan. Right, Kyle?” Jeremy’s eyes glinted deviously. “And I’m dying to hear what brought you to town.”
That rat bastard.
Kyle pulled his arm free of Anna’s grip and rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, you know—the more the merrier.”
Sloan shifted. “Um, okay. Let me just put this away.”
As Sloan went inside, he started toward the car with Jeremy and Anna, and Kyle shot him a glare. “Thanks,” he muttered.
Jeremy grinned. “What? I’m being friendly.”
“You’re being an ass,” Kyle muttered, yanking open the passenger door. Plus, some warning about Anna would have been nice.
“Relax,” Jeremy said easily, circling to the driver’s side. “I’m sure alcohol will fix everything.”
Motherfucker.
Kyle slid into the seat and shut the door a little harder than necessary.
Anna climbed into the back seat. “Sloan seems nice,” she said quietly, in a tone Kyle couldn’t interpret. Her eyes traveled over the front of the house. “When did you move in here?”
“A couple of days ago.” Kyle pinched the taut muscle of his shoulder and stared out the windshield.
This was fine. It was just a drink.
With Sloan.
And Anna.
And Jeremy, who clearly had no interest in letting any of this be normal, his mouth already twitching with laughter.
Perfect.
The front door opened, and Kyle’s grip tightened slightly on his knee as Sloan stepped out, no portfolio this time. She’d swapped it for a small crossbody bag, her hair pulled back loosely at the nape of her neck like she hadn’t meant to make it look good.
He looked away before she caught him staring.
“Sorry,” she said as she approached the car. “Didn’t mean to hold everyone up.”
“You’re good,” Anna said brightly, already shifting to make room. “Come sit with me.”
Sloan slid in beside her, and the space felt smaller immediately. Why am I letting this bother me? It’s not like Anna, and I have anything going on.
Or Sloan and me, for that matter.
Jeremy started the engine, the air-conditioning feeling like relief not because of the oppressive heat, but because Kyle wasn’t sure he was breathing quite right.
“So, Sloan,” Jeremy said, glancing in the rearview mirror as he pulled out of the driveway, “new job, huh?”
Sloan let out a small breath and shrugged slightly. “Yeah. It’s just part-time at a paint and sip for now, but it’s a start.”
“That’s great.” Anna adjusted her seat belt. “What kind of art do you do?”
“Mostly acrylics and oils,” Sloan said. “Some mixed media. I love watercolors, too, though.”
“You’ll have to show me sometime. Stick figures are about the extent of my artistic talent.” Anna outlined a circle with her finger in the air, as though she were drawing one.
“Yeah,” Sloan said after a beat. “Maybe.”
Kyle winced. He’d forgotten, maybe because it’d been years since he really spent any time with Sloan out in public, and maybe because she was different around him, how shy she was. She’d always let Kyle take the lead in conversations, content to blend into the background.
But that meant that she relied on extroverted people to control the conversation.
He drew a breath, trying to think of anything to say that might make this car ride easier, and then Anna asked, “So how do you and Kyle know each other?”
Jeremy snorted softly under his breath.
Kyle shot him a look. Don’t.
“High school,” Kyle said quickly.
Sloan added at the same time, “We used to date.”
Of course.
Jeremy’s grin spread slowly.
“High school,” he repeated, because apparently that was the version he was committing to. “A long time ago.”
In the back seat, Anna shifted slightly. “Oh,” she said, glancing between them. “I didn’t realize.”
“Yeah.” Sloan’s tone was even, but she gave Kyle a curious look. “It was a while ago.”
A beat of silence settled in the car, thicker this time.
Jeremy tapped his fingers lightly against the steering wheel, clearly enjoying Kyle’s discomfort.
Anna leaned forward slightly between the seats. “So are you still—”
“No,” Kyle said, a little too quickly.
At the same time, Sloan said, “No.”
Jeremy let out a quiet huff of laughter.
“Got it,” Anna said, settling back, though her gaze lingered a moment longer than necessary on Kyle. They hadn’t really talked since that party in December, but Jeremy had reminded Kyle on more than one occasion that she was interested.
Jeremy, apparently deciding subtlety was overrated, glanced in the rearview mirror again at Sloan. “So, why’d you guys break up again?”
Kyle turned his head slowly. “Jeremy—”
“What?” Jeremy said. “I’m asking a question.”
“You’re digging a hole,” Kyle said flatly.
“I like holes.”
“That tracks.”
Anna laughed softly under her breath.
In the back seat, Sloan shifted, her eyes narrowing at Jeremy, though. “It just didn’t work out between us. I mean, we were kids.”
Simple enough.
Kyle stared out the windshield. That wasn’t how he would have said it, though. This whole thing with Sloan wasn’t simple. Even so-called “being friends.”
“That’s fair.” Anna nodded. “High school relationships rarely work out.”
Jeremy’s eyes flicked between them again, clearly unsatisfied. “And now you’re living together.”
Jeremy probably thinks I’m a moron. And maybe I am.
“It’s temporary,” Kyle said, sharper than he intended.
“Right,” Jeremy said mildly. “You mentioned.”
Kyle exhaled through his nose and leaned his head back against the seat.
“Don’t be an ass, Jeremy. I think it’s great when people who used to date can get along. You’re just jealous you’re the only one in the car who hasn’t kissed Kyle,” Anna said with a wink, leaning forward and ruffling Jeremy’s hair.
Kyle’s fingers curled into his palms. Maybe this was why he didn’t date. The games were overrated. And he had no doubt Anna hadn’t dropped that little tidbit to just make a joke. She was clearly testing the waters.
To her credit, Sloan laughed, breaking the tension. “You never know about Jeremy. Kyle gets around, apparently.”
“Hilarious,” Kyle said with a roll of his eyes, then reached over and turned the volume up a notch glancing back enough to catch Sloan’s eyes for a second.
She arched her eyebrow and gave a little snarky grin, amused enough that it made his chest loosen a bit.
All right. Good. Progress.
They could coexist in normal social situations, right?
He and Sloan were just friends. Socializing with her in the mix might be uncomfortable right now, but maybe Liddy wasn’t wrong to suggest he break the seal and establish some boundaries.
And it couldn’t be any more comfortable for Sloan, who had to realize all of Kyle’s friends and family would have been aggrieved on his behalf because of her.
Yet after the other night’s couch incident, which had come only hours after he’d moved in, taking a step back and having some honest dialogue might be necessary.
Maybe this would turn out better than expected. Maybe he needed to just do what Jeremy had suggested and relax—stop trying to overthink things and let the unplanned route be a starting point to wherever things were heading. Not just tonight, but with Sloan too.
He could almost hear Granny laugh like a little devil on his shoulder, telling him to loosen up already and make the best of it. Actually, Granny would have been laughing her head off at Kyle’s discomfort, same as Jeremy.
He drew a deep breath, letting his fingers uncurl as Anna asked Sloan something more innocuous—about the dogs. Fortunately, that topic made Sloan light up.
I can do this. We can do this.
He was almost feeling optimistic as Jeremy pulled into a space near the bar. And then, maybe because God had a twisted sense of humor with him, he saw the only thing that could make his awkwardness even worse—not just Liddy sitting and waiting on a bench outside the restaurant, but Elle, too.
Elle, who he hadn’t talked to since he’d decided to move in with Sloan.
Awesome. Fucking awesome.