Free Only Tyler by Jess Dee Page B

happen, he said. His chest heaved unevenly beneath his ragged breath. Not yet.
    “Not yet? What what the hell is that supposed to mean?” Her voice was as breathless as his own.
    “We need to talk. You and I. Soon.” He couldn’t keep the truth from her much longer. She needed to know why he left her in the first place, why he hadn’t offered her the explanation she‘d deserved. he’d destroy all three of them if he kept up the pretense. “Soon, my sweet,” he promised. First he needed to ascertain Steve’s feelings for Pen. He needed to make absolutely certain that by claiming Katie he would not destroy his friend’s future happiness. Soon.
    Then he turned around and stumbled out of the kitchen.
    Fuck it. If she could go to her room and close the goddamn door and come out flushed he could too!

SEVEN
    She could do this. She could so do this. She. Could. Do. This. It was just a show and dinner. That was all. It was irrelevant that Steve couldn’t make it.
    She was an adult. A mature, engaged woman, and she could cope with a Saturday evening alone with Tyler.
    True, when Steve was around conversation ran more smoothly.
    True, she felt more comfortable and more confident when he was there. That did not mean she couldn’t spend a few hours alone with an old friend.
    Oh please. Who was she fooling? Certainly not herself. Tyler wasn’t an old friend. He was an old lover she’d never gotten over. An old lover, who, if she didn’t watch herself very, very carefully, was likely to become a new lover.
    No. She already had a lover, and she would not betray him for a man who’d deserted her.
    She walked into the bar where they’d arranged to meet, but when she saw him sitting alone at a table, a drink in his hand, dressed in chinos and a trendy striped shirt and looking completely hot, all her previous determination dissolved. How could she spend an entire evening alone with him without wanting him? Without touching him?
    She cursed the emergency that forced Steve to work on a weekend night. Damn it all, now more than ever she needed him at her side.
    Needed his strength and reassurance.
    Tyler hadn’t spotted her yet, and she took a moment to study him undetected.
    He’d changed in the last two years. Matured. At thirty-two, he was all man, and his very presence commanded attention. Women turned to take a second look, to openly admire him. Men seemed to stand a little straighter when they spoke to him. A young waitress hovered nearby, wiping his spotless table and offering him another drink.
    He smiled distractedly at her, and she increased her efforts to clean his table.
    If she were the waitress she’d also fall over herself to please him.
    If he turned the full wattage of his smile on the girl, she wouldn’t stand a chance.
    He didn’t. His eyes wandered, scanning the room. Looking for something.
    Someone. She should signal to him. Should announce her presence.
    Instead, she stood stock-still, watching, waiting, for the moment he saw her. Her heart beat a little faster, the anticipation of meeting his gaze suddenly unbearable.
    He was beautiful. The way his brown hair curled behind his ear. The way his dark eyes always seemed to see straight through her defenses.
    The way his lips, his full, sensuous lips, moved when he spoke, all combined to make him quite lethal. Yep, one look from him, and she was history.
    His gaze settled on her and his mouth curved into a half smile. A sexy, knowing half smile, that mocked her bravado. He knew her thoughts. Knew she still desired him as much as she had the day they’d met. And the day they’d first made love. And the day they’d said goodbye.
    Tyler didn’t move. He simply sat where he was, watching her. She didn’t move either, couldn’t. If she took a step now, it would be to hurl herself at him.
    To cover his mouth with hers, to drink from his lips and to accept the inevitability of their reunion.
    Had anyone walked across the path of their gazes, they would