Heart on Fire (16 page)

“You’re an angel.” Kyle pulled her into the line of his body, then whispered in her ear, “And my little devil.”

Color flooded her cheeks. “Stop.”

Barb grinned, and glanced at Cadence. “They’re cute together.”

“I’m thrilled Kyle found someone who makes him smile like that.” Cadence giggled.

“Like what?” Mila frowned.

“Like you’re his whole world. He gives Cherish that same smile.”

She looked back at Kyle, who shrugged. “Yeah, and that was before last night.”

“It was,” Cadence agreed. “But what happened last night?”

Barb shrugged, and looked away. Mila couldn’t answer to save her life.

“We’ll talk about it later. Not here,” Kyle said quietly. “Nothing bad, I swear.”

“I am too curious, but I’ll let it slide. Come on, everyone is here.”

And wow, everyone stopped to stare at her as they stepped onto the deck. She was tempted to go home and change, even though she wasn’t overdressed. Most of the women wore dresses or skirts. The men were wearing khakis, no t-shirts in sight. Still, she felt uncomfortable under all the curiosity directed at her.

Normal, this is normal. He’s their friend and co-worker, and most of them have never seen us together.

Kyle wrapped his arm around her waist and gently led her toward a group of his friends. After a few minutes of friendly introductions, she began to relax.

Chapter 16

“So, what’s the story? What’s going on with you and Mila? I thought it was all hush-hush. Why the sudden change?” Gavin peppered him with questions as they drove to the store for more beer and brats.

“She decided it was okay for people to know, that’s all.” They agreed to wait to tell everyone about him being a father. Besides, he had a feeling Rene was going to throw a fit when that came out. Not like it would change his mind about anything. “I only hope your sister doesn’t push her away.”

“My sister is a bitch, and I wish you remembered that before getting involved with her. I know it seemed like she had changed, but damn, she screwed you over like she always does everyone.” Gavin sighed and looked over at him. “She keeps begging me to talk some sense into you. I told her I have, and that’s why you won’t see her again.” He winked.

Kyle groaned. “That’s harsh. I try to simply ignore her. I see the game she’s playing, but it’s not going to work. Besides, she showed up last night, while I was having dinner with Mila, Cher, and Barb.”

“Cher?” his old buddy laughed.

Kyle glared at Gavin. “Cherish, you know damn well who I’m referring to.”

Gavin chuckled. “There’s more to the story. Spill.”

“I promised I wouldn’t. Okay? Drop it for now. I don’t want the reveal to be an issue tonight,” Kyle told him firmly.

“Fine, but I’m dying to know. Cadence is too.”

“Of course you are, you nosey bastard. You stay here, I’ll run in.” Kyle hopped out, grabbed the things they needed, and hurried back.

When he climbed back into the truck Gavin shook his head.

“What?”

“Nothing. Not asking. You already told me not to.” He sighed. “Remember, I’ve been your friend since kindergarten, and you know I’m here for you, whatever you need. Is she in trouble? Mila, that is?”

“No, god no. It’s nothing bad, but it can’t come out like this. I’ll tell you soon.”

“Right, fine, dropped,” Gavin grumbled as he fired up the truck.

* * * *

Mila was coming back from freshening up when she stepped onto the porch.

Rene blocked her path. As usual, she was dressed in some expensive chic outfit, and appeared on the plastic side of perfect. Her tone dripped venom. “What are you doing here?”

Thankfully, no one else was around. Still, Mila offered a pleasant smile, hoping to avoid a scene. “I was invited.”

“By whom?” The woman glared daggers at Mila.

A part of her wanted to lay into Rene, but she didn’t want to give Cherish a bad example, and didn’t need the attention. So, she held her temper in check and answered in a calm voice. “Cadence, Kyle, even Gavin made sure to invite me.”

“I’ve heard you’re here with Kyle. As his date.” Her eyes narrowed, her smirk cutting. “Yet he’s nowhere in sight? You do something to make him leave? And then stayed? That’s tacky, these people are
his
friends, not yours.”

Cadence stepped up beside her and put an arm around Mila. “Rene, you need to check your attitude. Kyle went to the store with your brother. Besides, didn’t you come with Mitch? So why are you worried about Kyle and his date?”

“I was hoping Mitch would take Mila home, so I could have Kyle to myself,” she answered honestly.

Taken aback, Mila stared at Rene. “That’s ridiculous. I’m not going home with another man.”

“Why? Because of your daughter? Or your friend? You could have your friend watch your precious little bastard, so you could go have some real fun.” Her eyes sparkled with malice.

It took all her will not to slap Rene.

Cadence shook her head her eyes narrowed. “You can take your shitty attitude and leave, Rene.”

Mila took a slow breath and turned to walk away. Barb stepped up and got in Rene’s face. “What is wrong with you? You’re a mean, nasty bitch. What has Mila done to you?”

Mila touched Barb’s shoulder. “Don’t, Barb. She’s not worth it.” She looked back to Cadence. “Really, I don’t want a scene.”

Rene challenged, “You’re afraid you’d lose if you went up against me.”

That wasn’t it, but commenting wouldn’t stop the debacle.

“What’s the problem?” Kyle asked as he came around the house.

More attention was being drawn and Mila wanted to crawl in a hole. It was better to go.

Rene rounded on him, her hands on her hips. “You’re going to choose a slut with a bastard kid over a woman you were with for two years? Me, who you’ve known since we were kids?”

Mila shot Barb a look of warning, then tried to slip away to get Cherish. Before she made it off the porch, Kyle wrapped his arm around her.

He gently caught her face, forcing her gaze to his. “Don’t go, please.” He glanced back at Rene. “I left you months ago. You didn’t even want me, you wanted a puppet to bend to your will. That’s not me. I’m happy, and with someone who accepts me for me. But even if I hadn’t captured Mila’s attention, I wouldn’t come back to you.”

Rene jabbed a finger Mila’s way. “You, you stupid bitch, you can’t give him what he needs.”

“Mommy,” Cherish looked up at her, “Why is that woman so mean to you?”

Mila closed her eyes, and struggled to find the words to set a good example for her daughter. After a pause, she grudgingly explained, “She’s upset, and that’s not very nice to say, honey.”

Kyle’s brow arched as he stared at Mila in surprise.

She gave him a pleading look. The last thing she wanted was more attention, which they were quickly gathering.

He sighed as he knelt down to make eye contact with Cherish. “Because Rene isn’t getting her way. Sometimes, people aren’t very nice when they can’t have what they want, but your mother is right, that isn’t very nice to say.”

Cherish frowned and looked up at the woman. “Sorry.” She didn’t sound like she was, and Mila had to fight back her smile.

“Really? You want Miss Prim-and-Proper? One who won’t even stand up for herself?” Rene shook her head. “Maybe I was wrong. Maybe you aren’t fun anymore.” She motioned to Mitch and stomped off through the house.

“I should go,” Mila whispered to Kyle. “I hate causing a scene.”

“Sweetheart, you didn’t cause that. She did. And she’s leaving.”

“Mommy, I still want to play. Can I? Please? Remember, Jenny is coming over.”

That was right. “Yeah, okay,” Mila answered, feeling defeated.

“Hey, Mila, don’t let her get to you.” Joe grinned as he came to stand beside them. He was one of the guys from the firehouse. “She’ll back off when she realizes she doesn’t have a chance.”

Gavin added, “My sister doesn’t have her head on straight. We all want you here, especially Kyle.” Gavin reached out and squeezed her hand. “And I prefer you over my sister any day of the week. You make an excellent pie, and you make Kyle happy.” Then he looked at Jenny and Cherish with a grin. “Besides, I think Jenny would riot if you drag Cherish out, she likes your daughter a lot better than her aunt.” He winked.

Mila couldn’t help smiling, “All right, all right, I won’t go. I probably shouldn’t, but I feel bad your sister is leaving because of me.”

“She’s leaving because she’s a selfish…” he looked over to see all the kids further out in the yard and whispered, “bitch, but I keep hoping one day she’ll learn. It was Mitch who invited her. I couldn’t talk her out of coming.”

Joe nodded and half-laughed. “I give Mitch another week before he figures out how Rene really is.”

Everyone gave some affirmative sign before breaking off into their own conversations.

Barb smiled at her, and went to chat with Cadence, while Kyle pulled her to a quiet corner. “Are you all right?”

“Embarrassed,” she whispered.

He kissed her, soft and sweet, “Don’t be, sweetheart. No one here blames you for that mess. They all like you. Besides, if Rene keeps causing a scene, I’ll do all the get-togethers at my place and make sure she knows she’s not invited.”

“That’s ridiculous. Gavin won’t shut his sister out. You can’t expect him to.”

“I got news for you. He tried to stonewall her from coming. He’ll pick us over Rene any day. This isn’t the first time she’s pulled something like that, and not only with me. She’s done the same thing to a couple of the guys we work with. Guys who aren’t here because they got tired of her shit.”

“Look, let’s discuss something else. Okay?”

“Mmm, all right.” He laid another kiss on her, getting lipstick on him.

“Hey,” she pushed him back with a grin, and wiped the red from his mouth. “I should clean this off.” She backed toward the door. “Give me a minute.”

Barb joined her as she went to the bathroom. “Total keeper. Don’t you dare let him go.”

“I have a feeling he wouldn’t make it easy to walk away. He already cares about Cherish, and if I had any doubts about him, that wipes them all away. He’s everything I want and more.”

“Good, now take care of the smudged lipstick.” She winked. “And tonight, you should go visit your man. I’ll watch Cherish after she goes to bed. I promise to call if she wakes up, but I know you only stayed up with me because you felt obligated. That or invite him over, I won’t mind.”

“We’ll see, but Jenny is staying the night. So I can’t exactly leave.”

Cadence snuck up on them. “Sure you can. I trust Barb, she’s a mom too. I hope she’ll come up with her girls next time.”

“Ooh, good idea, and I’ll bring Tony too. I think the guys will all have a blast.”

“Definitely bring the whole family,” Mila said. She turned to Cadence. “If I go over to Kyle’s, I won’t stay all night,” Mila offered quickly, still not sure she would leave in the first place.

“If you’re that worried, have Kyle stay. I trust him with my daughter. For future reference, he’s an excellent babysitter.”

Mila grinned. “He is pretty amazing with kids.”

Chapter 17

Kyle had gone home to let the girls “go to sleep.” He paced through his living room, waiting. There were a million things he wanted to say to Mila.

It nearly gutted him when she tried to leave Gavin’s after his sister decided to be a royal bitch. Maybe it was paranoia, but he kept wondering if she would find a way to shut him out. He hoped not.

Mila finally texted him,
Come over. They’re asleep.

Be right there.

He didn’t waste any time, heading through the gate, and up the steps. She stood at the door, waiting with a smile.

“Hi,” she whispered and nodded to the stairs.

He didn’t say a word. Instead, he took her hand and followed her to her room. Cherish and Jenny were bundled up in sleeping bags on the living room floor, Ash curled up contentedly between the girls. Barb was reading a book on the couch and waved as they passed.

Kyle held back his chuckle until they were behind the closed door. “Now,” he whispered, as he pulled her shirt over her head, “I’ve been craving you since Thursday.” He closed the distance to brush his lips over hers. “I missed you,” he nibbled down her neck, “making love to you,” then kissed his way up to her ear to whisper, “but most of all you.”

Opening his pants, she nodded. “I’m sorry. Until we figure this out, we can’t be with each other 24/7. First, we need to find a way to tell Cherish. I was thinking maybe tomorrow, after Barb heads to the airport. It’s best to be honest with her.”

His heart stuttered. “I can hardly wait.” He pulled Mila into his arms, and held her. Her hands flattened on his chest, her head resting against his shoulder. “I’m going to do whatever I need to do to prove we can work.”

“I know,” she whispered, but didn’t look at him.

Gently pushing her back, he looked into her eyes. “Then what’s wrong?”

“I don’t want you to feel obligated to me if we fall apart. To Cherish, sure, but not to me. I don’t want to trap you in a relationship where you aren’t happy.”

“Are you still worried about that? Because I have news for you. I…” he took a deep breath, and dove in, “I love you, Mila. I know it’s fast, but it didn’t take much for me to fall. Tell me you believe me.”

“I believe
you
believe, and I’m getting there. I need time.” She tried to step away, but Kyle banded his arms around her waist, hauling her back.

“Hey now, we’ll take this one day at a time, and see where it goes. So I have a deal to make.”

She tensed in his arms. “What’s that?”

“I won’t rush you, but you don’t push me away unless you have a good damned reason to. Got it?”

Relaxing slightly, she nodded. “Got it.” She still looked scared, and he was going to have to figure out a way to erase her fears. For now, he could help her forget her worries.