26. Harper

On the sofa, Piper wore her headphones, her focus fixed on her tablet, and giggled. On the floor in front of her, Grey and Sam played happily.

“What is she watching?” Zara asked from across the table.

“Videos of Kyle. He sent them from Texas.”

For the first few days after he had left, Piper hadn’t stopped obsessing over his promise to record videos and send them to her. After I’d yelled at him, I assumed he wouldn’t do it—and why would he?—so I had put her off, making excuses and biding my time.

When he finally did send them, my heart twisted in a way that was much more violent than it had when he’d sent his silly diary messages.

There were moments this week when I truly wanted to punch him. But his dramatic messages were also making me smile.

“You’re allowing him to talk to her?” Zara cocked a brow and lifted her tea to her lips.

She’d come over an hour ago with Grey and Starbucks, because apparently Kyle had told Asher that I was upset, and Asher had told her.

“I told you—I am not making this a thing.” I fidgeted with my hair and ended up redoing the messy bun on my head simply to keep myself busy so that I wouldn’t admit to watching a few of the videos after Piper had gone to bed. Kyle and his brother Ryan were hysterical, so it wasn’t shocking that Piper was laughing.

“I cannot believe you didn’t call me the morning after and tell me about it. When you left my party with Kyle, I was sure I’d hear all about a happy ending. I daydreamed about it all week while we were at Asher’s awful mother’s house.”

“You are dreaming if you think my happy ending is Kyle Bosco.” I tried to force a chuckle past my lips, because the truth of it was, I still found myself thinking about the annoying man. And his adorable smirk. And the kisses. Though I wasn’t happy about any of it. And I hated that he had been paying for Piper’s therapies.

Something I’d fixed.

“Why? I adore Kyle,” she pouted.

I cocked a brow. She couldn’t be serious.

“Okay. Okay. But he only hid one tiny thing.” She held her thumb and pointer finger an inch apart.

I loved that she called over a thousand dollars a month a tiny thing. A sigh escaped me at the thought. It wasn’t just the ABA and RDI that Piper was doing with Ashley either. Her equestrian and sensory therapy were starting next week, and that would add significantly to the cost.

“His heart was in the right place. You have to see that. And he told you before anything happened between the two of you.”

“Well, yes…” That’s what I’d been arguing with myself about. He should have told me from the start, but I could respect him for informing me before we crossed the line of being just friends. Even so… “But I can’t imagine Kyle Bosco settling down. Let alone with someone like me.”

She crossed her arms over her chest. “I don’t like when people put down my friends.”

I blew out a breath. “I know Kyle is great…I just…” I backpedaled a little. I hadn’t meant to insult her friend. I just couldn’t see myself being enough for him.

“Kyle would be lucky to end up with a smart, caring, beautiful woman like you. Someone who challenges him and makes him smile.”

Oh. I blinked. She was upset that I’d put myself down? Was it possible for a heart to sink and lift at the same time?

“Exactly.” She nodded, one corner of her lips tipping up when the realization hit me. Angling forward, she put a hand on mine on the table. “I’m also upset that you didn’t come to me for Piper’s therapy stuff. I would have helped.”

I shook my head, my stomach twisting. “Don’t be ridiculous. I’m not asking you for money.”

“What are friends for if not to help?” She frowned, her brow creasing.

Yes, we were friends, but we’d only just met. And even if we’d been friends for years, I couldn’t see myself ever asking for financial help.

“Asher just hired a personal shopper and spent a disgusting amount of money so I don’t have to worry about shopping on my own. She just brings things to our house,” she scoffed. “Heaven forbid I pick out my own clothes or the kids’ stuff. I have no idea what the idiot was thinking.”

Asher did tend to spoil her. But although I was pretty certain it came from a good place, it was obvious that Zara was bored. Rather than ask her what she wanted, he just kept doing these things, thinking that by making her life easier, he would make her happy. But what she really wanted wasn’t more free time or more stuff . She just wanted his attention. His time. The man was always busy.

“Our money would be better spent helping Piper,” she huffed.

I swallowed past the lump in my throat. “I told you I took care of it.”

“By pawning your great grandmother’s engagement ring,” she chided, wearing a frown that etched lines on either side of her mouth and her forehead.

It was the only thing I owned that had any value, and it would pay for a few months of therapies. I hadn’t wanted to do it, of course. I’d always planned to give it to Piper when she was grown. Jace had wanted to buy his own ring when he proposed, so I hadn’t ever worn it. And my mom never married, so she hadn’t either. But it was a gorgeous antique, the platinum snaking between the small diamonds on either side of a big square stone in the center. But in the end, therapies were more important to Piper than a ring. So I went to the jewelry shop two blocks from Boston Lights and sold it for enough to pay for the next eight months of Piper’s therapy. In the meantime, I’d work on finding another grant for her. I had to.

“It had been sitting in a jewelry box for years, collecting dust.” I shrugged and shifted in my chair, sighing. “It means so much that you would offer to help. But I would feel like I was taking advantage of you or Asher or even Kyle if I let you pay for her therapy.”

Her shoulders slumped, but understanding shone in her eyes.

“So yeah, it was sad to sell the ring, but it’s metal and rocks. And what wouldn’t you do for your kids?”

“I get it. I just don’t like it.” She picked up her cup and took another sip just as a knock echoed through the small space.

“I’ll get it,” Sam yelled.

“No. I’ll get it,” I called. “We’ve had this talk about the door.” I pushed back and hustled to the door just as my son pulled it open. And then I was face to face with deep brown eyes and blond hair full of natural highlights.

“Kyle.” I swallowed. What was he doing here? Because of his dear diary messages, I knew his plans were to fly home on Sunday.

“You’re back.” Sam jumped up and down and then flung himself at the tall man without pause.

Chuckling, Kyle caught him. As he lifted him, he adjusted the small bag he was carrying. “Miss me, little man?”

“Lots. Miss Dylan says she can’t play Legos and playdough and Playmobil and Trouble with me all days.”

He snorted a laugh. “She has to take care of the other kids too, buddy.”

“You play with me all the times until Piper gets there.”

He shrugged. “I can’t argue with that. But it’s only because Miss Dylan is there making sure everybody is safe and having fun.”

“Sam, are you coming back?” Grey popped up from behind the couch. “Uncle Kyle? I didn’t know you were coming over too.”

A chair scraped along the floor, and then Zara peeked around the corner.

“Oh.” Kyle winced. “I didn’t realize you had company. Sorry to interrupt.”

“No.” Zara shook her head. “I was getting ready to take the boys to the park down the block.”

Frowning, I shook my head. That had not been the plan.

“Oh, yay! I need my shoes.” Like a cartoon character, Sam took off at a run, heading for his room.

With her brows raised, Zara looked from me to the door, where Kyle rocked back on his heels, still half in and half out, then back again.

Exhaling loudly, I said, “Come in.”

Zara beamed. “Grey, get your shoes.”

In less than a minute, she was herding both boys into the hall. “Cheers!” she called as she pulled the door shut behind her.

As it clicked shut, I turned, finding Kyle watching me, his eyes full of uncertainty.

“I thought you were coming home tomorrow.”

With his teeth pressed into his full bottom lip, he shrugged. “I got a call from Kayla, and I couldn’t wait any longer to talk to you.”

He glanced over at Piper, who was still on the sofa. She hadn’t noticed him come in. Her ability to hyper-focus amazed me sometimes. Fireworks could go off in the room, and with her headphones on, she wouldn’t even notice.

“I brought something for Piper and me to do. We’ve had a deal for a while, and it’s time for her to pay up. But can we talk first, since she’s content for now?”

Swallowing past the boulder that had formed in my throat and kept growing, I waved him to the table. “Let’s sit.” On my way, I snagged the envelope with his name on it from my purse.

“I’m sorry,” he said as he eased into a chair.

I held a hand up. “You’ve apologized probably twenty times at this point. No more. Please. I understand what you did and why you did it.”

Lips parting in shock, he blinked at me.

“I don’t love it. But I can appreciate that it came from a good place, and I accept your apology.”

He leaned slightly forward, and his expression eased. For the first time since he’d walked in, some of his confidence was back.

Exhaling, bracing myself, I slid the white envelope across the dark wood table. “However, I can’t let you pay for my daughter.”

“Harper—”

I put that hand up again. “Let me finish.”

He nodded.

“If you talked to Kayla already, then you know that, going forward, she will be billing me for Piper’s therapies. Your foundation’s connections are amazing.” I shook my head. “And I’d like to be able to schedule things through her.”

He reared back, his shoulders slamming into the seat back. “One hundred percent. I would never say no to that. To anyone. Not just you and Piper.”

“Good.” I swallowed. “So she will set things up, and then she’ll bill me for them. This”—I tapped the envelope—“is the amount you’ve already paid.”

He frowned at it like it smelled like a decomposing body and pushed it back toward me. “Why would I take your money?”

This was the part that had worried me for days. Because if I was wrong about what Kyle wanted, then I was about to embarrass myself.

But I gathered all my courage, pulled my shoulders back, and laid it out. “I’m getting the impression that you’d like to start something between us.”

He snagged my hand with athletic speed, his warmth encapsulating me and filling me with a flush of comfort. “Hell yes, I do. If I haven’t made that clear, then I’ve fucked up more than I thought I had.”

The intensity of the statement flipped my stomach. But I pulled my hand away and pushed the envelope with the check closer again.

“Then I need you to cash the check.”

His lips parted, and his focus narrowed, like he was ready to argue. But I kept going before he could.

“We can’t see where this goes if I feel indebted to you. I don’t want you to pay for my life. That’s not what this should be.”

His eyes swam with mixed emotions. With frustration and determination, but also with acceptance. He knew I wouldn’t give in.

“You’ve done more than enough,” I continued. “I can’t let you pay for Piper’s therapies too.”

“You are a very annoying woman,” he gritted out as he snatched up the envelope and shoved it into his pocket.

“And you are an exceedingly frustrating man.” But for the first time in days, my shoulders relaxed, and I slumped in my chair.