“I like it.”
“Thanks.”
“Do you go to work now?” he asked.
“No.” She could see the relief on his face, but there was no point in keeping the truth from him. “But I do work tomorrow and Sunday. Serving.”
He considered her for a long moment, his lips pursing. Finally, he nodded and began to pull the door closed.
“Tyler, wait.” Lia took three steps over to him, leaned in and placed her lips on his jaw. It was firm and warm, and when she pulled away, his shocked eyes bored right into hers. “Thank you for doing this. For Caleb.”
He lifted his hand and let the back of his fingers slide down her cheek. “You’re welcome.”
And then he left. The only two males she’d ever cared for . . . gone.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
By some miracle, Tyler had scored a non-stop flight from Manhattan, Kansas, to LAX. Usually when he flew home he had a layover in Oregon, which was annoying as hell. But this worked out perfect because they’d avoided Friday rush hour traffic and were now heading to Pasadena on the 110 through downtown Los Angeles.
He could tell Caleb was enjoying himself, especially since they’d already picked up two Double-Doubles, Animal Style. He pointed out as many things as he could, considering they were driving in the dark.
“That building is the US Bank Tower,” he said, pointing. “And that one is the Wilshire Grand. It’s new.”
“This is the biggest city I’ve ever been to. Actually, I haven’t been very many places.”
Tyler had been all over the world, between deployments and fighting matches. He didn’t travel much anymore for a variety of reasons, the first being that he worked too much. The second being . . . he didn’t have anyone to go with.
When they pulled into his mother’s driveway forty-five minutes later, she ran out the front door, arms wide open. “It’s about time.”
He wrapped her in his arms and squeezed. She smelled like the amber oil she’d worn his entire life, which had the effect it always did. His muscles instinctively relaxed.
“Sorry it’s so late. We’ve already eaten.”
“You know better. But I forgive you.” She reached up and kissed him on the cheek before turning to Caleb. “Who is this handsome young man?”
“This is Caleb.”
She grabbed the kid’s face, squeezed it, and then gave him a hug too. Tyler laughed as Caleb stared at him over her shoulder.
“Come inside.” She let go of Caleb as fast as she’d grabbed him. “I made your favorite cookies.”
Caleb grinned at him and Tyler cuffed him on the back of the head. “Be quiet and get your bag.”
They followed his mother into the house, and she made quick work of showing Caleb where he could put his things and where he would sleep, and then presented them with a plate of cookies.
“These are really good, Mrs. Cavallo,” Caleb said after his first bite.
She waved a hand at him. “Call me Karen.”
Tyler watched Karen as Caleb inhaled three more cookies. He could tell by the joy on her face that having a young man in her home to enjoy the fruits of her labor had made her day. She’d been disappointed to hear about Lia not coming, but also excited about her brother.
“Does your sister like to cook?” she asked. Tyler gave her a warning glance, knowing that she was fishing for information.
“Sometimes. She makes really good biscuits and gravy.”
That was news to Tyler. Not really a surprise, though, since he hadn’t even known Lia for all that long. But this was the kind of thing he wanted to discover about her. Ordinary, everyday things. He still wanted it, which made him feel pathetic.
“Gravy is tricky to master, so she must have some skill.”
“Yeah. She just works a ton. We don’t get to see each other a lot.” Caleb’s words were matter-of-fact, but Tyler sensed an uneasiness about him when he discussed Lia working. Did he know where she worked? Considering she wore a disguise and hadn’t wanted Tyler to know, he figured that was a negative. He hoped so anyway. No guy wanted to imagine his sister in any sexual-related situation.
Shit, Tyler didn’t want to imagine her in any sexual-related situation—except with him. And he imagined that one a lot. Still did, every day.
Later that evening, Caleb headed to the guest room to call Lia. Tyler joined his mom in the living room. She’d made a bed for him on the couch.
“So. Tell me what happened.”
Tyler laid his head back on the cushion and sighed. “I’d rather not.”
“You brought her brother.”
He lifted his head and looked at her. “And your point is?”
“Well . . . the ties are not severed.”
“Caleb comes to the gym. I’m training him.”
His mother raised an eyebrow. “Can I expect to see all the other young men in your classes on your visits?”
“Of course not. I’ve connected with this kid. I get him. He reminds me . . .”
He was silent for a moment. Blowing out a hard breath, he looked at the ceiling.
“He reminds me of him, too.” She finished for him. “Even the way he sat there and devoured those cookies. Just something about him.”
Tyler nodded slowly. “Anyway, Lia and I are done. I guess you might say we had some differences we couldn’t overcome.”
“Couldn’t, or wouldn’t?”
Tyler sighed. “Both, maybe? We’re both strong-willed, so that’s our first problem. And . . . well, she’s had a difficult life, Mom.”
“Haven’t we all?”
“True. But we had one another. Lia’s really had nobody. Caleb of course, but he’s a kid. It’s affected us getting to know each other because her fear of trust has made her keep me at arm’s length.” He looked into his mother’s eyes, silently begging her to understand without him spelling it out.
“What were her parents like?”
Tyler glanced down the hall to make sure the bedroom door was still shut. “I think they were a mess.”
“Have you tried to talk about it?”
“Of course, I have. I think she would like to just pretend it didn’t happen and move forward.”
“I’m sure that has been a reliable defense mechanism for her.”
“Yeah well, I’m not okay with that. I want it all out there. All the ugly truths. There’s no other way.”
She smiled at him. “You’re special, Tyler.”
He chuckled, surprised by her words. He ran a hand down his face. “Why is that?”
“Too many men want the easy road. They want a woman to just . . . be there for them. Keep their problems to themselves and be happy all the time. Doesn’t work like that. You make a woman keep her problems inside, she will wither and die.”
“That’s dramatic, Mom.”
“You know what I mean. If Lia has known abuse, and it sounds like maybe she has, it might be hard for her to believe that she deserves love.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“Maybe so, but I know it to be true.”
He hated to think his mother might feel that way. Or had at one time. Tyler’s father hadn’t hit her, as far as he knew, but his methods had done enough damage. His words and anger alone had ripped into Tyler’s soul many times. Hearing the man yell at his mother and eventually his brother, whom he’d seen as weak, had just about destroyed Tyler. He couldn’t imagine being his wife and experiencing that pain.
“Wanting something badly isn’t always enough. Your mind, and your damaged soul, those are very powerful. They sway you. Tell you lies.”
Tyler tried to understand what she was saying. “I think she trusts me . . . she’s just afraid to commit to it.”
“Is that what you want? A commitment? If so you need to make that clear. If she’s worried about guarding her heart, then don’t make her read between the lines. Tell her you love her and you want forever.”
Tyler’s head jerked back in surprise. “Jesus, Mom.”
<
br /> “Tyler James Cavallo.” She rushed through the sign of the cross in reparation of his slip of the tongue.
“Sorry, Mom. But talking about marriage . . . you’re getting a little ahead of yourself.”
She shrugged. “If you say so. Or feel free to keep doing things your way since they’re working so well.”
* * *
The following night, Tyler and Caleb drove back to Pasadena from Ventura. It was a decent stretch down the 101, and Tyler was exhausted. They’d been at the convention center all day. He met with promoters, did some photo-ops, signed a lot of autographs, and then judged three fights.
Several people tried to talk him into promoting some fights in Kansas City, but he wasn’t really feeling that idea. He liked to train guys to fight, and occasionally doing this kind of gig was fun, but he no longer wanted to be in the business in any consistent way.
Caleb had loved it, though, and Tyler was glad he’d taken him. They’d discussed the day’s events, talked about the training Caleb wanted to start next, and even Tyler’s past fights. He tried not to make it sound too exciting for fear that if Caleb started getting ideas, Lia would kill him.
“You been in touch with your sister yet today?” Tyler asked.
“Yeah, earlier.” Caleb looked out the window. “She’s working now. Won’t be home till morning.”
There was no mistaking the change in the kid’s mood at the topic. “She’s got a lot on her shoulders these days,” Tyler said.
“Yeah. I guess.” Caleb’s voice had gone a little icy.
“Everything okay, man?”
Caleb looked at him, but Tyler had turned his eyes back to the freeway.
“I really wanted you and Lia to work out.”
Tyler risked a glance at the kid. “Yeah? Me too. Sometimes things aren’t meant to be, I guess.” The words felt like ash in his mouth.
“She doesn’t say much about you anymore, but I know she likes you,” Caleb said. Before Tyler could ask him exactly what he’d meant by that, he spoke again. “Did you break up with her because of her job?”
Tyler’s muscles flexed in his arms as he gripped the steering wheel. “At the coffee shop?” he asked, knowing full well that was not what Caleb meant.
“No. The other one.”
Tyler cleared his throat. Lying to her brother was going to suck, but how else could he answer? “Of course not.”
“Did she tell you? Where she works?”
Oh shit. “Uh . . . yeah. Sort of.”
“I’m surprised. She doesn’t tell anyone.”
Tyler couldn’t determine if Caleb knew exactly where she worked or if he was trying to pry the answer out of him. He wasn’t taking the bait, that was for sure.
“It’s not easy being responsible for several people, Caleb. She’s doing what she thinks she has to do.” Tyler prayed that would be the end of it.
“Lia’s had a rough life.”
Tyler’s eye widened at Caleb’s admission. “Yeah. Sounds like maybe you both have.”
“Not really. I mean, my mom didn’t pay a lot of attention to me. But my dad . . . he was real bad to both Lia and my mom.”
“You want to talk about it?” Tyler wasn’t sure if this was something he was prepared to discuss with Lia’s brother. And yet at the same time, if he couldn’t get answers from her, maybe he’d get them from Caleb. If he could only shake the feeling that this conversation required him to have a therapy degree. The kid was vulnerable right now, and the last thing Tyler wanted to do was mess this up.
Caleb was quiet for a moment, so Tyler just waited him out. Finally, he spoke. “My dad was kind of an ass. He used to drink a lot. He’d push my mom around. Yell loud. Lia was young, but she’d always try and stick up for our mom. I remember . . . sometimes when he’d get mad at Lia . . . he would squeeze her really hard. Or shove her.”
Tyler’s rubbed his thumbs on the wheel, over and over, trying to keep cool as he listened.
“I remember one night . . . hearing him come in. I was always kind of nervous when I heard him. Sometimes my mom and dad would yell at each other. But this one night, I went out in the hall and saw him peeking into Lia’s room.”
Tyler swallowed hard, suddenly feeling sick. “Maybe he was just checking on her.”
Caleb gave a mirthless chuckle. “No. Remember, he wasn’t even nice to her. That night, he heard me. Asked me what the hell I was doing out of bed. So, I just went back to my room. But I watched under the doorway, and I could see his feet go in there anyway. A few minutes later she started screaming really loud. I opened my door and he came running out of her room holding his face. His nose was bleeding all over the carpet.”
Holy shit. “How old were you?” Tyler asked.
“Probably about five or so.”
Lia would have been fifteen. Tyler focused on the road, his inner rage reaching a simmer. She should never have been in a position to fight off her own stepfather, but damn, he was proud to hear it.
His own father was a total prick, but he’d never tried to molest anyone. He wasn’t sure how to even respond to Caleb’s admission. “What did your mom do when she heard Lia screaming?”
“Nothing. She never even got out of bed.”
Tyler figured she might have been passed out. He hated to imagine she’d just not cared. “Did you ever see him do it again?”
“No.”
“Did you ever tell your mother?”
“I did. But not until years later. He didn’t even live with us anymore. I don’t know why I didn’t tell right away. I didn’t want him to be mad at me. Or maybe I thought Lia would be mad. I don’t know.”
“You were young, Caleb. It wasn’t your job to worry about what your dad was doing. It was his job to be a good father.”
“Yeah, but he wasn’t. And I always knew it was wrong.”
“It’s hard to go against your parents.”
“The crazy thing is, my dad left a few days after that happened. Never came back. I’m pretty sure it’s why he left but I never did ask my mom.”
“And Lia doesn’t know that you know any of this?”
“No. You don’t think I should tell her, do you?”
Tyler didn’t know the right answer to that one. He just said what felt right. “Probably not right now. Maybe someday, I don’t know. But just remember. No matter what happened to Lia, she’s smart and happy now. She can take care of herself. Okay?”
“Yeah. But honestly, I was really hoping you’d take care of her for me.”
Tyler smiled over at him quickly before looking out the front windshield. He was really hoping for the same thing. “Don’t doubt your sister, bud. She’s strong enough for both of you.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Lia discreetly checked her phone once more. Caleb had texted her an hour ago that they’d landed in Manhattan. She’d told him to let her know when he had gotten back to the apartment. Surely that should have happened by now.
“Put that phone away,” Beck growled over her shoulder. She’d just started to type out a text but stuffed her phone in her bra, glaring at him as he walked back to the bar.
This Sunday wasn’t as busy as she would have hoped and she was regretting trading. But just as she had that thought, a large group of guys walked in. They appeared to be blue collar, a little rough. Typical Exquisite customers. She hoped they sat in her section. Cherry—more commonly known as Lisa—was on stage 2. She usually drew a lot of attention, so hopefully they would make their way over.
Picking up two beers at the bar, Lia inwardly cheered when they headed for two empty tables on her side of the room and pushed them together. She needed this, as she’d probably not even hit a hundred bucks for the evening. As soon as she delivered the drinks already in her hands she made her way over to them.
“Evening, boys.” Her voice was light and provocative, and she rested her hand on the youngest one’s shoulders. They all liked to be touched, and he looked the safest.
“Well, he
ll-o,” the largest of them said with a lecherous grin. He pointed at her and looked at his friends. “And this . . . this is why we come here.”
They all laughed, and she just grinned and winked. This was a show. A tease. And she’d gotten so skilled at it for work, sometimes she wasn’t even sure what she was doing. Within these four walls, it was all automatic and instinctive. It was also her livelihood for now. And her mother’s, and her brother’s.
She proceeded to flirt her away around the table taking their drink orders, and then went to the bar. Picking up another table’s order, she headed back to her section, and stopped in her tracks.
Tyler sat in the corner at one of her tables. He was leaning back in his chair with a casual foot resting on one knee. Leaning to one side, he had his chin resting in the crook of his thumb and forefinger, just watching her.
They locked eyes and he raised a brow but made no other movement. Her hands were full, and she had money to make. On top of that, Beck had a strict no-boyfriend-or-husband rule. While Tyler was technically neither, he would be the same kind of trouble for her, she knew, because he was not here to be a customer. That was obvious.
She turned away and delivered her drinks. His eyes on her made every smile feel ridiculous, and she wasn’t sure how well he could hear their conversations, so she could barely bring herself to openly flirt with these men any longer.
As soon as she could, she walked over to his table. With her back to the bar to block Beck’s view, she glared at him. “What the hell are you doing?”
He opened his hands. “I wanted a drink.”
“No you didn’t. You’re making trouble for me.” She knew he was only allowed in because Elliott happened to be off tonight and Tucker was working. “And where’s Caleb?”
“I dropped him home before I came. I needed to see you.”
Her heart skipped at those words, but her panic remained. “And it couldn’t wait?”
“No.”
“Well, I can’t talk to you here.”
“Fine. I’ll just sit here and enjoy looking at you. Isn’t that what all these other fuckers come here for?”
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