Page 78 of She Was Made for Me

“What have you two been up to?”

I swallow, glancing at Kyle, who wipes a hand across his face with a sigh of weary resignation.

“Whatever it was,” Ryan continues, his expression growing serious, “you should probably know that Richard and his wife are downstairs.”

My heart stops. “My parents are here?”

Ryan nods, eyes swinging between me and Kyle.

“Fuck,” Kyle mutters to himself, the color draining from his face.

I gulp in a breath. I should be embarrassed about Ryan catching us, but that’s the least of my concerns right now. “Do they know…”

Ryan shakes his head. “I told them you were sanding the floors, which is what Ithoughtyou were doing, or I wouldn’t have come up.”

Kyle looks at Ryan desperately. “Please promise you won’t—”

“I won’t mention it,” Ryan says dryly, with a wrinkle of his nose that says he’d rather he didn’t know himself. “It’s your business, but you should probably come downstairs.”

Kyle quickly smooths a hand over his hair and beard, looking at me. His eyes are ringed with worry, his lips pressed into a flat line.

So this is it. This is how it ends. We have sex in the bathroom like the world is ending and boom, it does.

Okay, I know that’s dramatic, but that’s what it feels like. For the first time in my life I have something outside of my job that excites me, that makes me feel alive, and I don’t even get to keep it. I don’t get to keephim.

My throat feels tight as I say, “I guess we should…” and gesture to the stairs vaguely. Kyle gives a grim nod, and I woodenly follow him and Ryan down the stairs, trying to ignore the way my heart cries out in protest.

31

Kyle

My stomach is in knots as I descend the stairs, knowing Rich and Diana are down there. Thank God it was only Ryan who found us, but even that’s bad enough. I can’t believe I was stupid enough to have sex with Violet upstairs while the crew was still here.

And yet… I wouldn’t change a thing. I can still feel her in my arms, still see her face in the mirror when she said she was made for me.

Because she was made for me, I’m sure of it. She challenges me in a way that no woman ever has. She cares about the things I care about. And God, the way her body fits with mine… Yeah, she was made for me, alright. I just don’t know how I can make it a reality with Rich.

We arrive in the entry hall just as Bob and Dale are leaving. I wave them off, noting Phil has already gone. Ryan mouths “good luck” as he grabs his bag and ducks out the front door.

“Kyle!” Rich appears in the entry hall, beaming. “There you are.”

“Sorry. We were finishing the sanding upstairs.” I’m disgusted by how easily the lie rolls off my tongue, then equal parts relieved and guilty that Rich accepts this without a second thought. Because he trusts me unequivocally.

“Di and I were just having a look around,” he says as Diana joins us in the hall. She pulls me in for a hug then smiles as Violet descends the stairs behind me.

“Hi, honey.”

“Hey, guys.” Violet’s cheeks are flushed a deep pink and she clears her throat, stuffing her hands into the pockets of her skirt as she comes to stand beside me. “How was the trip?”

“Wonderful.” Diana clasps Rich’s hand. “We had the best time. I’ll have to share the photos with you.”

“Sounds good.” Violet smiles in a way that doesn’t touch her eyes, her gaze downcast.

“What are you doing here?” I ask, trying to be casual.

“It’s my fault.” Diana laughs. “I couldn’t resist popping in before dinner to sneak a peek at the place.”

“It’s looking fantastic,” Rich chimes in. “You should both be so proud.”

---