Page 64 of Kyle

There was still one unaccounted for bedroom upstairs and an in-law suite in the basement.

“We’re taking the basement,” Kyle announced. “Dec can take the room upstairs.”

“Figured that’d be the case.” Max chuckled. “You want a beer, Anaya? Or a glass of wine?”

Something had changed in Max over the last ten hours. I wouldn’t go so far as to call him friendly, but his attitude had softened.

I was dog-assed tired but didn’t want him to think I was rude, even if I shouldn’t have cared after the way he’d treated me. But it wasn’t in me to hold a grudge. They took too much energy and effort.

“A beer would be great,” I answered.

“Kyle?” Max called on his way to the kitchen.

“I’ll take one, too.”

Kyle led us to the couch and gestured for me to sit. Max came back in and handed us our beers and took a comfortable-looking lazy boy. He pushed out the footrest and laid back in the overstuffed chair and let out a grunt.

“Wild night, huh?”

“Always is when Tom comes to visit,” Kyle returned.

“I cannot believe you all call the president by his first name. Wait, rewind, I cannot believe I was in the same room as the president,” I gawked. “That was insane. And I already thought the whole day had been crazy with two babies being born.”

“We don’t call him that when we’re in public, but when we’re alone, he insists,” Max started. “And believe me, it took a while for all of us to get used to it. But when you slip and call him President Anderson, he threatens bodily harm. The man may look like a polished politician but make no mistake—the man is deadly.”

“That’s hard to believe after I saw the man making baby talk at Ivy and Zane’s son. And he sang to Jax and Violet’s son.”

“Declan looked…” Kyle faded.

“Emotional?” Max supplied.

“Yeah. That’s the word, though I never thought I’d call Dec emotional.”

I found that to be an interesting statement. I’d seen Declan lash out due to extreme emotion. He’d done it to me, twice. I wondered if they didn’t consider anger an emotion.

“I think it’s sweet that both babies have their uncles’ names.”

“I think Dec was surprised Vi and Jax would give Mason Declan as a middle name,” Kyle commented.

“Why? Declan’s Violet’s brother.”

“You’ve known him a short time. He told you about how he grew up, the two of them being separated. Does he seem like the type of man who forms close bonds?” Kyle asked.

I thought about his question and found it odd. “Well, yeah. He seems close to you and the rest of the guys.”

“Not even close. He would give his life for any of us. He jokes with us. He sticks his nose in everyone’s business but he is a vault. No one gets close to Declan. What you see is surface. Everything else is off-limits.”

“But I’m a stranger and he opened up to me,” I argued.

“Only because he was a dick and needed to apologize. The only way to do that was to give you a piece of his childhood. But, sweetheart, it was a sliver, not even a slice.”

That made me sad. But the more I thought on how much I hated that for Declan, the more I could identify with him. I’d done the same. I wasn’t close to anyone. Not really. Even with Kalee and Evie I only gave them what I could handle, which wasn’t much.

I took a sip of my beer and settled into the couch.

“What’s going on in your head?” Max asked.

“I’m wondering if people like us—me and Declan—if we’re destined to be alone.”