I move up to her side. Following my lead, Riggs is instantly at her other side, and she looks back and forth between us with stormy blue eyes. I can see the fear in their depths. She doesn’t know what to do, what to say. No, she doesn’t know who tobe. Her bubble of safety with us, still so fragile and new, has been shattered by Kyle’s presence.
“Be you, Princess. We’ve got your back,” I say quietly, reminding her of who she is—if she chooses to be.
Kyle makes a choking noise. “I’m sorry, did he just call you Princess? WhatTwilight Zonehave I entered? Is this a prank?” He looks around the living room like a camera crew might pop out from behind the couch. “Okay, you can come out now. You got me,” he calls out.
“Or you could do the cold-hearted bitch act you’ve perfected. Of anyone, he fucking deserves it.” Riggs gives her a cocky smirk, lending her some of his bad attitude, and I’m almost certain the breathy sound Kayla makes is a tiny laugh.
“Act?” Kyle mutters. “Do these guys know you at all?”
I swear if he doesn’t shut the fuck up, I’m gonna punch him, which would be a gift as far as I’m concerned, because a hit from me would be a hell of a lot kinder than the one from Riggs he’s basicallybegging for.
Riggs nods at her and then I do the same, silently supporting however she wants to play this.
She tilts her head, thinking… no, strategizing… and I can nearly see the mantle of authority drop over her. She might be bare-faced, bare-footed, and in nothing more than a T-shirt, but she’s power personified and this is the slaughter I want to see first-hand—Kayla at work.
“Kyle, who I fuck, who I date, who I spend any amount of time with at all, is none of your business, if and until I want it to be. And I just started figuring things out myself so I really don’t want you fucking this up for me. Satisfied?”
With every biting word, she’s taken another step toward him until she’s right in his face, her finger digging into his chest. To his credit, he doesn’t move back but rather, stands his ground, which takes balls.
“Figuring things out?” he parrots, his brow furrowed in confusion. “What do you mean? Like, I know these guys have a reputation forthis,” he waves a hand to indicate all three of us, “but are you saying that you’re not just getting Eiffel Towered by them for shits and gigs? You’rewhat? Actuallydatingthem,bothof them?” Kyle seems genuinely confused by the concept as he points at Riggs and me, and I swear he’s counting to three on repeat in his head. One-two-three, one-two-three.
Yep, still three of us, asshole.
“Like you’re really a throuple?” he finally manages to ask.
Waiting for Kayla to say yes is probably the longest two heartbeats of my life. The only thing that makes it bearable is that she moves back between us and puts an arm around our waists. “We haven’t gotten that far, but I am seeing both Riggs and Maddox.”
Okay, it’s not a full-blown declaration of love and adoration, but it’s also not ‘we’re fucking casually’, so I’ll take the win, because it’s a hard statement to stand ten toes down on. This is new for Riggs and me too, something I’ve never had to do either, so I can only imagine how much courage it’s taking to do it before she’s truly ready. Besides, there’s this weird fluttery sensation in my chest, and despite being in peak physical condition, I might be having a heart attack at hearing Kayla say those words so clearly.
Swallowing my own nerves, I place a kiss at her temple and say proudly, “Fuck yeah, you are.”
Light fills Kyle’s eyes and a huge grin blooms on his face. “Two guesses who’s not gonna be the black sheep of the family anymore, and the first one doesn’t count,” he taunts, doing a silly little celebration dance that consists of pumping his fists in the air and shimmying his hips.
The man is not a dancer, that’s for sure, but he’s apparently the black sheep? Kayla didn’t say anything about that when talking about her family. She also didn’t mention that Kyle was a pool guy, though, so I’m sure there’s still lots of important details we don’t know… yet.
“That’s your reaction to my telling you I’ve met someone?” she snaps. “Way to make it about you, asshole.”
Kyle full-blown laughs in the face of her indignation, to the point where he’s bent over, bracing himself on his knees and wheezing. “Kayla, things are never about me. You, on the other hand, are quite often the front and center star of the Harrington family show, and this is definitely gonna sully your Miss Perfect image. To behonest, I’m proud of you. Fuck family and societal expectations,amiright?” He holds up a hand for a high-five.
“God, if you’re giving me a stamp of approval, then I know I’m screwing up,” Kayla grumbles, crossing her arms and rolling her eyes, but there’s the hint of a smile trying to shape her lips. And slowly, she holds her hand up, not going so far as to return his high-five, but rather allowing him to smack her palm, which he does with gusto.
What is happening? Are they shit-talking each other or is this Kyle’s version of acceptance? It seems to be… both? It came surprisingly quicker than I would’ve thought. Especially given the shocking nudity this whole conversation started with.
Kyle looks to Riggs, then me. “The guy part of me wants to high-five you both too because, while I’m not exactly a hockey fan, I have seen you play so I know I’m in the presence of greatness. But the brotherly part of me wants to kick your asses for tag-teaming my sister.”
“You could try,” Riggs offers, so unconcerned with any potential attack that he doesn’t even tense his muscles.
“Who said we tag-team?” I mutter at the same time.
“Kyle!” Kayla scolds. “Maddox!” Somehow, Riggs gets off scot-free on that exchange. Lucky fucker.
Kyle drops his voice, leaning in like we won’t hear him when he asks Kayla, “Doesn’t that thing hurt?” He drops his eyes to Riggs’s crotch for a fraction of a second to clarify what he’s asking about, as if we didn’t all already know.
Straight-faced, she retorts, “Do you really want to know?”
He jerks back, shaking his head and waving his hands back and forth wildly. “Changed my mind. Nope. No, I do not wanna know. Didn’t ask a thing.” But then his eyes get a devious glint in them that I’ve seen before—in hers. “You know who will want to know, though? Samantha.” He nods with certainty, pulling his phone out and starting to click around. “She’s gonna want you to be a guest on her podcast so she can ask you all sorts of intimate questions, like what goes where and when. And Chance’s head is gonna implode. It’s gonna be great.”
“What are you doing?” Kayla demands, smacking his phone down.
