Page 104 of The Foul Out

“Of course. There’s nowhere else I’d want to be, Crabby.”

As he slipped in next to me, my heart squeezed hard in my chest. I didn’t even know why I had doubted him. A warmth spread through me as I drank him in, knowing with certainty that for once, I could trust someone.

“Kyle lives here?”Sam asked as we moved through the spinning doors and into the lobby of his high-rise.

“Yes, and we need to be on our best behavior, okay?” I said as I led him and Piper toward the elevator bank.

Wesley stood and rounded the big desk, headed our way. I braced to be told, like last time, that I needed to leave.

Instead, he gave me a warm smile. “Harper.”

“H-hi,” I stammered, shocked that he’d remember me. I’d only met him once, and that was weeks ago.

“You must be Piper and Sam,” he said, nodding at the kids. With his lips pressed together, he focused on me again. “Did you have trouble with parking?”

“Uh.” The whole encounter was the opposite of what I’d expected, so I was having trouble finding my bearings. “Cam dropped us off before he went to pick up dinner.”

“Ah. Okay. If you do drive over, buzz me at the garage entrance and let me know you’re here. You can park in the reserved spaces below. Makes it much easier, especially with the kids.”

“Thanks?” I said, though the word came out more like a question.

“I promise.” He pressed his hands together in a prayer pose. “I am at your service. We got off on the wrong foot. As I said, Kyle left out some important details. But now I know.” He beamed.

That sounded like Kyle. He didn’t always focus on specifics that, to others, mattered. Other times, he pushed his way into a person’s business until blatantly told he was crossing a line. But he’d been great about Piper’s therapy. He’d given me zero pushback about paying for it. In fact, he’d never brought it up again, which showed me he cared about my feelings.

“Come on. I’ll get you in the elevator.” Wesley led us over, and when the stainless-steel doors opened, he stepped inside too and flashed a key fob. Then he hit the button for the top floor and stepped out again. “Enjoy your night.”

“He smells,” Piper announced as soon as the door closed.

My heart sank. At least she’d waited until he was gone to make that statement.

“Not everyone thinks cologne smells bad,” I reminded her for the ten thousandth time.

When the elevator opened on the top floor, Kyle was in the foyer, waiting for us. “Hey, guys. Welcome to my house.”

“Why don’t you smell?” Piper asked, frowning.

He glanced at me for help with context.

“Cologne,” I mouthed.

“Oh.” He kneeled in front of Piper. “You know my brother? Ryan? He doesn’t like smells. Just like you.”

My daughter looked directly at him for one beat before she looked away.

“My mom always made sure everything was unscented,” Kyle continued. “I got used to not wearing it. So I still don’t.”

“I would like you to never smell,” Piper said, matter-of-fact, and walked past him. Don’t smell, end of conversation. If only she could always express her feelings that easily.

With a smile, I held out my hand to Kyle.

He took it and stood, then gave me a quick kiss before hurrying after the kids. Clearly, he was nervous about having them over for the first time. It would set a precedent for Piper. We’d talked about it, but if we were going to keep dating, then she had to get used to being here too. He’d been at our place enough.

“Since this is your first time here, I’ll give you a tour.” Kyle caught up to them as they gawked at his living room.

I stepped into the room too, and right away, the changes jumped out at me. Two of the barstools had been replaced with the kid-friendly climber stools that wouldn’t tip or flip easily. A pair of beanbag chairs with backs, like the kids had at home, sat in front of the television, and there was a small table and chair set in one corner. And that wasn’t it.

“This stuff over here.” Kyle waved at the area of the room with chairs and bookshelves. “Some of it’s breakable, so let’s try to avoid it. But this area.” He pointed at the shelves that last month had only housed a few Lego sets but was now stuffed full of toys. There was a huge rug designed like a city, with roads to drive cars on spread out in front of it, and to one side, a Lego table had been set up. “This area is where you can go wild.”

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