Page 15 of Forbidden Love

CHAPTER 5

TYLER

I thought I could make it through a casual lunch with Kylie Wilde, but I was wrong. I covered my reaction to her with flirting and winks, but my charm didn’t work on her. She saw right through it. Probably because she knew me when I was younger.

I didn’t know how I was going to work with her and keep my hands off her. The only thing that kept me going was imagining her working with me on the dugouts. I wanted to teach her how to build something. Would she enjoy creating as much as I did?

I’d always viewed my job as creating something new out of something old and used. The owners of the homes we worked on were always happy with the result. I could only imagine these kids would be the same.

I was excited about this project. More than I thought I would be. I’d have to see what deal I could get for the lumber. Maybe our supplier would be willing to give us a steeper discount if we promised to put their name on a plaque somewhere in the dugout.

Now that I had this vision in my head of Kylie in cutoff jean shorts, wielding a hammer, I couldn’t forget it. Especially seeing how excited she was with my ideas. I wanted to make it happen. I could tell she needed this right now. Whatever had happened to bring her home was still eating at her.

I wanted to help her out with this one thing. It had nothing to do with crushing on her as a teenager or that the one night we’d shared had been too short. She was out of bounds, off-limits. She’d always be my best friends’ younger sister. Nothing would change that.

Her brothers wouldn’t come around to me pursuing their younger sister. They’d always been protective, and with her coming home and not knowing the reason, they had to be more concerned about her. I wouldn’t do anything to violate their trust.

Xander met me out at a bar near my apartment. As nice as it was to walk, I was tired of living in such a confined space. It was a small one-bedroom with a tiny kitchenette.

We sat at the bar, watching the baseball game on TV.

Xander tipped his bottle back. “I heard you’re working with Kylie on something.”

I tensed, even though there was no way he knew about the time we hooked up. Kylie would never tell her brothers. “My brothers and I want to get more involved with charity work and the community. Figured it could only be good for the business, and I like the idea.”

Xander frowned. “Why isn’t Sam or Mac heading it up?”

I smacked his arm. “You don’t think I’m responsible enough to handle it?”

Xander chuckled. “You know I do. I just didn’t think you’d be interested.”

“So, I’m a self-centered ass?” I asked, irritation lacing my voice.

Xander shot me a disbelieving look. “You’re grumpy tonight.”

I grunted because I was annoyed. I wanted his younger sister in my bed, but instead, I was drinking a beer with him.

“It sounded like Kylie was impressed with your ideas.”

“She mentioned something about the girls’ softball teams not having dugouts, or even a bench to sit on. Seemed like something we could provide.”

“You’re providing the lumber at a discounted cost and the labor?”

“It’s the least we can do. We didn’t want to just give money or put our name on a banner. We wanted to contribute in a meaningful way. What better way than to build something the team can use?”

“I think it’s a great idea, and obviously, Kylie does too. Will you be able to raise enough money for it?”

“I asked our supplier for a discount in exchange for their name somewhere. I still need to run that by Kylie. This is her baby.”

“It’s nice of you to help my sister. I appreciate it.”

“You know, this was her idea; we just offered to help.” I didn’t want to take away from Kylie’s ideas or take credit for something that wasn’t mine.

He slapped my shoulder. “I’m just hoping this project will keep her in town.”

“I don’t think anything will keep her here if she doesn’t want to be.” That had been my impression over the years when she rarely returned for the holidays. I thought it was because of me, that I hadn’t reached out to her afterward, and hadn’t explained myself adequately. That the night might have meant something to her. The familiar guilt settled in my gut.

I always told myself I was reading too much into things. Kylie had always been a confident girl. She wasn’t hurt by what had happened. She’d moved on and became a successful woman. She wasn’t still thinking about me and my teenage mistakes.

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