by Parker, Ali
“Maybe, but that is a lot easier said than done.”
“I know. You’re right, but I want you to be happy.”
I smiled. “I am. I will be. I am just doing my part to protect Benjamin’s business. I won’t let it fall into the wrong hands. If Tyson doesn’t sign, I’m okay with that. We go on with our lives and do our own thing.”
“You’ll end things with him if he doesn’t hand over his business?” she asked. The way she asked told me she was not happy with the idea.
“There is nothing to end because nothing started. We are old lovers that got together again for a brief time. It happens. We’ll go back to our regularly scheduled lives.”
“You are such a liar.” She laughed. “You keep trying to tell yourself that. He has your heart and you know it.”
“Maybe, but there is nothing to be done about it. I’m not giving up the museum.”
“Don’t give up on him,” she whispered. “When you have the one within reach, don’t give up. Time is precious. You don’t want to wake up one day and regret the choices you have made that kept you apart from the one person on this earth you are supposed to be with.”
She was in a melancholy mood. It happened from time to time. “I get it,” I said. I wasn’t sure I did get it because I wasn’t sure he was the one. Yes, I was. I knew he was. I was just too damn stubborn to admit it.
“I should probably get going,” she said, checking the time. “I don’t want to be late picking Ben up.”
“I am glad you are giving yourself a break,” I told her. “I bet he is thrilled to get a chance to play with his buddy as well.”
She laughed. “I never thought I was the playdate kind of mom, but here I am, sending my kid off for a playdate.”
“It’s a good thing. It will ease you into the kindergarten thing.”
She groaned. “Do not remind me. I am pretending that is years away.”
“It could be a little awkward for your thirteen-year-old to show up for his first day of kindergarten with his mommy behind him.” Her sweet laughter made me smile. I was glad she was feeling a little better. “I’ll see you later.”
“Be nice to Tyson,” she ordered.
“I’m always very nice to Tyson,” I said with a coy grin. “Just ask him how nice I am.”
“Naughty girl.” She laughed as she walked away.
I got in my car and headed for the museum. I knew my proposal was ridiculous. I knew it but I felt like I was in too deep to pull back now. It felt like I would be showing weakness. I didn’t want him to pounce and try again.
I parked in the back but walked around to go in through the front. It was something I did on occasion. I wanted to see what a visitor saw. I liked to check and make sure there wasn’t any trash or something that made the museum look bad.
I noticed a black car parked along the curb and paused. It seemed a little out of place. It took my brain half a second to realize who it was. When the door opened and the familiar black half boot stepped out, I knew who it was. I waited, unable to move from where I stood. This was the moment he was going to tell me his decision about my proposal. I wanted to tell him to forget I ever made it. I couldn’t. I was in too deep.
“Hi,” he greeted with a friendly smile.
“Hi, yourself. What brings you by?”
He shrugged. “Just thought I would say good morning.”
“Bullshit,” I teased. “Are you here to see what forty-nine percent of this place really looks like?”
“I’ve seen all you have to offer,” he answered as his eyes roamed over my body.
I liked the teasing. I only wished it weren’t so damn serious. I enjoyed being friendly with him and having fun. “I suppose that’s true.”
“I talked with Patrick earlier,” he said.
“Oh?” I asked, folding my arms over my chest. That generally did not bode well for me. “What did my dear big brother have to say?”
“Not a lot. He’s worried about you.”
“Why? What did I do now? Did you tell him about our little situation?”
He raised an eyebrow. “I’m not sure which situation you are referring to, but I would hope you were not referring to anything specifically as being little.”
Oh, the man had a way of making me blush. “I meant the contract. I know you are smart enough not to tell him about our other situation.”
His silly grin reminded me of the boy I knew so long ago. “Oh. No. Neither of those things.”
“Then why is he worried?”
“He is a little worried about a guy that he thinks might take advantage of you.”
I smirked. “He didn’t realize he was talking to the one guy that could.”
“Hey, I would never take advantage of you,” he said, feigning insult. “Not unless you asked really nice.”
“Ha. Ha.”
“You know your brother. He is always looking out for you. I’m surprised he didn’t send you to a nunnery when you turned thirteen.”
I rolled my eyes. “Trust me. If he could have gotten away with it, he would have. Who is this guy he is worked up about now? I hope he knows he can’t go around scaring off every man I have a conversation with.”
“Some guy named Benjamin,” he said.
I couldn’t stop the smile. “My brother is worried about Benjamin?”
“Yes.”
I looked at him and noticed he was empty-handed and wasn’t there to give me the contract, signed or torn in shreds. “Tyson, why are you really here?”
“I wanted to check in on you, say hi, make sure everything was okay.”
“I saw you last night. Didn’t I appear to be fine?”
“Yes, but I wasn’t aware there was someone bothering you.”
“Bothering me?” I repeated with a laugh. “Really? Are you here to be my knight in shining armor?”
“No, but I wanted to make sure everything was okay. If some dude is giving you unwanted attention, I would be happy to let him know he needs to back off. I’m kind of a big guy and can very easily intimidate someone.”
He was jealous. It was cute. A little annoying but cute in a strange way. “I’m fine,” I told him. “Are you sure you aren’t jealous and here to check out the competition?”
He scowled. “I am not.”
“I think you are.”
“I am only concerned for your welfare.”
I smiled. “My welfare is perfectly fine.”
My phone chimed, alerting me to a text. I pulled it from my purse and checked the text. I groaned, shaking my head.
“What’s wrong?” Tyson asked.
“Hayden wants to go to the movies with her boyfriend. I guess that means she said yes.”
“Is that a bad thing?” he questioned.
“She’s thirteen. I’m not sure I should send her off with a boyfriend to a dark movie theater. I have no idea how to do this.”
“You could offer to take her and then sneak in and sit close in the dark and keep an eye on things,” he suggested.
I burst into laughter. “Oh my god. I knew it!”
“You knew what?”
“You and Patrick used to do that to me! I always wondered how you guys got to the theater to pick me up so quickly.”
His grin told me I was right. “I cannot confirm or deny that accusation.”
“Bullshit, but you have given me an idea,” I said with a smile.
“What would that be?”
“What are you doing tomorrow night?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. Nothing.”
“Do you feel like playing chaperone with me?”
“The movies? With you and Hayden?”
I nodded. “And Jared.”
His bright grin was the answer I needed. “Sure. That could be interesting.”
“Good. We’ll put that size of yours to use. You can scare the living daylights out of Jared.”
“Should I wear a muscle shirt and grunt a lot?”
I thought about it. �
��Maybe not a muscle shirt but how about a tight shirt that shows off those muscles.”
The heated look in his eyes sent a shiver down my spine. Damn if he wasn’t perfectly sexy. “I’ll text Hayden and let her know. Thank you.”
“It will be my pleasure. Trust me. I am really looking forward to it.”
“How about I pick you up?” I said.
“You want to pick me up?” he asked as if that was completely crazy.
“Yes. Maybe I will pick up Jared as well. We can make it a double date.”
He grinned. “Works for me. I suppose we will be stuck watching some cartoon or something?”
“She’s thirteen, not three. I think maybe something a little more age appropriate. We’ll surprise you.”
“You usually do,” he commented. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I watched him walk away, taking full advantage of the view. I would never grow tired of looking at the man.
And that was the problem. After fifteen years, I still wanted to look at him.
Would it ever go away?
Chapter 54
Tyson
I was a traditionalist. Not a staunch follower, but it felt strange to be getting ready for a date with her picking me up. I understood her reasons for doing so. It gave her total freedom to leave my ass where she saw fit if I pissed her off. I was good with that. I didn’t plan on pissing her off in any way.
I checked my image in the mirror. It wasn’t a tight T-shirt, but it was a somewhat snug short-sleeved button up. It showed my tats, which I hoped added to my scary appearance.
I knew how much Mae cared for Hayden. I felt like the girl was my own younger sister and I was going to do my best to look out for her as well. God knew the girl got a shitty deal in the parent department. Lucky for her, she had plenty of people willing to step up for her.
I heard a honking horn and shook my head. My ride had arrived. I wasn’t expecting a bouquet of flowers, but a knock on the door would have been nice. I stuffed my phone in the back pocket of my jeans and headed out the door. I assumed I got to ride shotgun with Hayden already in the backseat.
“Hi,” I greeted as I slid into the front passenger seat.
“Tyson, meet Hayden, again,” Mae introduced.
I turned to look in the back seat, my gaze focusing on Hayden first. “Hi. I have heard a lot about you. It’s nice to meet you without a hundred other people around.”
“Hi,” she said, a pretty blush on her cheeks.
“Everyone ready?” Mae asked.
“I’m ready,” I told her with a smile. “I’ll buy the popcorn since you’re driving.”
“You’re on. I eat a lot of popcorn.”
“Then I will buy a lot of popcorn,” I said.
She rolled her eyes. “Of course, you will.”
I ignored her attempt to insult me and my wealth. “How do you like school?” I asked Hayden, hoping to get to know the girl a little better. Yes, I was that sneaky. I wanted to be friends with the girl in the hopes it would persuade Mae to want me. If I was friends with her sister, I would have at least one ally in the family. I hoped.
“I like it,” she answered with almost zero inflection in her voice.
“Hayden is mad at me,” Mae announced.
“Oh? Why?”
“Because she’s embarrassed,” Mae said.
“You could have just dropped me off at the theater,” Hayden mumbled.
“No, I couldn’t,” Mae answered calmly. “That would defeat the purpose of me and Tyson tagging along.”
“I’m not going to do anything,” Hayden protested. “You act like I’m going to run away with him.”
“No, but how silly would it be for me to take you to the theater and then go get Tyson and then go back to the theater?”
“I could have met you there,” I offered.
Mae’s quick scowl told me that was the wrong answer. “Then we would have had to shout your name in an attempt to find you.”
“No!” Hayden nearly shouted.
“I am looking forward to meeting the boy,” I told her.
“You already met him,” she insisted.
“I saw him, but I didn’t get to meet him,” I replied.
“You guys, please don’t embarrass me,” Hayden begged.
I turned to look at Mae. She had a silly grin on her face. “I won’t embarrass you,” I assured Hayden. “However, I can’t say the same for your sister. She might embarrass you.”
“Hey,” Mae protested.
“I’m cool. I would never embarrass anyone.”
“Oh my god, you are such a liar. I cannot count the number of times you embarrassed me.”
“That was Patrick, not me.”
She made a choking sound. “You are such a liar! You guys made my life hell.”
“We wanted to make sure there was no funny business,” I told her. “Hayden, you should know, boys will take advantage of the dark.”
“Yes, they do,” Mae agreed. “Keep your popcorn in your lap and your hands either in the popcorn or folded together.”
“Stop,” she groaned.
“She’s right,” I said, backing her up. “Boys are vile little creatures.”
“You were a boy,” Hayden retorted.
“Which is why I know these things,” I told her.
“Exactly!” Mae agreed.
Poor Hayden looked like she wanted to crawl into the trunk via the backseat.
Mae pulled into the parking lot of the theater, slowly maneuvering through the crowded area as she looked for a place to park.
“I’ll get out here!” Hayden said and opened the door.
“Wait!” Mae hollered.
It was too late. Hayden was doing the embarrassed teenage version of the tuck and roll. Both Mae and I watched with a combination of shock and pride. She was agile.
“Wow,” I said as I watched Hayden rush toward the entrance.
“No kidding. I should talk to her about going out for track.”
I burst into laughter. She continued on her quest to find the perfect parking place. By the time we made our way to the ticket counter, Hayden had already found Jared. Mae walked up to her sister and scowled. “You could have waited for us.”
“I wanted to get a place in line,” Hayden replied.
“We’re not invalids,” Mae retorted. “We could have easily kept up.”
I causally stepped forward, insinuating myself between Hayden and Jared. The boy looked terrified. I gave him a hard look. He stepped back. I turned my attention to the screen displaying the movies playing and the times. There was a very awkward silence between the four of us. It made me want to laugh.
We bought our tickets and loaded up on popcorn, soda, and a variety of candy that I insisted on buying before we made our way into the dark theater. Mae stuck to Hayden’s heels like glue. I gently grabbed her hand, pulling her away. “She doesn’t want to sit with you,” I whispered.
She sighed. “Fine, but we are sitting within view.”
“I’m the expert in this,” I said with a small laugh. “Follow me.”
“I knew it,” she hissed.
I casually waited for Jared and Hayden to find their seats and sat off to the side, three rows behind them without them even knowing we were there. I settled in next to Mae and was taken back to a time that was so different and yet so much the same. Mae had an eagle eye on Hayden. I reached over to grab her hand. “She’s okay.”
“I know but I want to make sure I know what their silhouettes look like. When the lights go out, it is going to be difficult to see them.”
“You don’t have to watch them like hawks,” I told her. “It isn’t like he is going to strip her naked and try something funny right here.”
She slapped my arm. “Don’t say that!”
“You are acting like she isn’t smart enough to know better. She is a smart girl. She knows better.”
“I know, but he doesn’t.”
She had a point. I would als
o keep an eagle eye on the young buck sitting very close to the youngest Kendell. “Remember when we had our first date?” I whispered.
She turned to me and smiled. “It was to see Star Wars, wasn’t it?”
“You remember,” I said, knowing damn well she would remember.
“Of course. I got here like fifteen minutes early and huddled near the door waiting for you to get there. I was so afraid you were going to bring Patrick.”
“Why would I bring him?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. I was freaking out. Then you finally showed up, and it was pretty awesome.”
I let myself take a trip down memory lane. I remembered holding her hand and putting our heads together to talk about a specific part of the movie. It was a difficult time but a good time. We wanted to be together but had to sneak around in order to see each other. A dark theater turned out to be a very good place to meet.
“Then we started meeting at the discount theater,” I said with a small laugh.
She groaned. “That place was awful.”
“But it was a good cover. I remember I slipped once and told Patrick I had watched some stupid movie. He told me you watched it recently as well. I was so afraid he was going to figure it out.”
“I messed up a few times as well,” she whispered as she leaned closer to me.
The lights fell, indicating the movie was starting. It wasn’t a movie I was particularly interested in watching. I was there for the company. And the reminiscing. “We were playing with fire back then.”
“And now?”
“And now we are grown adults. We have our own homes, careers, and lives. I don’t know why we are still sneaking around.”
She slowly shook her head. “I don’t know why either.”
We both fell silent, lost in thought as we stared at the screen advertising Coke and popcorn. I wanted to know what it was like to take her to the movies whenever we felt like it. I wanted to show up at her house and have a sleepover, uncaring who knew. I wanted normal. Again, every time I thought about normal with her, Patrick’s big-ass head popped into my vision. Why in the hell was I letting the guy stand in my way?
Because I was a chickenshit. I wasn’t really afraid of Patrick. I was afraid of getting too involved. Patrick was my excuse. It was easy to hide behind his disapproval of a relationship with Mae.