“Are you still gloomy over Gustav?” Wyatt asked, attempting not to soundtoojudgmental.
“No.” Kylie sighed, leaning back on her headboard. “I actually met a guy, Ben, the new owner of the Velvet Keg.”
“Kylie.” This time Wyatt didn’t bother to hide the scolding tone.
“Don’t worry, I’m off the dating scene. We’re just bar buddies,” Kylie said with a sad smile. “I’m bummed because Audrey is moving to Ohio.”
“Oh, that sucks.” Audrey was Kylie’s roommate and best friend. Her mother was their dad’s cousin and her father his closest friend. Audrey and her family lived three houses down from theirs and she and Kylie were inseparable since birth.
“Yeah, well, life in general sucks, so…” Kylie threw her hands up in the air.
Wyatt scootched close and put his arm around Kylie’s shoulders. As much as they got on each other’s nerves, he hated seeing her like this.
“It’s going to be okay, Ky.” He squeezed her, and she nodded before placing her head on his shoulder.
They sat like that for a bit before Kylie sighed and looked up at him. “Let’s go downstairs.”
When they reached the open floor dining and kitchen area, it was as hectic as Wyatt remembered it being, bursting with life and laughter and silly scientific arguments he was pretty sure were unique to his family.
Only today Mia was in the center of it all, setting the table with his siblings as if she’d been doing it for years.
“I really like her,” Kylie said, bumping her shoulder into Wyatt.
“Yeah.” Wyatt smiled, flooded with a sense of joy he never knew existed. “So do I.”
The End