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Kieran was the one to break the silence first. “Ready?” His tone was cautious and he glanced at me, biting his bottom lip, eyebrows raised.

“Let’s go. I’m starving.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

I woke late the next morning to the sounds of something heavy being dragged across the floors. Lena usually went to work early, so I knew it couldn’t be her making all that noise. I hoped the chaos would stop if I covered my head with a pillow for long enough, but I had no such luck.

After a few long moments of begging the universe to make it stop, I sighed, tossed my pillow away, and got out of bed. I pulled on a pair of black athletic pants and opened my bedroom door. Before stepping into the hall, I ran my fingers through my hair and took a deep breath.

When I reached the living room, I was very much not surprised to see Kieran rearranging the furniture. I was confused as to why he was doing it, though.

As he bent over to shove the couch to a new location, I got distracted by his tight, round ass tucked into fitted jeans that hugged his ass and thighs. Stop that, I chastised myself. Don’t even think about it. I waited until there was a pause in the noise to speak. “Good morning.”

He startled and straightened up, spinning to face me. “Oh, hi. I…” He gestured to the relocated furniture. “I thought I’d surprise Lena. Well, both of you, I guess.”

“Color me surprised,” I said evenly. After the car trip, we’d reached a tenuous peace, but I was back to being exceedingly annoyed.

His smile was sheepish, his brows pulled together. “I got some paint chips from the hardware store, too. Went early this morning, after Lena left. I was thinking I’d offer to repaint in here. Maybe the kitchen too.”

“And you haven’t talked to her about it?” That definitely came out sounding as annoyed as I felt.

He shook his head. “I’m sorry. I guess I should’ve asked first. I just thought… I don’t know, that it might be a nice surprise. She’s always saying how disorganized she feels at home and how busy she is, and it occurred to me that I might be able to… help.”

I hummed and nodded slowly. “Thanks for your help.” I turned and went into the kitchen to make myself some coffee, and he followed.

“I’m really sorry. I shouldn’t have done anything without talking to you both. I just get carried away with my projects sometimes and forget about the outside world.”

“And the people you’re impacting, apparently.” I knew it was a low blow. I knew it was shitty. And I still couldn’t stop the words from coming out of my mouth.

He flinched and took a step back. “I’m really sorry.”

I shook my head and waved away his apology with one hand. “I’m sure it’s fine. Just don’t go making any permanent changes without Lena’s approval. This is her house, after all.”

“Yeah, of course not.”

I nodded wordlessly. Good. After a beat, I went about making my coffee, and when the coffee began to stream out into the pot, I glanced at Kieran again. “Want a cup?” Can we get back to the truce we had last night?

He shook his head. “I’m good, but thank you.” He didn’t leave the kitchen, though. Instead, he stood and watched me make my cup with a tiny bit of sugar and a splash of milk, nothing fancy.

When I finished doctoring my coffee and took a satisfied sip, I turned to him, eyebrows raised. I was about to offer to make him a cup again when he opened his mouth to speak.

“You were married?” he blurted.

I narrowed my eyes, instantly on guard. “Yeah. Why?”

“For how long? Do you still talk to them?”

“Just curious or writing a book?” There was nothing I hated more than talking about Eva, especially to strangers. That part of my life was in the past. I didn’t need to rehash it with someone I barely knew but had to tolerate living with for the next eight weeks.

His face colored a deep red. “Sorry. Sometimes I just say things without thinking.”

I didn’t point out that he seemed like he’d been thinking pretty hard before he said something. It didn’t seem like calling him out would be productive. And did I really want to get into the ins and outs of my divorce with him? Absolutely not. “I don’t like talking about my personal life very much,” I said finally.

He nodded, still looking embarrassed. “Understood. I’m sorry.”

I gave him a tight smile and a quick nod before heading back into my room without another word.

Chapter Five