Page 139 of The Route to You

She shuddered with pleasure.

“Um . . . it was amazing.”

“That is the absolute worst summary I have ever heard.”

“Cheyenne!”

“It’s fine. I’ll just suffer in silence and pretend everyone else is having as vanilla a love life as I am. At this rate, Bryce is going to be an only child.”

Sloan pulled a bra on. “I’m sure it’s hormonal. And temporary. But anyway , I need to ask you about something else.” She sobered as she remembered the real reason for texting Cheyenne and for why Dad was coming. “My dad is on his way here and I need to figure out what to tell him about Kyle.”

“Well, don’t tell him about the sex with Kyle, that’s for sure,” Cheyenne responded dryly.

Sloan managed a teary-eyed smile. “You’re impossible. Actually, it’s pretty serious. Penny has leukemia. He decided to drop in on me, but I guess he wanted to give me some warning that he was on his way once he landed.”

“Oh my God, I’m so sorry. I wouldn’t have been joking around⁠—”

“No, it’s fine. Honestly, I don’t think it’s even really hit me yet.” Sloan cleared her throat. “If it had, I wouldn’t be able to think about anything else, and I’m not there at the moment. Which I know sounds horrible. But you know how things are with Penny and me.”

“Honey, I don’t think you should feel any guilt about the way you process any of this. You’ve had a dumpster fire of a year, so far. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if your first reaction is numbness.”

“Yeah, but she’s my sister. And it’s not that I don’t care, but . . . she’s known about this for three months, Cheyenne.”

“Oh. Ouch.”

“Yeah, exactly.”

A few beats of silence followed as Sloan wrestled into a dress.

“Do you think maybe she was afraid to tell you? Like she didn’t want to upset you?”

“Maybe, but she still should have told me.”

“I agree. But try not to get mad until you know the full story. Things with family are so freaking complex, you know? And in the meantime, maybe just be honest with your dad about Kyle. You don’t have to tell him you’re sleeping with him, but there’s clearly something going on between you two. Just tell him you’re figuring it out. No point in making it more complicated than it is.”

“I just don’t want him to think I ran from San Francisco to jump into something with Kyle. I want him to see me being independent.”

Cheyenne laughed lightly. “Well, if your dad finds out that you’re the only employed person between you and Kyle, maybe he won’t assume you’re not independent.”

True.

The dogs’ wild barking in the backyard told her that her dad had probably pulled up already. “I gotta go. Thank you for the advice.”

“No thank you , for all the future texts you’re going to send me where you spill all about your little love affair.”

Sloan hung up and grabbed a brush, running it through her hair quickly. She felt more nervous than she probably should—this was Dad after all—but no one really understood just how much she didn’t want her dad seeing her as a needy, weak, screwup.

A tap sounded on the doorframe. Kyle leaned against it, still looking way too impossibly hot for her body not have an immediate visceral reaction to him in shorts and a hoodie. “Your dad is here.”

“Did you let him in?”

“No, he’s still sitting in the car. But I thought you’d want to know.”

She nodded and drew a steadying breath. “Am I a screwup?”

He walked toward her slowly. “You are . . . beautiful. Intelligent. Artistic. A little wild.” He set his hands on her shoulders. “And achingly human. Which means you’re breakable. We all are, though. The only thing that matters is how we choose to define ourselves by the scars we get along the way.”

A smile tipped her lips. “You sound like an inspirational poster.”