33. Kyle

I stared at the massive windows of my penthouse, studying the way the lights of the tree reflected in the glass.

I frowned.

It was perfect. The green, black, and gold ornaments were evenly spaced and fit the vibe of my apartment. Which was all sleek, dark wood and black furniture. Modern, masculine, and expensive while also being comfortable and homey. I’d paid someone to make sure it was perfect. But to be honest, the tree sucked. Some designer had come and put it up for me. Cam had arranged it. I had nothing to do with it.

The one at Harper’s was strung haphazardly with lights. The ornaments were heavy on the lower half, and the entire tree tilted just a little to the left.

But I loved it. I loved everything about Harper’s apartment. Including how small and chaotic the space was.

My mood was in the gutter tonight. I was stuck at home rather than over at my new favorite place, waiting to see how many times I could make the snowman sing Feliz Navidad before Harper lost it. Usually it was twelve times. But every once in a while, she made it to play number thirteen before her eyes twitched and she whacked me in the stomach.

She was out with Zara at the WAGS holiday bar hop, and the kids were with their dad. I was thrilled that Zara and Gianna had thought to include her, but I was less than pleased that they hadn’t included me too. I wasn’t a wife or girlfriend. That was true. So I told them their party was sexist, hoping to guilt them into opening it up to us guys, but Zara just laughed and called me ridiculous. Apparently, the issue wasn’t that I was a guy. It was that I played for the Revs, and this was a significant others’ bonding thing.

Whatever. I could entertain myself for a night. Although I was currently doing a shit job of it, because I was sitting home, pouting.

My phone buzzed on the kitchen counter, so I hustled to it, hoping it was Harper, ready to be picked up for the night. Or maybe the guys would want to hang out.

Instead, Piper’s name flashed across the screen. My stomach sank. Shit. She’d never called, which meant this couldn’t be good. But I swallowed my panic and answered the FaceTime request.

“Hey, Pipe. What’s up?”

Her eyes were red, and her cheeks were tearstained. My initial reaction was to freak the fuck out. But I curbed the urge. It was possible that Piper was crying because the TV was one tick too loud or something as easy to fix.

“You said if I needed you, I could call.” She sniffed.

“Always,” I agreed.

“My headphones broke. I need them to stop the noise from up above us. They’re banging around up there, and it’s too loud.”

I had four extra pairs of the blue Boston Revs noise-canceling headphones in a cabinet here, one pair in my Escalade, and one in my backpack, just in case Piper ever needed them.

“Okay, we can fix this. Just take a deep breath.”

“So you will bring me some?” She sniffed again, but it was followed but a long inhale.

“Sure.”

Before I could say anything else, she hung up. Her faith in my ability to fix this situation without any more information was remarkable. But luckily, I knew where her father lived. Sighing, I ran a hand over my face. I couldn’t imagine this would go well, but I’d do anything for Piper. So with a set of headphones tucked under my arm, I ordered an Uber. Cam was off tonight, and I didn’t want to take the time to schedule a car using the Revs car service.

Twenty minutes later, the car was pulling up in front of the building. I had no issues getting past the doorman, and it only took a minute to find the correct apartment. With a knock, I inhaled deeply and waited. This could go a lot of ways, so I’d be prepared for all of them.

When the door swung open, I held up the box.

He stood in the doorway, taking me in from head to toe. “She said it was okay to let her call you.”

I nodded. “Always.”

“Come in.” He stepped back and waved me into the apartment.

As I stepped into the entryway, I tried really hard not to be irritated, because his apartment was bigger than Harper’s, yet she was paying him alimony.

But that wasn’t my business or my fight.

Instead, I went to the reason I was here. It took me five minutes to get Piper settled and happy with her headphones. Then I spent another five helping Sam with a section of the Lego set he was working on. Finally, I moved back to address their dad.

“I’ll get out of your way and let you enjoy your time.”

“Actually.” He swallowed. “I could use some more help.”

I froze.

“Clearly, you get this, and I don’t. So I’m asking, man to man, can you help me figure out how to help her feel comfortable here?”

A small part of me wanted to leave him to fend for himself. But the bigger part of me remembered being a kid and desperately wanting my dad to be there, to show up, to show interest. To care. “Absolutely, man.”

He opened his fridge and pulled out two bottles. “Want a beer while we talk?”

I nodded, because now that he’d asked for help with Piper, I had so much to say.