Page 70 of She Was Made for Me

I glance from Ryan to Kyle, trying not to panic. Kyle’s face is as white as a sheet, and I realize there’s only one thing for it.

“Uh, yeah, I just got home.” I give what I hope is a casual shrug. “I went out last night with that realtor, Owen?”

“Oh yeah. I remember him. Good-looking guy. Looks like you two had fun.” Ryan winks.

“Mm,” I say absently.

Beside me, Kyle grumbles something inaudible to himself. When I slide a look his way, he’s scowling at the floor.

“Anyway, I’d better go get ready for work.” I back away toward the stairs. “Excuse me.”

Ryan chuckles as I head down to the basement, my pulse whipping through me. I quickly shower and change, trying not to think of how unprofessional I must look as I head up to the parlor room. By the time I get there, everyone has arrived for the day, and they’re milling about, sipping the coffee Dale got from Joe’s.

“Here you go, love.” Dale hands me a coffee from the tray with a kind smile.

I take the cup with a nod of thanks and gulp down a few hot sips.

“Heard you had a wild night,” Phil says, biting into an onion bagel.

I stuff some bagel into my own mouth so I don’t have to answer.

“Owen is a nice enough kid,” Dale says, smiling over his coffee. “You could do worse.”

I chew my dry bagel, saying nothing.

“What do you think?” Ryan glances at Kyle, who’s glowering at the box of bagels on the table. “Would Richard approve?”

Kyle snorts into his coffee, shaking his head.

My face flames red as the guys dissect my love life. Jesus, this is getting out of control.

Dale notices and pats Ryan’s arm. “That’s enough. You’re embarrassing the poor girl.”

“Thanks,” I mutter, and attempt to steer the conversation back to work. “Okay, so, now the scaffolding is up, we’ve got the brick guys coming today to work on the façade. We’ve got tiling to do in the downstairs bathroom, and new hardware arriving for the kitchen installation down there.”

I motion to my Gantt chart, feeling a little more in control as I shift back into work mode. We go over what needs to be done for the day, and the guys head off to work. Then I sink down into my desk chair, rubbing my forehead. Not a great start to the morning, but everything seems to be back on track now.

Except for Kyle’s change in mood, but I can’t worry about that now. There’s work to be done.

I spend the next few hours following up on late orders and finalizing the landscaper for next week. We’re going with a local guy who has a company that specializes in small New York spaces. When I saw pictures of the work he’s done, in yards similar to ours, I knew we had to have him.

By 11 a.m. I still haven’t seen Kyle, and I can’t distract myself with work anymore. Everything had seemed so lovely when we woke up beside each other this morning, but ever since I had to sneak downstairs, Kyle hasn’t been able to even look at me. What if he’s having second thoughts?

I check that Dale and Ryan are working in the downstairs bathroom, while Bob is outside talking to the brick guys, and sneak upstairs, looking for Kyle. Phil is varnishing the banister on the second floor, and I find Kyle in the walk-in closet in the front bedroom, fitting shelves.

I step into the small space, pulling the door closed behind me. Phil has his headphones on and didn’t even notice me walk past, so we should be safe talking in here.

“Hey,” I murmur, and Kyle glances over his shoulder at me.

“Hey, you.”

I chew my lip, watching as he screws the shelf into place. What is it about a guy holding a power tool that is so hot?

“Are you… okay?” I ask, keeping my voice low.

Kyle sets the drill down and turns to face me, but doesn’t say anything, just folds his arms and lets his gaze wander over me, releasing a long sigh.

I try again. “Are you having regrets about last night?”

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