A Gentleman's Kiss Romance Collection

by Ginny Aiken

  Ty blinked open his hazel eyes. “Huh?”

  “Kissing me is not going to distract me from my original anger with you.”

  Ty crossed his arms across his chest. “Oh?”

  “Seriously, Ty, we’ve got a problem here. How can we develop a relationship if there isn’t mutual trust?”

  “You’re right,” he sighed. “I couldn’t stop thinking or talking about you when I was with my folks. But as soon as you didn’t respond the way I had been expecting, I jumped to the wrong conclusion.”

  “And you acted like a child, stomping off and not giving me a chance to explain. Why did you do that?”

  Shrugging his shoulders, he got up and walked to the edge of the dock. “I don’t know. I’ve never been this jealous before.”

  Jealous? Cassandra grinned.

  Chapter 8

  Tyrone watched the fish playing in the water, swimming in and out of the various seaweed-lined rocks. Cassandra had a point. They were easily upset with one another, and that wasn’t healthy. Perhaps his desires to ask her to marry him had been too impulsive. He turned back to her. “You’re right. We do have a problem. What do you suggest we do about it?”

  She tapped the bench seat. He followed her lead and sat back down beside her. “I think we need to spend more time with each other and more time discussing our inner thoughts and desires. Not just our physical attraction.”

  “All right, where do we begin?” he asked.

  Shaking her head, she asked, “Tell me about your trip?”

  Ty went on to tell her about the past few days, how much he enjoyed being home but couldn’t wait to get back to Miami. He’d missed her so much.

  “I missed you, too,” she whispered. “I know it was my vanity that wouldn’t open the door. I’m sorry.”

  He placed his arm across her shoulders. “It’s all right. I shouldn’t have overreacted. By the way, don’t be surprised if you get a call from my mother. She’s quite curious about you.”

  “Oh?”

  “Yeah. She’s protective of her son and interested in the woman who’s caught his eye.”

  “So, I’ve caught your eye, huh?”

  “Woman, you have no idea.” He laughed and kissed her again.

  “Well, aren’t you two giving the complex something to talk about.” Betty Ann stood with her hands on her hips and winked.

  Tyrone and Cassandra released each other at once. He’d forgotten the favorite pastime in the complex was gossip, and he and Cassy must have given them a week’s worth with their kisses. Almost every condo in the place could see this spot of the dock.

  “Nice to see you two getting along,” Betty Ann said and chuckled. “Seriously, I didn’t come here to embarrass you. The hospital called and was wondering if you could come in tonight.”

  Cassandra’s glance caught his. He didn’t want her to go to work, but understood they must be desperate to track Cassy down via Betty Ann. Ty released her hand and nodded his understanding.

  Taking in a deep breath, Cassandra asked, “What’s the problem?”

  “Amy’s got the flu and Vanessa’s out of town for the week.”

  “Ah, I guess I have little choice.”

  “Oh, you have a choice, and I’m sure they’ll find someone from some other floor, but you did mention wanting some overtime.” Betty Ann cocked her head to the right. “Of course, I can think of another reason that might have a more desirable reward than extra money.” Betty Ann flashed a smile at Tyrone. Heat blushed his cheeks.

  Cassy turned toward him. “Should I?”

  “Honey, I’d love to spend the rest of the day and evening with you, but if you need the income, I certainly understand.”

  She’d have to go to bed soon if she was going to work the graveyard shift, he reasoned.

  “We need to talk….”

  “I’ll let you two discuss this in private.” Betty Ann waved and retreated toward the condo.

  Tyrone brushed the windblown hair from her face. “We have plenty of time to talk. And I promise I won’t let my tiredness or foolish thoughts get the best of me next time.”

  Cassy chuckled. “Walk me back to my place?”

  “With pleasure. Would you like to borrow my headset and CDs? You’ll never hear a thing.”

  They slowly made their way down the dock holding each other around the waist. “Including my alarm. I don’t think so.”

  “I’d be happy to wake you up. Let’s see, I could take down the sound wall and bang on it with a hammer,” Ty teased.

  Cassy playfully swatted him on the shoulder. “No, thanks, I like my peace and quiet. Let’s have breakfast together.”

  “I’ll have it ready.” He stopped outside her door. “I’m sorry, Cassy. I should have trusted you. I shouldn’t have overreacted.”

  “You’re forgiven.” She leaned into him and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

  “Good night,” he said, wanting to say more. Wanting to spend more time with her. But she needed her rest, and standing here, keeping her from entering her apartment, wouldn’t let her rest.

  “’Night.” She slipped her key in the lock and turned it to the right. He waved, and felt like a child waving good-bye on the bus for the first time. Sucking in a deep breath, he marched over to his place. What would he do now? He ached to speak with Cassy. So much had been left unsaid. So many things yet to discuss. If he were to ask her to marry him, how could they merge their schedules?

  Ty sat down with his cello and began to play. The words of Psalm 108:1 suddenly came to mind. “My heart is steadfast, O God; I will sing and make music with all my soul.” He let the bow drop from its rightful position on the strings. He ached to spend more time with her and yet at the same time felt overjoyed in her proclamation of love. They had taken the next step in their relationship. Why was he nervous about the things not yet said?

  Cassandra tossed and turned all evening. She wanted to be with Tyrone. She didn’t want to go to work. But she did need the extra cash the hours would bring in. She’d set her mind on a special gift for Ty, and extra hours would help the dream become a reality.

  Work dragged. By breakfast, she was ready to go home and crash for the morning. Tyrone had set a wonderfully romantic table, and she barely had the energy to thank him for it. Fortunately, she had remembered.

  The next few days blurred into a series of a moment here and a moment there. As much as they tried to mesh their schedules, there always seemed to be a conflict. Cassy longed to find a way to make this work. But how? she wondered.

  Cassandra looked down at her appointment book. She’d blocked in all of Tyrone’s concerts and practice times. There were a couple of ways to arrange her sleep time if she worked from eleven p.m. to seven a.m. One was to sleep as soon as she got home until midafternoon. The other was to stay awake until midafternoon and sleep the rest of the afternoon and evening. Cassy had always found the morning sleep suited her better. But with Ty’s schedule, the afternoon and evening might be best. Would altering her schedule help? Or should they continue to try to line up days off? But that wouldn’t work, since her schedule rotated between five days on and two days off.

  Ty knocked on her door. “Come in,” she called out.

  “Hi. What ya doing?”

  “Trying to figure out how we can spend more time together. It’s been a horrible week.”

  “True, but it shouldn’t be this bad all the time. I’ve just been putting in extra hours to set up the private lessons.”

  Cassy drummed her fingers on the countertop. “Even still, our schedules conflict most of the time. I’m sleeping when you’re free. You’re working when I’m sleeping.”

  Ty leaned back against the counter. “True,” he sighed.

  “I’ve been thinking of rearranging my sleep time. It’ll take a week or so for my body to adjust, but it might be better in the long run.”

  “How so?” he asked.

  She went on to explain the advant
ages and disadvantages of what she’d been trying to hammer out.

  “I could schedule lessons in the afternoons while you’re sleeping. That would leave the mornings free for us. How does that sound?”

  “Worth trying.” Cassy gave him an appreciative smile as she turned to meet him in her narrow kitchen. She really did like the way Tyrone had opened his wall up in his kitchen, making it feel less blocked in. “If you don’t mind me asking, how much did it cost to open up your kitchen?”

  “A couple thousand, because I replaced all the countertops and cabinets. Gradually, I’ve replaced all the appliances. These are great condos, but they are over thirty years old and minor adjustments are needed.”

  “I’d like to open up my kitchen, but I’m afraid it will have to wait for a while.”

  “Let me know when you decide. I’ll get Tristan and his brothers to help. We can knock it out in no time.”

  Cassy chuckled. “I imagine you can.”

  Ty stepped closer. “Are you free for a bit?”

  “I can spare an hour. What’s up?”

  “We’ve found a new location for the quartet. I’d like your opinion. It’s important to me.”

  “Sure. I’d love to.”

  Ty brought her to the possible new location. The place needed some work, but it had enough square footage, and parking space was more than adequate.

  “What do you think? I know it needs paint and some remodeling but …” He left the sentence unfinished.

  “I think you’ve picked a good location.” Cassy looked up at the ceiling. “Will you need to put in some acoustic tiles?”

  “Definitely. Here’s what we’re picturing.” Ty went through the entire building and described some of the changes he saw taking place. “In the end, I think it will take us a good month, possibly six weeks to have it finished.”

  “You might want to work on a temporary front for possible passersby. You’ll never know who might be going to the music store down the block and notice your new construction,” Cassy suggested.

  “Good point. We’ve already thought about giving the music stores some flyers. At the moment, Tristan and I will be the only ones giving music lessons. But Marissa is looking forward to it after her wedding and honeymoon.”

  “I don’t know much about business, and I certainly know little about yours, but I think you guys are making a wise decision.”

  “We’ve prayed about this. We really want to continue to play as a quartet, but we’ll each have different needs.” Ty looked down at his feet and coughed. “Well, you did say you only had an hour.”

  Cassy looked at her watch, “Right, thanks. And thank you for the tour. I can’t wait to see it finished.”

  “Huh, you’re going to help with the renovations.” Ty smiled.

  “Oh, really?”

  His voice softened. “If you don’t mind.”

  Tyrone felt a little bad for being so forward in assuming Cassy would help. On the other hand, he needed to work on the studio and he didn’t want to be apart from her more than he had to. Working together at the studio, playing together in his apartment, and working on his psalms compositions took up most of their free time.

  He needed to do something special with her.

  The doorbell rang and his door opened immediately. “Hey, got a minute?”

  “Sure, I was just thinking about you.”

  Cassandra smiled. “Great.” Her smile slipped. “Unless you’re planning on working today,” she quipped.

  “No, but that is in part what I was thinking about.” Ty walked up to her and grasped her hand. “I want to take you somewhere, anywhere. I was thinking we’ve had precious little time when we weren’t working.”

  Cassy took in a deep breath. “Great minds think alike.”

  “What would you like to do?”

  “Anything.”

  “How about a trip to the zoo?” he asked.

  “I’ve never been.”

  “Good. It’s been several years since I have. Date?”

  “Date.”

  “Can you be ready in fifteen?” He asked. She did tend to spend a lot of time before going out on dates, he mused.

  “For the animals, I can dress down and be ready …” She looked over her shoulder and whispered in his ear dramatically, “In five.”

  Ty laughed. He loved this woman. With each passing day, his love was growing. Their mutual respect and trust for each other was growing, too.

  “Let me grab my purse and I’ll be ready.”

  “Great.”

  Cassy left, and Ty pulled a couple of bottled waters, apples, and grapes from his refrigerator. He pulled a small blue-and-white cooler from under the sink and loaded it. He then selected some cheese and crackers to round off his impromptu picnic at the zoo.

  The rest of their day was spent not discussing work or schedules or remodeling or even the psalms. Instead, they focused on each other, on memories from childhood. They admired the animals and simply enjoyed each other’s company.

  They stopped and sat down on a bench at a play area right after the elephant exhibit. “Thirsty?” he asked.

  “A little,” she replied.

  “I’ve got some bottled water, but I’d be happy to buy you a soft drink or juice.”

  “Water’s fine, thanks.”

  He pulled out a bottled water and handed it to her, then placed the small cutting board on the bench between them. “How about some cheese and crackers?”

  Cassy’s eyes sparkled. “You’re a romantic.”

  “Sometimes. Most of the time I get too focused on the present and, well, my music.”

  “I’ve noticed.”

  “Sorry.” He glanced away. “I know I’m a bit obsessive.”

  She laughed and placed her hand upon his. “Honey, it’s all right. Just as long as you agree to my interrupting you from time to time.”

  “Please do.” He placed some cheese on the cracker and handed it to her. “I love you.”

  “I love you, too.”

  He felt happy they had decided to take some free time with each other. Their schedules would definitely cause them problems. She seemed to like her shift at the hospital. But what if they were to marry? Would she still want to work those hours? Would they find themselves sleeping at separate times? Tyrone didn’t care for that thought. Would she be willing to make that adjustment to her work schedule? His was set by the customers. There was little he could do. But if he had a wife, he certainly wouldn’t want to keep the schedules they’d been keeping.

  Wife? Jumping ahead, aren’t you, buddy? he silently quipped.

  Chapter 9

  Switching her sleeping hours had produced a little more time with Tyrone, but it didn’t satisfy her desires to spend more time with him. They were quickly becoming the best of friends, seeking each other’s advice, and working together on his project to bring music back to the psalms created for string instruments. The flute wasn’t exactly a stringed instrument, but Ty easily converted the harmony for a violin.

  Cassandra wiped the sweat off her palms. Today she and Tyrone would be playing his pieces for the quartet. This would allow the others to help fill out the musical structure of the various accompaniments. It was hard enough playing for Tyrone, but to be playing in front of the other three accomplished musicians seemed overwhelming.

  She felt Tyrone’s presence behind her before she felt his wonder-working hands on her shoulders. She closed her eyes and relaxed under his soothing ministrations. “Thanks,” she mumbled.

  “You’re welcome,” he whispered in her ear.

  A pulse of electricity coursed through her spine. “I love you.”

  “I love you, too.” He kissed the tip of her ear. “Come on, it’s time.”

  The newly renovated storefront reflected the classical yet contemporary appearance of Classical Strings Quartet. Tyrone had picked up several students, and even the bookings for various functions seemed to be coming in more easily.

  Tyrone cleared
his throat. “Cassy’s a little nervous and, admittedly, I am, too,” he told the other members of the quartet who sat down in a semicircle, awaiting their private concert.

  “I’ve had a dream since I was in high school,” Tyrone continued, “and that was to score the psalms written for string instruments. It’s been difficult, to say the least. Most of these psalms are referring to very hard, often mournful times.

  “Cassy’s helped me create a harmony to counter the mournfulness and use it as the answer that Christ gives us in our lives.”

  Cassandra gave a weak smile as all three turned their heads and looked directly at her.

  “I’m figuring from what I’ve scored, the four of us can come up with some amazing pieces.” Tyrone sat down. Cassandra stiffened and raised the flute to her lips. Lord, help me.

  Before they began, Ty winked at her in his usual way and she relaxed. They made their way through the first number. Cassy only missed three notes. Not too bad, she mused. The others picked up their instruments and worked through the same piece, playing the scores Tyrone had written for them. Cassy sat back and enjoyed the concert, marveling at hearing the others never miss a beat.

  Pleased with how well the others dove into Tyrone’s creation, Cassy excused herself. After all, she needed to go home and go to bed. Maybe it was time to consider working another shift?

  At home, she slept restlessly. She and Tyrone had been dating for awhile. Their relationship had developed, and yet she wanted more. She wanted to marry the man, have his children, and grow old together. She couldn’t think of a more satisfying life. “Lord, is he the one I’ve been waiting for? I think he is. It feels like he is. From the first moment we connected, there’s been an incredible bond between us. But Ty seems content with life the way it is. I don’t want to push him, Lord. And, admittedly, we haven’t known each other all that long but …” But what? What did she really want? A miscreant smile crept up her face. “To marry him,” she sighed.