Tainted Love Series Boxed Set

by Lily Zante

  “How was the speed-dating? Did the dress work out for you?”

  Zoe let out a groan. “That dress. I’m glad I wore it, come to think of it. Even though I hated it at first. The speed-dating part was…interesting.”

  “I bet Tyler got a lot of dates out of it,” Becca mused.

  Zoe waived indifference. Of course he had. He’d gone out the next night. She’d spent that weekend moving into Ethan’s old room while he’d gone out on a date. She’d stayed out of his way on purpose the whole weekend.

  “He probably did,” she mumbled, not wanting to elaborate on the matter. “I tell you what’s working out though: sleeping on a bed!” She sat back as the server took her plate away, then leaned in. “It’s awesome.”

  “It’s not fair. You get to live with all the hottest guys. Ethan moves out and now you’ve got Tyler.”

  “I don’t have Tyler. I never had Ethan,” Zoe reminded her.

  “Yeah, I forgot. Ethan was my dream boyfriend.” Becca had no idea.

  “Tyler’s okay,” mused Zoe.

  “I bet he has no shortage of women.” Becca stopped and said no more; it looked like she was thinking. Finally, she confessed. “I can’t decide.”

  “Can’t decide what?”

  “Who I’d prefer, Tyler or Ethan.” From the look on her face, it seemed that she was actually thinking about it. “Don’t you think he’s gorgeous?”

  Zoe wished Becca would stop analyzing her friends. First Ethan and now Tyler. Turns out she wasn’t the only one in the whole of San Francisco to fall for these guys. Though she doubted whether Becca spent much time thinking about them; she had the attention span of a fruit fly.

  “He’s okay,” replied Zoe, grudgingly.

  “Okay?”

  “He’s gorgeous, I admit,” she just about managed to say it out aloud.

  “Is he seeing anyone?” Becca asked with interest.

  Zoe turned to face her friend. “A guy like that doesn’t see just one girl. You’d do better to avoid him.”

  Chapter 27

  After doing his pull-ups and pull-downs and subjecting his muscles to his usual rigorous workout, Tyler went out for his six-mile run.

  By the time he ran back, sweat was pouring down the back of his neck and sides. His already sticky shirt clung to him like a wet dishcloth. He walked in through the front door, desperate to head straight into the shower and change, but the sound of a woman laughing out loudly made his hair stand on edge.

  It wasn’t Zoe’s laughter.

  With his heart beginning to race again he cocked his head as he stood in the hallway, straining to hear more.

  Zoe said something, words he couldn’t make out and then the other woman laughed again. He walked towards the kitchen, his heart already pumping, and pushed the door wide open.

  And then his heart almost stopped.

  “Margaux came by just a second after you left,” said Zoe, giving him a knowing look. She was baking bread.

  Even in his state of shock, he thought, Doesn’t she have any homework?

  He glanced at her and for the briefest second saw her gaze sweep over him, then take in the wet shirt that clung to him. He didn’t need to turn to know who that was sitting at the table.

  She’s been here for almost an hour?

  “Good workout?” Margaux asked. Her eyes fixed on him as she smiled.

  “Didn’t you have a company event on tonight?” He stepped toward her, his voice stone cold.

  He saw the smile fade from Zoe’s face. Margaux’s face fell. “I was getting to know your girlfriend.”

  “I’m not his girlfriend,” said Zoe quickly.

  Tyler’s face hardened. He stepped even closer to Margaux at the table. “She’s not my girlfriend.” He was desperate to keep Zoe out of all this.

  He tried to soften his voice, for Zoe’s sake, but it was impossible given the way his muscles were quivering.

  “Maybe you should go now,” he suggested, stepping away to clear the path for her to leave. “I’d hate for you to be late for your event.” What he wanted to do was to grab her roughly by the arm, but he restrained himself. Instead, he clenched his fists down by his sides. Zoe finished kneading her bread and left it to rest on a surface.

  Ordinarily, he loved the smell of baking, especially bread with its strong yeasty aroma. But now, everything about this moment he wanted to forget.

  “Your girlfriend makes the best bread.” He noticed then that she had a small slice of bread and butter on a plate. Margaux turned to Zoe and gave her a sickly smile. “And she kindly offered to make me a cup of coffee—it’d be rude to leave when I’m halfway through it.”

  “What do you want, Margaux?” demanded Tyler, his eyes flashing. He chanced a glance at Zoe and caught the confusion in her eyes. But right now, his focus was on that bitch who had made herself at home in his kitchen. Zoe stayed rooted where she was, and they both watched as Margaux sat there calmly taking a bite of bread.

  Tyler’s blood simmered. What did she want? And how did she know where he lived? The fact that she knew his whereabouts left him with a bitter taste in his mouth.

  “You don’t answer my calls. You refuse to acknowledge my texts. I thought something might have happened to you.”

  Zoe shifted beside him. He felt close to having a meltdown. Close to losing it. The problem was she was a woman and he didn’t know how he was going to handle this.

  If it had been a guy he’d have no hesitation in pounding him senseless.

  “I don’t want to see you again. I don’t want to hear your voice. I don’t want to see your face. Do you understand?” He spoke slowly, tried to keep his voice level and as calm as he could. He knew he had to tone down his voice; otherwise he might frighten Zoe.

  But Margaux didn’t seem to be affected by the words he said. “You don’t really mean that, Tyler. I know you’re only saying that because she’s here.”

  He flinched, then turned to Zoe. “Do you mind leaving us, please? Let me deal with this—alone.”

  Zoe slipped quietly out.

  Something told him she’d been preying around a lot longer, that this wasn’t just a random out-of-the-blue act. Would Chrissie have divulged his personal information? He liked to think she wouldn’t, that even a woman like Chrissie had some standards.

  When the door closed behind him, he fixed Margaux with a menacing stare. In deathly silence, he approached her, his gaze pinned on her as she sat on her chair slowly sipping from her dotted white and red teacup.

  Tyler stood directly opposite her, placed both hands firmly on the table and bent down toward her until his face was level with hers.

  “If you so much as show your face here again, I’ll report you to the police and get a restraining order so fast you won’t know what’s hit you. I don’t think you’d like your work people to know anything about this, would you? The fact that you stalk innocent people.”

  Margaux lowered her eyes to his lips. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I happened to pass by and saw you leave. I thought I’d come by and wait—as friends do.”

  Tyler could feel a vein throbbing just at the side of his temples. “As random as your visit to the shop?”

  Margaux put the cup down carefully. “I know you don’t really want her. I know deep down you want me. But you’re confused.” Her voice was almost a whisper.

  What? What? What? Alarms bells shrieked at him. He was too stunned to answer.

  Then, in a normal voice, “I thought maybe we could go grab some dinner later. If your girlfriend won’t mind.”

  “I told you, she’s not my girlfriend.”

  “Why don’t you like me, Tyler?” Margaux put down her cup and bent forward at the waist, inching closer to him.

  “You need to leave.” He raised his voice and tightened his hands into a ball, fearing that he’d grab her roughly and do something he might later regret.

  “Fine, I’ll go.” She stood up reluctantly, then stared at him directly in
the eyes before putting a finger across his cheek. He flinched at her touch. “You’ll come around; you’ll see. I know you’re torn right now.”

  What the hell was she talking about?

  In the time it took to think about his options, she’d walked out. He followed closely behind her, needing to ensure she went straight out the front door and nowhere else.

  He closed the door, then bolted it and put the chain on. He’d need to check the windows too, suddenly feeling the weight of a prowler on his shoulders.

  “That’s Margaux?”

  He jumped, hearing Zoe’s voice.

  “Yes,” he replied, turning around wearily.

  “She seems kind of nice—you were rude to her.”

  Not a time to be making judgments, he thought, morosely, and then crept into the living room to check that the windows were closed and secure.

  “Hey, Tyler…what’s going on? Why were you nasty to her?” Zoe had followed him.

  He turned to face her. “You think she’s nice? She turned up when she knew I wouldn’t be here.” He couldn’t prove it, but he had an idea that Margaux had waited until he’d left to turn up.

  “Why would she do that?” asked Zoe innocently.

  To check you out.

  He couldn’t scare her. “I don’t know.”

  The windows were secure and he felt a little relieved. He didn’t see that Margaux could do much, and maybe he was overreacting but he’d seen this woman go from normal to weird in the space of months.

  Her appearing like this had him on edge.

  “Did you and Margaux,” Zoe seemed hesitant to finish her sentence. She cleared her throat. “Did you two—were you together?”

  “Me? Together? With that woman?” He wouldn’t go with Margaux even if he’d been paid to. He recoiled at the very thought. “No,” he almost shouted out.

  “Then why’s she so mad at you?” He tried to keep his anger under control as he digested Zoe’s words. Her suggestion that he had done something hurtful to Margaux, and that this was the reason she was behaving like this, was beyond ridiculous.

  Unnerved by the accusatory tone of her voice, he turned to face her. “Do you think I’m the one in the wrong?” His voice was deathly quiet. How did she manage to think he was the one to blame for all of this? He edged closer to her, and she edged back.

  “No—no. Of course not.” Her voice shook.

  He didn’t believe her.

  She continued. “She seems normal. And she’s a nice looking woman. Maybe she really likes you. Maybe the problem is you don’t feel that way about her.”

  She was so close to the truth it was frightening.

  “You’d be the expert at that.”

  They glared at one another.

  Zoe fought back. She obviously wasn’t going to let that go. “Let’s face it, you always had a reputation for being a ladies’ man.”

  His head jerked up now that she was muckraking.

  “You didn’t really care who you had or how you ditched them.”

  “Is that what you think?”

  “It’s just an observation, from back in the Dreamboys Dancer days, from the things Billy used to tell me. And let’s not get started on the escorting rumors…”

  He couldn’t deny the rumors or the stories she might have heard. But it wasn’t who he was now. Still hard to shake that old reputation.

  “Yeah, I’m that guy.” He moved to the side and walked past her.

  He shook his head, so caught up in the turmoil of Margaux’s visit, so close to the day before when she’d turned up at the men’s store.

  “I can’t understand why a woman like that has to use an agency,” Zoe went on, oblivious to that fact that Tyler was still seething over her accusation.

  He stood with his hands still in his pockets. “Yeah, me neither, at first.”

  “She looks so normal. I assumed they were really old and really sad. She isn’t what I was expecting.”

  He’d forgotten his own surprise when he’d first met the clients too—they were just ordinary women, many of them beautiful, successful and intelligent. It was hard to reconcile that they needed to pay for a date.

  Zoe scratched the back of her neck. “So, why’s she mad at you?”

  Was she really asking him that?

  His head jerked up at this unjust accusation. “I didn’t do a thing,” he said truthfully.

  His hands rested on his hips and he lowered his head. “I don’t want to talk about it, Zoe.” He didn’t have an answer. Short of spurning Margaux’s advances, he wasn’t sure what else he could do. “My life’s way too complicated,” he said wearily. His face was serious when he looked at her. “When you’re coming home after work, just be careful.”

  He didn’t want to put Zoe in any danger, but Margaux seemed to believe that Zoe was his girlfriend. He immediately felt protective towards her.

  “I always am. You don’t have to worry about me, Tyler. I can look after myself.”

  But he was worried nonetheless.

  Chapter 28

  Margaux waited. She’d already been sitting in her car, watching the front of the apartment for half an hour.

  Tyler and Zoe had both left for the day. Zoe in a rush, hurtling out of the door. Then Tyler, later, more laid back, taking long purposeful strides. Deep in thought. She could tell by the serious look on his face.

  He’d been in and out yesterday. She’d driven past a number of times before parking for a couple of hours. She hadn’t been able to check on Saturday; she’d had a bit of a backlog from work to deal with.

  Even now, she knew she needed to get back soon. The meeting she’d penciled into her diary didn’t exist. She didn’t want to raise any sliver of suspicion.

  She waited anxiously, trying to summon up courage. They wouldn’t be back just yet. She knew that for a fact. It was the idea of going into their apartment that made her nervous. She’d never done anything like it before. Just like this, sitting around, watching Tyler, following him around. She hadn’t meant to do any of that. It had just kind of started. She’d longed to see him again. She always longed to see him, especially now that she no longer had access to him.

  It was this that had made her leave her apartment in search of him the first time around.

  Not being able to see him all of a sudden had left a huge emptiness in her life. The main appeal of the agency had been the constant and regular appointments. Now that this had been removed from her, she felt like a smoker trying to get by with nicotine patches. Only she had nothing to wean her off. Nothing to replace the empty feelings that haunted her.

  She had nobody to tell about her life, nobody to report back to, and nothing coming back from him. Her life had once again turned gray and empty.

  The withdrawal symptoms were so physical her body hurt. Her chest had been full of pain—real pain.

  When it came to joining Chrissie’s agency, she’d been unsure about going to a place to “meet men.” It sounded so sleazy, so cheap, and it smacked of such desperation. The idea of having to pay someone to spend an evening with her seemed almost grimy.

  But she’d been impressed with how polished and smoothly run the whole outfit had been.

  Tyler had been her first appointment. She’d been so nervous, almost canceling twice before showing up. One look at him and she’d been bewitched, taken in by his dark looks, his tall, lean body and his cool, slightly reserved personality. His reserved manner, she later found out, was because she was his first appointment too. Later, he’d become more laid back, a bit intense at times, letting her do most of the talking. Which was something new for her—he actually wanted to hear what she had to say. He listened to her, which gave her confidence, but more than that, he made her feel as though she was worth being with. He made her feel special.

  It was nothing like a first date. There were no anxious feelings involved, none of the excruciating waiting around, wondering if he would call again, trying to second guess if he liked her, restless hours
spent wondering if he’d want to see her again. She booked another appointment and kept it that way. They saw each other every week. It was like dating but without any physical interaction. She could live with that.

  It was having him in her life as a constant that mattered.

  Losing him had been heart wrenching.

  But she’d win him back. She’d get things back to how they used to be. And then everything would be okay again. Nobody would abandon her again.

  She looked up and down the street, checking for any people. There were none. She slipped out of her car quickly and dashed across the road, still glancing to her right and left as she walked up toward the door. Emboldened by the quiet, empty street, she tried the door. When the key turned, her heart skipped a beat, and when it opened she let out a little laugh at the ease of it all.

  Then she slipped into their apartment.

  When she closed the door behind her, resting her hand on her chest, she heard her heart thump wildly.

  She wanted to have a good look around but now was not the time; work beckoned. Walking into the kitchen, she saw the empty table, the clean worktops, the lack of clutter and wondered, briefly, if this was more Tyler or Zoe’s doing. She walked over to the familiar worktop and opened the first drawer. Perfect. It was the cutlery drawer. The kind of place where it was possible to mistakenly misplace a set of keys and not notice—not even over a weekend.

  She’d taken them that day when she’d passed by to visit Zoe. Zoe had slipped out of the kitchen to answer her cell phone and it was from this very worktop, above the cutlery drawer, that Margaux had been unable to resist taking them.

  Chapter 29

  Just as he left his bedroom, he caught the whirl of Zoe’s hair as she rushed out of the door for the day.

  She was always rushing out in the mornings. He’d tell her to go to bed early but she was always up until the early hours doing her homework—she’d have her laptop out and her books spread out all over the kitchen table when she needed more room. Ethan’s old room didn’t have a desk.

  Tyler turned his cell on, having switched it off during the night to get some peace. Now, as he ate his way through a banana, his cell beeped continuously for the longest time.