Page 106 of She Was Made for Me

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A creakon the other side of the room wakes me. I’d forgotten how different this old house is to my apartment back in Silicon Valley. It’s alive in its own way, creaking and shifting, depending on the weather or the time of day. It’s got a personality that new houses don’t have, and that’s one reason I love it so much.

My eyelids flutter open to see the afternoon sun dipping behind the neighboring buildings through the back windows. It’s early fall and the city feels different—cooler, but also cozier, even more welcoming. I’d forgotten how much I love autumn in New York, and I wish Kyle was here with me. We’d walk the streets of Brooklyn Heights as the gold and orange leaves fall around us, the air crisp with the promise of winter. We’d sit in Joe’s and sip hot coffee, watching the world turn white with snow outside. We’d pick out a Christmas tree together and decorate it, then we might go up to Maine to sit by the wood stove and look out over the frozen lake.

God, I want that so badly it hurts.

I need to call him, now I’m back in the city. I can’t simply sit here and miss him. I need to hear his voice, to know I at least tried.

I roll over on the bed, looking for my phone, and the skin nearly jumps from my bones. There, in the fold-out chair by the door, sits Kyle.

My brain short-circuits as I try to make sense of what I’m seeing. I must still be asleep. I must be dreaming. Either that, or I miss him so much I’ve started hallucinating.

But he looks up from the book sitting in his lap, his eyes lighting when he sees me. He sets the book aside and rubs a hand nervously across his face. “I’m sorry. I came to see you, but you were asleep. I didn’t want to wake you.”

I sit up on the mattress, my heart somersaulting. He came to see me. He’s really here. I’m not imagining it.

“Of course, it now occurs to me that sitting here while you were asleep is probably a bit creepy,” he adds, his brow dipping with worry. “If you want me to leave, I’ll go.”

I shake my head, at a loss for words. It’s like I wanted him so badly that I somehow made him appear.

“Rich told me you were back today.” The anxious creases in his forehead ease when I smile tentatively. “I probably should have given you some time to settle in, but I couldn’t wait. I’ve waited for two weeks and it nearly killed me.”

He’s known I was coming back all this time?

“I’m sorry things didn’t work out with the job,” he says, rising from the chair and coming to perch on the end of the bed. He’s wearing his faded jeans and a dark green Henley that brings out the color of his eyes, sleeves pushed up to his elbows.

I run my gaze across his handsome face. He looks tired, but he’s clearly had a haircut and beard trim recently. It reminds me of the first time he did, and how it forced me to acknowledge my attraction to him.

I clear my throat, trying to focus on what he said about my job. Now that I’m here, now that he’s in front of me, that’s the last thing on my mind. “Yeah, well,” I mumble. “It wasn’t the same once I was back there.”

He gives me a compassionate smile, studying me. God, I must look like shit. I’m not wearing a lick of makeup and I’ve probably got a hybrid bed-hair, plane-hair look going on. I lift a hand in a futile attempt to smooth it, then give up.

“So you’re back for good,” he murmurs, and I nod. “And Rich knows about everything that happened between us.” I nod again, uncertain about where this is going. He’s only a few feet away from me, and I want nothing more than to throw myself into his arms. After a pause, he adds, “Your dad invited me to dinner at his place tonight.”

“Me too.” My pulse ramps up as Kyle shuffles closer, and it occurs to me that if he isn’t here for the reasons I hope he is, dinner will be pretty awkward.

“He gave me his blessing to be with you, Vi.” Kyle swallows, a tiny vulnerable line forming between his brows that makes my heart press against my ribcage. “Is that something you might still—”

He doesn’t get the rest of the words out because I lunge at him, covering his mouth with mine. It’s not a very good kiss. It’s sloppy, and we’re both laughing, but his arms are around me again and that’s all I care about.

When I run out of breath, I draw away to meet his gaze. “You were going to ask if we could be together, right? I didn’t let you finish, but I assumed—”

“Yes, sweetheart.” He drops a kiss on my forehead, chuckling. There’s a light in his green eyes as they gaze at me affectionately. “I’ve missed you like crazy. I’m sorry I didn’t fight harder for us.”

“No.” I stroke a hand over his cheek, loving the way he lets out a tiny sigh at my touch. “I shouldn’t have walked away. We should have told Dad like we’d planned, and I’m so sorry I didn’t go through with it.”

“I understand why you couldn’t. I couldn’t either, really, but…” He shrugs. “Rich figured it out anyway.”

“Was he really awful?”

Kyle chuffs a humorless laugh. “It wasn’t great, but I don’t blame him. I would have felt the same way in his position.” He looks down at me, one hand rubbing gentle circles on my back. “So… you’re back in New York and Rich is okay with us. I don’t know what to do with myself.”

A smile curls along my lips. “Yes, you do. Move in here with me, and we can start the restoration business.”

He shakes his head, and for a brief second I think he’s saying no, then I realize it’s an expression of disbelief. “You really want me to live here with you? To work together?”

“More than I’ve wanted anything.”

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