Page 103 of The Route to You

At the same time, Sloan said, “No.”

Jeremy let out a quiet huff of laughter.

“Got it,” Anna said, settling back, though her gaze lingered a moment longer than necessary on Kyle. They hadn’t really talked since that party in December, but Jeremy had reminded Kyle on more than one occasion that she was interested.

Jeremy, apparently deciding subtlety was overrated, glanced in the rearview mirror again at Sloan. “So, why’d you guys break up again?”

Kyle turned his head slowly. “Jeremy⁠—”

“What?” Jeremy said. “I’m asking a question.”

“You’re digging a hole,” Kyle said flatly.

“I like holes.”

“That tracks.”

Anna laughed softly under her breath.

In the back seat, Sloan shifted, her eyes narrowing at Jeremy, though. “It just didn’t work out between us. I mean, we were kids.”

Simple enough.

Kyle stared out the windshield. That wasn’t how he would have said it, though. This whole thing with Sloan wasn’t simple. Even so-called “being friends.”

“That’s fair.” Anna nodded. “High school relationships rarely work out.”

Jeremy’s eyes flicked between them again, clearly unsatisfied. “And now you’re living together.”

Jeremy probably thinks I’m a moron. And maybe I am.

“It’s temporary,” Kyle said, sharper than he intended.

“Right,” Jeremy said mildly. “You mentioned.”

Kyle exhaled through his nose and leaned his head back against the seat.

“Don’t be an ass, Jeremy. I think it’s great when people who used to date can get along. You’re just jealous you’re the only one in the car who hasn’t kissed Kyle,” Anna said with a wink, leaning forward and ruffling Jeremy’s hair.

Kyle’s fingers curled into his palms. Maybe this was why he didn’t date. The games were overrated. And he had no doubt Anna hadn’t dropped that little tidbit to just make a joke. She was clearly testing the waters.

To her credit, Sloan laughed, breaking the tension. “You never know about Jeremy. Kyle gets around, apparently.”

“Hilarious,” Kyle said with a roll of his eyes, then reached over and turned the volume up a notch glancing back enough to catch Sloan’s eyes for a second.

She arched her eyebrow and gave a little snarky grin, amused enough that it made his chest loosen a bit.

All right. Good. Progress.

They could coexist in normal social situations, right?

He and Sloan were just friends. Socializing with her in the mix might be uncomfortable right now, but maybe Liddy wasn’t wrong to suggest he break the seal and establish some boundaries. And it couldn’t be any more comfortable for Sloan, who had to realize all of Kyle’s friends and family would have been aggrieved on his behalf because of her.

Yet after the other night’s couch incident, which had come only hours after he’d moved in, taking a step back and having some honest dialogue might be necessary.

Maybe this would turn out better than expected. Maybe he needed to just do what Jeremy had suggested and relax—stop trying to overthink things and let the unplanned route be a starting point to wherever things were heading. Not just tonight, but with Sloan too.

He could almost hear Granny laugh like a little devil on his shoulder, telling him to loosen up already and make the best of it. Actually, Granny would have been laughing her head off at Kyle’s discomfort, same as Jeremy.