30. Harper

“So Sam is wrong?”

The sound of Piper’s voice echoing across the gym brought me up short. I shuffled closer to the door so she couldn’t see me. She was jumping on a mini trampoline, her red ponytail bobbing up and down.

“It’s not fair that just ’cause you’re old and you’re a boy, you can’t be my best friend.”

I fought back a laugh at the comment about Kyle’s age. He hated being called old. But at the same time, my heart squeezed. Piper really didn’t have friends, so it wasn’t strange for her to think that Kyle was her best friend. She was closer to him than just about anyone.

Like I knew he would, Kyle handled the question with grace. “A best friend is a person you like hanging out with and talking to. A person who gets you.” His deep voice echoed off all the hard services. “And I think that’s true of us.”

I could see him from my hiding spot, dressed in a tight white shirt and black gym shorts, holding a jump rope in his hand. His nails were still painted blue. I thought he’d have taken it off the instant he got home so the guys wouldn’t give him a hard time. Instead, he wore it proudly and grinned each time Piper wanted to show off their matching manicures.

“Does that mean Grey can be Sam’s best friend and I’m your best friend?” She was getting shorter on breath as she jumped, but even still, the tone of her voice was more questioning than hopeful.

“You’re definitely one of my favorite people, so I’d say you’re one of them.”

“Who are your other favorite people?”

He glanced around and froze when our eyes met in the mirror. A smile tipped his lips, and he turned back to Piper “Don’t tell her I said so, but your mom is definitely one of my favorite people.”

I pressed a hand to my mouth to hold in my laugh.

“Me too. She’s pretty okay.” Piper stopped jumping. “That’s two hundred. Your turn.”

He shifted the rope so he held one end in each hand and swung it over his head so it hit the floor behind him with a thwack . “You going to count for me?”

She nodded. “Five hundred this time?”

He scoffed. “You’re going to kill me kid.”

Chin tipped up, she said, “Perseverance. You can do it.”

“Oh, you’re using my own words against me now.” He pursed his lips and sent her a playful glare.

“Perseverance,” she repeated.

With a grin at me, he said, “Okay, count, girlie.”

Piper nodded, and he started to jump. Holy hell. I wasn’t prepared. Maybe I hadn’t paid enough attention to jump-roping in the past, because damn, each hop sent another wave of liquid fire through my veins. His calves and thighs tightened each time he launched himself off the ground, and his shoulders bunched, along with his abs, in a rhythmic way that was hypnotizing. It was a perfect showcase of how amazing his entire body was.

Not that this was news to me. I pulled my bottom lip between my teeth and watched. Good God, was it hard to believe that he’d had that body pressed against mine just a few days ago. That every one of his muscles had tightened in pleasure when he pulsed inside me.

Sex with Kyle had been like nothing else. It shouldn’t have surprised me. Everything with Kyle was new and challenging and exhilarating. I snorted, thinking about his Dear Diary message from this morning. I was sure he’d drop the silliness now that we’d talked, but I should have known better. Because when he said something, he followed through.

“Three hundred,” Piper announced.

Each flick of his wrists made the corded muscle of his forearms bunch, and his brow was slicked with sweat, causing his hair to stick to his skin. His face was tightening in effort. And although I knew he wouldn’t quit before five hundred, he was getting tired.

At 450, I announced myself by stepping all the way into the room.

“Shh, Mommy. I’m counting. Four-fifty-seven. Four-fifty-eight.” Piper focused on each smack of the rope against the ground.

I leaned against a machine nearby, one I didn’t recognize and would never figure out how to work. The gym wasn’t my thing. But Kyle had made it clear he liked my soft thighs and stretch marks. So I just waited, enjoying the view.

“Five hundred,” Piper announced.

Kyle stopped the rope and bent in half with a huff.

“Why are you here?” Piper asked me. “It is only 5:05.”

“Work was slow, so I thought I’d pick you and Sam up early.” I stopped myself from brushing a hair off her forehead. “Look at you working up a sweat.”

“That’s ’cause I did six hundred jumps.” She nodded. “But I’m done now.”

“Me too,” Kyle announced, straightening but still breathing heavy.

“Yes, you did three hundred plus four hundred plus five hundred.” Her little nose scrunched up as she did the mental math. “You did 1200 jumps.”

Whoa, no wonder he was sweaty.

“That means I deserve a good-job hug.” He moved toward me, dropping the rope and holding his arms out.

“Wait, what?” I stepped back, but I wasn’t fast enough. From behind, he looped his arms around me and pressed his sweaty chest into my back. “Oh God, you’re gross.”

“Not what you said the other night,” he murmured, the vibration of each word sending a chill down my spine. “I even turn you on when I’m sweaty.”

I turned in his arms, and he loosened his hold so he could give me a quick peck.

“Yuck,” Piper complained. “You kissed my mom.”

My breath caught in my lungs, and my body flushed. Shit. What was I supposed to say to that?

Kyle stepped away carefully, like he understood that this could be a minefield. “I like kissing her. Is that okay with you?” he asked, his voice soft and even.

“If she doesn’t care.” Piper stepped off the trampoline. “It’s 5:10. We go back to the room now.”

“Yeah, we can.”

She hopped off the trampoline and led us out of the gym. She stayed five steps ahead of us the whole way, surrounded by an air of assurance that showed without words how comfortable she was here at Langfield Corp. She even waved to a security guard.

And when I smiled at the guy, Kyle dropped a sweaty arm over my shoulder.

I pushed him off. “No,” I warned. “You really are gross.”

He pouted, sticking his lower lip out. “Does that mean I can’t come for dinner like you promised?”

I rolled my eyes. “Well, I, uh.” I glanced at Piper, who was still charging forward, and swallowed. “I got my period this morning.”

He grasped my upper arm and pulled me to a stop. “Just because”—he glanced at Piper too, noting that she was still continuing down the hall—“we have a physical relationship now, doesn’t mean that’s the only thing I want to do. I’m not coming over for that.” He smirked. “I’m never going to turn that down. But that’s not the only thing I want from you.”

My heart tripped over itself at the sincerity in his expression. Wow, this man was way sweeter than the world at large realized.

“So you’re after my chicken and broccoli, then, huh?” I teased.

He chuckled. “That and your smiles and your laughs. I like hanging out with you and the kids.”

“In that case, you can come over. But…” I waved a hand in front of my nose. “Shower first, yeah?”

He laughed. “Yeah.” Then he was dragging me along down the hall again.

And I wondered if what we had could really be this easy. Trust and laughter and support. Because that sounded almost too good to be true.