27. Harper

“How long will the boys be gone?” Kyle asked.

“Probably not too long.” Although I couldn’t be sure because Zara had gone rogue by taking them to the park. “Jace is supposed to pick up the kids at six, which probably means six thirty. And then they won’t eat until—” I snapped my mouth shut. No one liked to hear a person rant about their ex. “Sorry.”

“You have nothing to be sorry about.” Lips pursed, he took my hand between his. As he rubbed his thumb in a circle on my palm, an electric warmth eased into my stomach. Our eyes met for a beat before his gaze dropped to my lips.

The memory of his kiss swamped me. The way his mouth had pressed into mine desperately. Like he’d been trying to devour me. Like he needed me.

Heart skipping, I shifted closer. With my hand still locked in one of his, he pushed a piece of hair back from my face with the other. The brush of his thumb felt like fire on my cheek. Our eyes met, and he leaned toward me, cupping my cheek. The warmth of his palm flooded my system.

My breath picked up. My body throbbed. I was desperate to close the inches of space between us. Press my lips to his. Let him pull me onto his lap so I could feel his hard body against mine.

But a noise from Piper across the room had my heart lurching and had us both jerking back. Away from each other. Away from that magnetic connection that lingered just below the surface.

He lowered his hand from my face but didn’t break eye contact. “How about I go out and pick up dinner while you get them off with their dad, and then we can hang out?”

“Oh, I…” Wanted that. I thought. My heart was still racing, and my cheeks were hot. My whole body was flushed, really. My body wanted him. And he’d come clean. He’d taken the money like I asked, and I’d told him I had forgiven him. Now I had to actually do it.

What had put that last nail in the coffin of my marriage was my inability to move on from Jace’s lies. And Kyle didn’t deserve that. So then and there, I resigned myself to doing whatever it took to let it go.

He smirked, though it was a bit forced, and leaned farther back against his chair, releasing his hold on my hand. “We have two hours before their dad will be here, and Piper owes me a manicure. So you think about what you want for dinner while she and I do that.”

“Yeah.” I blinked at his hands, already missing the feel of his rough, warm palms. Shaking my head, I forced myself out of the haze I’d fallen into. “Wait, did you say manicure?”

“Girl needs her nails clipped, and I have a plan.” He reached down to the floor beside his chair and picked up the bag he’d brought with him.

He couldn’t mean that. When it came to clipping her nails, Piper was impossible. It always led to a complete meltdown where I had to all but physically restrain her so I could get it done. It was easier to just let her claw me when she was upset than to cut them. If Kyle thought she would happily let him do her nails, he had no idea what he was in for.

“What kind of plan?” I leaned forward and reached for the bag, but he yanked it away with a sparkle in his eyes.

“Don’t be nosy.”

“Nosy?” I balked, straightening.

“Yes, Crabby. This is my plan.” With a laugh, he stood, then strode over to Piper in four steps.

At the movement, she glanced up from her tablet, her eyes going wide. And then she did something I never would have expected. She dropped the tablet and jumped off the couch, wrapping her arms around his waist. Piper was not a hugger. She wasn’t normally comfortable enough to initiate physical contact. Once in a while, she hugged me, but even that was so rare that I soaked up each occasion, knowing it wouldn’t happen again for some time.

He looked as shocked as I felt. That didn’t stop him from carefully patting her back, though he was sure to avoid her head and neck, knowing touching either might trigger her. But the smile that split his face as he sank into her embrace wasn’t at all careful.

The way the two of them responded to each other made my heart swell.

“You said you’d come home Monday,” Piper practically yelled as she pulled back.

Kyle tapped his ears, always so patient, and smiled.

Yanking off the headphones, Piper repeated her statement at a normal volume.

“I missed you all, so I came home early.”

“Does that mean I get to do your nails with the baseballs and Revs stuff?” She surveyed him from head to toe, then scanned the room. When her gaze landed on the bag, she rushed over.

He didn’t even bother to stop her.

“Oh, so she can look?” I teased, cocking a brow.

“Feeling jealous, Crabby?” His blond hair flopped forward a bit, messier than usual. God, he looked so damn sexy in that moment. Brown eyes sparkling, lips pulled up in a grin.

Chuckling, I shook my head, then I watched Piper pull out two flat white pieces of cardboard.

“Look.” She flashed them my way, showing me the blue shapes behind plastic. “They have baseballs and the Revs logo. Kyle promised I could put them on his nails.”

“He did?” I turned back to the man in question.

He tipped his head, cocking a brow at my daughter. “As long as I get to do yours too, Pipe. You know the deal.”

She nodded, her pigtail braids bobbing.

For the next hour, I sat on the sofa with my heart in my throat as Piper turned all the baseball star’s nails blue and he didn’t bat an eye. He showed her how to use the clippers and then the file. Then he helped her make sure the sticker was straight on each of his large nails.

He was known for being a man obsessed with his image, and yet he was painting his nails for my daughter. Talking about her week, asking about therapy. He was content with her one-word answers, though he didn’t once give up his unaggressive attempt to engage her.

“What do you mean you wouldn’t try turkey?” Kyle feigned shock, splaying a hand against his chest, making the blue stickers that had yet to be trimmed flap against his T-shirt. “It’s the best.”

“It made the entire room smell yucky.” Piper kept her focus fixed on lining up the last blue sticker on his pinky nail.

“Yeah, it can sometimes have a strong smell, but it tastes so good. Maybe next time, you’ll try some with me.”

She froze. From where I sat on the sofa, I braced for her response. Instead of panicking like I expected, she simply lifted her head and almost looked at him before refocusing on his fingers.

“ Maybe ,” she said. “But that’s not a promise deal, like doing my nails.”

Warmth blossomed in my chest at her reaction, and I couldn’t help but smile at her.

Kyle, though, kept his expression very serious. “Oh, of course not.” He wiggled his fingers, the blue color hanging off each nail. “Now we file them.”

Piper typically couldn’t stand the sound of a nail file, but she made not one peep as she filed off the extra color. When she finished, Kyle held up his hands and wiggled his fingers.

“What do you think?” he asked, his brows arched expectantly.

Piper nodded and almost smiled.

“Good. Now we do you?” Though it was a question, Kyle had been clear about their deal. If she did his nails, then he got to do hers.

I was still relatively certain his plan would fail. But Piper solemnly nodded and held her hands out.

She flinched multiple times and definitely wore a pained expression through most of the process, but she didn’t cry, and she didn’t fight him. She just let him clip her nails nice and short and then make hers match his.

Eventually, she held them up and looked into the living room. “Look, Mom.”

“They look beautiful.” My eyes welled, and my chest ached. For most kids, clipping their nails was a simple task. But it was such a struggle for us. For years, I’d dreaded it almost as much as she did. Now I didn’t have to have the fight. I blinked hard, fighting the tears pooling in my eyes, and once they were under control, I took a deep breath and turned to Kyle. “Thank you,” I mouthed.

Piper rubbed her fingers together, cringing. “Can I wash this dust off?”

“Yes.” I gave her a smile. Once she was shuffling down the hallway, I approached Kyle, who was standing next to the table, cleaning up, and lifted onto my toes and pressed my lips against his cheek.

His breath hitched at the small gesture, surprising a smile from me.

“Thank you,” I repeated.

He wrapped his arm around me and held me tight to his solid chest, the connection flooding me with a weird mix of warm comfort and antsy desire. “Anything,” he whispered into my hair.

“Knock, knock,” Zara called as she pushed the door open.

Kyle and I flinched apart. We had nothing to hide, especially not from Zara, who was smirking like she’d seen our embrace. But it felt strange. Like the bond between us was too new for other people’s eyes yet. Like it was just ours. And I kind of wanted it to stay that way for a bit.

“I’m dropping Sam and heading out,” Zara said. “I know—” Her eyes went wide, and she took a step toward Kyle. “Are you wearing nail polish?”

I expected Kyle to try to hide it or play it off. Instead, he proudly held them up just as Piper came back into the room.

“I am. Piper did a good job, didn’t she?”

“Is that a Revs logo?” Zara stepped closer, head tilted, inspecting his hand.

“Yeah. Very talented girl.” He pointed to Piper.

“They match,” Piper said, her cheeks pink, as she tentatively lifted her hand next to his.

“Quite lovely.” Zara nodded. “I’m going to dash.”

“Remind Asher that I’m picking him up Monday at six for the hockey game.”

“What?” Zara’s eyes narrowed.

“The Bolts game.”

“Oh.” She frowned. “Right,” she said, though it was clear by her confusion, then by her disappointment, that she hadn’t known. Pasting a fake smile on, she waved to me and herded Grey out the door.

“I’m going to head out too.” Kyle studied me, his jaw tight and his eyes swimming with uncertainty once again. “Unless?—”

Before I could second guess myself, I said, “I’d love if you picked up dinner.”

“Cool.” The lines around his eyes disappeared, and a relieved grin spread across his face. “I’ll text you a few options and see you later.” Then he turned to the kids and held a fist to Sam first. “I’ll see you Monday, little man. Have fun with Dad.” Then he wiggled his fingers at Piper. “Thanks again, Pipe.”

She nodded.

As soon as the door closed, she said, “Dad said six o’clock, right? Because it is 5:53.”

Dropping onto the sofa, I sighed and patted the seat next to me, signaling for her to sit. “He’ll be here around six.”

“Who got me this?” Sam asked from where he was on his knees at the table. He held up a package of M&M’s decorated like baseballs and two cans of whipped cream.

“Were they in Kyle’s bag?” I eyed the brown bag still sitting by the table where they’d done nails.

Without responding, Sam picked up one can and flipped it in the air. It spun, and as it fell, he grasped for it but missed. When it hit the ground, he scooped it up and popped off the red top. Then, with a burst of aerosol, he squirted it into his mouth.

“Where did you learn that?”

“At Little Fingers. Kyle showed me.”

I rolled my eyes, though I couldn’t help but smile. Of course.

“No more whipped cream.” I grabbed the cans and the candy and put them back on the table. “Let’s get ready to go to Dad’s.”

A half hour later, the kids were gone. They’d left with Jace, and the transaction had gone pretty easily.

“I got tacos,” Kyle said when he showed up a few minutes later. He brought the bag to the table and set it down. “Since you don’t normally do gluten, dairy, sugar, or dyes, one set is free of all that. It’s also taste-free. The other set is full of it all. That one, you might actually enjoy.”

Oh, we were back to the jokes, huh?

“What happened to the nice guy who wasn’t giving me crap?” I braced my hands on my hips and gave him a mock glare.

He rocked back on his heels and crossed his arms over his broad chest. “He got some confidence back because you invited him to dinner.” He grinned.

I rolled my eyes.

“I see Sam found my treat.” He snagged the whipped cream from the table and flipped it into the air. Then he caught it with all the grace that Sam hadn’t managed.

“Yeah, and he showed me how you taught him to squirt it straight into his mouth.”

“I would never.” He smirked, popping the cap off with his thumb, sending it shooting toward me.

I swiped it out of the air.

“Nice, Crabby.” He squirted a dollop of cream onto his finger.

“Do you actually want that, or are you just messing around?”

“I definitely want it.” He brought his finger to his lips and hummed as the cream disappeared.

Suddenly hotter than I’d been only a moment before, I zeroed in on his mouth and watched as he released his finger.

“Not bad, but…”

He clutched my wrist, and the second his rough fingers locked around it, goose bumps broke out across my skin. Watching my face, he tilted the whipped cream can, each move slow and steady. There was no part of me that questioned what he was doing. I knew. And I wanted it.

The burst of condensed air echoed off the walls as the cold cream landed on my finger. With his eyes locked on mine, he lifted my hand. My heart pounded loud in my ears when, without breaking eye contact, he wrapped his warm lips around my finger, and when he sucked, my body throbbed.

I didn’t need this complication. I didn’t have time to devote to another person. But damn, I wanted him.

“Mmm.” The sound vibrated through me, from my finger straight to my core. He slipped my finger from between his lips and rasped, “Maybe one more taste.” He pulled on my wrist, and I let him tuck me against him.

This time the cold cream hit my skin at the crook of my neck. Before I could even process the sensation, his mouth was on me. Something between a whimper and a gasp escaped me as the rough stubble of his jaw brushed my skin.

“Kyle.” That single syllable was so full of wanting, it was almost embarrassing.

The warmth deep in my core blazed hotter as he moved up the column of my neck, nipping and sucking.

“You’re sweeter than any dessert, Crabby,” he said, skimming up along my jaw until his lips brushed my ear, forcing a moan from deep within me. “You’re driving me insane.” He pulled in a deep breath through his nose, inhaling me. “That sound. God, I want to hear it over and over as I taste every inch of skin.” He peppered kisses along my cheek. “I want to know whether your pussy is as sweet as the rest of you.”

My thighs clenched, searching for friction to ease the throb.

“I need you to moan my name while you coat my tongue with your pleasure.” He tipped my chin back and captured my mouth with his.

Just like last time, my body came alive with the brush of his lips. Weeks of tension melted instantly and was replaced with waves of desire as he toyed and coaxed my mouth open. The second my lips parted, he swept his tongue between them, invading, and he locked his arms around me, pulling me to him.

A deep groan echoed up his chest.

He spun to press me against the table, his thigh between mine and a hand on my ass. One squeeze, and he lifted, sliding me up his thigh. I rocked into him, seeking the pressure, something to ease the throbbing.

With a ragged breath, he broke our kiss and shook his head. Cupping my cheek, he blinked, as if trying to come back to reality. “Sorry.” Pupils blown, his eyes blazing with desire, he swallowed hard and slid me down his thigh.

I leaned into the slow friction,needing more.

He grunted as he steadied me on my feet. “You make me forget every one of my good intentions.”

The statement made my chest swell with affection and pride. The idea that I could drive this gorgeous man to forget his control was a boost to my ego. It made me feel like more than a tired mom who was past her prime. It made me feel attractive andwanted.

And I desperately missed that feeling.

So why was I fighting it?

This didn’t need to be love or forever. It could be selfish desire. A blip in time where I felt incredible.

“Oh, a smirk.” He tickled my side, making me squirm.

As I brushed against him, his thick erection startled me, and when I’d righted myself and I did it again, this time on purpose, his dick jumped, and he hissed out a breath. Encouraged by his reaction, I dropped my hand to rub along the swell of his cock.

“Fuck, baby.” He pressed the long, thick length into my hand. “You like torturing me a bit too much.”

“Oh, but it’ll be so worth it when you finally moan my name as you’re coming.”

His eyes popped wide.

My heart lurched at his reaction. Letting up on my hold of his dick, I stepped back. “Is that not where this was heading?”

“If you want that.” He pulled me into him again, his eyes dropping from mine to my mouth. “You have no idea the fantasies I’ve had…”

“Show me,” I dared.

“Challenge accepted.” With that, he hoisted me up and I wrapped my legs around his waist.