Page 93 of The Route to You

“Done.”

She shot him a look as they reached the truck. “Is there someone else I should know about?”

His brows furrowed. “No . . .”

“Oh, okay. You just said that so quickly that I thought maybe you’d started dating someone and hadn’t told me.”

Kyle slid the box into the bed. “Nope, I just agree with you. And I’m actually going out with Jeremy and some people on Sunday.” He wiped his brow with his forearm and hopped onto the gate. “You don’t have to worry. I’m not going to date Sloan, Liddy.”

“See? You say one thing that sounds sensible, and then you directly contradict it with a ridiculous one.” She set the box down and set her hands over it. “You don’t know that you’re not going to date Sloan. You obviously care about her on some level.”

“Not the level that makes me want to get my heart stomped on.”

“Yeah, but—” Liddy pressed her lips together, clearly thinking better of whatever she was going to say. She studied him. “So . . . who’s going to be there Sunday? Maybe I’ll tag along since I have to fly back to London the day after that.”

“Not sure who’ll turn up. But yeah, you’re welcome to come.”

“Didn’t you hook up with one of Jeremy’s friends at the party over Christmas? Bet you she’ll be there if she knows you’re going.”

“Anna?” Kyle squinted at Liddy. Yeah. His high school best friend had been hounding him for months about that, now that Kyle was living in Nashville more permanently. Fuck, he hadn’t really considered that when he’d agreed to hang out tomorrow. “Hooked up with is an exaggeration. More like she shoved her tongue down my throat when we were both drinking. I’m not really sure she’s my type.”

“Don’t you think the best way to find that out is by taking her out? You said you had fun at that party.”

That party was only eight months ago, but it felt like a lifetime. Fuck, half the reason he’d been drinking that night at Jeremy’s was to drown his sorrows about Granny.

He shot her a wary look. “This is still about me not dating Sloan and you know it.”

“I’m just saying, the best way to prove to Sloan—and everyone else—that you’re not jumping into something recklessly with her is to have your actions match your words. You say you’re not going to date her, that things are platonic . . . so what’s the harm in dating someone else?”

Because Sloan might get hurt.

The response surfaced before he could think about answering.

Yet . . . wasn’t that why Liddy was carrying on?

Fuck.

He scowled. “I don’t think dating Anna to prove a point to Sloan is fair to Anna, either.”

“I didn’t say it had to be her,” Liddy said quickly. “I don’t really care who you go out with. I’m just trying to help. But you even used to say you weren’t dating much because of your filming schedule. So . . . what’s stopping you now?” She pushed a dark strand of hair behind her ear. “Can I suggest one more rule?”

“What’s that?” Kyle asked, flicking his gaze at the door as though Mom was going to appear at any minute. If he knew Mom, she was probably watching out the front window, hidden somewhere out of view.

“Take the opportunity to bring Sloan around everyone in the family, in a neutral setting. Reintroduce her. That will do a lot to cool people’s tempers about January’s disaster. Remember, we all loved her a lot when you guys dated⁠—”

“And then not so much after she dumped me.”

“It’s in the sister job contract to say the person who broke your little brother’s heart sucks.” She gave him a pointed look. “But maybe we keep that one between us. Sloan would probably get it if you told her, but some truths don’t need sharing.”

“Now you sound like Granny.” He almost winced as he said it. Like the truth he hadn’t shared about never spreading Granny’s ashes.

He’d been devastated when he’d realized her ashes had been in the Jeep in Jackson Hole when he was arrested. It had gutted him and made physical rehab even harder at times. So, in some senses, the fact that Sloan brought them with her did a lot to help soften his anger toward her. She’d known how important Kyle’s quest to say farewell to Granny somewhere beautiful had been to him.

She knows some of the fundamental things about me that truly matter.

He kept his face blank and gripped the edge of the gate. “All right, fine. I accept your advice. Thank you for not giving me hell and for flying all the way, from London, to be here with me. I’ve decided I’ll allow you to help me move my crap.”

“I don’t recall offering,” Liddy said with a laugh. “But that sounds good. So long as we go somewhere with decent fried chicken, coleslaw, and sweet tea first. And I don’t mean KFC.”