Page 113 of Trust Me

“Yeah, whatever. Make sure you erase those texts and this call log. I’ll be in touch soon.”

I disconnect the call.

“I’m going to fucking kill him,” Kyle declares. The lethal nature in his voice sends a chill down my spine. He says it like he means it.

I swallow and turn to unlock the door.

“Surprise!” Eve yells as we enter.

* * *

I walkinto the condo to the scent of tomato sauce, oregano, and cheese in the air. “Eve?” I call out, taking a tentative step in her direction.

“Hey,” Charlotte says as she stands from the couch. “Uh, she wanted to cook you guys dinner for tonight. She refused to let me help.”

A warmth presses against my back, and I realize that Kyle’s stepped in behind me. I move away from him, going to Eve.

“Ladybug, what are you making?”

“It’s a surprise,” she declares.

“I’m going to get going,” Charlotte says, tentatively looking between me and Kyle. I have a feeling she’s afraid of him.

I walk her to the door. “Thank you for this. I promise, I’m going to find a real sitter soon.” I pull out my wallet to pay her, but her hand stops me.

“It’s cool it, boss lady. We had a good time. She’s fun and even helped me with my finance homework.” Charlotte laughs as she holds up her hands defensively. “Don’t worry though, I didn’t let her do it for me. But she was so interested in it that I let her help me to check that my answers were correct. Then she started making dinner.”

I nod and hug Charlotte, discreetly sliding money into her back pocket. Fun or not, I don’t like the idea of taking advantage of her kindness.

“See you tomorrow morning at the office.”

“You both are late,” Eve says accusatory, looking between Kyle and me.

“That’s my fault,” Kyle jumps in with a quick response. “Work ran over, and your aunt stayed late to help me finish up. Forgive me?”

The tone he uses with her melts my heart. I both love him for it and hate that it has that effect on me.

“How about this …” he starts before she can answer, “I’ll set the table to make up for us being late.”

“Okay.” Eve slaps the wooden spoon in her hands. “Oh no.” She pulls a face as she realizes that she’s splashed tomato sauce into her hand.

“It smells good, Ladybug,” I tell her as I enter the kitchen. “Do you need me to do anything?”

“Uh, can you grab the pitcher from the fridge?” she shouts over the running water. “I made your famous lemonade-iced tea.”

Her voice is so full of pride that I don’t allow myself to listen to the voices of doubt in the back of my mind. Eve can be a bit … scattered.

While she has an incredible mind for numbers, practical things like following a recipe can be problematic. I don’t think she’s ever made her own meal without help from me.

I grab the pitcher and carry it over to the dining table. Kyle has beautifully set up my good China set. While I rarely used this set in the five years I bought it, it’s gotten plenty of use since we’ve been doing these family dinners, as Eve calls them.

“What made you decide to cook for dinner tonight?” I ask my niece.

“I wanted to do something nice. I made one of our favorites, Aunt Ry. And don’t worry, Kyle,” she tells him. “It’s something you’ll like, too.” She’s so confident, her energy is infectious.

The day after Eve came back, she asked me what she should refer to Kyle as. When she asked him later that day, at our first family dinner, they both settled on just Kyle for the time being.

Whatever you’re most comfortable with,he’d told her.

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