The hour passed, and when the time was up, Katie was looking tired. Kyle picked her up. “It’s time for her nap,” he informed Josie, who slowly got to her feet.
She handed him the bucket and shovel. “Thanks, Web. This has been really nice. I appreciate you letting me spend time with her.”
“You’re her mother, Josie. I won’t ever stop you from seeing her, but we have to do this right. For Katie.” Kyle shoved the bucket into the diaper bag and handed it to me as he had done a hundred times before.
“So, I’ll call you, and we can set up another time to visit. Maybe we could do lunch next time. You, me, and Katie,” Josie ventured, and I noticed I most definitely wasn’t included in those future plans. She couldn’t be more obvious if she tried.
“And Whitney, of course,” Kyle added, glancing at me.
“Oh, right. And Whitney. I just thought since I’m Katie’s mom and you’re her dad, it might be nice to have some family time—”
“Whitney is part of this family. She’s Katie’s stepmom. She’ll be there,” Kyle cut her off.
Josie’s cheeks flushed red, though I wasn’t sure if it was with embarrassment or annoyance. “Okay, well, we’ll speak soon. Bye, Katie,” she said, touching her daughter’s arm.
Katie was too tired to protest, and she actually lifted her hand in an exhausted little wave.
Josie smiled and then turned it up a notch when she looked at Kyle. “Take good care of our girl.”
“I have been for the past two years,” he countered, not smiling in return. He took my hand. “Come on, babe, let’s go home.” There it was again. That pointed remark meant to wound Josie. I didn’t like it.
“Bye, Josie. Nice seeing you again,” I said politely as Kyle started to pull us away.
“Bye,” Josie responded. And as we walked to the car, I turned to find her still standing there, watching us leave.
**
Kyle tucked Katie into her bed and closed the door. “Come on,” he said, playfully pushing me down the hall to what was now our bedroom.
He closed the door quietly once we were inside and then advanced toward me like a lion hunting prey. “I want you naked. Now,” he growled, pulling on my shirt.
“Hang on a second. I think we need to talk about today.” I pressed my palm into his chest, trying to ward him off, which was hard because I was practically panting for him. My attraction for this man was off the charts. I understood why Josie had such a hard time letting him go. He would be impossible to get over. If it ever came to that.
Kyle pulled me closer, nuzzling the side of my neck. “There’s nothing to talk about.”
“You don’t want to process Katie seeing her mother for the first time since she was an infant? Or that weird energy between the two of you?”
Kyle lifted his head and frowned. “Weird energy? What do you mean?”
I sighed, moving away from him slightly. “I get that you’re angry at her for what she’s done to both you and Katie—”
“It’s not about me, Whit, it’s how she left our daughter,” he argued.
“Right. I understand. But you used me to make some sort of point to her, and I didn’t like it. Not one bit,” I told him, crossing my arms over my chest.
Kyle looked confused. “I wasn’t trying to make a point.”
I cocked my head to the side. “Oh, really? Then what was with the territorial touching and PDA? She knows we’re married, no need to rub her nose in it. That’s cruel. Particularly since it’s pretty damn obvious she’s still in love with you.”
Kyle covered his face with his hands and let out a groan before dropping them. “Okay, yeah, I wanted her to know there was no chance in hell that her being here meant she and I were going to start playing family. She’s always had this deluded fantasy that because we share a child, that meant I loved her the way she loved me. And maybe I was trying to make it clear that would never happen.” His face softened as he moved close to me again. “I wasn’t using you or rubbing it in her face. But I wanted her to see how happy we are together. That this is my family. You, me, and Katie.” He gently kissed me. “You’re all I want, Whit. And yes, I wanted Josie to know that. Better than be disappointed later.”
Well, when he put it like that …
“I think you need to be nicer to her. It could backfire if she decides to play nasty,” I warned him, but he was kissing my neck again, and I was losing all sense of what we were talking about.
He unzipped my shorts and maneuvered his hand down the front, finding me hot and wet for him already. “I think it’s time you and I get nasty.” He grinned as he pushed his fingers inside me. I gasped and then moaned when his thumb found my clit.